Magazine Cover!

Here it is!  My friend Derrick was asked to shoot the cover of Run Utah magazine at the same time we had started working together on my blog, so this just sort of happened.  We went to some trails up in American Fork Canyon about a month ago right as the fall colors were starting to show up and got some great pics including this one.  The experience was really fun because I got to see the pictures on his camera as we took them so I could see the shoot develop.  When I posted this on Facebook I got some pretty great reactions-most people who know me know that I run, but I guess they weren't aware of my extracurricular activities.

Utah Running is an online magazine that highlights the local running community and is a pretty interesting read for anyone who is from the area.  This must be an advanced copy because the latest issue hasn't shown up on the site yet, but keep an eye out it and it should post any day now.

Recipe-Ratatouille

This is the only vegetarian dish I've found that is filling enough to eat after a hard run.  Ratatouille is a traditional French vegetable stew, but this one is topped with eggs and Parmesan cheese which helps fill it out.

The recipe is by Eric Ripert (in my opinion the world's greatest chef) and can be found here.  His other dishes are great too: simple, elegant, hearty food.  Perfect for athletes.

Product Review: Skora Core

 

I spent the last week running in a new pair of Skora Core shoes and it's been a fun ride.  They are a classic minimalist style with a strip of thick rubber as the sole and a piece of goatskin leather as the upper.  No cushioning, no arch-support.  They fit a little loose side-to-side but that is probably to allow the foot to splay out as you land.

 

They have a handsome design- I wore them one day to a friends house and everyone was saying "hey Colin, cool shoes!"  I like simple so the grey-scale really appeals to me (sorry, Newton, your gear looks like a party-store vomited on them.)  They don't tighten very much when you cinch up the laces but the upper is well shaped so as long as you get the right size they should hang on to your foot.

One comment on size: I run in an 8.5 with New Balance but these were a size 7.5, so you probably want to aim small.  If you order them online they include a FedEx return shipping sticker so you can mail them back for no cost to get a new size or color.

  

 

I ran on trails, roads, and grass so I got a good cross-section of how the Core handles on various terrain.  They don't have deep tread so when I pulled them out of the box I was wary about how well they would grip the trails, but in practice they did a great job.  The sole feels more like one solid piece than that of the New Balance Minimus (those ones are broken up into separate hexagonal pods) so you don't get quite the flexibility and surface feel of that model.  But the Core feel a little sturdier so they protected my feet better against sharp rocks.

 

 

Overall the Skora Core is a great shoe: comfortable, light, stylish, effective.  My only complaint is that after a few runs I noticed my second toe pushing against the front of the upper more than I would like.  At first I thought it meant I needed a slightly larger pair, but the half-size larger was too loose in the heel and would have left me sliding around.  I have that weird quirk where my second toe is larger than my 'big' toe, so people with a more statistically average foot shape probably wouldn't have the same problem.  Here is the link where you can read more from Skora and place orders (it looks like they are on sale right now!)

http://skorarunning.com/core-r02-002m02.html

Derrick Lytle shot these pictures for me up in American Fork Canyon (I think technically the park was closed because of the government shut down, but I like to live dangerously.)  To see more of Derrick's work click here:

http://derricklytle.com/

This is my favorite pic from the day: