Retiring an old friend

I had been looking for a way to sort of "memorialize" my old pair of Vibram Spyridons before I stash it away forever in that great big shoe closet in the sky, and just got an idea for it recently. The Spyridons has been with me through my very first Ultra at Hells Hills 50K, 6 additional Ultras through 2012 including both my 50 Milers, a couple smaller trail races, and countless training runs in between for an estimated 500 trail miles. I was very tempted to bring my old pair of Spyridons to Rocky Raccoon 100 for one last go around, but it's pretty much falling apart now, so I wore it's sexy new Orange/Olive Spyridon sibling instead.

There's a sense of primal connection I feel whenever I take my Vibrams on the trail, to be so close to the ground and actually feel the roughness and all the subtleties of the terrain you're running on provides a whole new sensory aspect to trail running that's simply missing with bulky and cushioned shoes. You can't exactly picture yourself as a lithe and agile jungle cat steathily making your way through the woods with a pair of Hokas on, but that's how I imagine myself a lot of the times on the trail with my Vibrams. With that said though...it's not always the best choice to bring them on very technical trails, I've been ceding more of those grounds to my Altras, but I feel like I'm running partially blind every time.

Time to retire an old friend, I've never felt more attached to a shoe in my life; I can't help but find myself sometimes staring at it and reminiscing about all the pain and glory it has carried me through on one grueling Ultra after another. Here's hoping my newest pair of Spyridons will see me through even more amazing and challenging Ultra races and many miles of great memories on the trail; its already off to a good start with the completion of Rocky Raccoon 100. A list of the races I've finished wearing my retired Spyridons:

2012 Run Like the Wind - 51 Miles
2012 Wild Hare 50 Mile
2012 Rocky Raccoon 50K
2012 Whispering Pines 50K
2012 Reveille Ranch 60K
2012 Cedar Ridge Trail Run 36K
2012 Pedernales Falls 60K
2012 Pandora BoX of RoX Half-Marathon Trail Run
2012 Hells Hills 50K