Well, we now have an open profile on the Nike Plus website. …we also joined many challenges and are hoping to get good results.

Soon, when we gathered a bit more experience with the Nike+ Sportskit, we will write a more detailed review.

Well, maybe we have been a little bit lazy on the running side of things, but we are getting back into it and currently training for our next marathon in Fürth, Germany (Metropolmarathon, 28 June 2009).

In the meantime we have run the Silverstone Half Marathon, which we tool quite leisurely and enjoyed it a lot. We also signed up for a series of adventure races, which is a mix of mountainbiking, running and orienteering. It will be fun, and our first race will be next weekend!!! Check out the Acerace website for more information on adventure racing.

Well, that’s it for now – more posts to come shortly!!

The time has come, the pressure is on…

How well will we do in the 26.2mile monster? We shall see…

When running or frycling, Team Big-O usually leaves their computers, servers and Playstation 3 connected, wasting CPU cycles… (bad, bad, baaaaad). Now, Team Big-O participates yet in another major event… the Folding@Home distributed project.

By supporting this initiative, who knows if Team Big-O will find that special folding, for that special protein that will produce a breakthrough in science. Well, now our CPU cycles are not wasted anymore!

If you want to help Team Big-O, join our team effort, install Folding@Home and enter our team number: 154088. Note that, your contribution will be registered to your username, so you will still be able to brag about it, but at the same time it will accummulate with the Team Big-O results!

The event took place at 10am on Sunday morning. We drove by car from Southampton and parking near the meeting point was very well organised and there was plenty of it. The meeting point was at Stokes Bay school, where bag storage was available. The school’s toilets were available for the runners and queues were not a problem.

We made our way to the start at around 9.40am. Unfortunately the start line was quite far away, so we got there just in time. They should have made clear that there is a short walk to the start line from the meeting point because some runners might have left the meeting point later than us.

Anyway, with only a couple of minutes delay, the race slowly started. It was a little bit annoying that the start was so slow; this was because straight after the start we were forced to run on a narrow cycle path. After about 2km however, the field started to break up a bit.

The overall route of the race was very flat and not very scenic. Most of the route zigzagged through an airfield, which was very open and windy – and the rest of the route took us along some cycle paths and pavements around Gosport.

Water was only provided three times, the first one was only at the 7km mark and there were two more. Energy drinks were not provided at all, and unfortunately we had leave without a goody bag, as there was only squash and water at the finish line.

The route was very well marshalled and signposted. They were all very helpful and encouraging.

There was only an official event stop clock and no chip times were available. This is unfortunate for the runners that didn’t start at the front – especially because the race took a while to get up to speed.

All in all it was a good race for a GBP 14 fee. The organisation was good and we will hopefully be back next year.

Now, as an entertaining side note: if after reading this you think “My partner tells me sex with me is awesome, can’t get better.” FALSE! If you partner says that, then you’re not running, sex can always get better. If you’re running and you’re not noticing any difference than you might not be running enough.

Now, on to the research (about which we are definitely not experts) which seems to say that:

Male runners seem to have the sexual prowess of men two to five years younger, it found. Vigorous exercise, combined with lifestyle factors such as diet and not smoking, can improve a man’s sexual status by up to 10 years.

“The science is very complex,” says Dr. Ted Fenske, an Edmonton cardiologist who ran the Boston Marathon this year. “But running will improve vascular health and vascular health is necessary for a male to have proper sexual function.”

Mike Finch even goes to the length of saying [this is our new status after Dec. 7th]:

Mike Finch, editor of Runner’s World’s South African edition, says marathoners are “like sexual gods.”

They also seem to have discovered [don’t you love research?!?]:

“… women do benefit from having sex the night before a race,” says Mr. Finch, recalling the finding of Israeli physician Alexander Olshanietzky that “women compete better after orgasm.”

It ends by saying that

Mr. Stanton warns that one of the first things to suffer when an athlete over-exercises is libido.

“Runners can be a bit obsessive-compulsive,” he says, laughing. “Too much of a good thing is not good.”

So, don’t overdo your training… start to run 100miles a week and you might see your libido, and therefore your life, go down the road… [in case you’re a road-runner].

Regarding libido a sports specialist advises:

If your flagging libido is merely a short-term loss of interest in sex, lasting less than a week or two, and occurring sporadically during the year, it is likely that going through tough training periods is simply leaving you feeling psychologically worn down. In this case, I would suggest taking two days off a week rather than just one.

On the other hand, if your loss of libido is accompanied by reduced appetite, poor sleep, muscle or joint soreness, poor athletic performance, or lasting depression, then you are likely to be physiologically overtrained. In this condition, your body is experiencing deep fatigue, and your body’s production of hormones is suppressed. This may well call for a more drastic training cutback, eliminating two or three days of training per week for up to six months.

Another thing to take care of is that some research suggests that running more than 70 miles, might reduce your testosterone production, however, this is very rarely a case for concern as it won’t diminish it to the point for you to become infertile, on the other hand, if you have problems regarding this already, take notice.

Runners World had an excellent article about this back in 2005 and also of interest might be the 2004 Durex Global Sex Survey.

Now, mooooooove since sitting on your asses won’t definitely help when you need that small extra help to do the perfect perfect position from page 146 of the Kamasutra your partner is begging for, for ages!!!

On a more private note, our neighbors are normally very expressive during sex, however lately there has been nothing but silence on the other side of the wall. This means two things… either they read the Runners World article and are running around Southampton like crazy and therefore we will have some noisy nights pretty soon, or they should consider reading this article to motivate them to some running. As a polite advice to her [our friendly neighbor], there seems to be some research that shows that lemon juice might help your vocal cords after a night of screaming. I am sure yours are pretty irritated in the morning, so why not take some lemon juice with a strawberry jam on a toast? This is Team Big-Os advice to you!

Products Description:

Dr Foot’s Sports Insoles work wonders on problem-prone feet. These Insoles are biomechanically engineered to help relieve pronation.

The contoured shape supports your feet in two directions, both lengthwise and across the arch, for maximum relief of pain and fatigue. The special poron heel cushion and the comfortable arch support helps to reduce shock absorption and fatigue.

Dr Foot Sport Insoles are engineered to combat over pronation and provide greater stability and maximum support. Ideal for patients seeking arch support for prevention and treatment of over pronation.

Dr Foot’s Sport Insoles treats the underlying cause of over pronation and provides comfort for conditions such as Back Pain, Heel Pain, Bunions, Flat Feet, Neuroma, Foot Pain, Metatarsalgia, Shin Pain and Achilles Pain.

Review:

I bought two pairs of these insoles, summing 40pounds. I have to say I regret it. Maybe it is my fault, maybe its DrFoots fault, still, I guess it might be useful for you to keep reading this.

As an annoying knee pain showed up recently I decided to buy some insoles and researched showed that these might be the best. I bought them and in less than 3 days I had them with me. I wanted to fit them in my running shoes and another pair on my daily trekking shoes that I bought recently at Decatlhon (in Portugal, for the reasonable price of 50euros).

Happily I removed my awesome ASICS black insoles and replaced them by these ones. Running with them felt strange but you get quite used to it, however, the insoles don’t have the required shape (even though it’s the correct size) so I feel the end of the insole with my big toe. That’s annoying!

I went to my trekking shoes and guess what… There’s no removable insole in them!!! If I add the DrFoots insole, my feet barely fit into the shoe and it is very unconfortable even though the shape is ok.

Moreover, the seller (which should understand something about this) at Alton Sports told me they were pretty much useless for running. On the other hand, they have pretty good reviews at their homepage (even featuring a comment in Novembers, 2008 edition of Runners World).

I feel that the insoles are a bit too hard when compared with the insoles from a running shoe making them very unconfortable for large distances. They also appear to be too soft. Some lessons to learn:

• Instead of buying insoles, buy shoes that fit your overpronation issue. Long term, they will be more confortable and a better way of spending your money;
• If you do buy insoles, check local stores first, buying online (insoles) is always a risky business. Check them out, touch them, look at them, if possible try them on your feet outside the shoe and inside the shoe;
• If you really have to buy them online, do buy a bigger size, otherwise they maybe too short. If they are too long you can cut them, if they are too short … kaputt! On the other hand, I question myself… will the bigger insole have a higher arch and then damage your foot? Or maybe, since it is made for a bigger foot, will the arch be longer or incorrectly positioned with regards to your foot? See all these questions can just be avoided by buying directly the proper shoe and avoiding insoles.
  

It is… Although nobody can feel it except me, it has been the cause of several missed training, missed fryclings and so on. I started by writing this post with the title “runners knee”, however, I don’t know if it is what is commonly known as runners knee or not. What follows shall give you a brief overview of the situation.

During our frycling round the Isle of Wight was the first time I felt my left knee in pain. It was not an acute pain but it was there every time I had to push the pedal down. After the that weekend I spent a couple of days until it got better and I felt nothing in the subsequent runs or even during the Portugal Half Marathon by the end of September.

In october running started to injure my knee in the same way frycling did. Now, both frycling and running generated pain in the knee that started to take longer and longer to go away. This pain is the reason for several cancelled running and a big frycling trip.

I went to my GP which told that I was overpronating, causing my kneecaps to roll inwards and the pain to show up. No reason was given as to why it was only showing up on my left knee (which my be explained by my long list of knee injuries and my different leg length). His recommendation was to buy some sport insoles and put some ice to reduce the pain. After some research I bought two pairs from DrFoot and started to use them. Unfortunately, I saw really no benefit in using them. The pain continued to show up whenever I ran or frycle.

By Jennys suggestion we went to Alton Sports (we obviously frycled there), and I did a Gait Analysis (which disappointed me as I was expecting someting more professional). Still I managed to buy some new running shoes. I bought the Adidas Supernova Sequence (the male version of the shoes owned and already reviewed by Jenny). Moreover, I showed my DrFoot insoles to the seller in Alton Sports which quickly told me they were useless. On the other hand, on the web it says that the Adidas Supernova Sequence and my previous shoes, the ASICS Gel 1130 have the same level of support contradicting also what the seller told me. Ignorant as I am, I don’t know who to believe anymore.

I started running with the Adidas and having Ibuprofen three times a day until the pain completely disappeared. In the last few runs, without Ibuprofen I have no pain at all so I am pretty much without knowing what’s happening.

My current theory is that something got the knee inflamed, and then I never gave it enough time (between runs and frycles) for the knee to recover so it could only get worse. Ibuprofen reduced the inflamation and allowed me to run without pain (I haven’t frycled yet).

It could be that this is runners knee generated by the overpronation and the insoles should work (as they were sold as sports insoles). Or it could be a patellar subluxation and dislocation caused by my unstable knee due to previous injuries and movements in frycling inflamed it.

I will keep you up-to-date regarding this injury and I will let you know what I find out.

Product Features

• High-sensitivity GPS receiver
• Innovative patent pending touch bezel interface
• Can be used for running and cycling
• Easy-to-read display
• Comfortable vinyl wristband
• Compatible with GSC 10 speed/cadence bike sensor – monitor pedalling cadence and wheel speed
• Compatible with foot pod – measures speed and distance and runners cadence when indoors
• Watch features: time of day (12/24h), dual time zone, (day/date), daily alarm
• Training and motivational features: Virtual Partner, courses, workouts, goals
• GPS features: mark waypoints, back to start, save location
• Zone training, heart rate zone training, supports 5 heart rate zones
• ANT+SportTM wireless technology – lets you automatically transfer information back and forth between the watch and the PC (MAC Compatibility 3rd Quarter 2008)
• Unit-to-unit – transfer workouts and locations to other Forerunner 405’s

Technical Details

• Battery life: 8 hours (training) or 2 weeks (power save mode)Water resistant to IPX7 (1 metre of water for 30 minutes)
• Weight: 60 g
• Display: Round 4-level grey FSTN, 124 x 95 pixels
• Size (mm): 45.75 x 70.5 x 16.4
• Distance accuracy: 99% with clear view of sky
• Temp range: -4oF to 140oF (-20oC to 60oC)

Review

This is a powerful gadget… however, nothing is perfect.
A perfect companion for those of us in need for a good duathlon watch. The watch is sleek, stylish and robust. The new bezel control is geeky. GPS accuracy is very good and it acquires satellites pretty quickly when compared to the 305. It is very light and running/frycling with it is a pleasure.

Now, the downsides. The bezel even though is geeky, is hard to control during an event. Either you setup everything before the event or during the event it will feel hard to control. The battery life seems to have been shortened from the 305 as it only works for 8 hours straight when not in power safe mode. It looks like a watch, yes, but it cannot be really used like one since once you lose satellites, the time starts to deviate from real time as satellites are the only thing keeping the clock in sync with reality. Water resistance as not been improved when comparing with previous model 305, so its not fit for triathletes. There are only two modes to it: biking or running.

Everything else seems to work perfectly well and I am quite happy with the gadget. It was in fact, just what I needed. But is it what you need?

As a last note, Garmin decided to shutdown non-Windows users from this watch. It only supports Windows. It uses the new ANT protocol which is open, however, the protocol used to send messages from the ANT stick to the clock is closed, not allowing easy third-party implementations. Current drivers are only for Windows and although they have announced Mac support in 2008 it has been delayed from 3rd quarter of 2008, to the 4th quarter, to November 2008 and now to December 2008. Same thing happens with their Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 50 so it seems that at least now, as someone said in a forum: Garmin is a Windows-shop only. I am trying to reverse engineer the protocol in order to get it working on Linux (and afterwards on Intel-Macs), still, its unofficial and it won’t be ready in the next few days, if you know what I mean. News regarding this issue from a more technical perspective can be found in personal blog.

Manufacturer’s Description
This product is a lightweight, palm-sized radio. Use it at sporting events to stay in contact with family and friends, hiking, skiing, outdoors, or in a neighborhood watch for vital communication. This compact, state-of-the-art device is equipped with many features.

Box Contents

• 2 x GMR885 Radios
• 2 x Rechargeable NiMH Battery Packs
• AC Adapter
• Charging Cradle
• 2 x Belt Clips
• Reference Guide

Product Description
The shock and water resistant Uniden PMR885 professional two way radios have up to 6km range, a super bright orange backlit LCD panel and come with headsets. Each handset accepts standard or re-chargeable batteries and they can even act as a baby monitor.

Review

This is a review of this awesome set of walkie-talkies. Our usage of it is for frycling. We have come to the conclusion that the best [as in safest] way to communicate is through walkie-talkie. This is an awesome set of walkie-talkies, perfect for frycling and worth every penny. Sound is very good, feature-full, long battery life [at least for a day, that was the max we tried but it should last much longer], charging base and headsets.

It is, however, not without problems. The headset ear plug is huge, so unless you have a huge ear, the plug will be hard to insert into the hear or it will be unconfortable. I have a small ear, so in most cases the plug stays half inside, half outside the ear. Moreover, we found the VOX feature (voice activation) pretty much useless for frycling. The slightest wind turns it on (even in the most insensitive level) and makes it very hard to communicate since it is constantly turning the channel on and cutting of messages sent.

For your reference, each walkie-talkie weights 225grams and the ear plug is around 0.9 cm in diameter.