Totally Trashed

My flame was completely burnt out after Saturdays long run. I call it a long run by time rather than miles as the difficulty reared it's ugly head, which made the miles relatively short.

During my one and a half hour ride home, I wished someone else was there to drive as a nice warm nap sounded very inviting. Though tired as hell, I was so pleased with the effort I put in. The fact that I forced myelf into the second lap and enjoyed it was encouraging. Had I quit after one lap, I think would have been very disapointing.

By monday morning, I knew I pushed the envelope a bit as I had many new pains to enjoy. I decided not to run for a couple days because my right hip was pretty sore and I learned in the past that the hip needs rest or there is hell to pay.

I counted at least 6 muscles that I thought were pretty tuned up ......but now were complaining everytime I stood up and because of the loose terrain, I now have 3 new blisters that will soon become black toenails. All battle scares with no regret.

I ended up with a near three hour workout mostly in zone 4 and 5 of my heart rate, A perfect workout to start the new year. It took me a long time, but I think I finally have learned how to appreciate a hard workout without dissecting it and finding reasons to discount my effort.

As for the Ice Spikes, I have decided they get a thumbs down....at least for me and the way my running and workouts go. There is no doubt that theses spikes have a fantastic grip and surely are much better when walking or running on smooth ice.

I felt they seemed loose in my shoes and part of that may be the fact that I previously had the slightly larger sheet metal screws in them and perhaps the soles were stretched out a bit. Reguardless, they are the runners I use in these conditions so I will put the old screws back in.

In my run Saturday, most of the conditions were quite soft. I did hit a few roots under the snow and the last half to three quarter mile was on a plowed tar surface. In the process of two laps on this course, I lost 5 out of the 24 spikes in my shoes. At a cost of approximately 50 cents each, I feel that it would be too expensive to continue using the Ice spikes.

What I might do is try the Ice Spikes in another pair of runners as I got 8 extra spikes in the kit so that gives me enough to outfit a second set of runners. perhaps in new holes, they might not pull out as easy.

So, I am not saying they are not good, it's just doesn't seem cost effective for me. I didn't see a huge benefit over the sheetmetal screws when comparing cost verses performance.