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Run

First blister from barefooting

Wednesday, 14 July 2010
in
Distance: 
2.11Km
Time: 
00:17:58

Today I didn't feel like I had much time to spare—I have a lot to get done—so I decided to take a short barefoot hill run rather than skipping the run altogether. Adding 1.3 miles to the log isn't much, but zero would have brought the average down much more.

I managed to avoid all of the obstacles I saw on the sidewalk in front of me, including glass and nails, but still came away with a blister on my big toe of my right foot. Nothing to be concerned about; I've certainly had my share of blisters from shod running over the years. What's notable is that I've only had blisters on my arches before. This is a blister on a part that actually has contact with the ground. This indicates that my stride does change significantly when barefoot.

The absence of any blisters on my arches means almost nothing though—those are the result of the soles' arch supports causing friction. …Go ahead, keep reading

'Round the ballpark

Tuesday, 13 July 2010
in
Distance: 
6.91Km
Time: 
00:49:25

I would have liked to have gotten out the door before I started my workday, but there were things that were broken and had to be fixed first thing, and I didn't get out the door until after 5 o'clock.

I took a basic loop out past the ballpark and back the other side, very similar to many of the ballpark runs I've done this year. The sun was hot and my knee doesn't seem to be fully recovered but it also doesn't seem to be getting worse.…Go ahead, keep reading

Another 5K and I'm slowing down

Sunday, 11 July 2010
in
Distance: 
5.01Km
Time: 
00:31:36
Official time: 
0:31:17
Placement: 
147
Field: 
219

Today's race in Golden Gate Park went more slowly than I'd have liked. Slowing by sixteen seconds in the 5K between June 20th and July 4th didn't bother me, but adding an additional minute and fifteen seconds to that time is a warning sign.

It's easy to guess why I might be slowing. I had an entire week between races and I didn't get out on the road once. I know I said that I had to cut back and take it easy to avoid injury, but I think cutting back to zero might have been taking it too far.…Go ahead, keep reading

2010 Alameda RACE

Sunday, 4 July 2010
in
Distance: 
5.06Km
Time: 
00:30:34
Official time: 
0:30:03
Placement: 
117
Field: 
193

ImageI couldn't have asked for a nicer day for a race. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot, even considering the relatively late race start of 9:45 am. The race course takes advantage of the street closures for the Alameda Independence Day Parade and the runners start fifteen minutes before the parade follows.

Because we followed the parade course, the race had a big audience. People lined the streets the whole way, and the streets were downright crowded near the starting line on Park Street in Alameda. Folks cheered and applauded us runners the whole way, which was a great boost. …Go ahead, keep reading

Out for a test run

Saturday, 3 July 2010
in
Distance: 
1.66Km
Time: 
00:12:53

Seriously, that's exactly what today's short run was: a test. I wanted to know if I feel good enough to run a race tomorrow. Until yesterday I'd been planning on representing my neighborhood at the DSE Potrero Hill 4 Miler, a really fun course around my neighborhood and up San Francisco's real twistiest (or at least most sinuous) street, Vermont Street. It's a course that gets run only once a year and I've been looking forward to running it this year.

Two things got in the way of that plan this year. First is the knee trouble I've been having for the past couple weeks. The Potrero race is only four miles but the hill is fairly challenging and I'm not sure that running a hilly course is the best thing for me right now. I already took three days in a row off from running and today was the first day I haven't been limping when I walk. Taking it easy is indicated.…Go ahead, keep reading

A bad run always turns into a good run… eventually

Tuesday, 29 June 2010
in
Distance: 
9.72Km
Time: 
01:13:41

ImageIt took a while to get warmed up today.

Some days are like this. I remember the first time I ever ran up Twin Peaks, the first mile was all flat and then it was all uphill. By the time I'd run the flat section I was discouraged and ready to quit. Not just quit by picking another route, but quit running and walk back home. It was difficult and my legs were screaming at me to quit. I felt like a failure.…Go ahead, keep reading

Just do it. Wait, wrong shoe company.

Sunday, 27 June 2010
in
Distance: 
11.69Km
Time: 
01:27:44

ImageOn crankyfitness.com there is a post about good diet and exercise habits that stresses that perfectionism is the key enemy. There's a very amusing dialogue between Crabby and her conscience about getting to the gym. It's really true that the hardest part of running is (often) just getting out the door. That's one of the reasons (perhaps the most important reason) for all the specialized gear: the running shoes, the Dri-Fit or CoolMax clothing, the GPS and heartrate monitor. If I start by putting on my designated equipment, it creates a momentum until I'm ready to go and would start to feel funny just sitting around in all these fancy fabrics and electrodes.…Go ahead, keep reading

More trouble with the knee

Wednesday, 23 June 2010
in
Distance: 
5.59Km
Time: 
00:44:26

I think I'm about done with these Grid Omni 5s from Saucony. I'm supposed to ease into running in the Kinvaras by running with them every other run or so, but I'm finding it uncomfortable to go back to the Omnis. At the very least, I'm finding it easy to blame a poor run on the shoes.

It's not vanity at work, but wishful thinking. I'd love to believe that the pain I'm having in my knee will be magically cured by running in shoes without an elevated heel. I want the new shoes to be the answer to all my problems. Of course, if the shoes are actually a part of the answer, it will be because the answer is my form, not my any magic.…Go ahead, keep reading

It only hurts when I walk

Sunday, 20 June 2010
in
Distance: 
5.04Km
Time: 
00:29:52
Official time: 
0:29:47
Placement: 
140
Field: 
210

I think I have injured myself. Strangely enough, I seem to run fastest when I'm in pain.

I have top-of-the foot pain and knee pain, in my left foot and left knee. Sometimes I'm walking with a pronounced limp. This is not how it's supposed to be, but here's what I believe is the strange part: it doesn't hurt when I run.

A few years back I ran a race—it was a 5K in Golden Gate Park like today's race—where I ran with foot pain. It was top of the foot pain like this and by the time I was halfway done I was hobbling and running with a limp. The race seemed to go on forever and I was relieved to cross the finish line after such a slow, grueling, painful race. Come to find out that although it felt like I was going extra slowly, I actually ran the fastest 5K I'd ever run or have since: 25:54…Go ahead, keep reading

Kinvara!

Saturday, 19 June 2010
in
Distance: 
3.90Km
Time: 
00:30:04

ImageI came home from Sports Basement Friday with a pair of Saucony Kinvaras. The Kinvara is Saucony's new «minimalist» shoe intended to be lightweight with a low heel, flexible sole and no support or stability features. With all the talk about the benefits of barefoot running (and the studies that suggest that fancy, high-tech shoes may actually cause more injuries than they prevent) running shoe companies are scrambling to sell shoes on the promise that their shoes approximate the experience and mechanics of running barefoot.

Talk about the emperor's new clothes, right? But shoes aren't by themselves necessarily bad—while the human foot may adapt very easily to most kinds of terrain, there's all sorts of stuff in the urban environment that no one wants to step on. …Go ahead, keep reading