AllYearGear.com

Month: December 2009

  • Taping on toe nails

    One problem with ultra-running is it can really lead to some ugly feet. No matter how much one spends on fancy shoes and socks, it seems the occasional black toe nail and blisters are inevitable.

    I’ve read that the blackening is often caused by the toe nail continually hitting the inside top of the shoe. If that’s the case, I plan on wrapping my bigger nails in athletic tape prior to any future long runs.

    During this year’s Leadville 100 I got four black toe nails — a personal best!

    Twice now after pulling on socks I’ve felt a wood splinter against my foot, which only turned out to be a smaller toe nail falling off.

    Losing the bigger nails is usually a little more traumatic. I had one flip back while pulling on a sock. It didn’t really hurt as there was a partial nail underneath it. I just taped the old nail on top to provide some protection until the new nail could grow in more.

    And if you think damaged toe nails are a sick and wrong topic for this blog, by all means avoid this video I made while draining blisters.

    Don’t forget! The 2010 Leadville Trail 100 run application is now on-line!

  • Bigg Rod’s got candy for you

    Bigg Rod's Candy Shop in Highland Park, MichiganI was biking home from a meeting downtown. I was hungry and in Highland Park. I’d been meaning to stop into the Victor Bakery, but it was Monday and they were closed. Just nearby I discovered Bigg Rod’s Candy Shop was open, as open as a tiny store can be.

    And what a great address: 4 Victor.

    So, I leaned the bike outside and started inside.

    An African-American tween asked, “What am I doing here?”

    My suburban-bred-jump-to-conclusions-stereotypical thought was, is it because I’m a white guy?

    Before I said a thing, she replied, “You’re an adult!”

    I still have much to unlearn.

    I purchased some gummy worms and funky coconut treats for cheap and hit the road.

    I began thinking that if Bigg Rod was truly big, I couldn’t see him fitting inside his own store.

    This also made me realize that this old time candy store offered one major dietary benefit. It might help explain why obesity rates were lower back in the day. If you ate too much candy and got fat, you could no longer get inside to buy more. Candy was a treat for the fit.

    Now that’s a genius design!