WATCH HERE!...................

Check out the banner above!  Xeroshoes has unveiled a whoppin' Fall collection.  I have reviewed both the Aptos and the Leather Hanas, and the reviews are up on Xeroshoes.com.  The link above will take you to their site.  Some awesome casual shoes!!

How Long do you intend to wait?

      I should probably call this conversations with myself, because I have those....not verbally, thankfully, but introspective thoughts.  I've generally been active since I was a kid, and for certain periods, I was VERY active.  High school sports were big, and kept you moving most days of the school year.  Weekends and summers, I was on my bike, riding all over our small town in Western Kansas, as well as all of the country roads surrounding it.  With friends, sometimes alone, I put many miles on that Western Flyer fixed gear bike with the coaster brakes. 

     In college, the activity slowed down a bit, but took a HUGE spike when I hit the yellow footprints of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego on a January day, and non-stop for three solid months, pounding, running, grinding me into the best shape of my life, before or since.

     I only began running in earnest after my son was born, and began to do a lot of solitary miles in the early morning darkness, when everyone else was asleep.  That's a great time to run.

    I have had peaks and valleys over the years, as life tends to get in the way of most plans and intentions.  I had backed off a bit, but began riding mountain bikes with my son when he was about 13.  He rides with a team, and I try to keep them in sight on the trails ;-). 

     I really like to eat.  I like sweet stuff, salty stuff, spicy stuff, sour stuff, etc.  At some point, however, you have to decide, "Am I going to have that?"  Too much isn't good for you, and I notice, without exception, that if I eat sugary foods, I am stiff and sore the next day.  I understand the sugar is at least nearly addictive, and causes inflammation in your body.  It certainly does in mine.  Food is, historically, and evolutionarily, nourishment.  Humans are so inventive, that we have found countless ways of making our sustenance more appealing and palatable.  This has, unfortunately, coincided with a huge reduction in the caloric demand necessary to obtain the food.  Bad, Bad combination.  We are programmed to eat.  We do that very well.  Processed foods are everywhere.   Unfortunately, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and obesity are rampant.  We treat them with drugs and surgery, but we cause a lot of them through behavior.  I don't have all of the answers.  I am no expert, just an observer.  If I, for one, want to age the way my genetics want me to, I have to be sure to eat the way those genes are expecting, and stay active as well.

In my opinion, the BEST foods for you are those that you can catch, kill, pick, or dig up.  Once those basic ingredients are combined with salt, sugar and spices, you are pulled into the trap.  I do it, you do it, nearly everyone does it.  At some point, you need to say, enough is enough.  I'm grabbing myself by the lapels and dragging myself back to the health that I was born into.  Decide now, or decide when you get that devastating diagnosis.  Up to you.................. 

MESA TRAIL-THE ULTIMATE TRAIL RUNNING SHOE [IN MY OPINION!!]

     I am very happy to be able to review another of one of the new offerings from Xero Shoes, the Mesa Trail.  Please check out the link above and take a look at Xero's Spring 2020 collection.  They now have these, the Colorado, [Review below]  and many other new styles.  This is a great release, and you really ought to take a look.  There's something for just about everybody [including the kiddos!]   

     I’ve previously reviewed the Terra Flex, a no-nonsense all-purpose trail shoe from Xero.  This shoe, however, is specifically designed for trail running.  It has a great, luggy sole that gave good traction on dirt, grass, sand, gravel, pretty much any surface we could find.  It even gripped well on some pretty steep inclines, some of which were pretty wet and mossy.

      We took the Mesa Trails out to Los Jilgueros, a local nature preserve near home in Fallbrook, CA.  We picked this spot, as it has a lot of varied trails, as well as some interesting man-made features that gave us a chance to see how these perform on lots of surfaces.

     Xero has preserved a measure of ground feel, as with all of their shoes.  This is a really rugged sole by Xero standards, so there is some ground feel trade-off for the traction and rock protection that it provides.  While rugged, the sole maintains the flexibility that we have come to expect from Xero Shoes.  These shoes do come with a removable insole if you want to enhance ground feel.  It almost goes without saying, but these are, of course, zero drop.

     This shoe has a very soft, breathable upper with a mesh-type quality from all of the ventilation holes built into it, including the tongue.  The Mesa Trail has more of a traditional lacing style than many of Xero’s other models but laces up nice and snug for trail work.

     One thing I noticed immediately was how light this shoe feels.  Xero has built a really tough trail running shoe and not sacrificed lightness nor flexibility.  Although this isn’t an “official” weight, my Mesa Trails, at size 13, came in at a mere 9.3 oz each.  If you plan to do any distances, the lightweight feel to these is a huge benefit. 

These shoes have a tough but flexible toe cap that gave me all the front protection needed on trail runs.  It also has a protective vertical strip up the heel.

The interior is soft and felt great with or without socks and the toe box is quite roomy, even for my wide feet.

     Overall, I really like the features, style and fit of this as a trail running shoe.  These are new, so I can’t yet speak to durability, however I have been wearing Xeros for 10 years now, and, although some are pretty banged up from heavy use, I haven’t worn out a pair yet, so I am expecting this model to hold up as well.  I think you will like these, particularly for the blend of toughness, grip, flexibility and comfort, without the added weight that you may find in other brands.

XERO SHOES "COLORADO"

Today we are doing a review of the newest offering from Xero Shoes, the "Colorado".  I have been anxious to post this review, as I am really excited about this model.  This is a sandal made for trail, hiking, and any number of conditions.  We really put this one through its paces, and it performed well in lots of different conditions. There is a link above that will take you to Xero Shoes' site, where there are other models and reviews, including a video review that I did.  I will be posting a review that I did for the new Mesa Trail.  It is a shoe designed specifically for trail RUNNING, and I think you'll like it as well.  I'd be pleased if you would take a look at these, and a number of other new models from Xero Shoes in their Spring line-up!!

    Before we get to performance, I want to talk to you about my initial impressions with this sandal.  Out  of the box, I noticed that the material of the upper is very smooth.  I has the "barefoam" insole for some protection on the trail, and a really grippy tread, in true Xero fashion.  I noticed that the toe box is not only wide, but very roomy vertically, giving your toes plenty of freedom inside. The openings along the sides give great ventilation for your feet, as well. These are two features that particularly impressed me.

     The Colorados have an elasticord for adjustment, and once you find the proper tension, they sit nicely on your feet, with no slippage whatsoever, even in wet conditions.

      We took these on the trail, and they handled it well, from rough singletrack to some very rocky conditions.  The soles still give you adequate ground feel, but enough protection that you don’t have to shy away from rocks either.  The sole grips well, even on relatively smooth granite, and gives good traction when doing stream crossings or in other wet conditions.

Those openings along the sides also allow water to flow directly through and drain out, so you can hit the wet with confidence that your feet will dry out quickly.

Although these will primarily be used for hiking, they do well as running sandals, too.  I took these out and did some trail running, and followed up with some time on asphalt.  I even wore them around during the day on shopping trips, etc.  They adapt well to conditions, and my feet, even in new sandals, had no hot spots or other problems.

Xero shoes continues with their innovations, and this model is no exception.  You will not be disappointed with this sandal.  You owe it to your feet to try these! They will become your go-to all purpose sandal.

NEW REVIEWS COMING!!!!

Can't say much yet.  In a few days, I'll be posting a couple of video reviews of something new.

Stay tuned.......................................

WHAT'S YOUR "NEW DAY RESOLUTION?"

     Ok, its that time of year when the Gyms, Health clubs, and running paths fill up with committed people determined that THIS year, they will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to "get in shape".    Those venues will empty out in a month or so, when life begins to get in the way of those commitments.  Does this mean those people are weak-willed, or less intent upon being healthy?  Nope.  It means that they have lives to lead, and sometimes (usually) life gets in the way of our best plans and intentions.  So how do we handle this?  I worked out everyday for 2-1/2 weeks, then I got a cold, or had to go to an all day meeting, or had a series of kid events and I didn't get to it.  Well, that's it.  My New Year's resolution is blown.  Might as well grab the Doritos.  What the hell was I thinking anyway?  Sound familiar?  We're all human, with human abilities, failings, commitments, etc.  I makes no sense to, based upon an artificially contrived holiday tradition, try to plan every day for the next year.  It's a set-up to failure.

     There are probably many solutions to the problem.  I'm offering one here.  Make a resolution EVERY DAY, as to what you will do THAT DAY ONLY to accomplish the goals that you set for yourself.  You can't plan a year in advance for daily activities, but you can reasonably anticipate the things coming up on a given day.  If your goal is fitness, health, etc., plan what you are going to do THAT DAY to move you forward toward those goals.  Are you going to fast that day, eat only low carbs that day, get in a solid workout that day?  Then at the end of the day, look at what you actually did.  The next day, do the same thing.  What you can do will vary on given days.  Make EACH DAY a new commitment, or RESOLUTION, if you will.  Some days you will screw up, make bad choices, not have time to do what you planned, etc.  Get back on it the next day.  One day off the wagon won't, in most cases, have any lasting effects, nor will one day of doing everything right have lasting benefits.  If you plan to do this every day, however, the trend will  show the benefits over the course of a year.

   One day, one plan, one commitment.