On the road to recovery with Cliff Shot Blocks

This weekend, I was able to get in a 4 and a 5.5 mile run in. Both felt good and the times were about what I want for my marathon pace 10:45. I am still taking it slow for recovery, however on Friday I got my new shoes and heel lifts, which was a world of difference. I went into Road Runner Sports and returned the trail shoes without any problem and got a pair of Asics Evolution 3. I was in and out of the store in about 5 minutes.

When I was checking out I saw Cliff Shot Block Strawberry. I picked up a couple of bags, since I never tried them before. Some of you have mentioned them before and I figured what the heck, I will pick up a couple of bags of them and give them a try, since I am not a big fan of gels. Even though my difference is down for recovering from injury, I tried them on my run on Sunday and I loved them, they are awesome. I did not even get my hands sticky. I started comparing them with gels and here is what I found.

Cliff Shot Blocks: Cliff Shot Gel:

Carbs: 24mg 25mg

Potassium: 20mg 30mg

Sodium 70mg 40mg

Fats 0.0 0.0

Sugar 12mg 8mg

The numbers are pretty comparative, except for the sodium which is ok with me, since being in AZ during the summer you need the sodium. I did see that they have a cola, lemon lime, and Pina Colada flavor. I wonder if the Pina Colada has anything to do with their winery. Wrong alcohol, oh well, I will have to find a location that carries them in those flavors.

Saturday I ended up back at Road Runner Sports and ran into Pokey and company. You know you are becoming a runner when you know people at the running store. I got the little boy a pair of running shoes and grandma picked up a pair of walking shoes. We also went by the park where the Ragnar Del Sol race will end this weekend. How can you go by a park and not let the kids play on the equipment and feed the ducks. I try to be a good dad. We then went to Bass Pro Shop. The boys have never been there, and they were in heaven.

I will do a couple of easy runs this week, in preparation for the race on Friday. We start at 10 am and will finish around 1:30pm on Saturday. I will take some pictures of the crew as we run for the Chances for Children Charity.

Another successful Run

Well last night, I stretched and went for another slow run. I made the two miles with little pain. I get my heal lifts today, and returning my shoes to roadrunner sports, the Dr thought that staying in the same shoes that I have put 500 miles in would be a safer bet than switching to a different pair. However the pair I will be getting Asics Gel Evolution 3 (Motion Control Plus) rather than the Asics 2130 trail (more of a stability shoe). On the Asics web site they show that the two shoes do overlap some with regards to support, but the evolution is something that I have had success with.

Best of luck to everyone this weekend, and be safe.

And the Diagnosis is....

Well I went to the Podiatrist yesterday and he looked at my Achilles Tendon. His diagnosis is that I had an early stage of Achilles Tendonitis and the 11 days of rest he felt has cleared it up. There was no swelling and only minor pain. He proscribed for me a pair of heal lifts (that is one way to be taller) of 1 cm in height. In addition to stretching exercises, to start running (YEAAAAAA) with one mile, two miles, three miles, four and half miles, seven miles, ten miles. I can be back in service in about a week. I did my first mile last night with a lot of success. I could feel my tendon, but I was also thinking about it. I wanted to keep running, but I stopped after the mile. This was also the second time this past year that I have been out running during a lunar eclipse, is that an omen or something?

I will be running the Ragnar Relay next weekend and then back to the Podiatrist later the following week for a followup.
Keep streatching and running.

New 30 day Challange

After reading this article on the My Fox Tampa Bay website, I got a new 30 day challange for all the people in Bloggerville.

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TAMPA - A pastor has a new challenge for his parishioners. It involves sex - a subject that may be taboo in many congregations.
The Relevant Church in Tampa's Ybor City has issued a 30-day sex challenge.
"It's going to be tempting and awkward at the same time for sure," said parishioner Brent Cayson.
Single men and women can't have sex for 30 days, and married couples are urged to have it every day.
"If you look at studies, studies say in 30 days you can develop a habit," said Pastor Paul Wirth.
It definitely caught wives in the church by surprise.
"Our married people are far more fearful than our single people," said Wirth.
"Sex is about more than intercourse and that's what we're trying to tell people," said church member Jarret Haas.
Wirth has found biblical references that he says suggest Jesus disapproved of pre-marital sex and promoted sex in marriage. So, he believes people connect to God through life-long commitment.
That's why he tells his single followers to abstain, and his married followers to indulge.
Wirth is a former Baptist. He founded his non-denominational ministry three years ago. And he markets his church by tackling unusual or controversial topics.

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OK, Now for our challange. For those of you that are not married, None for you. Sorry.

For those of us that are married, I will make it a little easier, Spend at least 15 minutes a day with your spouse, in a romantic way. I will let you decide the definition of "Romantic Way".

If you are up for the challange, let me know and those of you that HONESTLY complete the challange, there will be a prize for you.