Equipment upgrades

I recently made a couple of equipment upgrades.  I’m not sure how much time difference they will make, but in my head they help a lot!

Upgrade #1

The first upgrade is to a set of racing wheels.  My local bike store wasn’t thrilled that I’d gotten them somewhere else, until I told them I got them from eBay and the price.  I saved hundreds of dollars this way.  I bought a pair of Zipp 606’s; a 404 front and 808 rear wheel.  I haven’t had a chance to get them out on the road yet because I don’t have a spare tube for the rear.  The rear wheel is so deep that an 80mm stem isn’t long enough!

I test rode a pair of 404’s at my last race, but as I suspected I couldn’t really tell any difference.  I was screaming fast on the downhill portions, and the flats were pretty quick as well.  I’m not sure if that is related to the wheels, but that’s what is getting the credit!

Upgrade #2

The second upgrade isn’t exactly for racing; it is a new pair of training shoes.  I’ve been using Saucany Omni 8’s since I started running again almost a year ago.  I haven’t really had any problems with them, so there wasn’t any reason to change.  I went to the local running store on a sale night because it was about time to replace my training shoes.  The store was out of the Omni’s in my size.  I tried a couple of other shoes and decided to try out a pair of Brooks.  As I was getting ready to check out, I made a comment to the Zoot representative about how I wished they had come out with their new shoes before I bought my racing shoes just a couple of months ago.  He told me the new shoes were training shoes, not racing shoes, and my curiosity was really peaked.

I’ve gotten blisters on every race I’ve used my Zoot racing flats.  I attribute them to going sockless, something I only do on race day.  With a pair of training shoes designed to be worn sockless I might be able to toughen up my feet and avoid that one race day discomfort.

I made the plunge and bought a pair of Zoot Kona’s, and I love them!  The feel like I’m running in slippers!  I’ve worn them several times now, the longest distance being 9 miles.  I did get some blisters, so I’ve modified my usage to wear my Omni’s with socks on my really long runs, and the Kona’s on everything else.  Once my feet get used to the Kona’s, I will switch to them exclusively.

With 4 more shorter runs before I my next really long one, that should be plenty of time to toughen up my tender feet!

My new toys will only do so much for me.  At some point I’m going to have to get out on the road and exert some serious energy, and for me that point is in 4 weeks at the Longhorn half Ironman.