“Voyage of discovery”.  That’s the name given to Lewis and Clark’s expedition across the western United States.  Much like conditions faced by past explorers, Expedition Adventure Racing provides many of its competitors a … voyage of discovery.  One will not only discover new terrain and cultures, but also new physical and emotional plateaus.

The next expedition stop for Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing is Australia’s North Queensland and the XPD Expedition Adventure Race. The XPD is a ~10 day race among 47 co-ed teams of 4 from across the world. Teams will trek, bike, paddle and snorkel all day and night (stopping and sleeping are optional!).

The Dirty Avocados team that will face this voyage includes Jen Rigoni, Karl Royer, Mike Chastaine, and Brian Schmitz. Each has faced similar journeys in the past and have years of expedition experience behind them. And each is uniquely armed with skills and dynamics that—combined—should form a very competitive team.

The XPD has been on the Dirty Avocados calendar for more than a year.  Months have been spent preparing and planning everything from logistics and travel, to strategy and tactics, to bettering skills and abilities. Time together and separately have been spent paddling the tumultuous San Francisco Bay, beating down paths at altitude in Lake Tahoe, and hammering the hills on Mount Tamalpais.

This voyage starts on Wednesday morning, May 19^th somewhere outside of Cairns and finishes on the edge of North Queensland in downtown Cairns. Along the way there’ll be trekking and pedaling across the desolate and dry Outback and through the thick and dripping jungles on and around Mount Bartle Frere. The local tumultuous whitewaters will be negotiated and there will be paddling and snorkeling in and around the Great Barrier Reef.

Follow the Dirty Avocados adventure and race at http://geocentric.geo-loco.com/xpd/. And for more information about the team go to http://dirtyavocados.com/.

For the past several years I’ve had intermittent knee pain due to a torn ACL and resulting torn medial meniscus.  I got the book, “Born to Run” for Christmas and loved it.  If you haven’t read it yet it’s a must read for endurance runners.  It makes a strong case for “natural” running.  The theory is basically:

• Modern running shoes encourage a heal strike footfall which is unnatural.
• Our feet and arches are natural shock absorbers when we land on the “mid-foot” of “forefoot” and work best in that capacity barefoot or unsupported.
• Modern Running shoes and arch supports prevent the foot from flexing and our feet get weak.
• Natural running builds strength in your feet.
• Natural running can alleviate many common running injuries.

I decided that 2010 would be the year that I work on my running and to learn to run injury free..  I started by trying to minimize my heal strike.  The technique that worked best for me was to run as I would if I was barefoot.  I could immediately feel the change and was a little sore in the lower legs, especially the shin area.  I started with low miles and worked up gradually.  Next I took the custom orthotics out of my La Sportiva Fireblades and ran like that.  My feet adjusted pretty quickly.  I eventually purchased some La Sportiva Crosslites because they are the least built up trail shoes in the La Sportiva line.  I have only used them with the stock insole, not my custom orthotics.  I started using them on short runs a couple times a week.  Now they are my shoes of choice for any run unless it’s really rocky and I need more protection.  Last Saturday I ran the Red Tail AR in my La Sportiva Fireblades, also without orthotics. My feel were golden the whole event.  I have had my knees flare up a couple times over the past few months, and I’m not sure if the new form will allow me to put off major knee surgery, but I now feel confident that I can do long runs in my favorite shoes without arch supports. I have also noticed over the past couple of weeks that I am starting to run a bit faster.  My average training pace has gone from 10 minute miles to 9 minute miles and I’ve recoded a few sub 8 minute miles on some runs recently.  Before, going faster resulted increased discomfort in my knees.  Now when I speed up my knee feels fine.  So my progress report is that things are starting to come together and the running is improving and I am a believer in the whole natural running movement. My next shoe purchase will be a pair fo La Sportiva Skylites.