Tag: gear

Dealing with critters where you run

On November 6, 2018

I really do like dogs, just not the ones chasing me down the road, blocking my path, or of course, biting. Sadly, I’ve been bitten twice by pets that “don’t bite” according to their owners. I no longer trust the word of the owner as they shout out “he doesn’t bite!” above the bark and growl of the rapidly approaching dog.

We do have the freedom to be in a public place without fear of harm from a residential animal, so I do carry and have used, non-toxic pepper spray numerous times. When I am in a rural setting, I also carry a BB Gun. It doesn’t have enough power to do permanent damage, but it would sting enough to get a dogs attention and hopefully slow it down.

Windy days create problems for pepper spray use as it could end up with more in your face than in the approaching animal, the BB gun provides a greater range and resilience against the wind.

Other creatures I have seen on country runs include Coyotes, cats, skunks, opossum, fox, and deer, plus a horse and a cow out of their fenced area. I have heard there are some bobcats in the areas I run, but I haven’t seen any. Here again, the BB gun may provide some additional leverage and time for sprinting away.

If there is an Animal Control Department where you run, be sure to reach out to them if you have been chased/attacked or to report repeat offenders who let their animals roam free. One county I run in regularly does not have such a department, but I have emailed the Sherriff’s office to address some particularly aggressive animals, and it has resolved some issues.

I also have a knife and a cell phone with me at all times.

The shoes to wear

By Jerry Schotz

On November 4, 2018

In Blog

I started my walking and jogging in some cheap Walmart shoes. At first, it didn’t seem to have a big impact as I was going slow and short distances, however, when I started increasing the distance and pace, it didn’t take long for the foot and leg pain to begin. I had a difficult time looking at the price of proper running shoes. I probably hadn’t paid more than $30 for a pair of shoes before this, now I was supposed to drop 80+ dollars!?!

I did it, I spent around $90 on my first pair. After much research and trying on shoes I selected the ASICS GT-2000 2, and I’ve remained with the brand and series. I’ve tried a few other shoes but keep coming back to the ASICS GT-2000’s. I can get about 750-1000 miles out of a pair of shoes, which is around a four-month cycle. If you use a GPS tracker like I mentioned in my Garmin post, you can track your shoe-miles easily.

: October 2017

: June 2018

: September 2018

When I remember, I take a picture of the new shoes as a reminder of how they look before I wear them out. I keep 4-5 pair of shoes available for those rainy weeks where a different pair is needed each day. Once they are soaked it takes a good three days to dry out. I learned early on not to run with moist shoes, the blisters come quickly when the skin gets soft from the moisture. The most I ever had in use at one time was four pair during an excessively rainy period.

20181104_053107 20181104_060110

My current “primary” runners are on the right in the photo above. As the inventory gets too large, I clean up the oldest shoes and donate them to a local thrift store with the hope that some other new runner can get a no-or-low cost opportunity to try the shoes and the difference they make.

I wear out the heels first, then the ball area, but for a beginner, these would still be beneficial. The shoes generally still look good and are quite serviceable, the soles are just worn down like tires with a lot of miles.

I purchase my shoes from a local sport supply store called Body-N-Sole or through Amazon, if I cannot get what I need locally.

Do your feet and legs a favor, find supportive and comfortable shoes.

A Garmin GPS Watch

By Jerry Schotz

On November 3, 2018

In Blog

A few years into my running, my adult kids purchased a GPS watch for Christmas 2015. The chart below is the stored running data (in miles) from the last few days of 2015 through October 2018.

Distance vs. Time Period

As of this post in early November 2018, Garmin has recorded 9,000.85 miles ran. Wow! In 4 months or so it will be over 10,000 miles logged! I’m guessing I’m already over that as there were three years before getting the GPS watch. LoseIt says I started with them in April 2012 and ended in October 2016 (I’ll explain in a different post). The LoseIt chart below reflects the calories burned per month, and I’ve consistently been over 25k per month since April 2014. The point being… blah-blah-blah… it’s over 10k miles. Sheesh, so wordy!

Screenshot from 2018-11-03 15-27-25

I have a Garmin Forerunner 10 which has held up very well. It’s not a fancy model, but it has been reliable. It doesn’t have Bluetooth, so I plug it into the USB cable each day when I return, it syncs up, and the battery is charged and waiting for me the next morning consistently. Thank you, Garmin!

I know people with fancier models that sync with your phone as they go, but I don’t see the need for the bells and whistles as this model does all I need. Keep it simple!