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...

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.