Monday, November 21, 2011

Something to Talk About

Since we're dealing with the Mondaze, I'm a bit short on creativity. And since I failed to run this weekend, I need something to write about. Let's deal with the hangover from Flashback Friday and answer some more questions from the comments, all of which dealt with holy holey "sockemetrics."

From Xenia: "Since you're the King of Thrift, are you going to sew up the hole and keep running in that pair of socks? You know you want to, you cheap bastard."

Answer: I actually already answered this question in the comments, but I'm trying to get content here, teammates. I will keep running in my holey socks, but I'm not going to sew a darned thing.

From Kelly: "Are you seeing a similar heel wear pattern on your Altras? A work mate is concerned about heel wear on his VFFs, but doesn't seem to have a problem with it otherwise."

Answer: So far, I have not experienced abnormal heel wear on my Altras or my VFFs. Since both are zero-drop soles, they help foster a more mid- or forefoot strike. So if anything, these shoes have shown less heel wear than traditional running shoes I've worn.

From Barefoot Josh: "I wouldn't worry too much about the holy heel. That's where the sock is stretched the tightest, compromising structural integrity and stuff. The holy development pattern changes with each sock for me. I think there are too many other factors to learn any valuable info re: one's gait from holy observations."

Answer: This wasn't a question, was it? No, it wasn't.

My lovely wife and I started the packing process over the weekend by starting to purge unnecessary items. We already have three big trash bags and three boxes of donation items.

I finally parted with my extensive VHS collection in the name of technological progress. After all, we haven't used the VCR -- as it has been stored in the same closet as the VHS tapes -- since we moved to the apartment.

This morning, I noticed all the shoes I'll have to part with. My old Brooks T6 Racers will be among the trashed. I'm also considering what to do with the KSOs (eBay, perhaps?), as I haven't worn them much.

When we move to the house, I intend to only have my Altras, New Balance MT101s (which I want to take to the cobbler to have zero-dropped), Invisible Shoes and socks as my arsenal of running footwear.

4 comments:

BrianFlash said...

You mirror my delimna. I hate getting rid of usable stuff, but with this move to barefoot/minimalist shoes, I've got at least two pair of shoes with very little wear that are most likely going to hit the skids. Maybe I can use them for mowing...

Junk Miler said...

It was totally a question:

"What I'm wondering, though, is if you can parse some knowledge about your running form by looking at the wear pattern of a sock, as you supposedly can by looking at the wear pattern on the sole of a traditional running shoe. That is, does this hole in the heal mean I'm heal-striking too much? And since it formed only in the one sock, am I favoring one leg over the other?"

So again I say, don't fret.

B. Jarosz said...

Ahh... purging old odds and ends -- that's my favorite part of moving!

Best of luck with your packing.

B. Kramer said...

@Josh: I meant your answer to my question wasn't a question. Thanks for the advice ... maybe I should have just said that.