Work and Fun

Work has kept me quite busy. Between the three major work project I have it can sometimes be overwhelming. When I get to reflect though it’s actually plain fun. I work with athletes who challeng my own ability. I work with running shoe companies who trust what I have to say. I work with new companies trying to bridge the gap between concept and commercial product. I was interviewed a few weeks ago on two of these projects. You can listen here: http://babbittville.com/dave-jewell-footbeat/

It’s a good life....

New Recovery Item

5-6 years ago while at Zoot I got a call. The guy on the other end of the line said “So and So said you are the guy to talk to”. So and So were well respected names so I said “come on in”. This guy had this sample of a motor and a long story. Not long after that he was back with a workin sample I could put on my foot. I was sold. We tried for almost 2 years to put his motor into a Zoot shoe. We needed to modify the shoe and he and his team needed to get the motor smaller. The parent company of Zoot was fully behind the project but in the end things fell apart.

In August of this year I received an email from my friend (the guy who first called me) asking my size and address. My new Footbeat shoes arrived. The group had tried to work with other brands to no success. They decided to do it all on their own. What is it?

First and foremost it’s a medical device. An orthopedic surgeon wanted to create an easier and more effective way for his patience to recover from surgery. With the FootBeat shoes on, you turn the motors on by remote. A motor is in each shoe. The motors simultaineously lift a platform up at pre set intervals. That platform pushes on your arch. It’s a soft push. The push is enough force to generate blood flow. When a patient is in recovery they are usually sitting or laying down. Blood pools in their feet. The reason for this is a small valve just above your foot can’t open without sufficient blood pressure. The same thing happens to you when you fly. So this little motor lifts the platform which creates enough pressure to create blood flow. Patients recover faster.

It turns out, the same thing applies to athletes. Athletes work hard, then go to their office sit down and circulation to the legs slows down. Recovery is hampered. They then go out the next day and do it again. For a runner this is where injuries happen. Have you ever noticed with your injury that it didn’t happen suddenly. You felt it combining. That’s because every time you run you strain that connective tissue that gets injured. Not some times but every time you run. The body is created to repair thost little micro tears you create. But when you do it day after day the body can’t keep up and the micro tears turn into injury. That’s why all injuries are over-use injuries. The Footbeat shoes with their loud motors, push restorative blood. That restorative blood helps to repair those micro tears every day. You can do the math.

I’ve had my FootBeat for 8-9 weeks now. I’ve learned to use then for more than just recovery.

1. I use then for 10-20 minutes before I run. My legs feel absolutely fresh.

2. I use them for 10-20 minutes after I run. For obvious reasons.

3. I use them at night for 30-40 minutes. I dont’ wake up sore or tight.

4. I wear them on the plane. I got off a recent flight to Berlin with legs that felt like running was possible.

These things are not perfect. As mentioned they are loud. There sometimes is a cross in connection if your phone is too close to the motors. They then won’t be working at the same time. The shoes could be better but their not bad.

If you are coming to Kona or Arizona try them out. There is a simple test. One leg on, one leg off for 20 minutes or more. The one leg on will feel fresh and alive. The most common description is “Lighter”. The other leg will feel normal whatever that is.

I’m so happy to see this item come to the market. I’ve been in the product business for most of my life. While spending 12 years at RRS my job in part was to find the winners. The products that would make a difference in the business. I learned to concentrate on the runner and was usually right in my decisions. I rarely if ever called anything breakthrough. Recovery boots are these big sleeves you pull over your legs and the plug into a wall. They squeeze your legs reducing blood flow. When they release the blood flow rushes back in. The squeeze can be uncomfortable. The boots don’t squeeze your foot which by the way is the furthest from your heart. What hurts the most on most runners? You can get all of this for $1200. With Footbeat the blood flow is pushed from the foot. This makes the circulation complete. It’s the blood flow in the boots and in the Footbeat shoes that creates the recovery not the squeeze. That is scientifically proveen. With Footbeat, no squeeze and they are $450. That’s kind of breakthrough. Do the same thing, easier and less expensive.

I have to be honest here. Footbeat asked me for help in sport. I’ll be in Kona helping them lauch to the triathlon world.

Running in Big Bear Lake, CA

I've always enjoyed Big Bear Lake, CA. Some of my best triathlons from a performance standpoint occurred in that area. It's where I learned how to ski. It's also where our sone did cross country camps with his club team leading into the season. So when a couple friends said they were running a 50K there I asked to tag along.

We were only there from late Friday afternoon to early Saturday afternoon. My friends were up early to catch a shuttle to the start of their race. I went with them and started my run from the finish line of the events for the weekend. At the time 6:30am two 100 mile finishers had come in.

My plan was to have some coffee and a little to eat before my run. I walked down to the coffee shop and they were closed. It would be 30 minutes before they opened. I was dressed to run. In other words I had shorts and a shirt on. It was in the mid 50's and I didn't feel like hanging out for 30 minutes. I decided to run on an empty stomach.

The sunrise was both beatiful and warm. It was actually quite easy to warm up because the run started with 3 miles of climiing to Skyline road. It wasn't so steep I couldn't run, but it was plenty steep. Once at the top it leveled off for a bit and then went up some more. It tops out at 7,940 feet above sea level. 

About 3/4 of the way up the first climb the 3rd place 100 mile runner came by with his pacer. His pacer asked "Is this the way?". I can only imagine what it feels like at 97 miles into the race. The course markings parobaly seem slight. Especially if you happen to miss one of the markings. I assured them they were on the right path. Funny story the guy that won the race went off course and ran 6 extra miles. That's kind of insane. 

It's always fun to come up on things unexpected. I did not expect to find a USMC recreation center on my route. It's a place where Marine families can come to camp, ride mountain bikes, hike and simply enjoy the fresh high mountain air of Big Bear Lake.

My friends cut there run short. I was walking to the finish line long after my run. I thought I would have at least an hour to sit and watch the ultra runners finishing. I was almost to the turn to the finish line when my friends pulled up to pick me up. They cut the course short because they were mentally out of it. We went back to the condo, they showered and we had a great lunch. 

Totally fun 22 hours in Big Bear. I can't wait to go again. 

It's a good life...

High Intensity on the Bike

Today I went out on the bike during the eclipse to do some high intensity work. We have a great flat section of road in Fairbanks Ranch to perform the work. The overall ride was 2 hours and the workout looked like this:

8 x 30 seconds max effort.
2 on 4 min rest
2 on 3 min rest
2 on 2 min rest
2 on 1 min rest

I was absolutely cooked by the last one. I hit 174 on my heart rate on one of the efforts and 170 on all the rest.

As I was riding home I was trashed and zoning out. My mind was on other things. A cyclist came by me on one of the hills like I was standing still. It snapped me out of my thoughts and over the next mile I kind of chased him. I caught him and we started to chat. His workouts made mine seem casual.
He's training for the masters track worlds.

Friday he did motor pacing on the track at 45 miles per hour. Each time for 500 meters.
Today he was riding 85 miles at 18 miles/hour.
Tomorrow he's back on the track. From a standing start he gets up to speed. The moto comes by and then sits in. He chases it for 500 meters. They repeat this often. He's 53 years old.

It's a good life...

Political Posts on Social Media

You may be asking yourself "Why is Dave posting political comments on Social Media lately?"

There are two reasons really:

1. My wife is my usual outlet. In the house I sit slightly left of center and she sits really far left. If I happen to get upset with something our current President does or doesn't do my reaction is tame compared to hers. In fact you should read our Whatapp dicsussions. That said she's not here to talk to get it all out. 
2. A number of family members sit quite right of center. In fact a recent dinner turned politics and I left with my mouth open in disbelief. Like what about objectifying women? "We've heard worse from men" What about Russia "There is noting with Russia". OK how about a lack of respect for the office he sits in "We like his freshness" 

So that's why I've become more vocal. 

It's a good life....

Running Sucks!

A couple posts ago I mentioned I was working on a new project. Actually over the past two weeks it's been two projects. On the market research front I'm building a database for all the work I've done and am going to do. With Berlin, Chicago, Kona and NYC still to come this year there is lots of research to do. But more to the point of this post. Over the last 20 or so years I have been helping runners solve problems. Many people have asked me to get into coaching. I've never really considered myself a coach but more problem solver.

A couple years ago Pete from Champion Factory contacted me and said he was going to send me his athletes who had running problems. Over that time I"ve developed a system from all the experience I have with athletes that seems to be working. Most of the athletes I have worked with call me the whisperer. I believe it comes from my listening skills. I simply ask a bunch of questions and then listen to the athlete as they answer. The entire time we are also running so I'm watching and listening to their form.

The bottom line I've come to is Running Sucks. It sucks until it doesn't and when it sucks it's dreadful and when it doesn't it's peaceful. My entire goal with my new project is peaceful running.

If you are interested in that side of my world visit FreeRunSpeed. For more rambling here about Life, Running, Triathlon, the US Marines and all the fun places my wife and I get to go keep coming back here.

It's a good life....

Far Away Adventures

This has been going on for a year now. If you have followed along for awhile, we are an adventure family. In fact if you look through the archives you'll see that this was started when we lived in Germany or just shortly before we moved there. We are extremely patriotic for our country and at the same time we have a thirst for the world.

Almost exactly a year ago we shipped our son off to the Marines. It was a proud moment for all three of us and we knew he was in good hands. Mary came to me with an idea she had been working on. Thursday marks the "end" or actually the beginning. Let's go back.

In August of last year to make extra money Mary started tutoring. Imagine you need help in a language and there is a Dr. Jewell with a Doctorate in Language Aquisition on line willing to do some tutoring. She got so busy she had to turn people away. She worked 6 days a week. The only night off was Friday. All the while she was still teaching high school students full time. Her school salary went to the family. Her tutoring money went into the bank.
At the same time we both worked on cutting our expenses. We stopped going out to eat. We stopped going for coffee. We cut back on movies and other stuff. We sold stuff on eBay. Lot's of stuff.

Thursday she flies to Kazakhstan. There she will spend a few days adjusting to the time change and touring the country. He main goal is to visit a Gulag. Then she flys to Mongolia. She'll be there for almost 8 weeks. Her first 2-3 weeks will be teaching English on an organic farm where tourists go to work on the farm. The actual farm workers need to learn English to better communicate with the tourists. Then she heads to the Gobi Desert for 3-4 weeks. There she is teaching English at a school.

This starts a year of adventure for her as she takes a year sabbatical from her real job. More than likely there trip in my future with her for a time.

People ask me all the time, "what will you do when Mary is gone". There is lot's to do to get ready for the next round of research on races. Berlin, Chicago, Kona and NYC are on the horizon. There is also another project I'm working on that I'll announce soon. It's something I've been doing for years now and it's time to actually put it to the test instead of simply word of mouth.

If you have questions on how we saved for this adventure or any of the many adventures we go on hit me up in the comments. I'd be happy to share how we go through the budgeting process.

It's a good life.....

It's an Option to Make it Up, It's Required to Make it Down

That's the big learning from this past weekend on Mt. Whitney. It's the highest mountain in the lower 48 and it's not a joke of a climb. If you do it the way we did it's 22 miles round trip. The really important thing is that it's 22 miles and not 11 miles.

Roughly 10 days or so before the date we climbed, I was invited to climb. My climbing partner had the pass for the mountain and his planned climbing buddy had backed out. He had climbed Mt. Raineer and Mt Shasta previously. I had climbed nothing but easy day hikes over the years.  The only thing going for me was my fitness and my thirst for knowledge. I've read so many climbing books that I feel a kinship to climbers.

We started in the dark and the day opened to some of the most beautiful natural colors. 

Mirror Lake sits at 10,000 feet and is 4 miles into the climb. 

The next section began the more technical climbing. There are 12 total water crossings. You can't see it but the water is above my ankles. Yes, I chose to wear the Altra Superior. I had no foot issues so I consider it a success. 

There is of course beauty all along. The hard parts of this section were the 5 snow fields we had to cross. Those snow fields got us to 13,000 feet. 

There are two ways to get to the turn to the summit. They both take some work. The way we went was the wall called switchbacks. It's 99 switchbacks that go straight up the wall. There were also 3 precarious snow crossings. 

At the turn it's 1.9 miles to the summit. It's the longest 1.9 miles I've ever had. 2 hours long to be exact. The payoff was spectacular. 

On the way up, my climbing partner and I stayed together for the first 5 hours. This got us to roughly 1/2 way up the switchbacks. He started to feel the effects of the altitude and the effort and we agreed that I go ahead. By this time I had drunk 3.5 liters of water or electrolytes and I'm sure he had 10 ounces. I made it to the top of the switch backs and waited. I caught glimpse of him and realized he was an hour behind me. I had a decision to make. There were lots of climbers on the route below and based on our discussions, he would turn around or stop and wait if he felt the need. I went for the summit. 

At the summit I had some food, changed into dry socks and felt great. I headed down soon after meeting the mom and son who took the picture and the young woman hiking the PCT. The way down was much easier and much faster. In fact a young woman we met at 13,000 feet was spot on with her time prediction. We met her at 8:00am. She said it would take us 4 hours to climb up and 2 hours to climb down. I hit the summit at exactly 12:00pm. 

At 30 minutes into the descent I ran into my climbing buddy. I was surprised he had made it that far. I gave him as much encouragement I could to make the top. I told him it was only 1 hour away and that I would wait right where we were standing for him to come back. He asked me to summit with him and that was out of the question. He asked for some water which I gave him. I settled into the shade and he started moving. 2 minutes later he was back and done. He basically said "I have no energy left, let's head down" 

I had him lead so I could watch. It took us 2 hours to get to the top of the switchbacks. I would have been there 90 minutes before we arrived. In the nicest way I could I told him to stop and eat. Then I said "We have one goal and only one option and that is to make it down off this mountain" 

Down the switch backs it was more of the same but a little better. The food was kicking in to him and he was able to somewhat follow my pace. I kept the pace very slow. It took us 2.5 hours to get off the switchbacks. It took me 2 hours to climb them. 

From the the 13,000 foot camp I made some poor decisions that cost us some time. Once we found our way I put him in on front and followed his pace. You are only as fast as the slowest in a case like this and it was the safest way to go down. It was slow going. 

We made it down at 9:30pm a full 17.5 hours after we started. Although it was a very tough day it was totally worth it. My buddy went through all of the emotions of failure and by the bottom was in good spirits. We didn't talk much the last 4 hours of the hike but we did have some laughs in the car going back to the hotel. 

There were times on the way up that I sensed we were in for a day like this. The pace early seemed too fast. I was worried about his lack of water consumption. I ate about 3,000 calories he probably had 500. Boiled eggs are not calorie dense. Most of all though I think he just has a tough time in thin air. I don't. In fact the higher I went the better I felt. There is some fitness in there buy my Dad always said "You were born at 8,000 feet and it's in there when you need it". 

My suggestion for anyone that wants to climb. Take your time. Climb to the camp at 13,000 feet. Spend the night or two nights there. Then go for the summit. It gives you time to get used the thin air. It's simply beautiful up there and your hike to the summit is only 4 hours up and 2 hours down. Much easier then 8 hours up and 9.5 hours down.

The best comment came from a woman I met in the park across the street from home. She said after meeting her "You look like a climber!"

It's a good life.....

Dear Mr. President

I won't put your name anywhere in this post. Your name shows up 30 or more times a day in everyone's life around the world. Don't let this fact cloud your brain. It's not your name causing the influx of media it's the office you sit in. Sure you were popular before becoming president but not as popular as the chair itself.

It is probably now too late. The recent email debacle with your son probably seals this possibility out but maybe not. There are two things you may still be able to do,  to save the office you sit in. Notice I'm not saying save your skin. The office is bigger than you,  remember.

1. Admit whole heartedly that our #1 adversary in the world played havoc in our election. That's not admitting that they got you elected. It's simply denouncing the attack on our system. 
2. Welcome a complete and full investigation into their actions. Put the full force of the DOJ on this issue and make sure it doesn't ever happen again. 

That's it. That's all you had to do. The entire country would (have) support you. Your mistake was thinking about yourself first. It's always been about you and that's your failing. It's not about you at all. 

It's a good life.....

Mountaineering Skills

I'm a huge fan of mountain climbing stories. Stories from famous climbers fill my book shelf. When I saw on the latest Mt. Whitney hiking update that this week you'll need crampons, an ice ax and mountaineering skills to make the top I was a little dismayed. I may love to read about high mountain adventures buy I'm in no way prepared to climb in high mountain conditions. Whitney is rated as a fairly easy climb. Not this year. Heavy snow fall this past winter has left a heavy snow pack and a slow melt.

The goal has changed. On Saturday we will hike as high as we can safely go.

It's a good life....

First Vacation in Almost 3 Years

Never again will I go this long without taking real time off with the family to have fun and reflect. It was way too long and the stress that built up over that time became "normal" and that's not good. Everyone needs down time from everything. Down time from "training", down time from work and just plain old down time from the day to day grind that can be living at home.

Mary and I headed to Oahu, Hawaii to visit our USMC son Marco. It was so good to see him, it's hard to put into words. For the last year when I felt like I was having a tough day I tried to remember that my days are not tough. A tough day is being a US Marine Infantryman. PT is at 05:30 and then the training get's hard. Most days finish at 19:00 but there are times like an upcoming training block that will be 24 hours a day for 6 weeks. No bed, no showers and average of 3 hours of sleep a night.

Back to the vacation. I generally don't run or do much of any typical exercise when we vacation. The main reason is we walk almost everywhere. For instance on the 4th of July we walked 10 miles with 2 of those miles in deep sand on the beach. I do have one rule especially if vacation is on a tropical island. I must get wet every day. The only reason I'll usually run is if one or both family members runs with me.

We stayed in Kailua, Oahu and there are some similarities with Kailua, Kona. There is one main road along the beach that stretches for miles. This was our run course for our family run the day after we arrived. It always feels great to feel that Hawaiian heat building on your body as you run. You sweat so much trying to cool your body down and it's really difficult. As you can tell we had a great run. 

 Cockroach Cove

 Cockroach Cove

Cockroach Cove

 North Shore

The best day by far and the best 4th of July we've ever been a part of was Tuesday. We started day with the parade. There probably isn't a better parade on 4th of July than one in a military town. It was really fun. Then we went to the best beach in Oahu which was only 4 blocks from our house. Kailua Beach is a must see if you have time. White sand, warm water and not the crazy crowds and traffic of Waikiki. At 6 or 18:00 we were back at the beach for the fireworks celebration. We knew the Marine Corps Band was playing and wanted to see them. What they showed us was the best part of the entire day. It was a 7 member jazz band, dressed in full Marine dress walking down the beach playing their music. Think Mardi Gras Jazz band on the beach. They were outstanding and having a blast. The beach is narrow and it was packed with spectators. The band came down the beach in the white water of the waves. So much fun. 

The sad part of the 4th was at the end after the fireworks show. We had to drop our son off on base and say goodbye. He had to work a 06:00 to 06:00 duty shift. 

Mary and I went hiking on the 5th. We hiked up to Maunawili Falls. The maps said "Easy Hike" and advertised 1.5 miles. I didn't wear my GPS but it sure seemed longer than 1.5 miles and if this is what Hawaii calls easy I'd love to do one that was difficult. The falls were not the big falls you typically see on Hawaii promo videos. They were decent size but not the big ones. What made them fun was jumping off the rock face into the pool below the falls. There were two jumping off points. One was 10ft and the other 15ft over an outcropping on the rock face. Really fun and the water was really refreshing after the hike. 

No, Mary didn't hike barefoot. She took her shoes off to cross the river. I of course didn't care about my shoes so I just went right through. No harm done to the shoes or my feet. 

A great 5 days with the family. It wasn't all smiles and hugs like most vacations but we sure made it as fun as we possibly could. So good to have the little family together again even it it was for such a short time. 

It's a good life.....

Mount Whitney in 2 Weeks?

So far this year I have:

1. Run in Tokyo
2. Run in Boston
3. Run in Rome
4. Run in Brooklyn 
5. Run in London
6. Run in Peoria
7. Run in Encintas 

Today a random request came across my phone. I've always wanted to do this but haven't really thought about it in years. The request "My partner is injured, do you want to climb Mt. Whitney on July 15th" 

Hell Yea! 

It's a good life.....

Dave

Run Test June 27, 2017

Before I get to run testing, this Friday we are heading to Hawaii to see this boy or should I say man. He's based there with his Marine unit and we haven't seen him since he shipped out in February. The longest time we've ever been apart. We already have a plan to run and can't wait for the other things we are going to do with him. That tattoo is new and it's the single cover to the song Vicarious by Tool. More impressive than the tattoo is the size of the arm. 

Today was run test day. I've been really bad at consistently doing any kind of testing. I've committed to doing it because it's the only way of knowing if what you are doing has any effect. I've settled on a loop that's easy to get to and basically closed to traffic. There are two roads you have to cross and every once in awhile you have to stop for cars but it's rare. For those of you who know San Diego North County running the look is the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Course trail. It's 4.53 miles and it's not easy. It's rarely flat, there are a couple sustained climbs one sustained decent and then a bunch of sections that are either 2% going up or 2% going down. Most of it is on wood chips and some of it is thick. 

The one thing you may have read is as you get closer to 50 your ability to recover is the biggest change in your running or endurance activities. I've really started to notice that this year. That's why I'm playing around with the length of a block. It used to be I could go on 7 days rotation but there isn't enough rest anymore in 7 days. So right now any long or hard stuff is separated by 8 days. This includes 1 day completely nothing and one day with no legs. This test proves that maybe I need more recovery. I'll keep at it test again and decide. 

My current pre-workout drink. What I like most of all is out fast it clears through my body. 

The Test

Today.                                                                   1 Month Ago

M1 7:18                                                                7:11

M2 7:57.                                                               7:35 

M3 7:15.                                                               7:09 

M4 7:15.                                                               7:13 

.53. 3:39.                                                               3:43

33:25.                                                                   32:53

The first 2 miles seemed dramatically hard today. It was much hotter today and the sun was bright where last month it was cooler and overcast. Next time I'll be sure to go earlier when it's cooler to see if that is the key. Overall I'm pleased for a couple reasons: 

1. I did the test
2. I was really dizzy during the first mile and instead of baggin it I stuck to it. 
3. I felt much stronger on the hills. 

It's a good life....

Dave

Swimming Into Shape

I know this isn't a swimming photo. It's the hill I finish every ride on. It's another good test about feeling in shape. When this hill is easy then I'm getting there. 

I love swimming for the simple fact that when I'm in shape in the pool, I'm in fairly good shape everywhere else. I'm not a sit in an swim kind of guy. When I go to the pool my intentions are to go until my arms feel like they are falling off. My swim program is simple, 3 master's sessions each block which currently is every 8 days. Because it's not set on 7 days the swim days are not consistent. This creates some problems in that there are no easy swim days.That's what I want "I think" anyway. The workout today: 

Just the Main Set

Base +5.                                   Base.                          Base -5

100                                           100                              50.         Round 1

200.                                         2x100.                         2 x 50.    Round 2

300.                                         3 x 100.                       3 x 50.    Round 3

400.                                         4 x 100.                       4 x 50     Round 4

The total swim was 4500 yards. I led the lane, the base was 1:30 and I just made it on 40 seconds for the 50's. Not in fast swim shape but just leading a set like this was confidence building. 

It's a good life....

I'm Back for More

Here's the set up.
1. Personal and Mind dumping - Endorphin Fanatics
2. Running Shoes - shoeranger.com next posting on shoe ranger is the costing of a running shoe. Shoe prices are going up and the brands have been reacting by cutting some costs.
3. The Running Industry - runningshoeinsight.com - Last post was a shout out to Hoka. They are the new kid on the block and really have a thing but they are not trying to change the block they are falling in line.

This picture was just that, a picture I took while out on a bike ride. This is my typical 1 hour easy ride. This is the beach in Del Mar. It's a beautiful place to be any time of the year. It's one of the few beaches that has a park full of grass just before the sand. You can literally go the to beach and not get sandy. 

The summer between my Sophomore and Junior year in college this beach was a daily visit. I worked as a life guard. A dream job in California. I was not a beach guard, I was a pool guard and swim teacher. I worked at a pool in central Escondido. Most cyclists in this area know Escondido as the town you have to go through to get into the mountains of San Diego. On days where we weren't teaching swim lessons, three of us would drive down Del Dios Highway to this beach. We would body surf for an hour or so, have breakfast then get to the pool in time to open it for the day. That was a great summer. 

Now that beach is simply on one of the rides. It's 6 miles from the house and unless I'm riding, I rarely go there. Body surfing is done at Moonlight Beach these days. 

It's a good life.....