About to step out the door for a few. I'll run long-ish tomorrow.

QOTD: What is your favorite sock, and how much difference do you think socks make once you eliminate cotton socks and go to a tech sock?

I haven't bought socks in awhile and was looking at some yesterday and realized that some are not that cheap. I would have to say my favorite socks are Drymax. But I do like Swiftwick, too. My day to day running is usually in some cheaper pair of socks I got from Academy or a local running store, but they are running socks, usually out of a 3 pack for 12 to 15 bucks. I don't know how much difference one technical sock makes over another, but I have had good experiences with Drymax and Swiftwick with long, long runs. So, I may pay a price for a 3 pack for one pair if I believe in them. Of course, I have never run a race longer than 50 miles without having at least one blister. And I think I ran the one 50 with no blisters in a pair of my 3 pack socks. Hmmm. In fact, I know I did. So, I am not sure how much it matters.

Couldn't get to sleep last night until about 2 am.  Chalk that up to the joys of working night shift. So I just staggered out of bed about 2-3 hours later than I wanted and I had so much I wanted to do today.  I was planning on about 10 miles up on the mountain in the middle of the day. Not sure if I'll get that in now since I got up so late. Right now I'm trying to avoid running in the woods in the early morning and late afternoon so I don't mess up the archery hunters. Also today was the first day of our early muzzleloader season so there may be a few more people out hunting than normal. Maybe I'll just stick to the roads and break in my new Bondi 4s. If so I'll probably try for a little over 8.

QOTD: For several years I was exclusively buying the double layer Wright sock. They seemed to work well and never get a blister unless I keep wearing them after they become threadbare.  Recently I switched to wearing socks that I was getting in the swag bags at some of the races. For awhile that was very popular and I have a mix of Wigwam, Save our Soles and some others that I'm not sure what brand they are. Almost all of those are wool which I don't really care for unless the weather is cold.  They tend to make me sweat more and smell and it doesn't look like they will last as long.

Several years ago I bought a pack of what I think is Nike running socks. Got them in the running section at Dick's. They are junk and will cause me to blister on the bottom of the foot for anything over 6-7 miles. When I have to buy socks again I'll stick to the running stores and pick up whatever they carry.  They may be more expensive but I hate blisters.

Last day of trailfest...we ran 19 miles above the grand canyon.  It was mostly in the woods with the trail hitting the rim 4 times.  Most folks were disappointed in that run.

Qotd:  i wear dam tough wool socks.  I don't get blisters.  They are thick and over the ankle which I like and come in nice colors and designs.  They are $12 a pair with a lifetime garuntee which I have never used since they have yet to get a hole and some pairs are going on 7 years old.  They hold up much better than Smartwool.

5 miles here today once everybody was gone. Not even close to 100%, but I'm in a good spot now.

The race went well, but I only had a handful of runners. Still, they and the few volunteers enjoyed themselves, we had a gorgeous fall day, and the race format turned out to be the perfect balance of challenge and accessibility. So although it would've been nice to have a bunch more runners, I can't complain too much. God, that was a lot of work, though!

QOTD: Regular/summer running I swear by Balega Hidden Comfort socks. They're expensive, but you can often find them on sale and they're cushy, I've never had a blister while wearing them, and I have yet to wear one out (one pair is 3 years old and they all get worn frequently). For winter I wear Drymax. Not perfect, but close and a great value.

Happy Sunday folks. Ran a very low key 5k race this morning near my house. It was $15, supporting a great cause and it was less than 5 minutes away so I couldn't NOT do it. This was the first year, so turnout was low but it was a good course and they had tamales at the end. Best post-race food I think I've ever had.  It was also dog friendly, too. I hope they do it again next year.

Blarg- congrats on the race yesterday-- are you going to do it again?

NHLA- did you get tickets for the African-American museum?

qotd: Smartwool only. I like the thicker, no show hiking socks, not the thin running socks.  They wear really well for me, but I'm not running the distances most of you are.  I want to try the darn tough socks, but every time I go to REI, they are either out of the size I need or style I prefer. My sister has gone to their annual warehouse/clearance sale and is stocked for a lifetime. No running socks to share with me, though.

Thanks y'all. DC, I guess I would, although part of my reasons are that I spent 5 years creating this trail system and in the months to come could find myself in a different place entirely. I wanted to celebrate it while I had the chance. Btw, tamales sounds great! I made large amounts of a popular old family recipe for beef lentil (and veg lentil) soup for the race that went over well. Anybody that goes beyond hot dogs and pizza has my respect, though.

I've been on the fence about a run today... still pretty beat and all things considered it's no surprise, so I may just chalk it up and try tomorrow.

runtraildc  No I didn'. It was so backed up we didn't try but I will be back. We need to get together next time. SIL lives in Alexandria.