schedule / gear

Schedule

Back to Sewanee after a week in ATL.  I want to do the same type of training this week as I did last week, except to up my game a bit.  I'm pleased that my body, especially my feet are holding up to some rigorous training (thank you Clifton 1s !) and hoping to do as I did last week, 3 consecutive days Sun-Tue.

I'm likely NOT going to race in Louisville tomorrow as the rain chances are greater than 50% at meet time, and driving 500 miles on wet roads is not worth the risk (... I say that now).   And, I will better be able to accomplish my goals by training rather than racing on Tues.  

One thing I will do however, as I now have only 2 more meets scheduled before Nationals, I will race the 400 and 200 in both meets.  Saturday's meet has the 400 and 200 scheduled 4 hrs apart (11am and 3pm).  Still in the offing is a visit to my parents in July and a race on the 11th.  It's a good possibility.   

Gear 

I use racing spikes that are by all standards, outdated technology.  My spikes of choice were released by Puma in 2013 or 14, the Puma Bolt Evospeed Sprint LTD.  It featured essentially the same spike plate as Nike but was an ounce and a half lighter and the fit was tighter.   It is superior to the next generation Puma because they are lighter and have the golfball dimpled upper that fit tighter.  These weigh in at about 5.5 oz. My Adidas are lighter at 4.9 oz, but I still like these, mostly because I can use the risers.  

Since it has the same spike plate as the Nikes, I continued using the risers beneath the spike that I used on the original Nike Superfly.  Here's what the Nike Superflys looked like, these came out in about 2010:

The problem is, these black spike risers are no longer available... at all, anywhere.  A couple years ago, there was a guy selling them on ebay, but no more.  There was also a hurdler from FL who was producing these out of aluminum via CAD technology in his garage.  He retired.  So...  Gone.  No more.  And... in order to use these risers, you need a special long thread XT spike made by one and only one company, Omni-lite, and they are no longer making them, although they still have some in stock.  I just bought 100 XT Xmas tree and 100 XT Pyramid spikes from Omni-lite.   They last a long time, one set can last a season+, so I think I may have enough to last me the rest of my track career.  There are really uncommon.  I've gotten some strange looks at the spike check table.  I feel they give a little more lift than conventional spikes, and every half inch helps.  And, I did find a way to preserve the risers from breaking.  I fit a thin washer under the spike to keep the riser from being deformed, then I coat it with super glue.  They are very durable.  What usually happens more often is the spike hole gets stripped and the threads in the shoe will no longer hold the spike.  That's what happened to my first generation of Pumas (Puma Bolt FAAS LTD).  Right now, I have 2 racing pair and a pair a half size big I have not yet worn, just bought them years ago as a spare in the closest size available.  I have reglued the soles with epoxy a few times, they're good.   I  should be good to go for a while.  

Here they are, with my chosen mixture of xmas trees and pyramids.   

They don't make 'em like this anymore.... literally.  

Can't get 'em.