Weeknote 17: Failed demos, hotel rooms, travel and snippets of exercise (Week 18. 2018)

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 7 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

This week, I’ve learned that:

  • I must trust my better judgement and never allow anyone to push me into demonstrating their products without a properly rehearsed demo and the right equipment…
  • There are people working in offices today who not only claim to be IT illiterate but seem to think that’s acceptable in the modern workplace:
  • That operations teams have a tremendous amount of power to disregard and even override recommendations provided by architects who are paid to provide solid technical advice.
  • That, in 2018, some conference organisers not only think an all-male panel is acceptable but are hostile when given feedback…

I’ve also:

  • Gone on a mini-tour of Southern England working in London, Bristol and Birmingham for the first four days of the week. It did include a bonus ride on a brand new train though and a stint in first class (because it was only £3 more than standard – I’ll happily pay the difference)!
  • Taken a trip down memory lane, revisiting the place where I started my full-time career in 1994 (only to be told by a colleague that he wasn’t even born in 1994):
  • Squeezed in a “run” (actually more like a slow shuffle) as I try to fit exercise around a busy work schedule and living out of a suitcase.
  • Managed to take my youngest son swimming after weeks of trying to make it home in time.
  • Written my first blog post that’s not a “weeknote” in months!
  • Picked up a writing tip to understand the use of the passive voice:

So the week definitely finished better than it started and, as we head into a long weekend, the forecast includes a fair amount of sunshine – hopefully I’ll squeeze in a bike ride or two!

How changing the way I tie my shoe laces improved my running comfort

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 13 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

I never thought I’d be putting up a blog post about tying my shoelaces, but this little tip has been a godsend for me and I thought it was worth sharing.

A few months ago, I bought some new running shoes. I used a reputable running shop, with the facilities to perform gait testing (for me that was Advance Performance in Peterborough – Up and Running in Milton Keynes were friendly enough but seemed to have issues with getting sufficient stock) and I eased myself into them with some shorter loops around town before going out on my usual 5-mile circuit (which is a mixture of road running and cross-country).

Unfortunately I was suffering with some pain on the side of my feet, above the arches and getting blisters to match – the Arch Lock on my Saucony ProGrid Stabil CS2s seemed to be rubbing.

I went back to the shop, who tested me in the shoes again (definitely a good fit) but also suggested a couple of modifications to how I tie them. Firstly, I skipped a hole above the Arch Lock but I’m pretty sure the big difference came from switching to a lock-lacing method, also known as a runner’s tie (the video shown here is from Runners World but the same technique is also described in pictures at run4it).  I hadn’t noticed that my heel was slipping, but it seemed to work, by creating a loop with the last two eyelets then feeding the laces through the opposite side, pulling down to tighten and up to tie in a bow as usual.

Since changing the way I lace my shoes I’ve had no problems at all…