The Break-Up Letter

Dear Hammer Nutrition,

We've had some good times in our relationship, and I couldn't be more thankful for all you've done for me. It's just that...well...this is hard to say: We're no longer going to be exclusive. It's not you, it's me. See, your gels and Perp are great, and I'll continue to use them, but I can't go on living a lie by saying I'm 100% faithful to you.  The truth is there are some really good products out there made by other companies, and I like to mix and match them to squeeze the most out of my abilities. Thanks again for your support in the past, but from now on I've decided to be true to myself and run as a free agent in the nutrition dating scene.

Your Friend,
Dan

P.S. - Maybe now you could back off a bit on the 98 letters a week you send me.  While I'm sure you have the lab proof that 25,000mg of Boron, Xobaline, Chromemate, etc. every morning will make us all better athletes, if I spent all day ingesting the dump truck full of pills you recommend, I wouldn't have any time in the day left for actual running.

This package from FedEx reminded me I have a lot of work to do this off-season!

Inside jokes aside, I am thankful to Hammer for their support in the past, and their gels and Perpetuem will continue to be the staple of my training and racing fuel. However, no one can deny the motivational slap in the butt you get from hitting an occasional Roctane every couple of hours...and I will challenge any naysayers to a duel to the death if they think there's a better recovery drink out there than Ultragen.  With the arrival of 2011, I'm happy to have finished my sponsorship obligations to Hammer so I can now sign the praises of every great product I find (Hammer stuff included).

As for actual running, work didn't allow me to run two-a-days every day last week, but I did get enough of them in to start the transition nicely. One thing I think I've learned already is to head out a little more relaxed on my evening runs. The recovery time between those runs and my 4,000 ft. climb at 5:00 a.m. seems painfully short most mornings. I'm sure my body is benefiting from the steady work on tired legs though, and I won't let up too much, I just wish this "benefiting" didn't burn my legs so much!