Suunto M-3 Global Compass Review

Suunto M-3 Global Compass

In the world of navigation, there are many choices.  These days people often opt for a purpose built GPS or sometimes even a smartphone. While I own these devices, I tend to leave them at home and instead bring along a simple map and compass.  Of course, there are also people who go naked, without any navigation aid, and instead rely on a well marked trail or other known landmarks to get themselves home. That's not for me either - I'm a compass guy.  Among compasses, there are several types - baseplate models and mirror models being the most popular / useful.

The M-3 Global is Suunto's top of the line baseplate compass, and the one I reach for most often.  I recently purchased a new one after my previous one got lost, forgot its own map and compass, and failed to make it home.  What follows is my thorough review.

Ultralight Recycled Camp Shoes

I promised I share how to make some super simple, super cheap, and super lightweight camp shoes.  Recently I was stuck in the house for an afternoon and needed something to fill my time.  Looking around my gear room, my old trusty blue foam pad caught my eye.  Camp Shoes!  Time to grab the scissors...

Bottle Launching Solved

I've ridden with a bottle behind my saddle for a while now, and have always struggled with bottles launching on rough roads.  It wasn't until a recent ride that I realized how the bottles were being ejected.  Once I knew that, I knew exactly how to fix it... straight ghetto style.

Building a simple workbench

Before I embark on a winter's worth of projects, I needed to get a work area set up.  I had staked a claim to a corner of the basement that would become home to all (most) of my gear and my workshop.  The first major step was to get a workbench put together, as this would be the main focal point and working space in my little shop.

How to Get FREE Topo Maps

If you're like me, you don't leave home for a trip without a map of the area and a good compass.  I can't help you find your way to getting a cheap or free compass, but there are a bunch of great resources online to get free USGS quads that you can print at home and take with you.

MYOG Projects for this Winter

So I've been thinking about a number of new projects to tackle this winter in the Make-Your-Own-Gear (MYOG) department.  I'm not afraid to tinker, so here's what I'm thinking about working on over the winter, in no particular order.  As I write these up, I'll link them here so it will be a quick reference to all my winter projects.  Links to similar projects I used as a template or for inspiration are on the individual project pages.  If you have any thoughts, ideas, or other projects I can turn to for inspiration, feel free to leave a comment.

My Limmer Boot Journey - Part 2 (First Impressions)

Recently I decided to invest in a pair of high-quality, full leather, old-school hiking boots from the Limmer Boot Company in New Hampshire.  You can read all about the ordering process in Part 1.  I then proceeded to do exactly what Mr. Limmer told me NOT to do, and immediately took them out for a 2-day, 20 mile backpacking trip to Dolly Sods.

Backpacking Dolly Sods - October 2014



Dolly Sods in early October, 2014

 

Three friends and I headed to Dolly Sods Wilderness near Davis, West Virginia recently for a weekend of backpacking and taking in the fall color.  We chose a roughly 20 mile route and planned to hike it in about 2 days, hoping that we had timed the trip with the peak of the fall colors, and I have to say the trip worked out extremely well.

My Limmer Boot Journey - Part 1 (The Order Process)

 

I love backpacking.  I really do.  I don't do nearly as much of it as I'd like to, nor do I do enough to justify really awesome gear.  But that doesn't stop me from being a gear whore.  I've trended towards ultralight over the past 10 years, just like everyone else.  And then I got this bug.  This idea in my head that I should buy a pair of "lifetime" boots... You know the ones - really sturdy, full leather, resoleable.  The kind you leave in your will.  And total overkill for my purposes.

But that didn't stop me from searching.  At first I considered full custom, but my feet are pretty normal, and I just couldn't justify the near or over 4-digit price tag of a full custom boot.  So I settled on an off-the-shelf boot from a high-quality manufacturer.  There are numerous options, but for a variety of reasons I set my sights on Limmer Boots. 

How to Make Your Own Chamois Lube

An important but often neglected (or at least rarely discussed) aspect to cycling a lot is the need to lube up the old grundle to keep from getting saddle sores.  There are lots of off-the-shelf solutions out there on the market, but I think it's a bit overpriced for something that I'm just going to rub up against my man parts and sphincter.  Can't live without it, though, so I make my own.  Here's how:

HFP Deer Creek Fall Challenge Race Report



Last Sunday was my last triathlon of the year, and I chose a 70.3 distance race put on by HFP, a local race organization whose races I generally like.  Smaller than the big races but larger than the small races - it's a nice environment to choose for closing out the year.

Change Happens

So, while I dilly-dally to decide which race to do, the landscape of full-distance races in the US is changing.  It might impact my race decision (which I'm admittedly making much ado about nothing), and it might even impact my decision to race long distance triathlon at all.

First up you have WTC/Ironman proving that they care mostly about profit and shareholder value, and that their leadership can be dicks.  There are plenty of examples of this in other blogs and social media.  If you don't read Slowtwitch or follow triathlon on the internet, then you probably don't know a whole lot of this.  The easiest thing is probably for you to go check out this set of articles by The Real Starky, and then check out this follow-up.

Having worked for large public companies and smaller privately held companies I guess I understand, but it doesn't make me feel any better about giving them my money.  They've also cancelled the pro prize purse and Kona qualification points at all of the races I was considering.   Does it matter? I don't know.  Probably not in the short term, and probably more so in the long term.

Then, Challenge and Rev3 go and merge (though it looks more like a buyout of Rev3 by Challenge to me), again changing the picture.  From where I sit, it's hard to get a clear read on what this means for their races, and how the race at Cedar Point that I was considering will change, or if I should add some of the other races in the region to my list (like Challenge Atlantic City).

What it all means to me is that in addition to looking at the details of each race - the logistics, the courses, the timing, etc., I also have to consider emotion and whether or not I'm willing to give my money to one or the other of these enterprises.  Is a particular experience worth the cost, am I willing to participate in a race run by dicks, and how will next year's races compare to the years past?  Is it even worth considering any of these races since the athlete experience is changing quickly, and it will be hard to know what to expect in the next few years as these changes ripple through the long-distance triathlon market?

Which Race to Do - Part 4 (The Run)

This is part 4 of a yet-to-be-determined number of parts detailing race selection for my 2015 "ultra" distance triathlon debut.  In case you missed it, here are the intro, part 1, part 2, and part 3.

In golf they say you drive for show and putt for dough.  The same works in triathlon... you bike for show and run for dough.  Dough, for me, is to finish the race relatively strong, with my chin up, and not in a death march at midnight.

I'm not a fast runner, but I'm a solid middle-of-the-pack runner (go figure).  I like to think that my ability to suffer on the run is decent, and as long as I've done my training I can generally keep my feet moving forward.  I live near a National Park and do a fair amount of trail running... it's hilly but not mountainous.  On road courses I tend to favor flatter courses but also prefer scenic courses - these two normally conflict.  

So, on to the breakdown...

Which Race to Do - Part 3 (The Bike)

This is part 3 of a yet-to-be-determined number of parts detailing race selection for my 2015 "ultra" distance triathlon debut.  In case you missed it, here are the intro, part 1, and part 2.

In part 2 I talked about the differences among the swim courses, so here in part 3 let's talk about the bike.  "Full" or "ultra" distance bike courses are the longest of the three events by distance - 112 miles, and should take the most time of the three events as well.  It's fairly common for folks to overcook the bike segment and end up walking, crawling, shuffling, or otherwise working their way back to the finish line during what's supposed to be the run.  


The bike for me is a difficult event.  I want to be the strongest at it. It's my favorite event to do.  But I often find myself a better runner than cyclist.  I won't dive into all the potential reasons, but suffice to say when I'm looking at bike courses nothing scares me, and that's probably not a good thing.  

With that, lets dive in, shall we?

When Life Gets in the Way

What happens to your training when life gets in the way?  In my case, it wasn't life, but rather an escape from life - a week-long vacation - that got in the way.  Spending a week on the beach with your family is a great time, but it's not a good way to get your workouts in unless you're really disciplined.  I went from commuting to work by bike (20 hilly miles each way) and lunchtime runs to lunchtime cookies and late-night Doritos.

In years past I have brought my bike, but I left it at home this year.  I did bring my running shoes and goggles, expecting to get in a daily open-ocean swim and a decent run.  I did none of that.

Training totals for last week:

• 4 miles walking on the beach carrying a 30 pound kid on my back
• 1 hour of tennis
• 1 hour of bodyboarding

Too much food and way too much junk food + no real workouts = 7 pounds gained in 7 days.  Sweet. 

Can you blame me?



The View from our Deck

Which Race to Do - Part 2 (The Swim)

Note: This is part 2 in my many, many part series about how I chose the race with which to pop my iron-distance triathlon cherry.  Part 1 talks all about race logistics, but if you'd like to go all the way back to the beginning, click here.

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Now let's break down the possibilities by the individual events.  Up first, we'll look at the swim, which can have multiple formats and slightly different rules.  One thing is constant, though - all "Ultra" distance events have a swim that's 2.4 miles.


The swim is the first leg of the race, the shortest leg by both distance and time, and it's also my weakest, so I'm looking for a course that will give me the least amount of trouble.

Remember from Part 1 of my race selection series that there are five contenders:

• Ironman Wisconsin (IMMoo)
• Ironman Louisville (IMLou)
• Ironman Chattanooga (IMChoo)
• Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP)
• and the home race, Rev 3 Cedar Point

Here's how the swims break down:

 

 

Which Race to Do - Part 1 (Logistics)

Note: This is Part 1 in a many, many part series on choosing and training for an Iron distance race in 2015.  The intro, where I explain all of this, is here.

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The first thing we need to do is decide which race to do...

There are 5 contenders for me:

Ironman Wisconsin (IMMoo)
Ironman Louisville (IMLou)
Ironman Chattanooga (IMChoo)
Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP)
and the home race, Rev 3 Cedar Point

Let's kick off by deducting points for the last two since they don't rhyme like the first three.  

The first real question is probably brand (IM vs. Rev3 vs. Challenge), but we'll ignore that for now since it's a way bigger discussion.

Instead, let's talk logistics.  

Going long

So the other day I broke it to my wife that before I turn 40 I'd like to go for a full iron distance race.  It's been on my radar for a while, but I've always tabled it due to other priorities leading to a lack of training time.  Now that my kids are a little older, my job has settled down a bit, and my base fitness has come up, I think it's time to start planning for a race next year.

If you know any triathletes you know that we tend to be a little bit type 'A'.  That's my gentle way of warning you that I'm about to launch into an epic, multi-part series on race selection and all kinds of other things that you'll find quite boring.  Since there are no readers anyway, there's no harm done.

Let's begin, shall we?

Part 1, where I look at logistics, is here.

Mohican Endurance Festival Race Report

This past Sunday I raced in the inaugural Mohican Endurance Festival, hosted by HFP Racing.  HFP normally hosts great events, and they do their best to make them feel 'bigger' than they actually are.  I've been to Mohican State Park in Ohio a number of times camping and fishing and what not, but I've never raced there before, so I was looking forward to this race.



Mohican's iconic covered bridge

Being the inaugural event, I figured the turnout would be a little low.  HFP also capped the field size to 500 racers max - presumably due to park restrictions.  500 racers, that is, spread out across Mini, Sprint, Olympic, and Half distance races.  I chose the Olympic (1 mile swim, 40K/25 mile bike, 10K/6.2 mile run) since I didn't really know where my fitness was at this year, and I expected the field for that race to be pretty small (it was just under 80 people).