I go through phases of drinking coffee. I love the stuff, but don’t like the idea of being addicted to caffeine. Last Spring, while I was in the height of a “I WANT COFFEE” phase, I bought a product called the AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker. It’s a really simple vacuum pressure system with very few parts, quick brew time, and no messy cleanup. It was recommended by a local coffee shop, and I figured for $30 it was worth a try. The one thing that scared me about the system is that I try not to drink hot water from plastic. I researched the Aeropress before I bought it and found that it is made with BPA-free platic that’s FDA approved and has been tested by an independent lab to show that it does not leach chemicals into the coffee. I would still rather have a stainless system, but with such reassuring data I figured I was just being paranoid.

So I bought the Aeropress, and it makes AMAZING coffee. It’s smooth, rich, (can be) SUPER strong, and, unlike french press, it lacks acidity and coffee grounds. In short, I like it better than any coffee maker I’ve used before it. So I recommended it to my mom and to Courtenay (who bought one for her mom as well) and a few other people with a need for the easy traveling, no mess coffee maker. Then Courtenay visited me a couple months ago, and she brought her Aeropress - which is made from a different plastic! She ordered hers off Amazon, and I - in an attempt to support local business - purchased mine from a family owned kitchen shop in Manitou Springs. Apparently, mine is from an old stock, and has the BPA in it. I called Aerobie, who makes the Aeropress and the woman sounded surprised that I ended up with the older plastic (mine’s blueish and the new ones are not). I fully expected her to replace it for the cost of shipping, at-most, but she said it would cost $20 (including shipping) for the replacement parts. I told her that I’ve recommended the product to several people, it didn’t change the price. $20? The original cost me $29.99: retail! I told her I thought they should replace them for free since their advertising of BPA plastic is why I purchased the product, but I ended up giving her my credit card info and agreeing to pay $20. So it goes…

Or does it? I was just finishing that last paragraph and trying to decide how I could recommend the coffee maker without having to recommend a product from a brand with poor customer service when they called me back. “Hello, Ben? This is Michelle from Aerobie, I just talked to our manager and we agreed that we could replace those parts for just the cost of shipping.” Sweet! That’s what I expected in the first place! Way to go Michelle! Moral? Wait at least 10 minutes for the company to call back before you post a nasty blog about a company’s customer service. And buy an Aerobie Aeropress if you want a low-cost, zero-mess, zero maintenance, easy to travel with coffee maker - which produces better coffee than machines ten times its price. (I would say 100 times its price, but the one $3000 espresso machine I’ve had the pleasure of using did make a very good cup of espresso - still, the aeropress can compete.) Just double check before you buy that you’re not buying the older blueish plastic (she told me they haven’t made them in over a year). The new ones are grayish, or just clear.

It’s finally here: taper. My last taper of 2009. Plus, I’m at the most physically and mentally healthy state of being in my athletic career. Now you might ask, “How can anyone even know that?” To which I would respond, “By reading my blog.” Obviously, if it says it on here it must be true.

I took my bike to Speedy Reedy for a quick tune up. I’m back to using a Dura-Ace crank after wearing out my FSA Team cranks in just one year. I love my Quarq Cinqo powermeter, (and I love my FSA bars, stem, seat post, etc.) but I would recommend the SSRAM S900 or the Specialized FACT cranks to anyone buying a new powermeter.

Speaking of ant+ gear, I just got one of the Garmin Premium Heart Rate Monitor Straps (it’s soft, unlike any other ant+ compatible HRM) and an FR60. The strap is nicer than its plastic predecessor, but after a couple of uses, I really can’t say there’s a huge difference in feel during a workout. However, unlike the plastic strap, this one is guaranteed waterproof (oops, I’ve been wearing the old one in the water for years!). It does seem to slip down less, but then the elastic is much newer than on my old strap.

The Garmin FR60 watch is definitely cool. Instead of GPS, it relies on a foot-pod to measure pace and distance. When ordering I didn’t realize that the colored version lacked the foot pod accessory, so I have only used the older foot-pod, which is quite a bit larger and slightly less accurate. The reason I wanted a running watch without GPS is because the FR60 is waterproof, and slim enough to wear during a race where GPS is less important than light-weight and swimmability. I’m also hoping that with the foot-pod I can keep a better log of my miles when I’m running through thick forest, like Saint Edwards State Park near my house.

Tuesday I leave for Huatulco Mexico, where hopefully there will be somebody to pick me up and take me to the host hotel. Right now I feel like crossing my fingers is the most proactive way for me to ensure a safe and successful trip – I’ve already done everything else.

Every time I get a new shipment from K-Swiss I get super excited to find out what new products they’ve released. Since I started working with the company at the beginning of 2008, Kalifornia-Swiss has gone from a one-running-shoe brand (the Ultra-Natural Run) to a full line of innovative and performance-geared running shoes. In that same timeline, the athletic clothing has expanded from a few shirts and some tennis socks, to a full line of running apparel, including shorts, running pants, shirts, running jackets, and even right/left specific running socks (which are incredibly comfortable).

Most recently I got a pre-production pair of the new K-Ruuz 6.5oz racing flats. I’ve never run in shoes that lightweight before, and it’s awesome. Dallas was my fastest 10km time, 32:00, and I’m sure part of what let me run so fast were my new kicks. (As an aside, I probably wouldn’t recommend the K-Ruuz to your average triathlete – the risk of injury when racing in such a minimalist shoe is much higher. Make sure you have some miles under your feet and that you have the body type for a true racing flat. The K’Ona is plenty light at 9oz and still offers great support and stability.)

I also got a running top – which according to the tag is called a “half-zip top” – that I can only find on k-swiss.com for women. It’s made of a super-thin fleece, which has proven to wick my sweat away from my body. It beads on the outside of the shirt, so my clothes never get damp and heavy as  I run. It also has thumb holes, so my hands stay warmer. This is definitely my new favorite cold-weather running top (my previous favorite was a rowing top I stole from my mom’s closet), and if I could find the men’s version on the website I would link it, then buy a few more before they sell out.

Courtenay also just got a new set of kicks from K-Swiss. She went to My K-Swiss and designed her own custom shoes. You can pick your own colors for the fabric, laces, and sole, then you can put your name on the side – all for just $70. Below are the shoes I made with Columbia University in mind, and I’m assuming you’ll get an error message if you try to make shoes for Dartmouth or U. Penn.

Today I learned a new oxymoron. “Hollywood Training”. It doesn’t exist for me here. I went to 24 hour fitness and signed up for a 7 day trial, which gives me access to a 3 lane 25 yard (I sure hope it’s a little long, ‘cause I was swimming quite slowly) pool. After that I gave my friend Nigel a ride to work so I could use his car for a trip to Westlake Village, where I was planning to visit the best athletic apparel and footwear company in existence, K-Swiss.

At the K-House I got to see some of the new shoes coming out early next year. I’m super excited for the new Keahou. The current Keahou is the most comfortable and forgiving running shoe I’ve ever used, and still manages to be lighter weight than most trainers in that price range ($90 – if you want a discount on K-Swiss.com, say something nice on my guestbook page ). Right now I do some track workouts in the lighter-weight K’Ona because it has a more responsive sole and offers greater stability around the corners, so I suggested to the designers that they find a way to get that responsiveness in a high-mileage training shoe like the Keahou – that’s when they introduced me to the Keahou II. I wish I could show sneak peaks – this new shoe is awesome. Hopefully I’ll have a few sample pairs to try out in the next couple months, which will certainly warrant another blog.

Tomorrow I’m planning a 3 hour ride, and wondering if that’s long enough to actually get out of the concrete jungle of Hollywood and LA. Unfortunately, I won’t have a care tomorrow, so driving to my workouts is out of the question. I hope the treadmills at 24 hour fitness are nice.

More than 115,000 people received the summer issue of Triathlon Life magazine this week. If that includes you, flip to the gear spread near the back. There’s a cute picture of me above a pink man-suit, the Garmin Forerunner 310xt, and a Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit.

Next to the Splish suit is a paraphrase of what I remember saying, but it’s much funnier than I could have said it myself. It says , “My girlfriend gave me a suit with a pink unicorn on    the front, but I also like the hearts and flower patterns.” It goes on to mention that you can make suits that do not cry out fairy-tale princess, but lacks any examples. Here are a few of the “manly” designs I really like.

Back in May I went to the Blue70  headquarters here in Seattle to pick up my new Helix wetsuit. The suit is great. I have yet to race in it this season, but I swim in Lake Washington several times a week and the suit is really comfortable, flexible where it needs to be and warm enough that I am consistently the first person doing long open water swims in Seattle.

Blue Seventy is sister companies with Nuun, and while I was at the B70 office I decided to wonder around and say hello to the Nuun crew as well. I found them and received a warm welcome. They have a loft office with open desk areas and it seems like a cool place to work. More than that, they have a rock solid product. I’ve used Nuun in the past before races to help with hydration, but only a tab or two, just to break up the monotony of pure water. Before racing in Oklahoma City and Austin, however, I decided to listen to my doctors and load up on salt with my fluids. I added Nuun to my Clif Shot, I drank Nuun alone, I drank Nuun enhanced water by the gallon, and it felt great. I actually urinated less than I normally do before a race, I put on some water weight, of course, but it was gone by the time I started running on race day. Bottom line, I hydrated better, and didn’t have trouble competing in the heat.

I tried  a couple other brands of electrolyte tabs too. I mean, why stick with what works if there are a bunch of other brands that claim to be better? Here’s what I found.

Motor Tabs: I liked that they had a bit of sugar in them. It seemed like a cool way to pack an energy drink. The downside, they taste really bad. Like sugary Alkaseltzer.

Zym: Worked fine, but I preferred the taste of Nuun. They’re just different. Certainly better than Motor Tabs. They add some extra vitamins to the mix, and have a caffeinated option too. I haven’t read any studies with regards to vitamin B12 consumption during exercise, but maybe that’s good (or bad). I don’t know.

Advocare Rehydrate: This isn’t a tab, so it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but it’s low on sugar and high in electrolytes, and I used it for the same purpose. It’s equal in potassium and sodium composition, which Advocare claims is better. I’ve mostly heard arguments for lots of sodium, but not as much potassium. Regardless, it tastes really good, and I felt really well hydrated afterwards. I don’t know that I would add it to my bottle during a race (Like I do Nuun now), but it certainly is a good alternative to straight water in the pre-race days.

This week I scored a 7 day trial pass to the South Austin Life Time Fitness center. It’s working out really well. They have two 25 meter pools (or at least I hope they’re 25 meters, ‘cause otherwise I’m swimming really slow), and some other stuff I don’t use. Actually, I was all prepared for a negative rant and rave due to a bad experience with the massage studio, Life Spa, but I held off a day, and LTF made it all better.

I got a massage on Wednesday when they had a $60 for an hour special. It was advertized as a “sports massage” and I asked for someone who would know how to work out really tight muscles (post-race soreness can be debilitating). I spent the hour asking the therapist to go harder and receiving a glorified back rub. They had a fancy bed and smelly oils and a bunch of stuff that I don’t care about, and a therapist that wouldn’t respond to my needs, even when asked. Afterwards she asked me how it was and I grunted that it was “relaxing”, then wasn’t quite sure what to say to the front desk when asked to pay. I went home and tried to find a massage studio, but Courtenay told me I was being a bad patron by not telling the management that I was unsatisfied. She told me I should have just walked out, but that since I didn’t I should at least write an email to Life Spa. I did, and this morning they told me I could come back in for another massage on them.

My second massage at the Life Spa was with a girl named Nicole, who is in school learning to be a Physical Therapy Assistant. She’s a small girl, but she packs a punch. It was exactly what I needed. She got in deep and broke up plenty of knots. I didn’t moan, or grab the table, like I do with Jenny (my therapist in Seattle), but I was definitely at my pain threshold – which is what a “sports massage” should be – a little pain for an hour, and then days of improved training.

Thanks Life Time Fitness!