Stuff I like: Luna Sandals

If you've read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run, then you're familiar with minimalist running, the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico, and Barefoot Ted.  (If you haven't read Born to Run, you really should.  It's one of my favorite running books ever.)  Inspired by the huarache sandals the Tarahumara run in, Barefoot Ted designed Luna Sandals on the same principle, only with some modern touches. The Tarahumara might use an old tire for the sole; Ted uses a Vibram sole.  The Tarahumara use leather straps; Ted uses nylon webbing with a Fastex buckle.  But it's the same idea.

Usually those 1/2-off e-mail offers go straight to the trash, but this one caught my eye.  I had been curious about Luna Sandals for a long time, but the $80 price tag put me off.  For $40, though, I'd give them a shot.  They arrived at a time when I was in a bit of a running lull, so for the first few weeks I had them, I just wore them to walk around.  They quickly became my favorite shoes.  I've always worn flip-flops, but if I'm doing much walking, I don't like them.  I have to sort of flex my toes a funny way to keep them on my feet.  That gets old.  I've also worn several different full-strap sandals (Teva, Merrell).  I like those, but they're always too heavy and have too bulky a sole. 

The Lunas capture the best of both worlds: they're super simple and light, like my favorite flip-flops, and they stay on my feet well, like Tevas, only without any extraneous straps.  I wear them every chance I get.  I would wear them to work if I could.  (In fact, I have seen women at work with shoes almost as stripped down as these.  Why do women get to wear strappy sandals and flip-flops to work and men don't?  Sexism in the workplace!)

Now for the running.  I have worn my Lunas on several runs, all primarily on pavement, the longest being 9 miles.  I have concluded that the only time I would wear these to run is on flat, straight, smooth courses.  The thin sole is perfect; just a little bit of ground feel with adequate protection.  I have run with less on trails, but I think most runners want a thicker sole if a trail has any rocks or roots.  For smooth dirt, they'd be fine.  (They do make a trail version with a thicker sole.)

My problem with running in these is two-fold.  First, if you have any lateral movement at all, you will have a hard time keeping your foot in the footbed.  I noticed this especially when throwing the football around with my boys.  Quick stops or sidesteps had me on the verge of stumbling.  I can imagine that if you run on a winding trail, you would be wishing for more lateral control.  The second problem is more significant.  I love the smooth leather footbed, but on even a slight incline, my foot slides back.  Obviously, the straps keep me from sliding all the way out, as I would with flip-flops.  I tightened the straps as tightly as I thought I comfortably could, but still got some sliding.  Where I usually run, this isn't a big deal, but on a hilly course, the sliding would get really old.  I also slide some if I start quick.

I have continued to run in my Lunas, but as I look toward Isle du Bois, I think I'll start running more in my Vibrams.  For an everyday shoe, I LOVE my Lunas.  But for a running shoe, I don't think they're my first choice.  Also, as much as I love them, I am not sure I can swallow the $80 price tag.  I hope mine don't wear out until I get another 1/2 price offer in my inbox.

Buy Luna Sandals at their web site.  I just went to get the link and saw this:

You can choose between a copper brown suede leather footbed and the MGT footbed. Our new MGT (Monkey Grip Technology) footbed maintains the black, low profile, look of the naked top Lunas while improving traction and durability. For wet and muddy conditions go with the MGT footbed.The leather footbed adds comfort, helps it form to your foot, and absorbs some moisture.

Hmmm....  Sounds like I might need to keep my current pair for daily wear, and order a MGT pair for running. . . . .

My Road ID

Here's my Road ID:

I hope I never have to have someone call these emergency numbers.  I should have gotten one of these years ago. . . .

If you want to order one, use this discount code, good for $1 off until 11/25/12:

ThanksPaul18923790

http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksPaul18923790

Road ID discount!

(I know this is a shameless plug. . . . I've been meaning to get one of these for a long time, and maybe you should, too!)

Now I can be like Karno!

Hey Everyone,

I just ordered one of the best products ever. It's called a Road ID - perhaps you've heard of it. If you haven't, go to their website and check it out. Road ID is a great product that could save your life someday.

When I ordered, they gave me a coupon that I could pass along to my friends. Here's the coupon number:

Coupon Number: ThanksPaul18923790

The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 11/25/2012. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link below:

http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksPaul18923790

If you prefer, you can call them at 800-345-6336.

You can thank me later,

Paul Mastin

Oh by the way, their website is awesome, the customer service is outstanding, and the owners are very smart and good looking. 

Now I've gone and done it.

I finally got around to registering for a race!  In the 4 1/2 years or so that I've been running, I've said all along that having a race on the calendar is often the only thing that gets me out the door to run, at least with any consistency.  So now I have a target race: The Isle du Bois 50K on December 8.  This is the race I ran last December 6 days after having run White Rock.  It's only 6 weeks out, which doesn't give me a lot of time, but I figure I can get some good miles in, with a couple of long runs, and maybe run a decent race.

Last year I ran that race on tired legs and finished in 7:17.  Earlier this year I ran another 50K without much training and finished in 7:41.  A few weeks before White Rock last year, I ran Rockledge Rumble in 6:50.  Granted, IDB is actually 54K, so it's hard to compare with other races.  Maybe on fresher legs, I can beat last year's 7:17.  Break 7 hours?  Maybe.

So now it's out there for all the world to know.  Or at least the three of you who will read this post.  I'm officially in training mode, now!  Isle du Bois, here I come!

I hate trail litter

I almost said I hate trail litterers, but I don't.  By the grace of God, I love my fellow man.

GU packs and the like on the trail irritate me, but I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt.  I understand that even a conscientious runner, who pockets his empties, might inadvertently leave one behind if it works its way out of his pocket as he runs.  It can happen.

Beer cans and cups on the trail make me angry.  When you pick up your 24 pack of Busch at the Chevron, why not pick up a trash bag, too?  Is it really that hard to put your beer cans in a trash bag and haul them out at the end of your little redneck soiree?

But the attitude behind this hypothetical conversation really boils my blood:

Turd face: Hey, I got me this couple a bags a trash, and my curb-side trash can is full.  Trash pick up ain't for 3 more days.  I dunno what I'm goin' ta do.
Butt wipe: Don't worry, throw it in the back a mah truck an' we'll haul it off.
Turd face: Where we goin' ta haul it to?
Butt wipe: Thar's some trails right over there behind our neighborhood.  We kin jes drive up the trail a ways, then toss all this trash out tha truck.
Turd face: Thanks, pal, yer a genius!

I wish I had a way to track these bozos down.  My preferred punishment would be a hefty fine, preferably payable as a donation to a trail conservation group, then several Saturdays of community service cleaning up the trails, to be served on days of major NASCAR races.  I will permit them to TiVo the race, but I'll be sure and tell them who won before they get home.

Random picture of trash.  Not my trails, but could be.

The Longest Race, by Ed Ayres

One of the great joys of running, especially an all-day event like an ultramarathon, is falling into step with someone and spending the time running together to learn about each other, hear about their racing experiences, and share a bit of life together.  I have found that you can learn more about someone and forge deeper friendships by running on a trial for a couple of hours than you can by sitting next to someone at work every day for a year.

Ayres, running strong.

Ed Ayers has run a few races (quite a few, actually, more than half a century's worth), and reading his new book, The Longest Race: A Lifelong Runner, an Iconic Ultramarathon, and the Case for Human Endurance, must be a bit like the experience of sharing the trail with him for a few hours.  The framework of the book is a race report of his 2001 JFK 50 Mile endurance run, at which he set the course record for his age group.  He offers details of the course, the race itself, and his experiences that day, but The Longest Race is much more than a race report.

Woven among the mile markers and aid stations of the race are Ayres's reflections on running, the environment, and the human condition.  Ayers has been running longer than most of us have been alive.  He's run some of the great races, road marathons, trail runs, and ultras, and run with some of the great runners.  He was a co-founder of Running Times magazine, shaping opinions and publishing pioneering articles at the dawning of the modern running movement.  Here you'll find some of his distilled wisdom about running, born not of trendiness or the latest thing, but from his accumulated knowledge and experience.  He's also worked in the environmentalist movement, and offers his insights on the future of life on earth.  "Maybe the whole premise of modern society--build a great industrial civilization so that people can live better lives--was backward.  Maybe the only way it could work was by building great fitness as individual people, so we can have a more livable civilization."

To Ayres, running is an allegory for life, and life is an allegory for running.  I like his broader application of the running adage, "Listen to your body."  Ayres writes, "If you pay close attention to what your internal signals are telling you, they heighten your chances of actually doing what you dream of doing."  We learn more about ourselves when we run, and by paying attention to what we learn, especially what we learn training for and running in an ultramarathon, we can learn more about civilization and its sustainability.  Pick up this thoughtful, reflective book and you will be inspired to run and rewarded with insights on life.

You can also keep up with Ayres at his blog, http://enduranceandsustainability.blogspot.com/, from which the above picture was shamelessly swiped.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy.

Not running

You may have noticed that over the last three months or so, almost all of my posts have been for running related books or movies, not about any running I'm doing.  And if you have paid attention to my DailyMile posts, you may have noticed that there haven't been many.  So I haven't been running much at all.  My goals for 2012 have pretty much fallen by the wayside.  I have been drinking copious amounts of Dr Pepper, taking lots of vitamin C3 (chocolate chip cookies), and watching my weight head back up to my 2008 pre-running level.  Something's got to change. . . . Lately I feel like this race is the only race I would be in shape for: