Sock It To ‘Em

Posted on August 13, 2013 by James Clay

I guess while I’m in a reviewing mood it’s about time I said a few words about socks…

As a man, I own many socks. Some of them even have a matching sock, a pair if you will. I’ve had lots of pairs of socks come and go; they differed in colour of course and some were thin cotton while others were thick wool. My sock collection ebbed and flowed through the years influenced by what my aunt wrapped for me at Christmas (a cliché yes, but a useful one) or what happened to be closest when a girlfriend said “you could do with new socks” while shopping. As a man I wouldn’t normally give any thought to choosing socks, there’s bigger things to worry about in life, like cider.

However, I am no longer a normal man. I am one of those rare breed that find pleasure from climbing mountains, so I’ve known of the existence of “technical” socks for some time. I even own a few pairs, they were thick and woolly and promised to make molehills out of mountains and cost 8 times what a normal pair of socks would cost.

When I started running I carried this desire for “technical” socks with me and a few years ago (pre-marathon 2011) I was given three pairs of socks that promised to be good for 1000 miles each. That’s 3000 miles, and I can’t have run more than 2,700 since then, so I hadn’t given any thought to purchasing any more running socks just yet.

Then a few weeks ago, when my friends at On Running sent me a pair of their shoes to review, I posted a photo of me wearing them on Twitter. Within seconds the good people at Fitbrands contacted me to say “nice shoes, but what the hell are those cotton monstrosities on your plates of meat, you need some proper socks, and fast” or words to that effect. Two days later I received a parcel with some socks in, and the address label wasn’t written in my aunt’s handwriting.

balega1

I won’t cut and paste the manufacturers claims here, instead let me condense them in to a couple of simple sentences:

  • Balega’s Drynamix keeps your feet cool and dry in a really scientific way, like a technical t-shirt, on your feet.
  • Balega’s this and that design trickery means the bits that wear out in your other socks won’t in these, simple.
  • Balega socks are anatomically crafted to make them feel all bouncy and quick, even before you’ve pulled your shoes on.
  • Balega quality control means two lovely looking ladies, Leony & Chantell, have checked your socks and they are ace! (glad they get to do this checking before I’ve worn them for a run)

So, there’s some wildly audacious scientific sock claims, what’s the reality?

All of the above.

These socks are game changers.

I’m reasonably certain I have never before put on a pair of new socks and made an audible noise of appreciation. Ever. Yet from the moment I slipped on the Soft Tread pair and sighed contentedly I knew I’d hit gold. I can’t recommend these socks enough, so I won’t try, because you really should have the idea by now.

The “Soft Tread” are now my sock of choice for trail running thanks to the extra cushioning they offer. The “Enduro 2” pair are the go to footwear for long days of pounding pavements, light and dry but superbly bouncy. Can you believe I’m writing like that about socks? No, me neither, but that’s how good they really are!

I’ve even acquired a further pair of Balega socks, the “Second Skin” model for short, fast runs and they are so thin and fresh I don’t understand how they can be so comfy.

In conclusion, not all socks are created equal and if you run then I really do recommend investing in something amazing for your feet as well as your £100 trainers, because you wouldn’t put biodiesel in a Ferrari…and you are a Ferrari my friend!

Shop here

Oh, and those old socks? I doubt they will ever see the last 300 miles they’re good for now…

Posted in Kit, Running | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How Do I Review A Yoghurt?

Posted on August 8, 2013 by James Clay

I’m not a food critic.

This is a good thing, because if I had to eat as much as I exercise to keep this blog ticking over my life would be a constant circle of writing about Cadbury’s giant chocolate buttons and the excellent XXXL fashionwear available from Jacamo.

But now the dust has settled on my recent triathlon adventure, the bike wheels have stopped turning and the waves have subsided on the lake, I really should give a mention to my sponsors…and possibly the fourth discipline of a triathlon, fuelling the body.

I was lucky throughout training to receive box after box of Chobani yoghurts. I lost count of how many boxes, but enough that I wasn’t without a pot for the 5 weeks prior to the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon and for a week or two after. That’s 7 weeks of free yoghurt. You can imagine the pain of going cold turkey when I ran out…luckily I’ve found a local stockist to feed my new addiction (Tesco, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham).

cho

It just kept coming!

Firstly, here’s what Chobani say about their yoghurt:

“We take fresh milk and add a special recipe of yoghurt cultures, blended just for us. We then authentically strain our yoghurt and add real fruit. The result is thick, creamy yoghurt that is packed with protein – an indulgent yet healthy treat”

“Contains five live active cultures including s.thermaphilus, bulgaricus, l.acidophilus, bifidus and l.casei.”

“0% fat and at least 13g of protein in every pot”

I don’t know what most of that means, but I do know that they taste amazing! The thick and creamy claim is totally founded, in fact when I opened my first one it was so thick I thought it was going to be chewy! But as soon as the spoon sunk in to it through to the real fruit in the bottom I knew I was in for a treat.

This prompted a debate, in fact I thought about starting an online poll but I had to go for a training swim instead. So I’ll just tell you how I enjoyed Chobani yoghurts…I’m a stirrer. That’s right, I rip the lid off, get in there with the spoon and give it a stir until the whole pot is a fruity yoghurt concoction. I know some of you are fruit at the bottom folk, there is no wrong or right, we’re just different (but you are wrong).

There’s 8 flavours of fruit Chobani available. I won’t list them, I’ll let you discover them for yourself, but I can confirm I would fight to the death for the last black cherry, blood orange or pomegranate Cho in the fridge. I wasn’t such a fan of the apple & cinnamon flavour but luckily my Nan was, so they went somewhere they were appreciated. This is a woman with many decades of dessert experience, a daily consumer of the finest yoghurts available in the Co-op, and she says Chobani is delicious. There can be no higher praise!

They also have a plain yoghurt in the range. There are people who can pour this on some nuts and seeds and call it breakfast. These people are slightly unhinged and should be seeking psychiatric help. However, I started adding a big dollop to my morning banana smoothie and it revolutionised an already excellent start to the day. While the fruit flavours have become a (far from occasional) treat, the plain is now a permanent addition to my fridge. Chobani also have a webpage full of recipes so anyone looking to boost their protein intake can do so easily while eating some delicious meals and snacks. So much better than throwing whey powder in to everything!

So there you have it. My first (and probably last) food review. Luckily it was for something I love so it was easy to wax lyrical, but I really do recommend you get hold of some Cho and give it a try, just not the last pomegranate one from my fridge…

Are you fruit at the bottom or stirred? Comment and let me know.

Posted in Kit, Life, Training, Triathlon | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s Not All About The Trainers…

Posted on August 5, 2013 by James Clay

…sometimes it’s all about the bike.

bike

On Friday I went over the border to Wales for a long ride in the wilds of Afan and Glyncorrwg Forests. (I can’t believe they charge £6.20 to get in to Wales now. There’s an incentive to keep the swimming up, next time I’ll front crawl the estuary rather than take the bridge!)

We rode the W2 trail, which is actually an amalgamation of two routes (Y Wal & Whyte’s Level) to create 44km of challenging trail stretching from one forest to the other. The route is basically a LOT of technical climbing, a blast along some forest fire road, a white knuckle descent to the trail centre, eat cake, repeat. It’s got everything you’d expect from a decent trail centre ride with well maintained but not sterile trails and lots of fun.

I’m never going to be as fast as my friends on a bike. Going up there’s considerably more of me to shift and coming down I have a far higher developed sense of self-preservation. Some of my mates ride like they have nothing left to live for, nutters. For me riding is more about the challenge of crossing the ground, keeping the bike moving and pitting myself against my own preconceptions of what is possible to ride over/through/up.

I don't know what the words say but the message is pretty clear.

I don’t know what the words say but the message is pretty clear.

Now I’m officially in marathon training mode (and I realise I haven’t said much about that but I wanted to get a few miles under my belt before blogging about the road to Bournemouth) these impromptu excursions may be impossible. There’s no doubt I still had Welsh riding miles in my legs on my long run on Sunday, probably not helped by my foolish insistence on running Parkrun on Saturday morning as well! With a clear goal, a well laid training plan and a few niggly little injury worries it’s going to take the discipline of a monk to resist social rides and the lure of Parkrun but that is what has to happen if I’m going to run 26.2 miles in 9 weeks time.

Saying that, I have no problem justifying going out on Friday as a timely reminder that I can work hard for 4 hours, putting in the effort, managing my hydration and fuel and keeping my head in the game (much more than is needed on a long run, where rocks and trees aren’t trying to kill you!). I may need to have another look in to the benefits of cross training and see if I can build a regular ride in to my training plan!

Do you do any cross training? What about making allowances for fun when you should be focused on running? Advice gratefully received!

 

Posted in Mountain, Riding, Training | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Commandments Of Running #2

Posted on July 30, 2013 by James Clay

#2 Thou shall go exploring

I heard the same phrase in various formats 4 times over the weekend…

“My running route is…”

I used to be that person. I made that mistake. Never again.

I’ve lived in my flat for 18 months now.

For 14 months when I went running I’d leave my drive and go left. Always left. Left leads to a quiet cycle path which ends at a big park, left leads downhill, left leads away from traffic and people and left is the way I went.

Then one day I ran with a friend and they went right. RIGHT! Can you believe the idiocy of going right?!

Right led to beautiful Georgian architecture, wide tree-lined avenues, small community parks and rolling hills. Right meant running with the sun on your face and finishing with a gentle downhill.

Maybe right wasn’t so bad after all…

Since then I’ve tried going straight over the road and down a little path that leads directly in to town. That’s a whole new experience I tried to avoid before. There’s people and noises and smells, but when you pass that there’s parks and green space and quaint villages on the edge of town. Of course if you run early enough then you have the town centre to yourself, a private playground shared maybe with a milkman or street sweeper.

And then there’s the streets immediately surrounding my home. Recently I went out and ran 4 miles without ever being more than half a mile from my house. I ran all the back streets, did two laps of the small park nearby, ran both sides of a beautiful quiet road amazed at how different they could be, separated by only a few metres of tarmac and my direction of travel it was like two differing worlds as shadows became sunlit, headwind became tailwind and the view went from distant road junction to imposing church…and all I’d done is turn around!

So please don’t be that person. Don’t have a ‘running route’ unless it’s for something training specific (I still turn left if I want to do kilometre repeats, having a set route for that really helps!) and instead go out and explore, amazing things await you!

If you want to go exploring maybe you could try alternating left and right turns at every junction? If you run commute perhaps you could challenge yourself to get to work by different roads each morning of the week? Let me know how you get on exploring!

Posted in Life, Running, Training | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Commandments Of Running #1

Posted on July 21, 2013 by James Clay

#1 THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE ANOTHER RUNNER

I am guilty of this, at least I was in my early days of running.

It wasn’t so much an issue when I very first started, I was too busy concentrating on not throwing up 500 metres in to a run to worry about anyone else. But after persisting for a few months I was at the stage of regularly running 5-6 miles and it was then that I developed an awful habit.

Other runners I encountered would fall in to two distinct brackets; those better than me and those worse. I’d base this discrimination on nothing more than what I saw when they ran.

A runner might flash past me, all long strides and high heels, head up and not a bead of sweat. These runners were better than me, and I hated them for it. They were the smug b*stards who could run, probably had always been able to run and would always be a better runner than me. I’m sure they looked at me and thought…well…thought what I did about the runners worse than me.

The plodders, the run/walkers, those who’s gait looked like you were watching a zombie movie on fast forward…I looked at them and thought “ha, I am better than you”. I had already forgotten those early days bent double in alleyways desperately trying to hold on to my lunch after 3 minutes of exercise. All I saw was worse runners than me and I took comfort from being better than someone.

This terrible segregation continued right up until I started marathon training, and then I learnt a valuable lesson.

I’d returned from a long run, I think it was my first time beyond half marathon distance, and it had been hard. The last 2-3 miles had been laborious, relentlessly shuffling in the direction of my front door, my shower and my sofa. I’d run a fabulous first 10 or 11 miles, too fabulous in fact, and now the final hill before home had broken me.

I was aware of the beep, I heard it and just assumed (as I always do) that it was for me and acknowledged it with a wave of the hand, without expending the unnecessary energy to lift my head and see who had spotted me. My sole focus was on putting one foot in front of the other until I no longer had to, no distractions allowed.

A few hours later I logged on to Facebook to find the following post on my wall: “Hey Forrest Gump, how was your run? Didn’t expect to see you going so slow, I thought you were quite good at that jogging stuff! I’ve seen more enthusiastic waves in my sink! Anyway, good on you getting out there, keep going and it will get easier one day I’m sure.”

How dare they. How very dare they judge me. How very bloody dare they judge me on the last mile of 14 without knowing what I’d been through to get there.

Oh. Wait.

And that was the day I realised that judging a runner is criminal. You never know whether they are in the first mile of three or the last mile of twenty. You can’t assess in seconds whether someone is carrying an injury, returning from injury, avoiding an injury. It is nigh on impossible to deduce whether your fellow pavement pounder has been running for millennia or for minutes, whether they are a seasoned pro or nervous newcomer.

Since that day I have made only one judgement when faced with a fellow runner. I judge them all to be awesome and far superior to anyone who is sat at home on the sofa .

Posted in Life, Running, Training | Tagged , | 12 Comments