ORN: On this cool, foggy morning I ran a descending ladder interval workout, from 1,200 meters down to 200 meters with 200 meter rest intervals, one mile warm-up, and one mile cool down. How am I able to mix metric and Imperial units with reckless abandon like that? It has to do with math and awesomeness. I won't bore you. Anywho, I couldn't be more pleased with these results:
1,200 meters - 5'46" target - 5'49" actual
1,000 meters - 4'46" target - 4'50" actual
800 meters - 3'47" target - 3'41" actual
600 meters - 2'49" target - 2'48" actual
400 meters - 1'51" target - 1'51" actual
200 meters - 0'50" target - 0'51" actual
All in all, I ran 5.4 miles in 52'42" and was totally spent by the end. My legs were twitchy all day, in fact. That's how you do a speed workout. Moving on.
This is my third week running with
Nike Free 5.0 trainers. I discovered the Nike Frees while researching barefoot running. Lately, I read a lot about barefoot running and whether or not it's better for injury prevention than running with shoes. There are interesting studies showing that there is no significant relationship between wearing running shoes and injury prevention. [See
this article and you can Google others.] In fact, I've read that running shoes can contribute to injuries by forcing your foot to do unnatural things, like heel strike, which can cause problems from your hips on down. I'm not qualified to judge whether these studies are valid or not, but barefoot running passes my gut test. It seems obvious that humans have evolved to run. We are born naked and shoeless into this world; therefore, shouldn't it follow that we are intended to run barefoot? We are built to handle the stresses and loads of galloping over the plains, chasing dinosaurs and whatnot. But I agree with my wife that we are not built to run on asphalt and broken glass, which composes most of the running surfaces I experience these days. So as I considered sipping from the barefoot running Kool Aid, I looked for a solution that included some measure of sole protection.
As if by magic, about the time this barefoot running conversation started heating up on the t00bs, the wise folks in Nike's marketing department thought it might be a good idea to get ahead of the game. After all, if you have a bunch of smelly hippies running without shoes in the park, then that's revenue not going into Nike's deep pockets. And thus was born the Nike Free line.
I'll let you go research the shoe itself -- its features and whatnot. I'm going to assume you've done that and expound on my experiences with them. I cannot deny they feel strange. The upper feels like you are wearing a sock rather than a shoe. But that's a good thing. It gives me the illusion that I am running barefoot. In fact, it feels lighter than any shoe I've ever used apart from a sandal or water shoe. Running in them takes a little getting used to, but not as much as Nike suggests. They say you should ease into running on them, starting with a day or two out of a typical training week and building up. I didn't do that. I jumped right in with both feet.
Running in it, I feel everything going on down there. That's an unusual sensation for me. Usually, when I shop for shoes, I don't want to feel the road. It's hard and covered with painful little stones. I want to wrap my feet in soft pillows of unicorn giggles and rainbows. The Nike Free strips away all that sissy crap and gives me a much less mediated experience of the road. It takes some getting used to. After each run, in addition to my normal sensation of fatigue in my legs, my feet also feel like they've gotten a workout, which they have. They don't feel beaten and abused. It's like they're getting used for the first time. They're having to do the work my Viking forefathers' feet had to do as they ran up the coast from the ship to plunder Europe. Now, my feet have to pronate and absorb shock as they were designed to do. They flex, stretch, and push off naturally, without artificial restrictions or enhancements. In short, I feel my feet getting stronger. I think the shoes have actually improved my plantar fasciitis.
I would recommend these shoes to anyone whose feet have normal arches, normal strides, and no need for lots of support. I don't know how high-arched or flat-footed people would like the lack of structure in the shoe. One complaint I have is that, since the upper is barely there, when I run with my Polar foot pod, my instep gets pounded by the little 2 ounce gadget bouncing up and down on my laces. After my long run Sunday, I felt like a smurf had been hitting my foot with a hammer for 10 miles. It's still tender a couple days later. I gotta figure that one out.
The bottom line is that I am pleased with the shoe, would buy it again or would even consider going to the 3.0, which is lighter and even closer to running barefoot.
ORN: Today I did what only the foolish or space-station-bound would ever attempt. I set out to run my full 15-mile long run on the treadmill at the YMCA. I managed to do 10.12 miles in 1:40'36" before quitting. If I ran another step, I would have lost my mind. I promised myself I would do the remaining five miles on the road later on.
I failed.
I chose, instead, to rest and eat pork mai fun and then take a bath. I'm not feeling very well, and I decided to baby myself. Ten miles is plenty. I'll do better next week.
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ORN: This morning, even though I coveted an extra hour of sleep, I drove to the park and ran 7.2 miles in 1:11'32". I ran one mile easy, five miles at marathon pace, and then a mile-point-two easy to cool down. Everything was dandy, even the hills, until the last mile of the tempo section. Running up to Hogan's fountain killed me, and then the run up Barrett Hill raised me from the dead and killed me again. Somewhere between these two hills was when my energy failed me, and staying on pace became nearly impossible. I finished glad the run was done even though I missed my goal time by five minutes.
Yesterday, I did 20 laps in the pool using just the kick board. Then I did the FIRST plan's strength exercises. Combine that with today's hilly tempo run, and my thighs feel like punching bags. Tomorrow, I think I will do that rowing-biking workout. It was fun.
Also yesterday, I kicked off the intense [read: obnoxious] phase of my 2009 Chicago Marathon/American Cancer Society campaign. Within 24 hours, my network of friends, family, and colleagues chipped in almost $300 -- fantastic. In fact, it's an fantastic start on my fund-raising goal of $2,000. Thanks to all who've donated thus far.
ORN: This morning's weather was nearly perfect for this time of year -- around 67° and 72% humidity. I sweat but just barely. There was even a cool breeze to help me in the recoveries as I did a 4x800 interval workout. My total for the day was 4.5 miles in 43'52". My target pace was 3'47", and I was close, as you can see below:
- 3'59"
- 3'55"
- 3'53"
- 4'02" <-- pooped!
Over the weekend, I traveled to Columbus, Ohio for the Origins Game Fair, which is a large gathering of gamer nerds and me. Wifey, my friends, and I were the only cool people there. Honest. OK, well, at least we weren't dressed up in costumes. Or furries. I had every intention of getting up Saturday morning and running 13 miles, but I was in such sleep debt from the week before, I felt that I had to sleep in. And then I slept in on Sunday too. So I failed to do my long run last weekend. A bad start to marathon training.
It's bad because I am in a slight mental rut as my program gets started. Usually, I start a plan excited and then run into a wall after 12 weeks or so. Starting off in a funk seems like I might be headed for trouble.
ORN: This morning I ran a tempo run -- two miles easy, two miles hard, two miles easy -- for a total of 6.2 miles in 1:00'20". My target time was 58 minutes and some change, so I blew that. Despite the weather being a wholly reasonable 67° with 94% humidity, I still had trouble making my paces. Yet I'm not too worried about it. For one thing, it's early in the training plan. Also, I'm just coming off an injury. And of course my route this morning was quite hilly. In fact, at the two mile mark, where I am supposed to accelerate to "short tempo pace", I was about 20 meters into a long [1+ mile] series of stair-step uphills. In short, the run was hard and left me soaking wet, tired, and happy to be done with physical activity for the day.
Yesterday was a cross training day, and I put in 45 moderate-effort minutes on a stationary bike. Then, after Little One went to bed, I did the FIRST-recommended resistance training routine. That consists of some squats, lunges, calf-raises, dumbbell rows, and push ups with an exercise ball. How do you do push ups with an exercise ball, you ask? Very carefully, I learned. I place my hands about shoulder-width apart on the ball as my body lays on it with the ball hitting me mid-torso. Then, I try to do a push up. Imagine trying to serve martinis while standing up on a canoe on one leg. Imagine tightrope walking in a wind storm. Imagine trying to balance on one foot atop an upright baseball bat. Doing a push up on an exercise ball is friggin' hard. In demented Weeble fashion, it wants to wobble and make me fall down. It was unpleasant and difficult. What's the point? The effort of trying not to fall on your face, apparently, works your core muscles like crazy [true dat] providing a more intense workout than a standard push up. If I can get through this marathon training plan without a broken nose, it'll be a miracle.
So, I have another cross training day tomorrow, and then I plan on doing my long run Friday, instead of Saturday, on account of some plans we have for the weekend. Friday's the best time for me to do my 13 miler. Starting my day at 4 AM and running 13 miles ought to make work a pleasure.
ORN: This morning, I ran 5.36 miles in 54'53". This was scheduled to be a 3x1600 interval workout with 60 second recoveries, but I am so out of shape that I fell wide of the mark. I just wanted to finish, to complete the workout. I didn't even get close to my target pace, and I totally dogged the last 1600. The temperature was nearly 80° with 90% humidity, and I just cannot perform at 100% in that kind of weather. It just saps all my strength.
But today's workout was important for a couple reasons. First, today is the first day of training for the Chicago Marathon. [By the way, if you wanted to register but waited too long, the American Cancer Society still has slots available through their charity runner program. Google their website.] Second, today was my first day running with my new kicks -- a pair of black Nike Free 5.0s, sent with loving-kindness by my dear friends at Zappos.com. I'll do a full review of them in a couple weeks, but my first impressions are highly favorable. They rock, in fact. I can feel lots more of the ground through them, and I felt faster, even though I wasn't. Nice shoes.
ORN: This morning, in the wee hours, I ran 10.3 miles in 1:56'31". The weather was a pleasant 70° with a swampy 92% humidity. It had rained buckets overnight leaving everything drenched and steamy. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant, hilly, long run through some of the priciest real estate in town. If it were later in the day, the rich folks could have seen my pasty, sweaty blubber flopping down the road. As it was 6 AM when I started, only the oldest residents were up and about.
Today was notable for two reasons. First, I saw a deer just outside my neighborhood. This is unusual since I live in a rather built-up suburb. I've never, ever seen a deer in my neighborhood. Second, I graduated into the realm of the "real runner" crowd. If there was ever any doubt, let it be removed today. I had my first bathroom emergency while running. I will leave the details as an exercise for your imagination, and only say that I was incredibly discreet. I don't know what was going on, but I'm OK now.
Time for breakfast.
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