The Good Stuff.

12.20.2022

New Shoes. Starting out the next year on the right foot. Or the left...


 My favorite shoes for all day walking around are just about anything from Keen. These Targhee iii casual walking shoes were on sale for half price. I couldn't resist. I get about two years of wear out of most hiking shoes. I tend to put on a lot of miles and very few of them on smooth floors or carpeting. The soles eventually wear down. Resoling them isn't very cost effective. I'm not even sure it can be down. But this brand is one of the few with enough arch support and good tread to make me comfortable and happy. 

After wearing this new pair around for a week I could kick myself for not ordering a second pair at that price. It's a good practice to rotate through your hiking shoes to keep them from wearing down too quickly. Also, letting them sit a day or two after a long day's service lets the absorbing materials regain their loft for the next foray. 

I think we have three more days of good swim weather until Thursday afternoon brings the deep freeze to town. I made the most of today's swim. Attendance was sparse for the noon workout but that meant the three of us who showed up had more personalized coaching. Thursday morning's pre-storm workout should be packed. 

And for the those brilliant readers who follow swimming... I was excited to see Brendan Hanson on the pool deck today. He was giving a one on one coaching session to a lucky high school swimmer. I listened carefully between my sets.... 

Brendan Hansen
Brendan Hansen closeup (6404092023) (cropped).jpg
Personal information
Full nameBrendan Joseph Hansen
National team United States
BornAugust 15, 1981 (age 41)
Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight189 lb (86 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubLonghorn Aquatics
College teamUniversity of Texas
Medal record

Brendan Joseph Hansen (born August 15, 1981) is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in breaststroke events. Hansen is a six-time Olympic medalist, and is also a former world record-holder in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events (long course).

He won a total of twenty-five medals in major international competition, eighteen gold, four silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and won the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics

6 comments:

JC said...

I have two primary clothing interests -- jackets and shoes. Those look like nice shoes and they get good ratings, but my problem with similar shoes, here in snow country, is that they track snow and mud into the house no matter how hard you try to stomp them clean outside. I'd really like a pair of tough waterproof boots like these, but with soles like boat shoes -- good grip on wet surfaces without dragging in a pound of dirt and mud and snow, and wipeable inside.

Kirk, Photographer/Writer said...

Shoe Bidet? Right by the back door? And yes, I have a huge collection of jackets and formidable looking shoes for what is usually a very warm climate.... But they look so cool.

Currently breaking in a pair of insulated North Face Boots. Same issue: thick treads. A blessing and a curse.

Mitch said...

A hearty agreement on anything made by Keen. Not much good for this time of year in the Northeast. But outside of then, they are excellent gear to use on assignment. As well as great for non working hours. Also love them for those days on the trail as well as the occasional walking around day in NYC. Appreciate that right out of the box they don't tend to have that "rock hard sole" so many other hikers do until broken in.

Jackets? Not quite as bad as my camera bag/case collection. Not AS bad but close.

Greg Heins said...

This is when I bring up one of my ‘make-my-fortune’ ideas: a sort of car wash for shoes and boots. Think of a mat by the door. You stand on it and warm water sprays gently on your soles - but no higher - as brushes go back and forth. After a few rounds of this, the air dryer comes on and then a gentle voice tells you when you are finished. You read it here first.

Steve Vansak said...

Nice, another Keen fan! I’ve been wearing and buying from them for years. I’m wearing a pair from their Keen Utility brand right now. My only criticism is they have seemed to hop onto the bandwagon of making hiking boots look like sneakers. I prefer a one color look like yours or at the very least more subdued. Also, the laces tend to wear out fairly quickly and the pairs that come with the shoes often cannot be ordered alone.

JC said...

Since Greg brought up there big money idea, the sole wash, ("Soul Wash would be a better marketing concept) here's my gift to budding entrepreneurs. I call it a "nap cape." Or, if you're younger, a "sleep hoody." It would be like a cape, or the back half of a hoody (without the front panels or arms, plus half of the hood.) Essentially, it would be a blanket that would cover you from the neck to the waist, with an attached hood-like panel that would cover your face from the bottom of your nose to the top of your head. You'd lie on your back and cover yourself with the cape, which would keep you nice and warm, while the hood would serve as a sleep mask, without the pressure that a sleep mask puts on you. The space from your nose to your chin would be open, so you could breathe easily. I actually sort of have one of these -- a parka, with a zip-on hood. I partly unzip the hood to make a breathing hole, and cover my eyes and body with the rest of it. Very comfortable. Sell through ads in the New Yorker. Make millions. Send some of it to me.

Post a Comment

We Moderate Comments, Yours might not appear right after you hit return. Be patient; I'm usually pretty quick on getting comments up there. Try not to hit return again and again.... If you disagree with something I've written please do so civilly. Be nice or see your comments fly into the void. Anonymous posters are not given special privileges or dispensation. If technology alone requires you to be anonymous your comments will likely pass through moderation if you "sign" them. A new note: Don't tell me how to write or how to blog! I can't make you comment but I don't want to wade through spam!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.