At 3:20 into this video, you can see a nice demonstration of the 2:3 breathing method. It is a great way to increase your oxygen uptake, which is possibly your biggest limiter in long-distance swimming.
No doubt, it is a bit awkward to get used to. Trying it made me feel like I was learning to ride bike rollers in the pool. I had it down by the end of an hour of practice, so it is totally learnable. Gary Hall does make a good case for using it, so you might want to check it out.
On Sunday, I became "A Survivor" of the most spectacular triathlon I have ever seen - The S.O.S. Triathlon in New Paltz, NY.
It is an eight stage race where you have to carry all of your running gear through three different lake swims. The S.O.S starts in a river valley bottom and finishes atop a mountain peak. It feels like a combination of Escape From Alcatraz, Wildflower, and The Norseman Triathlon.
I will have a full podcast and race review soon. In the meantime, here are the results.
On this episode, we interview the awesome Christine Lynch, and her training buddy Laura (a.k.a. Frayed Laces) with your nutrition and racing questions. It's a fun show, with some triathlon news to kick it off.
Skora sent me some of their Base runnning shoes to try out. I used to be a total barefoot runner, so I was definitely interested. I have run in Vibram Five fingers (not enough padding or breathablility) and run tons in Nike Free's, giving me plenty to compare these against.
I will do a full review later, but I did enjoy my first run in the Base shoes. They are definitely "zero-heel drop" as my calves will attest to. The padding/protection was tough enough to protect against rocks and such far more than the Vibrams, but I could still feel the undulations in the ground surface with no problem. Protection, but enhanced feel. Not bad!
Once you get used to running in shoes like these, you develop bullet-proof ankles and stability. I was taking corners really quickly and enjoying the heck out of it. But be warned - I ran in the Skoras after years of barefoot running experience. If you've been running in clodhoppers regular running shoes, you need time to adapt to zero-droppers.
I am not sure yet, but I might prefer actual laces instead of the straps. I was a little worried about my feet slipping around too much when water or sweat got into them, but that didn't seem to be a problem. I'll soak them in water and run in them in a future test to be sure.
Here's a photo of them after my run. This is when I noticed how much they looked like cycling shoes. The water drops are my sweat. I know, gross awesome.
As a disclaimer, I am sure I get to keep these shoes. Nobody will want them after what I'm going to put these through. Obviously, I'll be non-biased as possible. Keep checking back for a long-term test results!
Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 9:02AM 
