Open Letter to New Balance

I have debated for a long time about writing this report and I finally have time today to do it. I am writing this to vent my frustration with the New Balance corporation and how they handle some new shoe releases. I highly doubt that anyone from New Balance will actually read my blog, but this is more for me and my own piece of mind.

I for one, like good friend TZ, like shoes. I am very particular on which ones I run in since I had a bad case of PF that put me out of commission for over 6 months. I switched over to minimalist shoes since the injury, sans Anton, and I have been very careful on which shoes I pick. I do not want to repeat being injured again and running this way has kept the lions at bay.

So, when I find something that works, I like to stick with it. Trail shoes are very tough to find that are not beefed up and have a hoof under the heel. They are usually way too heavy and padded for my liking. Thank God that people like Anton have been involved with shoe design for awhile and helped to usher in a new revolution of lighter, more responsive trail shoes. The book, Born To Run, which I have reviewed in the past on this blog, also has helped keep the trend going. When New Balance came out with the MT 100's, I was ecstatic, as were others in the Trail and Ultra community. I had been running in the 790's and was happy with them until they discontinued them and made the switch to the MT 100's. I had been through a couple of pairs of them and decided it was time to purchase a new pair. I went to the local running store in August to be told that the shoes had been discontinued and were no longer available. OK, what about the new MT 101's? They will not be out until mid-October? What? Who in Corporate made this decision? I have been in business for a long time as a Manager in the Food Industry and now in Banking and you do not get people to buy your product and then discontinue it before you have something to replace it with. That is not the way to keep people loyal to your product. That is why QT every summer lowers its price on fountain drinks, so that you will get hooked on buying them and hope that you will continue once they lift the sale price. Good marketing. Whoever is making these kind of decisions at New Balance needs to maybe spend some time at QT and other places like Wal-Mart to see how to effectively handle sales and marketing.

I have been a loyal New Balance product consumer for quite some time.
I went through at least 7 pairs of the 767 AW when I was racking up high mileage. These obviously have become mowing shoes.
When they discontinued the 767, I switched to the 768 AW and went through at least 3 pairs.
When I injured my foot with PF, I switched over to the 790's and went through 2 pairs.
When the 790's were discontinued, I made the switch to the MT 100's and managed to run in a couple of pairs before they became unavailable. I do not understand the logic in this. This is not like the anticipation before Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad.

To top it off Runners World Magazine did a short blip about the new 101's in the October issue on page 119. Also, the October issue of TrailRunner Magazine did a little bit better review on page 56. Really, you can throw the teases out in the magazines and not release it to the public? This is what drives consumers to other products. I heard from a friend during a long run last Saturday that he talked to the NB rep and they said the new 101's may not be out until November. What????
I am perplexed as I look in this photo. This was right before the start of the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler this last Feb. and I was wearing the MT 100's and they performed well. It is too bad that New Balance has taken this kind of stance with their consumers. Maybe they have lost site of, if the consumers do not buy the products, then we don't get paid and I don't have a job. Maybe it is time to change things up at New Balance and add some fresh blood to the mix. All I know is, this is not how to run a business.

So for me, I may hold out for the 101's or I may check into the Inov-8 X-Talon's. I hate to buy shoes I have not tried on, but they may be worth a shot. I have already made the switch on my road flats and I will have a review coming out shortly on a really neat and unique shoe with a company trying to make its way in the field.

Next up for me is the Tulsa Race for the Cure this Saturday. I really don't like the shorter, faster stuff, but I want to do well at the Tulsa Run this year. I would like to go sub-60, but I have got some work to do. This is just my 2nd week of a full run schedule and things are going well. I have reduced my cycling to once a week and I am running the rest. We will see where the chips fall this Saturday and see where I am. I will then probably do the Zoo Run 10K the following weekend. Life is good!

Get Inspired!

Great video! Have an awesome Friday!

Garmin Giveaway

DC Rainmaker is having another Garmin 310 Giveway. Check it out here.

Oklahoma Road Racing Championship

As Monty Python used to say, "and now for something completely different." I decided a couple of weeks ago to participate in the OK State Road Racing Championship in Kansas, OK. Yes, there truly is a Kansas, OK, all 685 of them.

I haven't been running a lot lately due to a number of factors. One of which is that New Balance in their infinite wisdom, decided to stop production on the MT 100, my personal running shoe, and would not release the MT 101 until October. I personally do not know anyone that works for New Balance, but whoever made this decision, needs fired. My current shoes are wore out and every time I run, my knee hurts because my shoes are shot, but I have to wait until October to get the new ones. I am very picky about my shoes and have not been able to find any to replace them. So, I guess it is time to cycle more.
The race took place at the beautiful Flint Ridge resort community. We were only about 20 miles away from Tahlequah and Arkansas. And no, I could not hear banjos playing while we were racing.

The resort was tucked away amongst pine trees and provided some optimal shade, which was really nice as the temps this day were hovering around 100 degrees. We pulled into the gated community and did not see where to go for the race. So, we stopped at the office and they told us that the race was at the top of the hill to the right. This was a foreshadow of things to come.

We headed up this steep hill to find trees lined with cars to park wherever you could. We did a U-turn up by the registration table and found a nice shaded area to park in. I settled in to getting my gear together so I could head out on a small warm up before my start. I was registered in the Cat 5 group, which is the beginner group. They did not offer a Jersey to the winner in this category, but you could take home medals, 3 deep.

After a few miles of warm up, it was time to head to the start line.
Cat 4's were to start 5 minutes ahead of us, so we lined up behind them and watched them go and then it was time for the Cat 5's. We went through the mandatory roll call and we had 19 people to start. At running races, you always look around to eyeball your competition and this was no different. This was a little different as a lot of this is also about equipment. I had my entry level road bike and several people had there several $1,000 dollar bikes with their fancy team bike kits. I had my tri shorts on with my regular cycling jersey. My strategy was to stay towards the back in the beginning and stay with the pack as we had 4 loops to complete for about 22 miles. At about 9 o'clock we were off.

We immediately started uphill. This had me a little worried as the hills always slow me down from the real scrawny guys. The course wound its way through pine tree lined scenic views along with several housing developments. One of the bad things was that traffic was open and we had to dodge a few cars on the course. The course had several rollers on the first half, which made me hang on as best I could to the peloton. We turned back towards the start line at a rural fire station and this was a more flatter, downhill section to where I was able to hang a lot better. As we got closer to the end of the loop, we were met with a huge downhill followed by a sharp turn to the left with a steep uphill to the start line. It was this point that the group splintered. I really lost track of where I was at, but saw a group ahead and knew I needed to stay with them. I thought another group had went on ahead, but I just wanted to stay in contact with this group.

The group I was in was about 4 of us and we took turns taking the lead and letting others break the wind. As we went past the fire station, sirens went off and the EMT's took off past us. More than likely, someone went down. As went down the hill again, the EMT's had parked in the road and left us a narrow spot to maneuver the hill on. This was very tricky as I hit 41 mph on this downhill. The reason they were there was someone had crashed at the bottom of the hill. Lap 2 was in the bag.

We headed up the hill past the start area and I fell behind, but then caught back up to the group. This was pretty much my loop pattern. They would drop me on the hills and I would catch them on the flats. Some of this was due to my bike being heavier and some was due to me being heavier. Hard to climb hills against a 140 lb. guy.

On the back side of lap 3, I took off and broke away from most of the group for a little while, but they passed me on the downhill. At the bottom, the ambulance was now there and the road was still narrow. Up the massive hill for number 3. Lap 3 in the books and one to go.

I caught the group again on Lap 4 and they were moving slower, so, I took out in front. Nothing of a hard pace, but it was too slow for my liking. Usually you lead for awhile and then someone else steps up and takes over the duties, but no one was having it. I let up and still no one passed. We made to the back side and 2 of the guys took off. This was way too soon and I let them go, but kept them in site. I started to gradually reel them in. I was just about to pass the guy ahead of me, when a guy in a golf cart comes up and said it was a neutral finish. This meant that whatever place we were currently in was where we were going to finish. They had called a neutral because of the bad crash at the bottom of the hill. This was too bad as I just passing the one guy and going after the next. Oh, well. I had no idea what place I was in and thought that I was way back.

I crossed the finish line and talked to my wife and she said that only a few other guys were ahead of me. I didn't believe it, but I at least survived and did pretty well.

I went back to the Jeep and got changed and headed back up to see the results. I ended up 5th, which meant I was going into 4th and may have caught the next guy to go to 3rd. Wow! There were 2 others that were ahead of us in the front group, but we were the 2nd main group. Because of the rules, since I had a 1-day license and not a full USCF license, I was not eligible for an award, which I would have got. The guy in first had a 1-day and the guy in 2nd was from MO, so it would have rolled down to me. It's the thought that counts, right?
Having never been to Flint Ridge before, this was a really nice community and area. I love being surrounded by trees and there were plenty of them. I get tired sometimes of the more open spaces and like the woodlot areas as it reminds me of back home and deer season.
This is one of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. They also had minutaure golf and a full fledged golf course with a pool area. It was truly a nice place to visit.
It even came kid approved. Shannon liked it, but she it not real happy about taking a picture next to Wyatt.

Overall, I had a blast and would really like to explore more of this type of racing, but I am limited by my equipment. I can do with what I got, but eventually, I would need to get a better road bike. Something to think about for the future. The results can be found here.

2010 Chris Brown Duathlon Race Report

A few weeks ago, I was able to attend the Chris Brown Duathlon at River West Parks. I have done this race the last several years and had decent success last year by nailing second place in my age group. It is a 5K run, 30K bike, followed by another 5K run. Since it is held the last week in July in Tulsa, you can plan on hot, muggy weather. I signed up for the race knowing that I had not trained properly for the speedy 5K's that it requires to do well. Every time I ran during the month of July, I felt really burnt out. Like my heart really wasn't into it. I thought maybe it was the heat or I just needed to do something else for awhile. I did not like the feeling that I did not want to run. I have always loved running and have since added cycling and swimming. Running has always been my bread and butter. This was my mindset going into this race. I was really looking forward to the bike and not so much to the run, but why let that stop me.
As expected it was hot and muggy. We lined up as usual in the road to head up to the 21st street bridge and then veer off south on to the Westside trail to loop back to the transition area in the festival parking lot. Part of the trail was closed and they had to make adjustments for this years race. We ended up going back North on the trail to a second turnaround before heading back to the transition area. The more turns, the more frustrating the course, but what can you do?

I started out at a fairly decent pace as I did not want to do my typical go out too fast pace and hang on for dear life run as I had a bike and another run to follow. I ended up running in a group with Steve Lee and Hugh Dunagan. We all stayed together pretty good with me setting the pace. The Westside trail is flat, but has a few undulations. The first 5K was pretty good, but I wanted a little faster time, but I wasn't feeling it.
Here I am coming back into the transition area followed closely by Steve Lee. First 5K done in 20:25

Now was the time for me to shine with the bike. Last year I managed a 22.4 mph average pace and felt confident going into this year that I could equal it or do better. My heart hasn't been into the run, but my cycling has been going good, so I had high expectations.

I made it out of the transition area and headed across the 21st street bridge to veer on to Riverside to do 2 loops. One thing I like about this race is that they close down all car traffic on Riverside. We have the entire road to ourselves from 11st to I-44. Awesome!

I headed out and felt good, but it felt like my front brake was rubbing. I thought about stopping to check it, but did not want to lose that much time and just kept going. I felt OK on my exertion levels and was passing quite a few people. I did get the occasional pass from the guys with the big butts and disc wheels. Must be nice to drop that kind of cash to go a little faster. Maybe when the kids get out of the house.

The 2 loops were pretty uneventful and before I knew it, it was time to head back into transition. Bike leg complete in 51:01 for a 21.9 average. Not as fast as last year.
Here I am heading out for the 2nd and last 5K. That is not an issue with the camera on the right side of the picture, but sprayers they were setting up by the fire department.

I had not practiced running off the bike for awhile as I stated before, my heart hasn't been into running lately. I definitely felt it off the bike. I felt like I was dying, but I still was managing a decent pace. At this point it was hang on for dear life and just finish.
I managed to get across the line in 1:35:32 with a 2nd 5K in 22:15. Also, a little slower from last year. It was starting to warm up at this point and I was just wanting to get in the shade and drink some Gatorade. I ended up 24th overall and 5th in my age group. I was about 2 minutes faster last year and that probably would have got me an award this year, but with 5th in my age group, no dice. I am still glad I did the race and at least I did not have to wait around forever in the sun for my award. It was still another great day outdoors, being able to race, and experience life. Great to be alive! Results can be found here.

Tulsa Kids Triathlon Report

Life has been very crazy lately and my blogging has severely fell behind. Not that I am trying to make any excuses, but it is a matter of life choices. Obviously, I chose to do other things beside blog. I am going to try and catch up on some things that have happened since the last post. For this post, I am going to concentrate on the kids race they had a few weeks ago.
At the end of last month, the kids had an opportunity to do the 13th annual Tulsa Parks kids triathlon. This is a very low key and kid supportive race put on by the Tulsa Parks crew at McClure park. They offer a long and short course race with the main emphasis being on participation. My kids have done the race the last three years and they both decided to do the long course, 150m swim, 2 mile bike, and 1 mile run. Here they are getting set up in the transition area.
Being a typical Oklahoma July day, it was hot and muggy. I am sure the swim felt pretty good. The long course goes first and they line them up according to race number. After they start the first kid, they kick them off every 10 seconds. I was not worried about Shannon's swim as she is on the swim team for Swim Tulsa, but Wyatt dropped out of Swim Tulsa and has not been doing much with it over the summer.
Shannon started first and had a really nice freestyle stroke going in the water.
Wyatt started next and it showed immediately that he has not swam much lately. He was trying to do a freestyle stroke, but he would not keep his head down. I was not for sure if he was going to make the 150m. He managed pull through it by making the shallower end and then hanging on to the ropes to help guide him along.
Shannon was first into the transition area and got her bike to head out on the 2 mile course. I bet Will that Shannon would be the first one back into transition with the loser doing the dishes. Shannon has had a strong bike in the past, so I felt pretty confident.
Wyatt was next in transition to head out on the course. I knew that he would catch her on the run, but I thought she would hold him off until the run. He is a great runner as he did a 6:18 mile in a race at age 7.
Well, I lost the bet. Wyatt passed her on the bike. He had a big smile on his face and told us as he went by that he beat her.
Shannon came in next and she was ticked. The photo does not show it well, but she was not a happy camper, plus she had to run next, which she does not like.
Her comes Wyatt sprinting towards the finish in a time of 26:40. Great job Wyatt!
Next was Shannon hitting the line in 32:15. She was not happy that she got beat by her brother, but she still did great.

They had several kids at the race that were part of some Tulsa Youth Triathlon team. I am not for sure who they are, but it seemed to be all the Tri Mettle team's kids and appears to be not open to the public. I am on their Facebook page, but it really does not have any information. Too bad, as it seems like a great thing for all Tulsa kids.

I am really proud of the kids being in the race and no matter how fast their time was, they still had fun. I always tell them before any race, that the main thing is to have fun. Sometimes, I need to take some of my own advice. The results for the race can be found here.

Genesis Firecracker 10K Run Race Report

Over the 4th of July weekend, we had to head back to Illinois to pick up the kids as they had spent the last two weeks at Grandpa's. We were not looking forward to the 500 mile trip, but at least we would get away for awhile. The problem with going back home is that their is nothing there. Everything is getting smaller and it is really a sad state of affairs for the people who continue to live in the poverty that is all around. The positive side is that if you want to get away and not be bothered, this is the place to go. Good luck on finding a job though.

We always stop about halfway and grab lunch at Panera in Osage Beach, MO. They have been working on this bypass for a long time and it will be nice once it is completed. It takes so long to get through town with all the narrow streets and the lake traffic. You can see all the boats were in full force on the lake.

We made it back home on Saturday about 5 pm. I had signed up for a race in East Moline, IL on Sunday, called the Genesis Firecracker Run. They were having a 5K & 10K. The 5K was billed as flat and fast and the 10K was hilly and challenging. That would be an understatement. How bad could it be, Illinois is one of the flattest States there is at elevation zero. I always forget how hilly it is around the Mississippi river and that is where the race takes place. Of course I signed up for the 10K.

I had to get up at 4 AM to leave at 5 AM to drive the 1.5 hrs to the race that starts at 7:30 AM. The Misses was not thrilled about this, but hey, experience life! The alarm went off and we loaded up and headed out. I always have to remember to have everything ready the night before, because if you plan on stopping somewhere that early in the morning, good luck. Nothing opens until 6 AM. We managed to make our way into East Moline and went by the Quad City Western Illinois Campus, which is my Alumnus, but only at the main campus. We drove down a huge hill and I said, "I bet we have to run up this hill." Oh, so right.

Packet pick up was in a storefront and they had all the race numbers posted on a sheet in the window and you had know your number before you went in as that is how you picked up your packet. That was different. I grabbed my stuff and headed back to the Jeep and Julie was already asleep by the time we got back. Slacker.

I went out for warm ups as usual and headed back towards the start. I usually just go straight across the start and grab a spot up front. No can do. The start line was guarded by volunteers and barricades. I had to go around and I found a barricade that I slid around to get as close as possible. Everybody was crowded in, sweating , and it was humid. Some local girl sang the National Anthem and they said go and fired the cannon and we were off.

I don't know how many people were in this race, I think about 3,000, but it was ridiculous at the start. A lot of slower runners were up front and I had to almost stop several times before I could get out in the open. I passed a lot of people at this point. It was a straight shot down the street until we turned left at the East Moline sign and headed back on another flat section. At 1.5 miles, you heard, "5K keep straight, 10K up the hill." We headed straight up this hill that was just as steep as Lipbuster, but a little longer. The times started to slow. We got back on the flat section, but we had several more rollers and smaller hills. My time was starting to drop as I went through the first mile in a slower 6:19, but after the big hill I was really struggling. I went through the first 5K in 21 something. I knew my chances at medaling were slipping away, but I didn't care and just wanted to finish. I really wished I had signed up for the 5K. At about mile 5, all splits in Illinois are in miles, we had another smaller, but steep hill. Cruel punishment. This was followed by a massive downhill to where I got passed a lot. I was trying to keep the brakes on, but others were really flying past me. We took a right and met up with the 5K'ers and headed for home after two more left turns. I made it across the line in 42:29, one of my slowest 10K's in a long time. 4th in age group and 34th overall.
My only defence is that it was extremely hilly, humid, and I have not raced in awhile. The race was pretty cool, but I once heard Bobby Bomer say, that you never really appreciate the quality of races we have here in Tulsa, until you do some out of State. The race directors did the best they could, but it could have been organized a little better. The awards took way too long in the heat. They made the trophies for all the different placements, when they should have had a standard trophy for all placements. They jumped back and forth from 5K to 10K to one mile and it took forever.

They also ran out of water, which is not good on such a hot day, the free Pepsi was a nice touch. The benches to sit down were also nice. Since it was Illinois, they had a stage set up on a hay wagon for the awards. Nice touch. Overall thy did a good job, but there is always room for improvement. We really have it good here in Tulsa.
One neat thing was that we ran down the street under this massive flag for the Fourth. Nice touch!
It was absolutely huge and really cool.

I had to snap a picture of this old Mini Cooper. I do not know hold old it was, but it was really awesome.
Nothing makes a great race like Elvis or multiple Elvis's.
They also had hospital bed races. The had one person on the bed being pushed by 2 people on each side. They ran up the street, did a U turn and then headed back. The person on the bed had to ride a tricycle through the cones, put on a hospital gown, ride back, and then get back on the bed for one more lap.
After everything was done, I headed across the river into Iowa and checked out Antique Archaeology. They are the people behind American Pickers on Monday nights on the History Channel. This is one of my favorite shows as I like to do some collecting myself. I knew they were closed on Sunday's but at least I got to see it.

This is there actual shop to where they film. I was honored to be there.

I was glad that we got up early to experience the race, but a little disappointed to not place. That happens. This was a huge race that I think the race directors were not prepared to handle. They announced that they had a 1,000 more people this year than last. There were a lot of people, but I am glad I experienced it. The race results can be found here.