5km barefoot!
Anyone who has ever seen me tippytoe across a carpark will recognise that this is a momentous occasion. I've run little bits barefoot - usually tacking it on the end of a long haul, but this is the first time I set out to go nudie and having the time to settle in, feel it, and be conscious of technique and foot position is really amazing. The ability to feel where your feet are is difficult to explain - maybe fascinating is a word.
I did this run at night (it's almost midnight) to avoid being seen, plus, it's guaranteed deathly quiet on the paths and being dark, there's the added challenge of not being able to pussyfoot around all the minute poky bits. I recall only three or four sharp jabs along the way, but my soles are unscathed. The achilles are currently enjoying icepacks, and came away feeling OK, too.
OK - this is where the purists would chime in with "I told you so" - I ran the first bit is crumbly paving in the VFF's. The sensation of changing to bare was swamped by the novelty of it, but the change back at the end was like putting on clogs! I can see immediately now why my ankles have been taking such a clobbering - the VFF's somehow prompt me to run much higher on my toes.
hmmmm.. May have to keep going with this crazy caper.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
long thoughts...
A gentle run tonight, just to keep the feet moving. Shoes feel horrible - clumping along, with sore knees and hips to boot.
Feeling a little demoralised with the running just now - in limbo, stuck between the "float" feeling, not getting it right, and the threat of injury.
I have had a taste of the minimalist feeling, and it's tough to go back - even for recovery. The achilles are now back to as normal as they ever were, so I shall start feeling my way again. I shall begin adding more pure barefoot to the program - being so spoilt for smooth flat paths around here, I shouldn't waste it.
The notion of running barefoot / minimalist appeals to me for it's simplicity and mechanical logic, but I am torn between that and the desire to run a real cracking marathon time - so far, the two don't go together. The plan will build and change over this year, but perhaps a few aspects are becoming clear:
No decisions yet, though I may drop the program for a short while while I brush up on technique and watch the cankles closely.
Must find a place to borrow audio books to soak up miles, so they don't get confused for anything other than relaxation.
Feeling a little demoralised with the running just now - in limbo, stuck between the "float" feeling, not getting it right, and the threat of injury.
I have had a taste of the minimalist feeling, and it's tough to go back - even for recovery. The achilles are now back to as normal as they ever were, so I shall start feeling my way again. I shall begin adding more pure barefoot to the program - being so spoilt for smooth flat paths around here, I shouldn't waste it.
The notion of running barefoot / minimalist appeals to me for it's simplicity and mechanical logic, but I am torn between that and the desire to run a real cracking marathon time - so far, the two don't go together. The plan will build and change over this year, but perhaps a few aspects are becoming clear:
- barefooting it will take much longer and be more challenging than I thought
- the demands of work and the kid must take priority over a fast race (though completing the marathon is not in question)
No decisions yet, though I may drop the program for a short while while I brush up on technique and watch the cankles closely.
Must find a place to borrow audio books to soak up miles, so they don't get confused for anything other than relaxation.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Looks like tonight I'll be on the trainer instead of the road again, thanks to a new and disconcerting ability to fall asleep anytime my body moves beyond about a 30 degree inclination. I was all lined up to run with a neighbour this afternoon, but by the time the lights came back on (and the kid was still talking to me - possibly even the same sentence), it was getting near dinner.
Insta-sleep is probably not surprising at the moment, due to the blistering temperatures in Perth. Yesterday it was 38 (celsius) by 9am, and climbed to 42 durint the day. With the arrival of cyclone Bianca off the west coast of Australia, Perth is now not only hot, but muggy as well. Last night was truly charming - made even more un -sleep-worthy (though adorable) by the kid wanting to be cuddling her dad all night because her bed was clearly much hotter..........
Eventually, I tired of hopping out one side of the bed and going round the other side for a bit of peace, and crashed on the sofa downstairs. (Don't tell, but it's always much cooler down there.)
The kid has been given a 1000 piece puzzle by one of our neighbours (she's the community sweetheart). 1000 pieces is fair enough, but the finished size of the puzzle is 40cm x 30cm, making the pieces miniscule and more than a little frustrating.
The teaspoon is added for scale. .Incidentally, this is the spoon which I will soon use to gouge out my eyes.....
These indoor trainer rides are brilliant fun - pure intensity. With the wheel fixed, the high gearing and resistance of the magnetic trainer make going slow awkward and difficult, but once there is a roll on, simple momentum keeps it building. The wireless odometer doesn't have sufficient range to read from the rear wheel to the handlebars, so I have to do without it on the trainer, lest I continue swapping it from front to rear when I want to get on the road. In general, though, cruising speed would be 30km/hr, so a good flogging is covering some (virtual) ground.
1 hour breakdown:
@30 min heart rate 140bpm at cadence 78rpm
@56 min heart rate 154bpm at cadence 90rpm
@60 min flat out sprint max. cadence Wheeee!
Best to keep the doors and blinds closed during these.....
Insta-sleep is probably not surprising at the moment, due to the blistering temperatures in Perth. Yesterday it was 38 (celsius) by 9am, and climbed to 42 durint the day. With the arrival of cyclone Bianca off the west coast of Australia, Perth is now not only hot, but muggy as well. Last night was truly charming - made even more un -sleep-worthy (though adorable) by the kid wanting to be cuddling her dad all night because her bed was clearly much hotter..........
Eventually, I tired of hopping out one side of the bed and going round the other side for a bit of peace, and crashed on the sofa downstairs. (Don't tell, but it's always much cooler down there.)
The kid has been given a 1000 piece puzzle by one of our neighbours (she's the community sweetheart). 1000 pieces is fair enough, but the finished size of the puzzle is 40cm x 30cm, making the pieces miniscule and more than a little frustrating.
The teaspoon is added for scale. .Incidentally, this is the spoon which I will soon use to gouge out my eyes.....
These indoor trainer rides are brilliant fun - pure intensity. With the wheel fixed, the high gearing and resistance of the magnetic trainer make going slow awkward and difficult, but once there is a roll on, simple momentum keeps it building. The wireless odometer doesn't have sufficient range to read from the rear wheel to the handlebars, so I have to do without it on the trainer, lest I continue swapping it from front to rear when I want to get on the road. In general, though, cruising speed would be 30km/hr, so a good flogging is covering some (virtual) ground.
1 hour breakdown:
@30 min heart rate 140bpm at cadence 78rpm
@56 min heart rate 154bpm at cadence 90rpm
@60 min flat out sprint max. cadence Wheeee!
Best to keep the doors and blinds closed during these.....
Friday, January 28, 2011
This week I've read a few really interesting things:
The first relates to why marathons are so darn hard - the "Double Step-Up"
"Most marathon training programs never have you running more than about 32 kilometres at one time. In addition, these long runs are usually performed at well below your desired race pace.
This means that in order to reach your goal time come race day, you need to do the double step up.
This is the problem of needing on race day to both run further a lot further than you've ever run before, at a pace significantly faster than you've ever run a long run at before."
from http://www.sub3hour.com/longruns.shtml
The result of this thinking is to add both hard long runs and slow extra-long runs to the program, so neither the protracted speed nor distance of the race marathon is a shock to the body. This makes perfect sense to me. I wonder why this isn't part of normal programs?
Amusingly, it makes the same sort of sense to me as the biomechanics of running barefoot, and here I am with dodgy ankles....... sigh.......
The other thing was a forum post by a chap who's been persisting with barefoot running for years, only now to experience the "breakthrough" of effortless technique and speed :
"For everyone who's been struggling to figure out a form that really works, keep
trying.
For my first six months, I ran in VFFs and made little progress. Now, after a
year and 500 miles of pure BFR, perhaps I've finally found the right form.
Suddenly, I just keep getting faster and faster. I could actually feel the
"conveyor belt" foot landing today that Ken Bob and others have mentioned. I'm
keeping my knees well bent and torso straight while making sure that I'm lifting
my feet.
During a 10-miler last weekend, I first noticed the change. I dropped over a
minute in my pace. On my 3-milers this week, I kept getting faster the further I
went, which is unusual.
When I'm running right these days, running feel almost effortless -- like I'm
gliding. My poor dog was having trouble keeping up at our 9:19 min/mile pace
today. I know that's not fast, but it is for us.
I won't even try to describe what's different, because it's just a feeling that
every part of me is working together -- not fighting against each other. The
only thing I can pass along is that I was probably landing with my feet too far
forward, since I was focusing TOO much on lifting my feet. Perhaps I may have
been bringing my knees too far forward, so that my feet weren't clearing behind
me. Almost like running in place.
Of course, for me, foot abrasions are the true test to see if this new form is
good. My feet are smooth and better than ever, so hurray."
davidrtownsend on the RunningBarefoot Yahoo group
So there's hope for me yet.
I need to get over my fear of being barefoot and make the most of the endless miles of amazing smooth and clean pathways around Perth - what an opportunity to give this a go! Slowly slowly.
Tonight, after home made fish and chips, the kid wants to go night fishing. Yay! It was 40 degrees Celcius in Perth today, so a cool night by the water sounds very pleasant indeed.....
The first relates to why marathons are so darn hard - the "Double Step-Up"
"Most marathon training programs never have you running more than about 32 kilometres at one time. In addition, these long runs are usually performed at well below your desired race pace.
This means that in order to reach your goal time come race day, you need to do the double step up.
This is the problem of needing on race day to both run further a lot further than you've ever run before, at a pace significantly faster than you've ever run a long run at before."
from http://www.sub3hour.com/longruns.shtml
The result of this thinking is to add both hard long runs and slow extra-long runs to the program, so neither the protracted speed nor distance of the race marathon is a shock to the body. This makes perfect sense to me. I wonder why this isn't part of normal programs?
Amusingly, it makes the same sort of sense to me as the biomechanics of running barefoot, and here I am with dodgy ankles....... sigh.......
The other thing was a forum post by a chap who's been persisting with barefoot running for years, only now to experience the "breakthrough" of effortless technique and speed :
"For everyone who's been struggling to figure out a form that really works, keep
trying.
For my first six months, I ran in VFFs and made little progress. Now, after a
year and 500 miles of pure BFR, perhaps I've finally found the right form.
Suddenly, I just keep getting faster and faster. I could actually feel the
"conveyor belt" foot landing today that Ken Bob and others have mentioned. I'm
keeping my knees well bent and torso straight while making sure that I'm lifting
my feet.
During a 10-miler last weekend, I first noticed the change. I dropped over a
minute in my pace. On my 3-milers this week, I kept getting faster the further I
went, which is unusual.
When I'm running right these days, running feel almost effortless -- like I'm
gliding. My poor dog was having trouble keeping up at our 9:19 min/mile pace
today. I know that's not fast, but it is for us.
I won't even try to describe what's different, because it's just a feeling that
every part of me is working together -- not fighting against each other. The
only thing I can pass along is that I was probably landing with my feet too far
forward, since I was focusing TOO much on lifting my feet. Perhaps I may have
been bringing my knees too far forward, so that my feet weren't clearing behind
me. Almost like running in place.
Of course, for me, foot abrasions are the true test to see if this new form is
good. My feet are smooth and better than ever, so hurray."
davidrtownsend on the RunningBarefoot Yahoo group
So there's hope for me yet.
I need to get over my fear of being barefoot and make the most of the endless miles of amazing smooth and clean pathways around Perth - what an opportunity to give this a go! Slowly slowly.
Tonight, after home made fish and chips, the kid wants to go night fishing. Yay! It was 40 degrees Celcius in Perth today, so a cool night by the water sounds very pleasant indeed.....
Thursday, January 27, 2011
racing in place
No run today, but about to embark on a rinse and spin cycle on the indoor trainer while the kid snorfles.
The cankles are a little sensitive, but not tender or obviously inflamed. I realise now that the sessions of the week before last were really punishing : 8km on soft sand and trails, a sprint session and a fast 14km - it's really no wonder that tendons that are being pushed to new limits complained a little.
The next couple of weeks will focus on adequate recovery and re-establishing a perfect technique.
The spin was excellent. Only 30 minutes, but a steady wind-up from 28km/h to as fast as legs would go. Heart rate 132bpm at the finish, which I'm happy with, considering the size of the pool of sweat on the floor. eewww.
Need the mop for that one.
The cankles are a little sensitive, but not tender or obviously inflamed. I realise now that the sessions of the week before last were really punishing : 8km on soft sand and trails, a sprint session and a fast 14km - it's really no wonder that tendons that are being pushed to new limits complained a little.
The next couple of weeks will focus on adequate recovery and re-establishing a perfect technique.
The spin was excellent. Only 30 minutes, but a steady wind-up from 28km/h to as fast as legs would go. Heart rate 132bpm at the finish, which I'm happy with, considering the size of the pool of sweat on the floor. eewww.
Need the mop for that one.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
recovery
End of a week off.
Today I wore my fingens around he house and the achilles beagn to complain a little again.
My achilles and calf muscles are simply still too short, too taut and not adjusted to the extension of zero heel lift.
Short run up to East Perth and stop to watch the Asustralia Day skyshow at the end f the run. Got a little cold sitting by the river for half an hour, but the sparkles were good - if only they put the intensity of the last 30 seconds into a 5 minute show, rather than dribbling it out for half an hour.....
Ice and elvation for 2 x 15 mins on return. No discomfort, but my imagination tells me there is a little swelling.....
I won't discard the minimalist goal too soon, but I need to be open to the possibility that I may be courting danger to persist with the minimalist marathons this year - the last thing I need is serious damage or a chronic injury.
Feeling like some recovery is needed in all sorts of areas right now........
I had some custom parts made today by an online firm called Shapeways (I won't give the link, since I don't feel a great desire to promote them). I designed the parts I wanted in CAD and sent them the file. In 10 days, I will receive 4 models - only prototypes, not fully functional devices, but useful for the stage I'm at - for the princely sum, including shipping, of $25! This is where it gets scary. Using a professional consulting designer, it would cost a client more for the designer to get online and place the order, than it does for shapeways to make the parts.
Makes running a design business hard - clients are devaluing "design" more and more, figuring they can use services like this to make stuff themselves. Unfortunately, there's a bunch more to it than that, but it's the non-glamorous, invisible background knowledge stuff that doesn't attract much attention or value. Hence, the clients make crap and the whole process and value of a "designed product" is forgotten a little more. We can't accept crap.
Phew.
The video is of my milling machine in action, making what shapeways can make, but for 10 times the price.
Jump down off the soap-box now. This blog's about running, innit?
Today I wore my fingens around he house and the achilles beagn to complain a little again.
My achilles and calf muscles are simply still too short, too taut and not adjusted to the extension of zero heel lift.
Short run up to East Perth and stop to watch the Asustralia Day skyshow at the end f the run. Got a little cold sitting by the river for half an hour, but the sparkles were good - if only they put the intensity of the last 30 seconds into a 5 minute show, rather than dribbling it out for half an hour.....
Ice and elvation for 2 x 15 mins on return. No discomfort, but my imagination tells me there is a little swelling.....
I won't discard the minimalist goal too soon, but I need to be open to the possibility that I may be courting danger to persist with the minimalist marathons this year - the last thing I need is serious damage or a chronic injury.
Feeling like some recovery is needed in all sorts of areas right now........
I had some custom parts made today by an online firm called Shapeways (I won't give the link, since I don't feel a great desire to promote them). I designed the parts I wanted in CAD and sent them the file. In 10 days, I will receive 4 models - only prototypes, not fully functional devices, but useful for the stage I'm at - for the princely sum, including shipping, of $25! This is where it gets scary. Using a professional consulting designer, it would cost a client more for the designer to get online and place the order, than it does for shapeways to make the parts.
Makes running a design business hard - clients are devaluing "design" more and more, figuring they can use services like this to make stuff themselves. Unfortunately, there's a bunch more to it than that, but it's the non-glamorous, invisible background knowledge stuff that doesn't attract much attention or value. Hence, the clients make crap and the whole process and value of a "designed product" is forgotten a little more. We can't accept crap.
Phew.
The video is of my milling machine in action, making what shapeways can make, but for 10 times the price.
Jump down off the soap-box now. This blog's about running, innit?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
skinny ankles!
4 days rest and my achilles are returning to normal. Right is perfect, left is still a bit puffy, but I can see the shape of the tendon again! Yay!
Now to find out what's really going on...
Will do several things:
Good to get some burning in the legs without any impact on the ankles - some of the worry is disappearing with the inflammation, but now it is critical to find out the root cause - too much too soon, a structural issue or technique problems.
Big week coming up this week at work - I actually get to be a designer again for a change... yippee!
Now to find out what's really going on...
Will do several things:
- talk to physio
- wait till left is completely normal
- go for a very gentle run concentrating in perfect float form and watch results
Good to get some burning in the legs without any impact on the ankles - some of the worry is disappearing with the inflammation, but now it is critical to find out the root cause - too much too soon, a structural issue or technique problems.
Big week coming up this week at work - I actually get to be a designer again for a change... yippee!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
revenge
Just when you think you're under control, your feet don't hurt, you're writing esoteric blog posts and feeling cocky about being motivated, Mother Nature makes you sit in a boat with a wet bum and a blocked nozzle on the insect repellent bottle for 4 hours to catch one measly fish.
Unfortunately, there's no McBream on the menu at our local dining establishment, so it's burger and fries for me tonight.
Lots of time to think.......
From my experiments with my running balls, I've done a bit more searching to find out just what fuel is required and available for a long run. Various sites concur that an average adult runner would burn 1000 to 1500 KiloJoules per hour, and would need between 30 and 60g of carbohydrate to supply this. But carbohydrates ain't carbohydrates, so this got a bit tricky. There's simple sugars and more complex carbs, and there's low and high GI (how fast energy is released). Too much detail to bother with right now.
With a few assumptions, my current recipe, making 17g balls, offers 313 kJ and about 5.5g of total carbohydrate per ball. To be an average runner, I'd have to scoff at least 4 of these an hour to keep up. There's plenty else to look after without having to sort out a feed every 15 minutes, so something has to change.
I'll up the size of the ball to about 25g - still able to poke this size in, I think. I'll also scratch about for alternate recipes which offer something tasty with a bigger fuel hit.
Some among you will be wondering - where is this going?....... Well, I tried carrying the oblongs in a plastic baggie, and it worked, but was uncomfortable. If I make regular-sized balls with a regular-sized tool, then I only need a regular-sized holder on my shorts to stock up..........
Exactly this is what I do for a living. A simple problem, with a simple solution and a shop full of equipment to make it happen in a hurry. I see an opportunity for some fun design and a website to collect recipes from the world. Watch this space.
Going paddling (not fishing) in the morning. This should give some exercise without straining the ankles. It'll actually be the first time I've jumped in the kayak without a real purpose, so should be fun.
Unfortunately, there's no McBream on the menu at our local dining establishment, so it's burger and fries for me tonight.
Lots of time to think.......
From my experiments with my running balls, I've done a bit more searching to find out just what fuel is required and available for a long run. Various sites concur that an average adult runner would burn 1000 to 1500 KiloJoules per hour, and would need between 30 and 60g of carbohydrate to supply this. But carbohydrates ain't carbohydrates, so this got a bit tricky. There's simple sugars and more complex carbs, and there's low and high GI (how fast energy is released). Too much detail to bother with right now.
With a few assumptions, my current recipe, making 17g balls, offers 313 kJ and about 5.5g of total carbohydrate per ball. To be an average runner, I'd have to scoff at least 4 of these an hour to keep up. There's plenty else to look after without having to sort out a feed every 15 minutes, so something has to change.
I'll up the size of the ball to about 25g - still able to poke this size in, I think. I'll also scratch about for alternate recipes which offer something tasty with a bigger fuel hit.
Some among you will be wondering - where is this going?....... Well, I tried carrying the oblongs in a plastic baggie, and it worked, but was uncomfortable. If I make regular-sized balls with a regular-sized tool, then I only need a regular-sized holder on my shorts to stock up..........
Exactly this is what I do for a living. A simple problem, with a simple solution and a shop full of equipment to make it happen in a hurry. I see an opportunity for some fun design and a website to collect recipes from the world. Watch this space.
Going paddling (not fishing) in the morning. This should give some exercise without straining the ankles. It'll actually be the first time I've jumped in the kayak without a real purpose, so should be fun.
Friday, January 21, 2011
motivation
As I sit here tonight, listening to the sound of a distant catfight and the gentle snorfling from the kid's bedroom, I wonder: what motivates me?
Today concludes the second day of rest for my achilles. I've been off my feet most of the day, only a little walking in running shoes - no pain, no twinges, just a lingering tightness - but still I came downstairs one step at a time (accompanied by a rather unnerving noise akin to a rice bubble breakfast coming from my left knee) and shuffled to my table as if I was wearing ice skates. I generally find the stairs at home quite narrow, so I come down slowly at the best of times, but I'm favouring my ankles because they don't feel loose and supple.
The key is technique. Particularly when speed in creases, I must be landing too much on my toes and absorbing that and regenerating that giant impact too much directly through the achilles, rather than allowing that wonderful, 20-something boned foot to spread, flex and dissipate the force as it touches down. Perhaps the excitement of running with humans again is distracting me from the lessons learned a couple of months ago - bend knees, land lightly, fall forward for speed. Old habits die very hard.
This is a good time to literally stop and think about running properly.
Motivation. Maybe I could have called this entry "addiction". Two days without running and all I want to do is run. The need for running is twinged with a little edge of guilt that I maybe probably could've gone out gently today, but no.....
I don't seem to need motivation for running now. That's been taken care of by a heightened baseline of endorphins coursing through me, or at least the memory of it. Arriving back at the WAMC clubhouse on Wednesday, I joked "It feels so good when you stop!" - and that was the absolute truth.
But what about life? What's the motivator there?
Why do I show up to work each day - particularly right now with days filled with endlessly dull regulatory documentation? It's mine. Whether dull or fun (that's when I'm making stuff), it's mine. The effort and the results are mine.
Tonight my head is buzzing with new ideas being formed, judged, morphed, discarded and rearranged for a couple of new product design jobs. The sensation of this is something like an endorphin rush - there's a blast of activity, then a stop, accompanied by a whoosh of "I did that" feel-good-ness.
This week I've also been pleasantly surprised to learn that I do have a small but dedicated readership, gaining some level of enjoyment from reading. This takes the "I did that" and validates it.
So this blogging thing is meeting it's objectives thus far: I am keeping a record of my running, which is naturally spilling over to everyday life. Noticing things during the day and crafting some sort of blog entry around it has become a firm habit already, and the discipline of both taking the time to write and live up to it must be a good thing.
Before it gets all too philosophical...
I made a new batch of balls, though they are more like bullets, courtesy of the only tool I could fnd to make round shaped lumps - a measuring scoop. This batch has chia seeds in it as well - I figure if they are good for those Indians galumphing round the Mexican canyons in sandals, they'll obviously turn me into a super hero. (No, really... see "Born to Run" by Christopher Mcdougall and the Tarahumara Indians.... Yes, I read it and Yes, it was the final straw that saw me shell out for funky fingens).
Besides all that, they're yummy.
Today concludes the second day of rest for my achilles. I've been off my feet most of the day, only a little walking in running shoes - no pain, no twinges, just a lingering tightness - but still I came downstairs one step at a time (accompanied by a rather unnerving noise akin to a rice bubble breakfast coming from my left knee) and shuffled to my table as if I was wearing ice skates. I generally find the stairs at home quite narrow, so I come down slowly at the best of times, but I'm favouring my ankles because they don't feel loose and supple.
The key is technique. Particularly when speed in creases, I must be landing too much on my toes and absorbing that and regenerating that giant impact too much directly through the achilles, rather than allowing that wonderful, 20-something boned foot to spread, flex and dissipate the force as it touches down. Perhaps the excitement of running with humans again is distracting me from the lessons learned a couple of months ago - bend knees, land lightly, fall forward for speed. Old habits die very hard.
This is a good time to literally stop and think about running properly.
Motivation. Maybe I could have called this entry "addiction". Two days without running and all I want to do is run. The need for running is twinged with a little edge of guilt that I maybe probably could've gone out gently today, but no.....
I don't seem to need motivation for running now. That's been taken care of by a heightened baseline of endorphins coursing through me, or at least the memory of it. Arriving back at the WAMC clubhouse on Wednesday, I joked "It feels so good when you stop!" - and that was the absolute truth.
But what about life? What's the motivator there?
Why do I show up to work each day - particularly right now with days filled with endlessly dull regulatory documentation? It's mine. Whether dull or fun (that's when I'm making stuff), it's mine. The effort and the results are mine.
Tonight my head is buzzing with new ideas being formed, judged, morphed, discarded and rearranged for a couple of new product design jobs. The sensation of this is something like an endorphin rush - there's a blast of activity, then a stop, accompanied by a whoosh of "I did that" feel-good-ness.
This week I've also been pleasantly surprised to learn that I do have a small but dedicated readership, gaining some level of enjoyment from reading. This takes the "I did that" and validates it.
So this blogging thing is meeting it's objectives thus far: I am keeping a record of my running, which is naturally spilling over to everyday life. Noticing things during the day and crafting some sort of blog entry around it has become a firm habit already, and the discipline of both taking the time to write and live up to it must be a good thing.
Before it gets all too philosophical...
I made a new batch of balls, though they are more like bullets, courtesy of the only tool I could fnd to make round shaped lumps - a measuring scoop. This batch has chia seeds in it as well - I figure if they are good for those Indians galumphing round the Mexican canyons in sandals, they'll obviously turn me into a super hero. (No, really... see "Born to Run" by Christopher Mcdougall and the Tarahumara Indians.... Yes, I read it and Yes, it was the final straw that saw me shell out for funky fingens).
Besides all that, they're yummy.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
breathe......
Take a break.
I am becoming concerned about my achilles (both of them), as the lingering tightness and non-painful swelling has persisted now for some time, and I have a hunch it shouldn't.
I may be harboring some general inflammation, without propagating a tear or real damage that would immediately signal pain, but I have a gut feel that persisting a this level will bring on the ouchy stuff.
As an experiment, today is off, and the next week or so, I'll run (lightly) in shoes and stretch the achilles whenever I think of it - just to see if my ankles loosen or start to look skinny again. funny thing is that my ankles and calves feel the strongest they ever have.
I guess this is the critical moment where "too much too soon" is discovered in time, or by implosion.
How wonderful it is to have the kid around. Tonight we were early enough through dinner to take an hour fishing down on the Jetty. A bit cool, and few too many mosquitoes, but clear and peaceful. The kid only cast her line once, then she snuggled into me and later said "I don't care what we're doing, I just like to be together". The dad was smitten all over again, like every other day.....
We caught one little fish, then came home, and that little fish provided us with a happy bedtime story of curiosity and escape, as that one little fish now knows both what humans look like up close, and why free prawns are dangerous.
I am becoming concerned about my achilles (both of them), as the lingering tightness and non-painful swelling has persisted now for some time, and I have a hunch it shouldn't.
I may be harboring some general inflammation, without propagating a tear or real damage that would immediately signal pain, but I have a gut feel that persisting a this level will bring on the ouchy stuff.
As an experiment, today is off, and the next week or so, I'll run (lightly) in shoes and stretch the achilles whenever I think of it - just to see if my ankles loosen or start to look skinny again. funny thing is that my ankles and calves feel the strongest they ever have.
I guess this is the critical moment where "too much too soon" is discovered in time, or by implosion.
How wonderful it is to have the kid around. Tonight we were early enough through dinner to take an hour fishing down on the Jetty. A bit cool, and few too many mosquitoes, but clear and peaceful. The kid only cast her line once, then she snuggled into me and later said "I don't care what we're doing, I just like to be together". The dad was smitten all over again, like every other day.....
We caught one little fish, then came home, and that little fish provided us with a happy bedtime story of curiosity and escape, as that one little fish now knows both what humans look like up close, and why free prawns are dangerous.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
no man's land
Ran the 14km loop with the WAMC. Felt OK, but hard on the ankles today. 1:04 brought it closer to the 1 hour mark I want, but at what cost?
My left achilles (the one most resembling "cankles") is sore. Also, in the last 1km, a significant pain started up in the center of the ball of my right foot, forcing a short stop. With a little stretch and a rub, though, it eased off and I was able to finish strongly. Ironically, this is where the left achilles started to hurt, as the pace increased, form deteriorated and the pounding began.
Unfortunately, the theme of this run was getting stuck in and trying to escape from the no man's land between other runner - either overtaking or stopping for water etc. Makes a run much harder and far less social, but having to chew up that 30 metres to catch up after a water stop must be character building, or something.....
A little look at inspiration..... I have modelled the look of my blog (and I would only hope to reach the heights of writing skill) on Emma's wonderful blog at furrybees.
See it here: http://www.furrybees.blogspot.com/
So there's very little original in this world.... find something good and rip it off. I don't know that my peanut butter balls can compare with this weeks Mushroom Sesame Tofu Stew. Em, you're a legend!
Tonight the kid is back - how I've missed her incessant chatter and impy little grin.
Very tired after tonight's run.... and I've run out of cookies.
My left achilles (the one most resembling "cankles") is sore. Also, in the last 1km, a significant pain started up in the center of the ball of my right foot, forcing a short stop. With a little stretch and a rub, though, it eased off and I was able to finish strongly. Ironically, this is where the left achilles started to hurt, as the pace increased, form deteriorated and the pounding began.
Unfortunately, the theme of this run was getting stuck in and trying to escape from the no man's land between other runner - either overtaking or stopping for water etc. Makes a run much harder and far less social, but having to chew up that 30 metres to catch up after a water stop must be character building, or something.....
A little look at inspiration..... I have modelled the look of my blog (and I would only hope to reach the heights of writing skill) on Emma's wonderful blog at furrybees.
See it here: http://www.furrybees.blogspot.com/
So there's very little original in this world.... find something good and rip it off. I don't know that my peanut butter balls can compare with this weeks Mushroom Sesame Tofu Stew. Em, you're a legend!
Tonight the kid is back - how I've missed her incessant chatter and impy little grin.
Very tired after tonight's run.... and I've run out of cookies.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
midnight
12.5km, 1:06 nice and slow, steady.
The riverside at midnight is beautiful. It is peaceful and still, with a steady chorus of frogs and crickets.
For such a still, moonlit night, I saw nobody else - I would've thought the fishermen would enjoy it.
The increase in training and my bad sleep recently (helping it tonight, huh?) caught up with me this afternoon so I bailed out of work a bit early and crashed on the sofa. An hour kip, then dinner, a couple of hours doing the company accounts brings me to here, certainly ready for bed.
I had no choice but to run tonight - there were two cookies left.
The riverside at midnight is beautiful. It is peaceful and still, with a steady chorus of frogs and crickets.
For such a still, moonlit night, I saw nobody else - I would've thought the fishermen would enjoy it.
The increase in training and my bad sleep recently (helping it tonight, huh?) caught up with me this afternoon so I bailed out of work a bit early and crashed on the sofa. An hour kip, then dinner, a couple of hours doing the company accounts brings me to here, certainly ready for bed.
I had no choice but to run tonight - there were two cookies left.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Of chocolate chip cookies and mercury poisoning
There is nothing better than tucking into a choc chip cookie after a run in the knowledge that nobody can say you didn't earn it.
No, scrub that, there is something better - the second cookie.
I was so lazy tonight that I didn't bother taking off the running shoes I wore to work. Dump the bag and back out the door. Short and sharp - 5km to East Perth for a drink, then back to the park for 12 x 80m sprints, then roll home barefoot. Nice to finish a run wanting more.
The differences between the VFF technique and true barefoot only become apparent once both styles begin to settle. I find that I land on my outer toes in the VFFs and rotate my heel round those toes till I have full foot contact. Doing this barefoot is awkward and abrasive. I know I do it in the VFFs because of the distinct wear pattern on the soles and the scrapy sound I get when the path is wet or sandy. I guess barefoot forces the complete ball of the foot to touch down and spread the load as widely and evenly as possible. Whether I ever make it to full barefoot I don't know, but I would need to get over my hippity hoppity over the smallest inconsistencies in the path. How people run trails barefoot baffles me.
Here are my VFF (bikilas) after 500km, all on smooth-ish paving.Note the wear under the little toe and right in the center of the ball of the foot.
If I can arrange to get leave on Wednesday afternoons, I think I shall switch the Wednesday WAMC run with the Thursday program run, since WAMC is likely to end up fairly competitive. I will keep Tuesday as a short-ish recovery run, and Thursday will become short and sharp, allowing me to jump in with the 14 or 18km group at the club. Friday will stay as rest.
And the mercury poisoning? My brother (now residing in Beijing), reminded me today of the dangers of heavy metal poisoning due to the fish I like to drag out of the river being the top of the local food chain, mostly subsisting on poo-eating molluscs (OK, not poo, but pollution). A quick sweep of the ever-trusty web shows three polarised local schools of thought (are three poles possible?) - the ones who don't keep anything they catch, for the sake of the river; those who eat anything they see, legal size or not and; those who are sure that incidental contact with the Swan River water will lead to certain death or a severe itch.
Since I eat the fish and drag the kid around behind the kayak, singing gleefully in her lifejacket, this warrants further investigation. Probably not on the web.
No, scrub that, there is something better - the second cookie.
I was so lazy tonight that I didn't bother taking off the running shoes I wore to work. Dump the bag and back out the door. Short and sharp - 5km to East Perth for a drink, then back to the park for 12 x 80m sprints, then roll home barefoot. Nice to finish a run wanting more.
The differences between the VFF technique and true barefoot only become apparent once both styles begin to settle. I find that I land on my outer toes in the VFFs and rotate my heel round those toes till I have full foot contact. Doing this barefoot is awkward and abrasive. I know I do it in the VFFs because of the distinct wear pattern on the soles and the scrapy sound I get when the path is wet or sandy. I guess barefoot forces the complete ball of the foot to touch down and spread the load as widely and evenly as possible. Whether I ever make it to full barefoot I don't know, but I would need to get over my hippity hoppity over the smallest inconsistencies in the path. How people run trails barefoot baffles me.
Here are my VFF (bikilas) after 500km, all on smooth-ish paving.Note the wear under the little toe and right in the center of the ball of the foot.
If I can arrange to get leave on Wednesday afternoons, I think I shall switch the Wednesday WAMC run with the Thursday program run, since WAMC is likely to end up fairly competitive. I will keep Tuesday as a short-ish recovery run, and Thursday will become short and sharp, allowing me to jump in with the 14 or 18km group at the club. Friday will stay as rest.
And the mercury poisoning? My brother (now residing in Beijing), reminded me today of the dangers of heavy metal poisoning due to the fish I like to drag out of the river being the top of the local food chain, mostly subsisting on poo-eating molluscs (OK, not poo, but pollution). A quick sweep of the ever-trusty web shows three polarised local schools of thought (are three poles possible?) - the ones who don't keep anything they catch, for the sake of the river; those who eat anything they see, legal size or not and; those who are sure that incidental contact with the Swan River water will lead to certain death or a severe itch.
Since I eat the fish and drag the kid around behind the kayak, singing gleefully in her lifejacket, this warrants further investigation. Probably not on the web.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
It's like fishing...
Sometimes all you need is one good session and faith is restored. That was tonight.
20.5km, the normal route to the Narrows, in 1:45. Not quick, but like clockwork - steady cadence throughout, good technique, no fuss, no hassles, just ease on through.
Tonight was also the first outing for the peanut butter apricot powerbricks. Maybe placebo, but I shall never go out without my balls again. (This is not an odd comment, since they started out as little rectangular bricks, but after an hour in their little baggie, they were nicely rounded little oblongs). The next batch, I think, will be teaspoon sized balls - easier to pop in and a little smaller - perhaps they will go down every 20 minutes or at any water stop. Also, my worry about them falling apart was unfounded - things get a little warm in the back of the shorts, so they softened and glued together perfectly.
I must admit the one hour brick was so darn good I almost ate his mate as well.
Consuming some fuel along the way had an interesting side effect, or magnified a normal one - the runner's fart. Now I am convinced that any runner who says they don't fart on the road is lying about the farting or the running.
The problem with the riverside course at dusk is that it is quite well populated with happy people, enjoying walks, picnics and the serenity. A weedy runner sliding on by with an accompanying chorus of ducks is possibly off-putting. For me, nothing destroys a good run faster than trying to hold one in. A great deal of concentration goes into timing a release for the little gaps of no-mans-land between picnics.
On a more pleasant note, tonight also contained a new sensation that I spent half the run trying to describe and maintain. I often talk about the "float" technique - where the stride, cadence and energy levels come together to create an effortless glide - often fleeting but oh so good. Well, tonight offered a sensation of weightlessness. I can best describe the sensation as having a string puling up through my head, such that I was barely touching the ground, and if I lifted off, I would just keep spinning my legs over. Very weird, but rather euphoric. The nice thing was that, rather than burning it up and pushing while it felt good, the sensation allowed me to settle in and flow along with it for a few hundred metres at a time. Lasted for about 4km at about the 14-18km zone.
Perhaps I had lost feeling in my legs and feet. Perhaps I was hallucinating from peanut butter overload. Perhaps I haven't been for a run at all. Who cares! It was like catching a huge fish on the last cast of the day.
Feet are a little rubbed, achilles are a little achy, but otherwise a fantastic run and a 15 minute recovery.
Faith restored. I may need to go fishing for dinner, as well.....
20.5km, the normal route to the Narrows, in 1:45. Not quick, but like clockwork - steady cadence throughout, good technique, no fuss, no hassles, just ease on through.
Tonight was also the first outing for the peanut butter apricot powerbricks. Maybe placebo, but I shall never go out without my balls again. (This is not an odd comment, since they started out as little rectangular bricks, but after an hour in their little baggie, they were nicely rounded little oblongs). The next batch, I think, will be teaspoon sized balls - easier to pop in and a little smaller - perhaps they will go down every 20 minutes or at any water stop. Also, my worry about them falling apart was unfounded - things get a little warm in the back of the shorts, so they softened and glued together perfectly.
I must admit the one hour brick was so darn good I almost ate his mate as well.
Consuming some fuel along the way had an interesting side effect, or magnified a normal one - the runner's fart. Now I am convinced that any runner who says they don't fart on the road is lying about the farting or the running.
The problem with the riverside course at dusk is that it is quite well populated with happy people, enjoying walks, picnics and the serenity. A weedy runner sliding on by with an accompanying chorus of ducks is possibly off-putting. For me, nothing destroys a good run faster than trying to hold one in. A great deal of concentration goes into timing a release for the little gaps of no-mans-land between picnics.
On a more pleasant note, tonight also contained a new sensation that I spent half the run trying to describe and maintain. I often talk about the "float" technique - where the stride, cadence and energy levels come together to create an effortless glide - often fleeting but oh so good. Well, tonight offered a sensation of weightlessness. I can best describe the sensation as having a string puling up through my head, such that I was barely touching the ground, and if I lifted off, I would just keep spinning my legs over. Very weird, but rather euphoric. The nice thing was that, rather than burning it up and pushing while it felt good, the sensation allowed me to settle in and flow along with it for a few hundred metres at a time. Lasted for about 4km at about the 14-18km zone.
Perhaps I had lost feeling in my legs and feet. Perhaps I was hallucinating from peanut butter overload. Perhaps I haven't been for a run at all. Who cares! It was like catching a huge fish on the last cast of the day.
Feet are a little rubbed, achilles are a little achy, but otherwise a fantastic run and a 15 minute recovery.
Faith restored. I may need to go fishing for dinner, as well.....
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Great sandy desert
OK, that's what it FELT like...... The Kings Park trails at 11am seem a bit like this - hot, soft and never-ending. Each section of trail is actually quite short, but they criss-cross and link to paved sections and the main ring road so much that a neverending meandering path is possible. A tough day out, with plenty of soft sand, a couple of flat grassed sections, and a few grassy downhills to up the pace. No sharp hills or rocky terrain, though - these area areas I'd like to put the fingens through their paces on, just to get the feel for a tough cross-county.
Not much of the "blasting along" that would've come from a good cross country trail, so finding a good one will become a priority for Saturday runs, while the kid is at her morning activities.
A highlight of today: helicopters! We were given a great little copter for Christmas by our wonderful friends in Brisbane. Unfortunately, two kids and one toy didn't work out, so I bought myself another littler one. Now wecan have dogfights around the lounge room...
These things are darn clever, and a lot of fun.
And a lowlight: locksmiths.
In our enthusiasm to try the copters in the carpark, the door closed and locked behind us. $165 later, the locksmith, with his best smirk, suggested we keep a spare key.....
Good to do cash jobs on Saturdays.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Pizza to settle the stomach
So what made me feel like puking throughout today's run? Was it lunch? Was it my new "super marathon energy bars"?
I'd prefer it didn't become regular...
A soothing home made pizza should do the trick. The kid loves Friday pizza night with a movie.
Pizza sauce, cheese, salami, mushrooms and diced veges on lebanese flat bread make for a good meal.
The run tonight was a soft out, hard back affair, though the hard back flagged a little. This running caper will have to strt feeling better consistently soon...
I'd prefer it didn't become regular...
A soothing home made pizza should do the trick. The kid loves Friday pizza night with a movie.
Pizza sauce, cheese, salami, mushrooms and diced veges on lebanese flat bread make for a good meal.
The run tonight was a soft out, hard back affair, though the hard back flagged a little. This running caper will have to strt feeling better consistently soon...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Seriously, now...
I exist! I have a club number again for the first time in maybe 18 years.
This gets tougher to escape the further I go........
Some talk on the road that the Perth marathon may be a better race than the City to Surf. For one, it's flat. A little earlier, but there is plenty of room in the program.
This gets tougher to escape the further I go........
Some talk on the road that the Perth marathon may be a better race than the City to Surf. For one, it's flat. A little earlier, but there is plenty of room in the program.
New Widget added
Oh, it seemed fun. It's recording in miles, but if anyone in the US ever reads this, they'll get it.
Rest day today (switching Tursday / Friday), since yesterday's run was likely harder than intended. Short-ish run in the morning if I can ever get to sleep.
Made the apricot/cashew/maple syrup/peanut paste bars tonight (recipe from (never home) makers). They taste great, but I fear they are too crumbly to survive in a belt for a long run. I need an ingredient that will stay firm in heat and bind the thing together. Anyone?
Mine are a distinctly different color to those in the recipe - seems dried apricots in the US are a deep brown color, rather than the bright orange Turkish ones we get here.
Note surrounding debris. This little guy became immediately disoriented and lonely on extraction from the container for the photo, so I ate him, too.
Will have to experiment with some of the simple logistics of these bars, such as: can I get the whole chunk in my gob and still breathe while getting it down. Timing this exercise to coincide with water (I don't want to carry that, too), will also take some practice.
I reckon one of these every 30 minutes for every 30 minutes over 1 hour, (plus the one at the 1 hour mark).
Maybe it's just the end of a hot humid week, but it feels like it's been dramatically ill-disciplined and unproductive, hence the old creeping panic of things not done and money not earned has surfaced again.
At least all known family and friends have escaped the Brisbane floods unscathed. I don't envy then the cleanup job.
Rest day today (switching Tursday / Friday), since yesterday's run was likely harder than intended. Short-ish run in the morning if I can ever get to sleep.
Made the apricot/cashew/maple syrup/peanut paste bars tonight (recipe from (never home) makers). They taste great, but I fear they are too crumbly to survive in a belt for a long run. I need an ingredient that will stay firm in heat and bind the thing together. Anyone?
Mine are a distinctly different color to those in the recipe - seems dried apricots in the US are a deep brown color, rather than the bright orange Turkish ones we get here.
Note surrounding debris. This little guy became immediately disoriented and lonely on extraction from the container for the photo, so I ate him, too.
Will have to experiment with some of the simple logistics of these bars, such as: can I get the whole chunk in my gob and still breathe while getting it down. Timing this exercise to coincide with water (I don't want to carry that, too), will also take some practice.
I reckon one of these every 30 minutes for every 30 minutes over 1 hour, (plus the one at the 1 hour mark).
Maybe it's just the end of a hot humid week, but it feels like it's been dramatically ill-disciplined and unproductive, hence the old creeping panic of things not done and money not earned has surfaced again.
At least all known family and friends have escaped the Brisbane floods unscathed. I don't envy then the cleanup job.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hunter Gatherer
In the absence of any food in the house tonight, I took the risky option and went out in the river in the kayak and 3 prawns.
Two very nice bream and a yellowatil later, I am full. Nice. Only a few minutes pan fried with butter and garlic and dinner is done.
Yesterdays run was an 80% one. The usual course around the river and across at the Causeway went much faster than usual, particularly the start, so it came home at 52:30 for the 12km, giving an average of about 4:20min/km. The faster runs in the fingens provide some soreness in the ankles and achilles, due just to the greater impact of scrappy technique at higher speed. As I get faster, I tend to waver between the correct technique of falling forward from the hips and the old habit of lengthening stride and pushing off the toes.
A solid bike ride afterward stretched out the achilles quite nicely, so there was no lingering soreness.
There's no tenderness, a little tightness, but do I have inflamed / swollen ankles? Maybe it's the start of cankles?
My ankles / bottom of shins are much larger than previous, and much tighter. The definition of the thin achilles tendon seems to have disappeared, but it doesn't hurt at all.........
Must watch this.
Tonight's run was with the WAMC again. I like these guys. They're totally mad. I've found a Saturday morning long run group, too......
The run was the standard 14km loop, with a slow start and a a steady chase of the frontrunners. Eventually, thanks to water stops, I caught them, and we all rolled home. Eventually not an easy run, but enjoyable, hopefully for all. 14km in 1:08:00 = avg 4:48min/km.
This run, while it became pretty tough toward the end, was actually the same pace as the weekend long run! Happily, this gives me one piece of news - I run appropriately hard by myself.
Today was dramatically unproductive. Not only am I generally tired thanks to a couple of late nights, I am finding some anxiety in the flood situation going on in Toowoomba and Brisbane, hoe birthplace and previous home town, respectively. The extent of damage is truly astonishing, and i can help be torn between between a gleeful smugness and a great sympathy for the lady who bought my house in Rocklea only in may 2010. Today, only its roof is visible above the waterline. In May, when it sold, I clearly remember the sales agents saying " with all the mitigation measures in place since 1974, that level of flooding could never occur again...."
I can only imagine the state I'd be in if my garden and house were slowly disappearing, sans flood insurance...
All the best to them. So far, I have no reports of family or friends in real trouble. Fingers crossed for the expected peak in about 4 hours from now.
Two very nice bream and a yellowatil later, I am full. Nice. Only a few minutes pan fried with butter and garlic and dinner is done.
Yesterdays run was an 80% one. The usual course around the river and across at the Causeway went much faster than usual, particularly the start, so it came home at 52:30 for the 12km, giving an average of about 4:20min/km. The faster runs in the fingens provide some soreness in the ankles and achilles, due just to the greater impact of scrappy technique at higher speed. As I get faster, I tend to waver between the correct technique of falling forward from the hips and the old habit of lengthening stride and pushing off the toes.
A solid bike ride afterward stretched out the achilles quite nicely, so there was no lingering soreness.
There's no tenderness, a little tightness, but do I have inflamed / swollen ankles? Maybe it's the start of cankles?
My ankles / bottom of shins are much larger than previous, and much tighter. The definition of the thin achilles tendon seems to have disappeared, but it doesn't hurt at all.........
Must watch this.
Tonight's run was with the WAMC again. I like these guys. They're totally mad. I've found a Saturday morning long run group, too......
The run was the standard 14km loop, with a slow start and a a steady chase of the frontrunners. Eventually, thanks to water stops, I caught them, and we all rolled home. Eventually not an easy run, but enjoyable, hopefully for all. 14km in 1:08:00 = avg 4:48min/km.
This run, while it became pretty tough toward the end, was actually the same pace as the weekend long run! Happily, this gives me one piece of news - I run appropriately hard by myself.
Today was dramatically unproductive. Not only am I generally tired thanks to a couple of late nights, I am finding some anxiety in the flood situation going on in Toowoomba and Brisbane, hoe birthplace and previous home town, respectively. The extent of damage is truly astonishing, and i can help be torn between between a gleeful smugness and a great sympathy for the lady who bought my house in Rocklea only in may 2010. Today, only its roof is visible above the waterline. In May, when it sold, I clearly remember the sales agents saying " with all the mitigation measures in place since 1974, that level of flooding could never occur again...."
I can only imagine the state I'd be in if my garden and house were slowly disappearing, sans flood insurance...
All the best to them. So far, I have no reports of family or friends in real trouble. Fingers crossed for the expected peak in about 4 hours from now.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sweeeeet!
Clearly, a good sleep last night and Saturday's long run did some good - tonight's run was such a pleasure that I began composing this post on the move.
When the technique kicks in and te starts align, the gentle float of the correct barefoot technique is hypnotic and euphoric. I recall it used to be the same with shoes, but I seem to be able to find it easier with the fingens.
I slipped off the fingens and ran about 800m barefoot - tingly on the nice smooth path , but had to put the VFFs back on because the path got rough - they felt like old snug slippers going back on. I would've done more but for the path, but I'll save that for next time.
I find it astonishing and amusing that, after only a couple of months, my little pink softy foots, which have never touched the ground without a wince in my entire life, are now gliding along a path in the dark.........
The best part? VFF's are quiet, but the rear half of the shoe still makes a small noise when it touches down. Barefoot is totally, utterly silent. Tonight, on the path in suburban Perth, I saw a fox! Small, skinny and grey, but no doubt a fox, and I snuck up on him.
The run tonight was 7km (about 30 minutes), plus 10 x 80m spurts in the middle. A pretty light session, really.
I have a hunch that fuel may be a key to my running survival this year (just keeping up the program, that is, even before any useful performance). One thing I have never paid attention to is fuelling my body. I have always run like a demon, relied heavily on natural talent, but never quite broken through on the real tough stuff to meet the potential I seemed to have. So maybe I've always been letting myself down, just as it got out on the edge - as I went beyond a normal hard workout into an extraordinary performance?
All day today I've been feeling a bit hollow and hungry - me and the kid were late to her swimming class this morning, because we slept in, so I had a late and small breakfast, plus a kicker coffee. Lunch was a bit late, too, because I was engrossed in a machining job, then, after the new client, it was 8pm.
About 15 minutes before setting out, I ate a piece of bread with generous dobs of peanut butter and honey. My stomach felt a bit churny for the first 100m, but therafter I felt energised. I found the float again tonight that makes running, particularly this minimalist technique, especially envigorating. Maybe its the placebo effect, maybe not, but who cares? The long runs will tell the story.
Today I found myself explaining the notion of blogging to my work neighbour - a piano tuner and restorer (a dying trade perhaps, now that an iphone can do most of the job). He couldn't see the point in keeping a diary, especially a public one. I found it hard to explain, but I think a big driver for me is that it is an adult conversation (a little one-sided perhaps), which forces an immediacy, brevity and honesty. Living and working alone, this conversation may likely often be the only one for a day!
A good day, in fact, a grand day.
When the technique kicks in and te starts align, the gentle float of the correct barefoot technique is hypnotic and euphoric. I recall it used to be the same with shoes, but I seem to be able to find it easier with the fingens.
I slipped off the fingens and ran about 800m barefoot - tingly on the nice smooth path , but had to put the VFFs back on because the path got rough - they felt like old snug slippers going back on. I would've done more but for the path, but I'll save that for next time.
I find it astonishing and amusing that, after only a couple of months, my little pink softy foots, which have never touched the ground without a wince in my entire life, are now gliding along a path in the dark.........
The best part? VFF's are quiet, but the rear half of the shoe still makes a small noise when it touches down. Barefoot is totally, utterly silent. Tonight, on the path in suburban Perth, I saw a fox! Small, skinny and grey, but no doubt a fox, and I snuck up on him.
The run tonight was 7km (about 30 minutes), plus 10 x 80m spurts in the middle. A pretty light session, really.
I have a hunch that fuel may be a key to my running survival this year (just keeping up the program, that is, even before any useful performance). One thing I have never paid attention to is fuelling my body. I have always run like a demon, relied heavily on natural talent, but never quite broken through on the real tough stuff to meet the potential I seemed to have. So maybe I've always been letting myself down, just as it got out on the edge - as I went beyond a normal hard workout into an extraordinary performance?
All day today I've been feeling a bit hollow and hungry - me and the kid were late to her swimming class this morning, because we slept in, so I had a late and small breakfast, plus a kicker coffee. Lunch was a bit late, too, because I was engrossed in a machining job, then, after the new client, it was 8pm.
About 15 minutes before setting out, I ate a piece of bread with generous dobs of peanut butter and honey. My stomach felt a bit churny for the first 100m, but therafter I felt energised. I found the float again tonight that makes running, particularly this minimalist technique, especially envigorating. Maybe its the placebo effect, maybe not, but who cares? The long runs will tell the story.
Today I found myself explaining the notion of blogging to my work neighbour - a piano tuner and restorer (a dying trade perhaps, now that an iphone can do most of the job). He couldn't see the point in keeping a diary, especially a public one. I found it hard to explain, but I think a big driver for me is that it is an adult conversation (a little one-sided perhaps), which forces an immediacy, brevity and honesty. Living and working alone, this conversation may likely often be the only one for a day!
A good day, in fact, a grand day.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
recovery
Today I must recover from the things I've done poorly this week:
I haven't slept well, I haven't eaten well and I got a little sunburnt, during yesterday's run, and today in the park.
All these things have led to an impending feeling of collapse - I don't want to get there. The kid is with me, and I have not yet figured out how to shuffle the program to get a workout in while she's with me.
Today will break the run program, but I have some paddling and a session of pushups and crunches to come, to sneak in that occasional bit of upper body work.. I may still sweat a little. I have found that a roll on the bike trainer after she who talks goes to bed eases the legs quite nicely.
I haven't slept well, I haven't eaten well and I got a little sunburnt, during yesterday's run, and today in the park.
All these things have led to an impending feeling of collapse - I don't want to get there. The kid is with me, and I have not yet figured out how to shuffle the program to get a workout in while she's with me.
Today will break the run program, but I have some paddling and a session of pushups and crunches to come, to sneak in that occasional bit of upper body work.. I may still sweat a little. I have found that a roll on the bike trainer after she who talks goes to bed eases the legs quite nicely.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
a scientific approach to flailing about
Will writing a blog entry induce sleep? In the writer?
I hope so, as this apparently vital function has been eluding me this last week, leading to an increasing feeling of non-recovery from these runs.
Today's run was the long one, as the kid had a 4 hour birthday party and opportunities to get out tomorrow are going to be limited. The result 20km, 1:34:25 felt ploddy the whole way, though I was conscious of pulling back almost the whole distance and maintaining the best barefoot form I could in shoes. Yes, shoes - horrors!
The difference that the bulk on the sole makes is astonishing - a fore/midfoot landing is virtually impossible as the heel plate will invariably contact first, unless the "bike pedalling" action espoused by the barefoot gurus keeps the knees high enough. I found I was not pounding on my heels, but I was sure back to the heelstrike pattern - evidenced by the impact-type soreness in my quads for the first hour or so after the run.
The advantage of the shoes (Nike Bowerman Series) is that the rubbing discomfort under the ball of my foot caused by my foot movement in the VFFs on longer runs didn't appear. Perhaps there is an argument here for training in the VFFs and racing / longer runs in one of the minimalist shoes like the Newton etc.
I know the purists would be screeching at me now to "just ditch all these things altogether", but I'm just too darn gutless to run naked barefoot. The few little bits I've tried on the gloriously smooth paths along the river haven't felt bad (abrasive, but not bad), but I just can't get my head around it. One of my fears is for that pesky little pinky toe that is so luxuriously nestled underneath its neighbour will be the site of many a nasty blister. This area, in fact, is the only visible site of wear in the VFFs, indicating that I rotate and scuff this portion of my foot on landing or push-off. (And the purists start yelling again....).
I've been very conscious of fuel this last week, having been hot and humid, and taking on the new mileage. I have been drinking water at every opportunity and subsequently peeing like a fountain. The amount of sweat literally trickling off me after runs/, though, tells me that I need it. I noted today that I felt decidedly awkward in the belly prior to the run - could be the pancakes, who knows - but once I got going and the sweat began, I didn't feel thirsty, and I felt more ..... bouyant. The sensation really was one of becoming steadily less waterlogged and more comfortable as the run progressed. Now, with no way to judge the adequacy of my fluid intake this week, I must err on the side of drowning, rather than certain heat exhaustion, but it made me think about a more scientific approach to this marathon prep. If the running program is finely tuned, so must the rest...
This led to run fuel, as I have noticed that I start to flag significantly after an hour on the road. According to the trusty web, I have used a considerable weight of carbohydrates in this time. Reading a little more about "hitting the wall", various texts state fairly specific amounts of available carbohydrate / glycogen stores for given sex / bodyweights, and this has led me to think more...
I am not a big guy. I am 6'4" (194cm) and 73kg. If I stand in front of a strong light, you can see lunch. It occurred to me that I may not carry the average stock of available fuel, so I shall begin a search for a home made (read cheap) source of on-the-run fuel.
First stop on the google trail was this well-written blog by the (never home)makers, featuring a run snack that fits amongst the ingredient list of my breakfast cereal and sounds downright yummy. Here is the link:
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/09/long-run-fuel-marathon-chunks.html
I haven't read much more of their stuff yet, but what I have is darn good.
Potentially, these little slices could be divided up for consumption at correct carbohydrate "dose" per unit of time on the road. The shopping list is complete.
Sleepy?
I hope so, as this apparently vital function has been eluding me this last week, leading to an increasing feeling of non-recovery from these runs.
Today's run was the long one, as the kid had a 4 hour birthday party and opportunities to get out tomorrow are going to be limited. The result 20km, 1:34:25 felt ploddy the whole way, though I was conscious of pulling back almost the whole distance and maintaining the best barefoot form I could in shoes. Yes, shoes - horrors!
The difference that the bulk on the sole makes is astonishing - a fore/midfoot landing is virtually impossible as the heel plate will invariably contact first, unless the "bike pedalling" action espoused by the barefoot gurus keeps the knees high enough. I found I was not pounding on my heels, but I was sure back to the heelstrike pattern - evidenced by the impact-type soreness in my quads for the first hour or so after the run.
The advantage of the shoes (Nike Bowerman Series) is that the rubbing discomfort under the ball of my foot caused by my foot movement in the VFFs on longer runs didn't appear. Perhaps there is an argument here for training in the VFFs and racing / longer runs in one of the minimalist shoes like the Newton etc.
I know the purists would be screeching at me now to "just ditch all these things altogether", but I'm just too darn gutless to run naked barefoot. The few little bits I've tried on the gloriously smooth paths along the river haven't felt bad (abrasive, but not bad), but I just can't get my head around it. One of my fears is for that pesky little pinky toe that is so luxuriously nestled underneath its neighbour will be the site of many a nasty blister. This area, in fact, is the only visible site of wear in the VFFs, indicating that I rotate and scuff this portion of my foot on landing or push-off. (And the purists start yelling again....).
I've been very conscious of fuel this last week, having been hot and humid, and taking on the new mileage. I have been drinking water at every opportunity and subsequently peeing like a fountain. The amount of sweat literally trickling off me after runs/, though, tells me that I need it. I noted today that I felt decidedly awkward in the belly prior to the run - could be the pancakes, who knows - but once I got going and the sweat began, I didn't feel thirsty, and I felt more ..... bouyant. The sensation really was one of becoming steadily less waterlogged and more comfortable as the run progressed. Now, with no way to judge the adequacy of my fluid intake this week, I must err on the side of drowning, rather than certain heat exhaustion, but it made me think about a more scientific approach to this marathon prep. If the running program is finely tuned, so must the rest...
This led to run fuel, as I have noticed that I start to flag significantly after an hour on the road. According to the trusty web, I have used a considerable weight of carbohydrates in this time. Reading a little more about "hitting the wall", various texts state fairly specific amounts of available carbohydrate / glycogen stores for given sex / bodyweights, and this has led me to think more...
I am not a big guy. I am 6'4" (194cm) and 73kg. If I stand in front of a strong light, you can see lunch. It occurred to me that I may not carry the average stock of available fuel, so I shall begin a search for a home made (read cheap) source of on-the-run fuel.
First stop on the google trail was this well-written blog by the (never home)makers, featuring a run snack that fits amongst the ingredient list of my breakfast cereal and sounds downright yummy. Here is the link:
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/09/long-run-fuel-marathon-chunks.html
I haven't read much more of their stuff yet, but what I have is darn good.
Potentially, these little slices could be divided up for consumption at correct carbohydrate "dose" per unit of time on the road. The shopping list is complete.
Sleepy?
Friday, January 7, 2011
Rest day today. Feeling strong, so having a day off when there are perfect opportunities for sweat is a test of discipline in itself.
The kid returned from her camping trip this afternoon, so the world has suddenly become vastly noisier, with a constant stream of consciousness following me around. Cuddling an 8 year old throughout the dinner shopping became a little awkward, as she's no small thing anymore, but we made it. Holidays are great, but coming back is better.
The first stage of dealing with the training program and the kid has found a solution in the form of a birthday party tomorrow afternoon, ensuring that the run will go on, albeit late afternoon, when it will still be hot.
Noticing a little soreness in the left achilles during a romp in the park this afternoon - let's see what a good sleep can bring.
My Brisbane friend commented on my repair job yesterday - he was very grateful for the effort, but felt very embarrassed by the extent I went to. As a designer, the opportunity to share a little creativity with a good mate is a pleasure, regardless of the effort. Its the people that expect something for nothing that take the fun out of it.
Anyhoo, here's dinner...
The kid returned from her camping trip this afternoon, so the world has suddenly become vastly noisier, with a constant stream of consciousness following me around. Cuddling an 8 year old throughout the dinner shopping became a little awkward, as she's no small thing anymore, but we made it. Holidays are great, but coming back is better.
The first stage of dealing with the training program and the kid has found a solution in the form of a birthday party tomorrow afternoon, ensuring that the run will go on, albeit late afternoon, when it will still be hot.
Noticing a little soreness in the left achilles during a romp in the park this afternoon - let's see what a good sleep can bring.
My Brisbane friend commented on my repair job yesterday - he was very grateful for the effort, but felt very embarrassed by the extent I went to. As a designer, the opportunity to share a little creativity with a good mate is a pleasure, regardless of the effort. Its the people that expect something for nothing that take the fun out of it.
Anyhoo, here's dinner...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
antici...pation...
For tonight's run? It must be....
I came home early from work today to do the domestics - shovel the dishes back into the sink (they were on their way t the door), peel the dry washing out of the washing machine and scoop the sand off the floors before the dune patterns got too noticeable. It was one of those days that raced by, with one single-minded goal - finish a little repair job for a mate in Brisbane. Sure, it was vastly over-engineered, but why use some araldite and a pop stick when theres's a perfectly good milling machine and lots of shiny, shiny steel....
Here's a pic - all I needed to do was repair little broken plastic lugs.
I couldn't resist but put a little logo on the side - a shameless plug on a piece of kit that will remain safely invisible for the rest of it's service life. Perhaps I'm not doing this promotional thing right......
While of no value to the business or to my income, this made for a thoroughly enjoyable day. The parts arrived in an airbag at 10am, and needed to be repaired and on the way back by 5pm. It all happened with plenty of time, but that surge of sharp focus was fairly exhausting. When the airbag left my hands at the post office, coming home for the domestics was the best I could do.
Late lunch is subsiding (chicken kebab with hot chilli suace - champion food, huh?), so the run, (60 minutes, including 35 mins hard) is coming up soon.
~ Pause ~
And there it was. Identical course to Tuesday night, 57 minutes neat, felt much. much stronger than Tuesday, but not near as smooth and fast as last night's "easy" run. Until my base fitness catches up, these day to day variances will be frustrating. Sigh.
While running, I was thinking about spreading oneself thinly. Really, I have it easy. I had dinner with a single mum of three little 'uns - full time - with a high level job and (ugh) bosses, plus international commitments that continue through the night. Me, spread thin? Nah. I have time for fishing on weeknights.
There really is no excuse to not hammer this marathon. There are always convenient reasons to slack off, but mostly, it's just fear of not meeting my own expectations.
Making Muesli (now that's off on a tangent!):
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups cornflakes
2 cups rice bubbles
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups rice bran
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup each linseed, cranberries, blue berries, goji berries and sunflower kernels
1/3 cup chia seed
3 tablespoons hot honey, mixed through.
This also makes great snack bars, with a slightly different mix including cornmeal, which seem to be pretty gentle pre-run fuel. I'll make another bucket of muesli tonight, then tomorrow, I am going to search for running "gels" - the squeezy sachets that lots of marathoners talk about. Need to determine if there are a wank. Word is 4 of them will fuel a marathon, so I may experiment on one after each hour for any run longer than 1:30.
I came home early from work today to do the domestics - shovel the dishes back into the sink (they were on their way t the door), peel the dry washing out of the washing machine and scoop the sand off the floors before the dune patterns got too noticeable. It was one of those days that raced by, with one single-minded goal - finish a little repair job for a mate in Brisbane. Sure, it was vastly over-engineered, but why use some araldite and a pop stick when theres's a perfectly good milling machine and lots of shiny, shiny steel....
Here's a pic - all I needed to do was repair little broken plastic lugs.
I couldn't resist but put a little logo on the side - a shameless plug on a piece of kit that will remain safely invisible for the rest of it's service life. Perhaps I'm not doing this promotional thing right......
While of no value to the business or to my income, this made for a thoroughly enjoyable day. The parts arrived in an airbag at 10am, and needed to be repaired and on the way back by 5pm. It all happened with plenty of time, but that surge of sharp focus was fairly exhausting. When the airbag left my hands at the post office, coming home for the domestics was the best I could do.
Late lunch is subsiding (chicken kebab with hot chilli suace - champion food, huh?), so the run, (60 minutes, including 35 mins hard) is coming up soon.
~ Pause ~
And there it was. Identical course to Tuesday night, 57 minutes neat, felt much. much stronger than Tuesday, but not near as smooth and fast as last night's "easy" run. Until my base fitness catches up, these day to day variances will be frustrating. Sigh.
While running, I was thinking about spreading oneself thinly. Really, I have it easy. I had dinner with a single mum of three little 'uns - full time - with a high level job and (ugh) bosses, plus international commitments that continue through the night. Me, spread thin? Nah. I have time for fishing on weeknights.
There really is no excuse to not hammer this marathon. There are always convenient reasons to slack off, but mostly, it's just fear of not meeting my own expectations.
Making Muesli (now that's off on a tangent!):
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups cornflakes
2 cups rice bubbles
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups rice bran
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup each linseed, cranberries, blue berries, goji berries and sunflower kernels
1/3 cup chia seed
3 tablespoons hot honey, mixed through.
This also makes great snack bars, with a slightly different mix including cornmeal, which seem to be pretty gentle pre-run fuel. I'll make another bucket of muesli tonight, then tomorrow, I am going to search for running "gels" - the squeezy sachets that lots of marathoners talk about. Need to determine if there are a wank. Word is 4 of them will fuel a marathon, so I may experiment on one after each hour for any run longer than 1:30.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Running with Humans
Running clubs are populated by a strange and wonderful breed. I paid my dues, was warmly welcomed, and then we sweated.
50 minutes steady easy. It should have been 14km, but, being the newbie, I got the turnaround wrong and pulled up early. Still, it fits the program, and it felt very pleasant to be rolling along with the front end of the pack.
Tonight, Sleep.
Rain is falling steadily in little Perth tonight. The cloud of steam rising off the place must be making it's way to Brisbane right now.
50 minutes steady easy. It should have been 14km, but, being the newbie, I got the turnaround wrong and pulled up early. Still, it fits the program, and it felt very pleasant to be rolling along with the front end of the pack.
Tonight, Sleep.
Rain is falling steadily in little Perth tonight. The cloud of steam rising off the place must be making it's way to Brisbane right now.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Plod Plod Plod
Another hot, humid day in Perth. I thought I'd left this weather behind in Brisbane.....
I've been leaving little puddles wherever I sit today and one giant puddle after tonight's run.
Today's run:
No morning run today - I'll wait a few weeks till I start getting out twice a day. Given tonight's performance, I both need it, and dread it...
60 minute run, first 25minutes easy, then 35 minutes at 80%. This worked out perfectly for the Windan Bridge / Causeway loop with a total time for the 12.5km of 58:33.
See the area here with Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=maylands+wa&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=69.458301,135.263672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Maylands+Western+Australia&ll=-31.95005,115.892715&spn=0.067075,0.132093&z=14
With a very slow start due to slightly achy achilles, this gives an average of more than 4.5mins/km, which needs some improvement. Remember a 3 hour marathon averages about 4.25mins/km! Eeek!
Lucky there's 35 weeks..... um 34 and a half.....
Looking back, I did this same run about 4 weeks ago in 57minutes, and my notes say it was slow and comfortable! Hmmm.
Anyways, it is done, logged and nothing hurts - that's training.
I promised the program - here 'tis, with credit to Tony Benson:
Monday: am Rest or easy 30min, pm 30-45min with 10x80m
Tuesday: am Rest or easy 30min, pm 45-60min with 35min @ 80%
Wednesday: am Rest, pm Rest or 30-60mins easy
Thursday: am Rest or easy run, pm 60mins with 35 mins @80%
Friday: Rest. WooHoo!
Saturday: am Race or Hilly Cross Country, pm Rest
Sunday: Long run up to 2 hours.
So, I need to work into adding the morning runs, and start finding some races with the WAMC (website here: www.wamc.org.au).
Today was a bit of fun in the office - getting to make new stuff is getting rarer these days, so a day of modelling, programming and cutting tiny dieset parts is a welcome change from documentation. Here's a pic of today's bitties - tomorrow these and others go into the molding machine to make some plastic housings for a vewy vewy secret thing.
Making little things is what I should be doing - recently, the machines have been cutting molds for custom jellies - Christmas was a reindeer, seen here:
Word is I should be selling these, along with all the other odds and ends that seem to come crawling out of my office. A shopping cart coming soon perhaps?
I've been leaving little puddles wherever I sit today and one giant puddle after tonight's run.
Today's run:
No morning run today - I'll wait a few weeks till I start getting out twice a day. Given tonight's performance, I both need it, and dread it...
60 minute run, first 25minutes easy, then 35 minutes at 80%. This worked out perfectly for the Windan Bridge / Causeway loop with a total time for the 12.5km of 58:33.
See the area here with Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=maylands+wa&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=69.458301,135.263672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Maylands+Western+Australia&ll=-31.95005,115.892715&spn=0.067075,0.132093&z=14
With a very slow start due to slightly achy achilles, this gives an average of more than 4.5mins/km, which needs some improvement. Remember a 3 hour marathon averages about 4.25mins/km! Eeek!
Lucky there's 35 weeks..... um 34 and a half.....
Looking back, I did this same run about 4 weeks ago in 57minutes, and my notes say it was slow and comfortable! Hmmm.
Anyways, it is done, logged and nothing hurts - that's training.
I promised the program - here 'tis, with credit to Tony Benson:
Monday: am Rest or easy 30min, pm 30-45min with 10x80m
Tuesday: am Rest or easy 30min, pm 45-60min with 35min @ 80%
Wednesday: am Rest, pm Rest or 30-60mins easy
Thursday: am Rest or easy run, pm 60mins with 35 mins @80%
Friday: Rest. WooHoo!
Saturday: am Race or Hilly Cross Country, pm Rest
Sunday: Long run up to 2 hours.
So, I need to work into adding the morning runs, and start finding some races with the WAMC (website here: www.wamc.org.au).
Today was a bit of fun in the office - getting to make new stuff is getting rarer these days, so a day of modelling, programming and cutting tiny dieset parts is a welcome change from documentation. Here's a pic of today's bitties - tomorrow these and others go into the molding machine to make some plastic housings for a vewy vewy secret thing.
Making little things is what I should be doing - recently, the machines have been cutting molds for custom jellies - Christmas was a reindeer, seen here:
Word is I should be selling these, along with all the other odds and ends that seem to come crawling out of my office. A shopping cart coming soon perhaps?
Monday, January 3, 2011
Strong and feisty
This title could describe either tonight's run, or the fishing. Here's a hint - I'm hungry.
The run was 40 minutes total, steady pace, with 10 x 80m spurts at about 400m pace in the middle. I forgot how much of a twit one can look belting back and forth across a park amongst the soccer matches - in fingens, too!
Felt good to finish a run with plenty left.
As for the fishing, it was a nice cool, still night....
Here's a pic of the jetty at the end of the street where I wet my line most often. This picture was taken using a Samsung Jet phone camera, with the panorama setting - pretty amazing for the cheapest phone around!
The run was 40 minutes total, steady pace, with 10 x 80m spurts at about 400m pace in the middle. I forgot how much of a twit one can look belting back and forth across a park amongst the soccer matches - in fingens, too!
Felt good to finish a run with plenty left.
As for the fishing, it was a nice cool, still night....
Here's a pic of the jetty at the end of the street where I wet my line most often. This picture was taken using a Samsung Jet phone camera, with the panorama setting - pretty amazing for the cheapest phone around!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Very thin, indeed.
So the challenges to discipline begin immediately.
Last night was hot and uncharacteristically muggy for Perth. After a not-too-bad bedtime at 11pm, sleep just wasn't happening. So I walked down to the jetty to sit, relax and test my new theory for catching bream.
I had 2 prawns, so it wasn't going to be a long stay. As it happenend, the river was a millpond and a nice conversation with a couple of locals, followed by a 30cm fish (cleaned and prepped on the spot), took me up to 2am.
Sleep still didn't happen........
Today's run is to be a 35-40 minute jaunt with some speed surges along the way. I don't want to face the heat again, so the run will be put in after a fishing date this evening with my neighbour.
I'm trialling a borrowed airconditioner in the office. For a while, it's good, but it's the evaporative type, so I either need a door open (defeats the purpose) or the output gets gradually less and less cool and I get sweatier and sweatier. Noice. Luckily today is taken up with small machining and a trial molding run - mostly brainless.
Last night was hot and uncharacteristically muggy for Perth. After a not-too-bad bedtime at 11pm, sleep just wasn't happening. So I walked down to the jetty to sit, relax and test my new theory for catching bream.
I had 2 prawns, so it wasn't going to be a long stay. As it happenend, the river was a millpond and a nice conversation with a couple of locals, followed by a 30cm fish (cleaned and prepped on the spot), took me up to 2am.
Sleep still didn't happen........
Today's run is to be a 35-40 minute jaunt with some speed surges along the way. I don't want to face the heat again, so the run will be put in after a fishing date this evening with my neighbour.
I'm trialling a borrowed airconditioner in the office. For a while, it's good, but it's the evaporative type, so I either need a door open (defeats the purpose) or the output gets gradually less and less cool and I get sweatier and sweatier. Noice. Luckily today is taken up with small machining and a trial molding run - mostly brainless.
A fresh start.
Here goes. First, welcome to anyone who may ever be sad and lonely enough to read this.
The marathon plan has a reasonable mileage base from the last 6 months. I started out in the Bikilas in mid-August 2010, and they've just notched up 400km. The transition from shoes was slow and extremely painful - about 3 months in total till I recorded my first "floating" run - when the technique finally clicked. So the minimalist thing is still pretty new. There's no doubt all sorts of muscles are still adjusting to the new torment.
The running has been less than imaginative of late - the flat smooth paths following the Swan River are an easy way to get around and chew up miles, but not a hill in sight. The bridge layout offers a range of loops - 7km / 12.5km and 20.5km, with extra small loops available when it feels good.
Programming:
I have elected to combine several published programs and work in some of my own experience to create a program to fill the 35 weeks till the City to Surf Marathon – August 28th. The key source is a paper from Tony Benson and his EPS training groups (www.benson.com.au) The program includes 15 weeks from now of "Basic" Conditioning, followed by 10 weeks of "General", then the final 10 weeks of "Specific" Conditioning. Every 3rd week is a recovery week, incorporating a "test" run - a short burst which will chart improvement and set limits for the following fortnight. More on the program shortly.Following a program with work and the kid will take some adjusting, but here goes.....
Today’s Session:
What a difference a day makes…
Yesterday (New Year’s Day) was run in shoes. It was intended to be a long, meandering run, up to 22km to the Narrows, but ended up being a dreadful 10km struggle. The combination of the shoes and Christmas cheer made the run feel like lugging a bag of yoghurt around on a pair of very brittle sticks - all the dullness that running had begun to offer up in the last years – sore knees, sore hips, and crushed-up toes.
Today’s run then became the long one – 20km around the Swan River. Apart from feet sweating and rubbing in the heat (started out too early again), it was a reasonable run, though tonight I feel like I’ve just run a race half – stuffed.
If you're going to change stuff, may as well do it all at once. It might just work.
Aaaah. A last thought on that pesky marathon goal. To work toward a finish time, or just to finish? Way back when running was easy, I would've thought 2:45, 2:30..... sure! Now it's a very different story. Best to work on this one toward the end of the "Basic" training.
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