What's in my Pack (5 miles +)

I've been asked a few times what I carry on my hikes. I think it's a great question. So, I took a few pics to show you. I also rated the items. Here we go.

A. My trusted 100oz CamelBak MULE. Got to have it ! Holds plenty of water and fits like a glove ! Tons of pockets and carrying ability. I'm always trying to improve my stuff and I have yet to come close to this ! Rating 5/5. 

B. First Aid Kit / Ibuprofen / Instant Ice pak. Very cheap to put a first aid kit together. I bring the instant ice pak in case I get overheated. There's been a couple of times I wish I would have had it and was on the verge of being in some trouble. No rating. Advice, put your own first aid together. Cheaper and you get exactly what you want. 

C. Bushnell Binoculars. Bad ass ! Small with with plenty of distance. Rating 5/5. 

D. Gerber folding knife. Love this. You never know. Rating 5/5. 

E. Gerber Multitool. I call this my J.I.C. (Just in case !) Rating 5.5

F. RoadID Bracelet. Who I am and who to call when I'm laying on the trail with a rattlesnake wrapped around my face. I wear these whenever I'm hiking or running. Awesome product. Highly recommend. Rating 5/5. 

G. Gloves. Definitely ! These are Mechanix M-Pact. Rating 5/5.

H. Kabuda Trek Stick. Antishock. Telescopes to to 50". This one is ok. Very light weight which is nice. Not top of the line, but does the job. Rating 3/5. 

I. Things not shown, #1 next to water, CELL PHONE ! Always bring the cell phone. 

J. Waist pack. I use the Nathan cellphone pack. Waterproof and sweat proof. Rating 4/5. 

K. Being a photographer, I always bring my Canon G9 PowerShot. Put it in a Lowe Pro small case and attach to my CamelBak. Rating 5/5.

L. HAT ! 

And of course:

M. Salomon Fellraisers. I see I spelled it wrong in the picture, but you get the point. These shoes are extremely lightweight and have incredible gripping power. They are very comfortable. Dry quickly too. I love the Salomon brand. They are pretty pricey, but you can't beat a good pair trail runners. Rating is 4/5. 

Anyway, that's about it. Some of these things may seem overkill. But, I'd rather have them and not need them than not have them and need them. Especially since they can just fit in my pack. Have fun out there, stay hydrated, and stay safe. Til the next time ! 

Gym Rant / Gym Personalities

These days I rarely step foot in the gym anymore. Definitely not knocking some of these fine establishments, I just prefer to be outside. But, I ended up at the gym the other day because of the 100 degree plus weather outside. Heat exhaustion was not in the plan that day. So, off I went. I did a 20 minute warm up on the treadmill and at that time, it all came together. All these different “gym” personalities. These personalities that can make people that may be wavering on the fence of working out not want to come back. So, here are the personalities that I notice.

The mega “I shall share my sweat with all of you” dude. Sweating is awesome for you. I love to sweat, but I do not like other people’s sweat. It is disgusting. I actually asked a dude to wipe the machine down after he used it and he was offended. Um, OK. 

The DQ’s. The teenage girls that come with their friends and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and talk on their cell phones the whole time. I saw 2 friends come in and both of them talked on the phone the whole time. Were they talking to each other ? “Oh my god, are serious ? She’s so fat” I couldn’t turn my iPod up loud enough !

The Mega Badass. The dude that is there to lift as much as he can and then pose so that you know he IS a badass. I saw one dude lift and then jump up, look around, and then do the Insanity Leg Jumps. A true stud. 

The Hogger. You know these people. The ones that make up their own little circuit training of 3-4 machines. DO NOT use one of these machines while working out ! “Hey man, I was on that”. 

The Pack. Usually, 4-5 teenage dudes taking over an entire section. If you are there to work on your chest and they are too, might be time to do legs. 

The Expert. This is usually the guy that brings his girlfriend in and works her to death. He usually will have her doing the same weight as he does and same resistance. He joined the gym approximately 2 weeks ago and “knows” what will work best. 

Like I said at top of this, definitely not knocking gyms. If you have a routine, it works for you, your health is important to you, have a great gym, and a great time to go, you are golden ! 

My Review of Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves Injury Recovery

Originally submitted at Road Runner Sports

ZENSAH® COMPRESSION LEG SLEEVES :: The Zensah® Compression Sleeve is the #1-selling leg sleeve in America. It provides pin-point compression to shin and calf muscles to improve blood circulation, performance and muscle recovery.

Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves Injury Recovery

So Far so Awesome !

By Steve the Mudder from Santee, CA on 1/4/2013

4out of 5

Pros: Effective, Comfortable, Easy To Use, Stabilizes
Cons: None so far
Best Uses: Exercising, Hill Climbing, Trail Running, Trail Rock Pounding, Extra Support
Describe Yourself: Avid Athlete
Was this a gift?: No

I decided to that I would give the compression socks a shot after suffering severe calf cramps during the Tough Mudder. I have been training very hard on steep trails and rocky terrain. When I finish for the day, my calves feel very fresh. Didn't have that before I tried this product. I am very pleased. I will be wearing them for my next Tough Mudder in February.

(legalese)

Super Caffeine Chocolate Healthy Smoothie

While dabbling with all the different kinds of healthy smoothie / shakes you can make, my wife and I came up with a healthy coffee alternative with benefits. You see, one of my biggest calorie vices was all the sugar I would put in my coffee. I love strong coffee, but I love sweet coffee. So, this is what we came up with.
1 cup  - whey protein (I like to start my day off with protein, of course this is best after a work out)
4 TBSP - Hemp Hearts (Heart Health, Omega 3 & 6, Iron, Vitamin E, energy, Appetite control)
2 TBSP - Ground Flax Seed (Fiber, Heart Health, Omega 3, maintains hair, skin, and nails,  antioxidant)
1 TSP - Seaweed Extract (No you can' taste it, curative properties for TB, arthritis, cold, and flu, and appetite control)
1 Cup - Chocolate Soy Milk (Silk) - No dairy, high calcium, low cal (90), 15g Carbs, 300mg Potassium (hydrate)
1-2 packs of Starbucks Ready Brew Instant Coffee (Use any brand, doesn't have to be Starbucks)
4 large Ice Cubes
Blend Approx. 45 seconds.
I will add 1 banana if I am going to do high cardio later for the potassium.
This makes about 16oz . You can tweak it to your liking. Less caffeine, more Silk, add more fruit.etc.
Some of the ingredients may sound funky, but all you taste is the coffee, chocolate, and a pinch of the fruit you add. It is actually very deelish ! Give it a shot and check it out.

TOUGH MUDDER LAS VEGAS 2012

Tough Mudder Las Vegas 2012
Kelly (Wife) and I decided we would tackle our 2nd TM in Las Vegas, NV October 6th. It was actually in Beatty NV. About 90 minutes outside of Vegas. The event was held at Spicer ranch. Way out in the desert. Past a couple of cattle ranches, RV parks, a brothel, and a few left for dead cars. We got lucky with the weather. It was about 65 degrees when we started.
We got right in, parked, picked up our bibs, got out numbers "sharpied" on our foreheads, did our bag checked, taped up our shoes, and strapped on our camelbaks. "9am racers, head to the start line".
Had to start off with an 8ft wall just to get to the start. The MC pumped us all up with music and giving great thanks to the wounded warriors and our country's soldiers. Goosebump city. Freakin'  awesome !
And we were off !! Run, run, run ! Army crawl through water and mud under barbed wire. Run, run, trudge through knee deep mud, not totally man made mud either (Think cattle ranch). Hit the ground and army crawl under ground for about 50 ft in the dark. Come out and trudge through that awesome smelling stuff again and do your best not to fall over. Get out and.....run. Came up to the Artic Enema. 3 huge 8ft deep dumpsters filled with water and ice. EXTREMELY cold !! All 3 dumpsters a different color. Get up the ladder and jump on in ! Get to the middle. In the middle, there is a 2ft deep 4x4 that extends down into the water and ice. This forces you to have to go under the ice. Get under and feel for the bottom of the 4x4 so you don't blast your head coming back up. Then get to the end quickly, jump out and scream something crazy !! Then....run. Run, run, start heading UP, up the hills. The Mudder's hardest parts are the hills and distance (11 mile average). This Mudder had much more water obstacles. Where you actually had to swim. Didn't really want to know what was swimming in those ponds. Pretty crazy. We got to the first pond and had to swim out and go under 55 gallon barrels 3 times. Then headed to "Walk the plank". This is a 15 ft high platform that you have to jump off of into about 8ft of water. This was a real "face your fear" for me. Don't care too much for heights. But, didn't think, just did. Then....we ran. Got to the Berlin walls (10-12 ft walls). Got over those (2). Started getting calf cramps bad. That was the injury of the day. Saw lots of Mudders constantly stretching. Then the hills really started. I can remember being so gassed, but I just seemed to keep going. Kelly was incredible on the hills. She never seemed to tire.
We got to the "Log Jam" which is a series (8) of 3 logs that you had to climb over and under. That's when my calf froze. Holy crap !! Couldn't stretch it out. This was at about mile 6. I had to fall off the logs because I couldn't get my calf have to "un-freeze". Made it through it and found a way fix it temporarily . Then it was crazy hill time again. Got to the bottom and it was flat desert. Whew ! Yes ! Nope.....it was "find a mudder to carry" time. Good God !! Kelly got on my back and away we went !!
Had to do that twice. Then it was huge hill time again with more Berlin walls waiting near the top of the hill. Whew ! I'll jump forward to the last mile. This included, Funky Monkey (monkey bars over water), gymnast rings (over water), Wall crawl (wall climb with very small pieces of 2x4 to hold onto, over water), Electric Eel (army crawl under barbed wire in water, with "hot" live wires hanging down to shock the crap out of you), Mud mile (waste deep thick mud that drains every ounce of energy you have left), Everest (15ft high half pipe that you have to run up, grab the lip and pull yourself up), and finally, Electroshock therapy (you have to run through mud with 5 ft "Hot" live wires dangling all around you ready to shock and knock you on your butt !!). After you wake up from your "Shock Coma" you yell or scream something cool and walk to the finish line and receive the ultimate prize, your Orange Tough Mudder Headband......and a fresh cold beer ! I would describe everything that happened in those obstacles, but it's better to see for yourself in the video.
I will say, the Tough Mudder is a life changer. It is incredibly difficult and you will learn a lot about yourself. Way more mental than anything else. Enjoy the video.

Salomon Speedcross 3 Review 10/26/12

Reviewing the Salomon Speedcross 3.
I hit the trails 8-10 times a month. Hiking and running. I had been wearing the Adidas Kanadia's. I loved the Kanadia's. Low price and incredible traction. But, they got very uncomfortable after about an hour of hiking. So, I decided to look into the Salomon Speedcross 3. A bit pricey ($125 / Zappos) but, I really needed an upgrade. So, I went for it.
This shoe is at another level. Incredibly light, incredible traction (equivalent to the Kanadia), very breathable, very comfortable. Same comfort and weight as a top running shoe. I love the Salomon "Quick Lace" system. Pull and slide. Very secure and never have to worry about coming untied in the middle of a trail. The shoe is has a "mud guard" coating around the bottom of the shoe and dry very quickly when wet. Also, the look and style is one of a kind.
If you are on the verge of the next level or at the next level, I highly recommend the Salomon Speedcross 3. Excellent trail runner !!
Price: **
Fit: ****
Traction: ****
Weight: ****
Comfort: ****
Analysis: Great shoe, all the things you'd want in a trail runner, You gotta pay to play ! $$$

Product Review: Nike Vomero (5,6,7)

I'm a pretty big running shoe consumer. I have tried at least 6-7 different running shoes. I like a very light, cushion, and stable shoe. I am more of a stocky (5'7", 190#) runner. Lots of pounding.
I kept seeing the Nike Vomero advertised, but it came with  a very pricey $130 price tag. So, I waited and waited for the newer model to come out. So when it did, I went to Roadrunnersports.com and saw that the price had dropped dramatically to $76.00 ! So, I went for it ! When my shoes arrived, I was amazed at how light they were. I put them on and was even more amazed ! Very very comfortable. They had a ton of cushion. There also seemed to be a little more width by the toes (which I like). The sole was like a softer rubber. I have had running shoes where the sole was hard and it just banged on my feet and knees. Not these at all. The softer rubber also gave me a nice grip. Running on wet streets were no problem at all. The only thing that was a bit of a bummer was that the sole did wear down quickly. I ended up buying 2 pair to rotate them.
Ratings:  ***** Best - * Bad
Price **
Price for older model *****
Weight *****
Cushion *****
Stability ****
Grip *****
Durability ***

Definitely Recommend the Nike Vomero