Racquetball

Image: Wikipedia

Sunday I played my first serious game of racquetball. I have tried the game several times over the years but never tried to play by the rules to much as just get in and get a rally going.

We were certainly rusty on the rules and thankfully they had them posted at the door of the court. With that and research the night before we played a match, best 2 of 3, each game to 15 points.

I was able to win the first after a long spell of us learning the ropes and a deadlocked 4-4 before I finally pulled away. The next two games went to my opponent and he got big leads which I came a hair within closing but alas he was able to pull it out to beat me.

The 3 matches (due to our learning as we went) took us 80 minutes. In that time I think I lost 5 lbs of sweat, did 2 impressions of a bird striking a window on the viewing glass, and developed a nice blister on the bottom of my foot. All in all, a good match.

I certainly could use some lessons but here are some helpful resources in case you want to try it out:

• Racquetball Wiki
• Book: Skills, Drills & Strategies for Racquetball
• USA Racquetball Rules

What are Maximalist Shoes?

What are Maximalist Shoes and should you look into them? These are questions I asked myself when I read about this new style running shoe. Would they help reduce shin splints? Would they help my form? Would I run faster?

Before I jump into Maximalist shoes I figured I would research this new running trend which I am sure will take off the year. Given the rise and fall in popularity of Minimalist shoes I figure these shoes will follow the same trend. Will they last though and become a common shoe for the average day runner?

A good introduction to what Maximalist shoes are available is at: http://running.competitor.com/2014/02/shoes-and-gear/sole-man-12-things-about-maximalist-shoes_94938

Over at http://onceandalwaysarunner.com/2014/01/29/minimalist-maximalist-shoes-in-the-post-five-fingers-boom/ they asked similar questions I have and they did a great analysis of the Minimalist trend that has now been replaced with the Maximalist trend.

From my own emergence with Minimalist running I can attest to the problems that result from it. I experienced lots of aches and pains as I ramped up with minimalist running. The aches and pains were fine but I had to give up minimalist running when I experienced multiple leg issues like sprained calves and a sprained hamstring. I did experience some faster paces so some of this was a case of faster but at what cost? I decided to run minimalist less often and be more pain free which is why I dropped running minimalist regularly.

I will keep an eye on the price of the Maximalist shoes and hold out while I look for mere research on these. For now I will kept running and keep my eye on this new trend.

Are you using Maximalist shoes? How are they?