Ran the Naked Bavarian 40 miler trail race over the weekend. I didn’t train much for it. I tore my MCL back in September and slowly got back into running. In January I really started piling on the miles which started giving me shin splints so I had to cut back on my miles and even stop for a bit. So I went into running a difficult 40 mile trail race with my previous longest run at only 9 miles. A long way off from 40. Anyway, I hung in there, got just ahead of the cutoffs and actually passed a few people in the last 15 miles to finish 91st out of 99. There were over 40 runners who actually gave up after their first 20 mile lap. My teammate Keilynn ran the 20 mile version of the race and wrote this great recap, I hope you all check it out. It has some great pictures in it: http://natureorbust.com/2016/03/07/naked-bavarian-marathon/

A few years ago I started to become interested in men’s personal grooming. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe I didn’t like the way my skin reacted to those overpriced quadruple blade systems. Maybe I actually started caring about my skin. Maybe I got tired of spending a fortune on replacement blades every month, or having to charge up some cheap plastic electric razor. Maybe I just wanted shaving to feel a little more traditional.

I’m far from knowledgeable or even experienced, but I genuinely look forward to shaving every day and wanted to share some of my limited experience. Every morning I make sure I give myself a little extra time to do it right. If I don’t shave right after a shower, I usually relax my skin with a hot towel prepared with a little bit of  Vick’s VaporRub.

I use Taylor of Old Bond Street shave soap. I’ve been in love with their lavender scent, although I honestly haven’t tried a scent from them that I didn’t enjoy. I’ll occasionally use other shave soaps as well, such as Geo. F. Trumper and Proraso. I use a generic ceramic shave mug to hold the soap, along with a pure badger hair shave brush from The Art of Shaving. When I first started out I used a cheap brush that quickly fell apart, so my advice is to upgrade to a better shave brush. Your skin will thank you.

As far as razors go, I use a long-handled Merkur safety razor. I originally used Merkur double-edged blades, but now I use Feather blades. Some blades are definitely sharper than others, but sharpest isn’t always best. I’ve found that it really depends on your shaving style and skin type.

As for aftershaves, that’s completely up to personal preference. Going back to my original reasoning for shaving this way, part of it is because I want it to feel classic and masculine. Because of that, I tend to use more old-school aftershaves—musky, spicy, traditional scents. I honestly don’t think I use a single contemporary aftershave.

The aftershave I use most is Clubman Pinaud. Clubman has been around since the early 1800s, and it was one of the first aftershaves I ever used. It’s a fresh powdery scent and still my go-to when heading out to events. If I’m going to an evening dinner date or small party, I’ll usually use a bay rum aftershave. Different brands all have their own variations, but for the most part they’re spicy scents that really stand out. I usually use Clubman Bay Rum or Layrite No. 9 Bay Rum.

For everyday use during the spring and summer, I tend to use Lucky Tiger, Aqua Velva, or Florida Water—another classic product that dates back to the early 1800s. During the fall and winter I usually find myself reaching for Skin Bracer or Stetson. Other aftershaves that regularly stay in rotation are Old Spice Classic and Brut Classic, two scents that are recognizable, relaxing, and great for the daily grind.

There are so many aftershaves out there, and like I said, everyone has their own preferences and favorites. Some aftershaves I’d still love to try someday are Canoe, Musgo Real, Osage Rub, British Sterling, Gabel’s Bay Rum, Royall Lyme, Muelhens, Clubman Lilac Vegetal, Clubman Lime Sec, Tabac, Proraso, Jovan Musk, Royal Copenhagen, and English Leather.

If anyone feels like gifting me a bottle of any of them, I’d be forever grateful.

I had just posted after a long break and noticed the design of my blog and other things just weren’t right. So I updated everything so it should look a lot better and easier to navigate. Enjoy!

I haven’t been posting much lately. Just updating my Race Schedule. Here’s some hi-lights from this past fall.

I received a pretty significant knee injury during a local OCR 5k mud run. I was in the lead and lost the lead because I took a wrong turn. By the time I got back on track I was near the middle of the pack. So I ran extra hard trying to regain the lead. I was slowly reeling in the leader. I had him. But because I was running so hard I was also very reckless. I ran beyond my ability. I ran up to the top of a 7 foot hay bale ladder and leaped from the very top. Everything came crashing down on my knee. It started swelling immediately and I was unable to bend it. 

I missed a week of work and kept and aggressively treated it. I never went to a doctor or got an MRI taken. I’m assuming at worse it was a torn MCL. I was more depressed than anything. I sat around and instead of working out I ate ice cream and watched TV. I slowly got back into running again, albeit a bit painful, and only recently have I started strengthening again. I did do a couple of races, a 6k and a 5 mile race. I felt faster than I thought I would be but a ways off from where I was. 4 months later my knee still hurts at times and gets stiff often. I have increased my running and overall I feel great. Bending the knee is still an issue but I feel myself coming along nicely.

In other news, my 1998 Honda Civic EX finally bit the dust. For the past few years I stopped spending money on it. There were many issues and I just didn’t want to take care of it anymore. Besides the normal oil changes. It was time to get a new car. I bought a brand new 2016 Honda HR-V EX AWD. It’s a beautiful car. It’s considered a crossover. A mini-SUV. I am absolutely in love with it. Can hardly wait to take it on some road trips!

It was tough to see my Civic go, I was so sad. I loved that car. Once I started driving the HR-V I never thought of the Civic again! Bye 1998 Civic!

3 weeks later a rock would hit the windshield of my HR-V. I made the mistake of getting the windshield repaired instead of replaced. There is an awful looking blemish there. Most likely always will be. 🙁

That’s all for now!

Over the weekend I ran a 24 hour ultramarathon. I’ve received many comments on Facebook and just had to share this one:

I’m so proud of you. I told my son what you’ve been doing. He asked if you’re a hero just practicing. I said practicing for what? He said heroes practice just to practice because heroes make us want to be better like them.

That was so touching to read and really kept me going during the race. It made me think of the 2nd time that I did the Spartan Race World Championship in Killington and my friend sent me this message later:

Impressive! And you still had the spirit to smile at us as we passed over you on the gondola as you were decending from that hellish summit. *my son* said “John is my best friend” several times this weekend.

It feels so good to be an inspiration to these kids. Motivating them to go outdoors and be active and enjoy nature makes me feel so great. Our planet is beautiful, I wish that I had spent more time enjoying it as a child, but I feel even better inspiring other kids to do just that. Go outside!