Not the Intended Effect

So this was supposed to be a gripey entry because my run this morning got off to a horrible start. I wanted to run in my Vibram Five Fingers this morning (quite a few people walking around here in them) and enjoy some pseudo-barefootin' on the Waikiki beach. Ran into trouble early on. Found out my particular model of Vibrams, the Sprints, do not keep out sand. They are pretty open around the top:




In fact, they sort of pull it in and rub it against your feet, so it's kind of like running with two rock polishers on your feet. So, I stop to get the sand out and return to the nice brick walkway which spans the main drag.

When your feet are sandy, sweaty, and oceany? The VFFs don't want to go back on. After about five minutes of struggling and murmuring (and getting “is he a stalker?” looks from the cute surfer girls nearby) I got them back on and went back about my business.

Down the road a ways, I pushed the button on my iPod to see how far I'd gone. I have a little gadget which attached the Nike+ sensor to the strap on my Vibrams. When, however, I had replaced my shoes, the sensor slipped too far to one side, so it wasn't reading anything. Six minutes of running, and I was reading a 10th of a mile at a 37 minute per mile pace. Even I'm not that slow.

I fought the urge to just give up and go back. This run was ruined, but well, I was in Hawaii, and enjoying the early morning weirdness all cities ooze. So I kept going, and shut off the iPod altogether. No music no mileage; just running.

It was awesome.

See, I had realized when I first really got into this running thing that my Firm had made me obsessed with speed, which was why I hated running. I am beginning to think though, that somewhere along the line, I became equally obsessed with distance. I had to record my distance and watch my little Mike graph go up on the website. It occurred to me while running this morning that I told myself, “self, let's keep going and just have a fun run.” Wait a minute; didn't I do this whole running thing BECAUSE it was fun? Shouldn't EVERY run be a fun run?

Without that little timey-whimey distance device, I was free. I stopped to look at a store, and I sprinted across intersections getting ready to change. I was again out running for the sake of running. As a side effect, I wasn't focused on how I was running, and in my Vibrams I fell into a natural barefoot stride, and felt like I could go all day. Unfortunately, I have to go shower and go to work.

I do love my Nike+, and will continue to measure time in my Nikes, but I think when it's just me and the Vibrams, it's going to be just me and the Vibrams. Even in the Nikes, I am going to need to be careful about how wrapped around the axle I get with distance. I remembered today why I want to run, and that is just to enjoy it. Thanks Nike, I will just do it.

Crickets...

Yeah, that's the cricket you've heard chirping here on this blog, and I do apologize. Besides being busy I did have a minor setback in my running, but am recovering now. Let me serve as a warning! Work your way up in your Vibrams! When your feet have spent 37 years being used incorrectly, they don't adapt to proper running overnight. Keep in mind your calves do a lot more work when you are running barefoot style as well. So, when you get cocky and you should only be up to doing two miles in your Vibrams, and you go for three? Last year's calf injury comes back to haunt you.

So, I took it easy for a couple of weeks, but am not out doing two minutes of running and one minute of walking intervals, for 30 to 40 minutes at a time. It lets me get my running in, without aggravating the healing process. In about a week or so, maybe two, I should be back to a normal 5k. Getting recovered before I play the Vibram card again though, and keeping it realistic.

I did get new running shoes! Nike is now making a version of the Free specifically for runners; the “Runfree.” Yes, they lured me in, but they are incredibly light and flexible, and are further transitioning me toward the minimalist run. I love them. And, they have the pocket for my Nike+ sensor.

Eightball is still out running with me, though with summer coming to the great state of Arizona we have to start early or his black coat makes him too hot. It's funny, whenever he can, he runs where my shadow falls so he can be in the shade. He loves it though, especially the come home a crash out part after.

Once the recovery kicks in, I am ready to start a new training program, one based on time rather than distance. Details as I decide on a specific plan, but thanks to Jim and Eric for the heads up.

That's all for now, hopefully I won't be a month or two before the next update. School's keeping me busy though. I also noticed I get awfully cranky when I don't run. Makes me feel at peace. See you on the trail...

So Dan, how's the running going?

Oh, I hear it in your voice- “I bet Dan's all done with running now that he did that marathon. The dream is over, the goal is reached, he's kicked back on the couch eating Cheetos...”

No.

Actually, the running is going great. I did take about a week and a half to slow down and recover, but then, and believe me I am surprised as well, I was right back out there. Still doing about twenty miles a week actually, though I am a lot more laid back about it. Which is great.

I've run in Vibrams: Here's the first report- did you know sidewalk is harder than pavement? Did about a mile in the Vibrams with Eightball, and was sore for days! Felt like I had worked my calves hard at the gym, and the feet felt a lot of impact. However, later on (and more on that story soon) I ran on an asphalt path in them, and nowhere near the impact pain. Now I know why runners will run on the shoulder instead of the sidewalk. I suppose it's simple density. So you know; if I referred to Vibrams as a transitional shoe before, I WAS WRONG! They are barefoot running with slightly less stickers. Keep that in mind. If you are working towards proper mid-foot strike or even barefoot running, get used to your Nike Frees first, and do some field barefoot running first. Then, look for asphalt!

I've run with the dog: Doing a lot more running with Eightball, which is a lot of fun. It helps him calm down during the day as well, which is good for Jen, but it's neat to watch him trot along as well. He's even learned he can only poop on dirt and not on the path.

I've run with Jennifer: I am VERY excited to report that Jennifer, who was an avid walker and step aerobic adherent, has decided to try out a little running herself. New Nike Frees and away she goes. This last week, we went out together and it's perfect- I run in my Vibrams. So, as she's learning to run, I am too because when I am barefoot, we're at about the same level. We do a good run-walk. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did, and I am looking forward to more in the future.

So, true believers, there you have it. I am not off the path yet, and indeed still really enjoying it. Looking at a 10K at the end of this month, trying to find a half marathon later this year, and probably gonna try the Lost Dutchman again next year. If you've been thinking about running more, do it. Remember:

-The first step is the hardest.
-Run at your own pace and distance.
-If you're not enjoying it, you're doing it wrong.
-Run for no one but yourself.

Hopefully you will hear from me again soon, and we'll see what other shenanigans running has delivered unto me!

Week 16- The Lost Dutchman Marathon

Here I am in the day after my attempt to run the Lost Dutchman Marathon. Long story short? Success! But like the run, the story isn't short at all...

I didn't finish as quickly as I was hoping to, but I think I learned a lot about racing doing my first marathon. It's vastly different getting out and doing a race than it is doing even equivalent distances on your own. Here's some of the things I learned this race:

1) Keep at your own pace- I spent a good chunk of the run alongside a Bureau of Land Management lawyer from Alaska. Forty degrees was warm to him, so he ran shirtless. I dubbed him “Steve the Alaskan Human Beacon” because this cat was whiter than Liquid Paper. This was his fourth marathon, but the first after a knee surgery he went through last year. He was not a lot faster than me, but meeting his pace made me burn more energy sooner than I anticipated. I knew I should have stayed between 10:00 and 10:30 per mile- but with Steve (later Greasy Stevie when he had to slather on some vaseline because his arms were chaffing his iridescent bare torso) I was running mile seven to about mile fourteen closer to 9:30 or better. Not significant in the short term, but a thirty minute difference across a race. This really came into play at mile 23 when I hit the wall...


2) Everybody runs marathons- Besides Greasy Stevie, I also met a 16 year old boy in Vibram Five Fingers, ready to do his first full marathon after several halves over the last three years. I met a 38 year old mother of two running her second marathon, and she was no petite flower (though super friendly). I met and conversed with a man from Moscow who must have been pushing 80, along with his wife. Yeah, they were going to jog/walk, but they came from Moscow, and they were 80! There were the real runners out there, like you would see in Runner's World magazine, but then there were lots of everyday people who just enjoy running, and wanted the challenge. We all had an instant rapport because we were going to share in this madness, and we weren't athletes, we were just runners. My thought is this; if I can get passed by 50 year old women, while I'm passing 20 year old men, ANYONE can run a marathon. It's just doing it for the love of the run, and doing it for yourself and no one else.


3) Doing a race is significantly different than your training runs- Even when you're not competing with anyone else, there are so many other factors in the race. First of all, on long runs, I like to zone out. The pain fades away, the mind wanders, and I'll find myself suddenly coming back into consciousness several miles later. Not in the marathon. There are too many other runners around you. Too many spectators. Water points every couple of miles. There's no zone. I was completely present for every moment of my race, from the delightful six mile downhill start, through the middle section with Greasy Stevie, to when at mile 23 I hit the wall. Kept going, but it was a hell of a challenge, and I would love to have just taken a little mental vacation for a few!


4) The Bonk wears clown shoes- Having hit the wall at mile 23, I kept plugging along, slowly, wishing for the energy I expended back between miles seven and fourteen. It was then, while I was slowing in my hunt for 26.2 the Bonk came out to play. I could hear it behind me, and I swear it was chasing me in big floppy shoes, slapping the ground behind me and getting closer. I learned from Orpheus and Calliope though- don't look back. Keep moving on. He came close, close enough to whisper in my ear that I'd already gone further than ever before, why not just walk the rest? And indeed, that may have been what truly brought me to the wall in the first place...


5) Pee early- I had the slight urge starting about mile six, but it wasn't a big deal, because at that point I'm using fluid at a faster rate than I'm putting it in, so the pressure is not becoming more urgent. For some reason though, about mile 21 I decided (likely precipitated by actually seeing an open porta-jon!) I needed to relive my bladder. Now, I walk any water point I go through. It helps with the water drinking, and give your muscles a slight reprieve for a minute or so. To urinate however, I had to stop. When I did, I started getting post run ache. When I did start again, it was tough to convince the body to keep going. Those next two miles led me right to the wall.


6) I want to do it again- Not unlike childbirth (or so I am told) as much pain as you know you are in as it is going on, for some reason within a relatively short time afterwards, you start planning your next one. Perhaps it's just to apply these lessons I have learned to see if I can do better. Suddenly I am competing- I have my own score to beat.

So, in the end I didn't get the time I was hoping for (I wanted around 4:30, but instead chip timed at 4:41:43) but finished 319 out of 600 entrants, in a race where only 471 finished. However, I ran a marathon, and the day after I am not crippled and lame, but rather looking forward to doing it again in the future.

I also want to point out the Lovely Jennifer, in order to kill time while waiting for me to drag myself across the finish line, entered the 8K trail run, and scored a 1:11 without training up. Then she came home and bought new running shoes... maybe soon I will be running with more than just Eightball?

This site may not get weekly updates, though I assure you I am going to keep running. I will keep you posted on my Vibram experiences as I start training with those, and looking around for other races to do. I want to at least knock out a half marathon this year, if not another full. Always have the Bisbee 1000 too. Look for me out there, because from now on, I'm the Running Dan.

Care to join me?

(Here's some pictures from the races...)



This one and the next one were of the trail Jennifer did- it was lovely up there, but warm as the day got on. Over 70 degrees by the time I rolled in.




This is me, visible on the horizon. Note shirtless Greasy Stevie on the left, cheering me on. He came in about 4:30.



Sporting Starfleet Blue, I hit the finish line- a victory for out of shape Trekkies everywhere...

PS- in a strange twist of fate, I ran my marathon on February 14th: Simon Pegg's Birthday. You may remember him as the star of "Run Fatboy Run" discussed previously in this blog. I could hear him in my head occasionally from Star Trek too... "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!"

One week to go...

Well folks, not a whole heck of a lot to report this week- except that I am now a week from the race! That's right, True Believers, it all comes down to next Sunday up in Apache Junction (the pic above is from last year's Lost Dutchman Marathon) where we find out of all this training has truly turned me into a Marathon Man.

My biggest fight right now is with my body wanting to run more. I had gotten pretty used to doing between 30 and 40 miles a week, and in these last two weeks of scaling back I am bouncing between running much faster than I should because it is so many less miles, or occasionally tagging on an extra mile when I shouldn't. I will tell you this though- training since October, and getting as high as 20 miles in a run, the first three are still the hardest. My body still looks at me like I am an idiot for three miles, and then finally hits pace and lets me go. Then I feel great. Why? Maybe it takes me that long to warm up at a 9:30 to 10:00 pace, maybe it's the last vestiges of the non-running Dan; regardless, those first three suck and then 3-15 are just fine. I start to ache around the 16-18 mark, but it's a good ache, not injury. So long as I can keep hydrated and fueled (hello icky vanilla bean flavored gel packs!) I should be just fine.

In other quick news, I finally got my Vibram Five Fingers, so perhaps there will be a new series of entries on this blog post marathon as I start training toward barefoot. Kind of excited about it, but we will see where it goes. Is there a lot of hype in the whole current move toward barefoot? Sure, bit on the other hand, there's some good science and stats to suggest it's a lot better for you too. It would be pretty cool to keep up this running thing with less chance of having to stop for injury.

As it stands though, the next post you see here will either be full of glory or regret; I'm pretty curious how it all turns out myself. See you in a week 26.2, you better be running.