The Dreadmill Chronicle...

To give a bit of background information, I used to be a treadmill guy. I used to espouse the benefit of being able to watch TV for an entire run, the utility of never being more than 25 feet from a bathroom, the beauty of knowing exactly how many miles per hour you are running and wisdom of knowing exactly how fast you were going at all times (as an aside, I've figured out that easiest way to tell an outside runner from a treadmill runner is how they report their speed - mph = treadmill, X minute miles = outside). My wife always scoffed at this, and I have to say she was right. I only hit the treadmill now when I have no other alternative. Lately, the treadmill has been fighting back.
I have to work this weekend, so my usual running schedule is thrown a bit off. I can either run very early or very late. I awoke around 4 AM this morning to the sound of driving rain pelting my bedroom windows, and knowing that the temperature was in the mid-thirties, I resolved to sleep for a while and then run in the afternoon. I subsequently tossed and turned for a few hours, and finally decided to get up and go hop on the treadmill for a quick three mile run.
This would seem like a reasonable plan, except for the fact that apparently a poltergeist now inhabits the dreadmill lurking in my garage. It hates me. Perhaps it loathes me. It is the Moriarty to my Holmes, the Luke Skywalker to my Darth Vader, the Newman to my Seinfeld, the Dr. Doofenschmirtz to my Perry the Platypus. It hasn't always been this way, we've spent long hours together, me plodding along, watching a movie on the minuscule flat screen dvd player/tv combo (bought from a pawn shop that happens to sell things on ebay), it humming just loud enough to drown out the players pathetic auditory system, integrated fans pointed at my face and just barely moving enough air for me know they were on... We were happy. It's still that way for my wife. She turns on the treadmill, and it does what she asks. She can run as fast as she wants for as long as she wants. Me, not so much.
Somehow, over the last few months, any attempt I make to run on the treadmill results in a blown circuit breaker. The first time it happened (just before Christmas), it took me quite some time and many trips to the breaker box to figure out what happened. It seems that not only is the circuit attached to the box, but also to a ground fault indicator outlet on the far side of the garage. This would appear to be the culprit. I do not know what my treadmill is suddenly drawing enough power to blow a fuse, but regardless of why, it drove me into a rage at 5:50AM. As I walked back in to my pre-dawn house, I vowed that the dreadmill would not win the day. I would run before sundown.
So I did. I pulled on my stocking cap and my Sugoi Zap jacket and my Newtons and I took off outside. It's 27 degrees today, and precipitating. And it felt great. I've gotten enough used to my Newton Gravitas that they are no longer a novelty, but I'm still running faster than I was in other shoes. I feel like a running light bulb has come on when I wear them. My Sugoi Zap jacket never ceases to amaze me. I was impervious to the worst old man winter could throw at me. Freezing rain and snow bounced off it like ping pong balls. Wind gusts hard enough to make me duck my head failed to penetrate it at all. Despite it's light weight, I actually had to unzip it a little ways, because I got a bit warm. In short, I ran through the sleet and snow and enjoyed it tremendously (as an aside, when running or driving through snow, I always feel like I'm getting ready to go into hyperspace, it makes me feel fast). Feeling like I could win a land war in Asia as I crossed over the threshold into my garage, I glared at the treadmill and silently thanked it for giving me the opportunity to run in the weather. I think it blinked. Mu.

Product Review: Sugoi BC Ready T

The Gist: The best tech shirt I have ever used.
The Good: Excellent wicking ability, very light, great fit
The Bad: nothing really - non stretch fabric odd to put on at first

The Review
I decided to put my Sugoi BC Ready T to its first extended long run use at the Outer banks Marathon last weekend. I normally like to try out new clothing on a training run prior to using it in a race just in case something doesn't work out, but I had a good experience with this particular shirt in a 5k last weekend, so I decided to chance it.
To the best of my understanding, the BC Ready T is the same shirt as the Ready S/S with Sugoi's proprietary brand champion graphics applied. It's made of Sugoi's finotech fabric, and comes in 9 different colors. The finotech is impressive, but is notably different than most tech fabrics out there. It feels pleasant, but lighter and perhaps a bit thinner than similar fabrics.
The strange part is actually comes when putting the shirt on - their isn't much, if any, give to the fabric. It isn't a negative, but I think most of us are used to deforming our shirts a bit when we pull them on, and its a bit strange to meet resistance. This lack of stretch doesn't inhibit movement at all, in fact you hardly notice the shirt is there. You don't notice it at all once the shirt is on, its just different.
What I did notice with the shirt on was the fact that it wicked better than any other shirt I have ever worn. Keep in mind that I'm a slower runner who spends a fair amount of time out on the course, and that I'm also a good size guy (6'2" and 190lbs). I sweat a lot during a race and it kept me dry and chafe free throughout. I wore it in a rather humid environment, and it still never felt heavy or water logged. The flat sewn seams blend in with the rest of the shirt and aren't noticeable. Hands down, this has become my favorite race shirt overnight.
The BC graphics, are also, it my opinion, very cool and make it easy for family and friends to pick you out during a race. Its red, black, and white thunderbird logo is a nod towards the location of Sugoi's headquarters in Vancouver and was designed by David Franklin, a respected aboriginal artist from Washington State. While graphics of this ilk have been common to cycling for a long time, they are relatively new in running clothing, and really make you stand out in a crowd in a good way.
All in all, this is a great shirt and I highly recommend it. I fully intend to get a few more.

Product Review - Sugoi BC Rocket Cap

I have to admit that I'm a bit picky when it comes to running caps - I've largely used the same cap for a few years now, occasionally buying a new one only to revert to my old favorite (usually after only a single use of the other). That said, since I purchased the Sugoi BC Rocket Cap, I haven't worn anything else. The cap looks good, and it works. It's a black, tech fabric hat with Sugoi's Brand Champion Thunderbird Logo on the bill. I was a little concerned about the shape of the hat from the pictures - the bill seemed too short for the cap portion in the pictures, but when it arrived it was proportioned correctly - really a good looking hat. I think that the picture may look distorted a bit because of the band of very functional scotchlite-type material across the front of the bill. It also has the same reflective material on the back of the cap so you can be seen coming and going. The cap portion does a great job of wicking sweat away from your head, and also breathes quite well. From a fit standpoint, I have a middle of the road hat size, and it could be let out substantially or taken up substantially, so I think they did a nice job on adjustability. All in all quite a good product.