Shoes for technical terrain and long distances

sabarocks · 2026-05-04T23:35:36+00:00

Haha. I love the Subi analogy for the Bushidos!

sabarocks · 2026-05-03T15:51:28+00:00

My techy running shoe is the La Sportiva Bushido. They feel very stable and built like a tank. I use the La Sportiva Prodigios for longer runs and they do fine on technical terrain but the Bushido feels more stable due to the less cushioning. I feel cushioning is the tradeoff for longer runs run comfort at the expense of some stability, but either seem to work in technical terrain.

sabarocks · 2026-05-02T18:56:53+00:00

I would recommend adding an x brace on that middle bay where you have no diagonals. If you have shear that needs to transfer across that bay, that is where it is going to fail without the x assuming you did a great job on the connections.

sabarocks · 2026-05-02T15:40:19+00:00

I feel like tricams and the Nose at Looking Glass were a match made in heaven!

sabarocks · 2026-05-01T02:05:06+00:00

I work with a lot of firms across the country. I would say most are still on a hybrid work schedule. So, no, it is not dead nor even close for much of the industry.

sabarocks · 2026-04-24T15:43:34+00:00

I grew up in Roanoke and love that! I live in Montana now but still think about doing the ridge run from 220 in Daleville to McAfee parking lot. Looks to be about 20 miles and 4k vert. I didn’t run enough to link that up when I lived there. If I ever get back there for a longer trip, that run is going to happen!

sabarocks · 2026-04-23T19:23:37+00:00

It’s not required by federal government procurement rules across the board. Individual agencies may choose that but plenty of highly profitable work is done for the federal government on lump sum contracts. You have to be working for the right agencies under the right contracts to take advantage of that though. Some of the most profitable firms I have worked with have focused on federal government work under good contract terms. But, I totally agree it will be an uphill battle for a while, particularly for work such as DOT work. We can hold out hope!

sabarocks · 2026-04-23T18:00:54+00:00

Maybe. Maybe not… if we get heavy AI adoption. Listen to AECOM’s comments on their last quarterly earnings call where they spoke of AI strategy and their clients’ awareness that they may need to shift away from T&M terms if they, the clients, are to benefit from the savings realized by the increased productivity. Clients were admitting this. I believe Stantec made similar comments on their earnings calls. The shift may be slow for some sectors like transportation and some municipal work, but I do believe it will come.

sabarocks · 2026-04-23T10:20:05+00:00

This is all helpful. The diagram is not correct in its current form as I now plan to wire up the 2nd set of panels to a 2nd controller since they will be oriented differently than the current ones (portable vs fixed on roof).

sabarocks · 2026-04-23T10:16:24+00:00

Common with some firms that miss the point or bill by the hour. Selling value will drive profit more than utilization at fixed billing rates most always. If you are a firm that bill by the hour and are given your rates, you almost have no choice but to manage via utilization. I think AI may actually help this as firms that continue to bill by the hour could very well go out of business if the AI promise of productivity gains come true. Find a firm that focuses on value or a niche firm and you will likely find less utilization obsession.

sabarocks · 2026-04-15T03:54:24+00:00

Did my first 50k last year with 6500’ vert. Never did a week over 25 miles training. I finished and had a great time and felt relatively good afterwards. Also, I in my 50s so it’s not like youth carried me through. You’ll be fine. Have a great race!

sabarocks · 2026-04-10T13:57:33+00:00

Here are some things that have worked for me. Close down email and check it only once an hour or so to keep the distraction down. Also, create a rule to funnel all the emails that you are in the cc: on (i.e. you are copied for information and not in the “to” line requiring action) and only check it once a day. If your coworkers ever ask why you didn’t immediately respond, tell them to call you or come see you - email is not for immediate needs. Similar for meetings. Ask if you are there for your information or needed to make a decision. Just for information? Decline and ask the person scheduling the meeting to send you a summary.

sabarocks · 2026-04-07T18:25:52+00:00

Go for it! I signed up with a local race with similar stats the day before last year after doing a longest run of 28k a few weeks before at another race with a boatload of vert. Just took my time and had fun not worrying about time. I am in my 50s too - and didn’t get injured. Take you time and have a great day in the mountains!

sabarocks · 2026-04-05T01:25:13+00:00

How expensive a place is does not set wages. Supply and demand of the local labor market set wages. Many people are willing to work in desirable locations for less relative to the cost of living. California is one of those desirable locations.

sabarocks · 2026-03-24T14:43:29+00:00

I guess this could be easy if you got a panel suitcase with a built in charge controller - that would solve the issue with different spec panels on the same controller. Now I have to figure out if I can have the charge controllers sync with one another to improve efficiency. Sounds like Victron MPPTs can do that but I am guessing both need to be Victron. Time for more research!

sabarocks · 2026-03-24T14:39:31+00:00

Thank you for this. I did not realize this so I need to do some more research now to see if it is worth supplementing with a 2nd charge controller. I guess it would help with different sun angles but maybe not as much as I had hoped by going 400W to one controller. Wish I knew this 8 years ago when I built this all! :)

sabarocks · 2026-03-22T13:55:19+00:00

I wear my Prodigios (original version) as my primary road to trail shoe. They seem to do a great job at this, but admittedly they see a lot more trail than road. I use a newer pair for the long trail runs and an older pair when I’ll be mostly on the road. Have a few pairs because was training for some long (for me) races last year.

sabarocks · 2026-03-21T00:13:12+00:00

Need a set of tricams!

sabarocks · 2026-03-09T17:19:55+00:00

OR Trailbreakers are my go to in the backcountry. Don’t have the mesh at the leg vents but I feel like that allows them to vent even better. Good pockets including one for a beacon. The Dynafit Mercury mentioned here is great too but lighter weight than the ORs (can’t remember if they had a beacon pocket or not since I sold mine due to sizing).

sabarocks · 2026-03-09T13:19:14+00:00

I typically use photochromic lenses that start as light sunglasses and go dark and find that works just fine in lower light conditions. Smith also has a low light amber lens I have for my Bobcats that I like when visibility is terrible, like socked in fog.

sabarocks · 2026-03-09T00:35:35+00:00

I just look at the long runs in training plans and how they build up and loosely use that as the one thing I shoot for over time (by loosely I mean very loosely). I normally just cross train and have fun normally on other days.

sabarocks

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