Post Run Review 1/1/11

Well the calves are very sore. For those of you who lift weights it feels like your arms do after a big bench and curl workout. However, after about 5 minutes of plyometric stretching, the soreness and tightness subsided considerably. It doesn't feel like a bad pain, more like a "I worked hard" pain. Other then that, there seems to be no muscular/skeletal problems. I'm probably going to go for a shorter run tomorrow, just around 10 minutes as recovery.

1/1/11-First Run of the New Year

Today I was feeling adventurous. I was tired of running the same 13 minutes of road everyday. So I decided to go for a longer run. I mapped it out as 4.26 miles. It involved rolling hills as well as one big hill that lasted for about a mile (those runners in westminster know it as the tahoma farm hill). Anyway, I covered this distance in 30 minutes and 43 seconds, giving me a very strong 7:12 mile pace. One thing I would like to comment on is that in all my years as a runner, I don't think I have ever run a 7:12 pace (comfortably) for any sort of distance run. Yet I have to say, this run felt comfortable. Sure I had cramps to work through but it wasn't unbearable at all. I feel like Vibrams allow you to have more use of your muscles then traditional footwear, it just seems easier to run in them. Also, I do notice that I have increased my foot turnover-meaning I take more steps. Now-how did my body deal with the longer run? Quite well if I do say so myself. It was a good day for a run so extreme cold/heat wasn't an issue. It was a painless (muscularly) run until about the 3rd-ish mile. I felt a tendon or ligament  on the inside/back of my calf/ankle acting up. However, it worked itself out in three or so minutes. Other then that my muscles and bones had nothing really to complain about. After the run I did notice a bit of tightness in my left calf and immediately after I stopped running I did feel a slight burning in my shins but it worked itself out by the time I walked upstairs to begin typing this. All in all this was a good run, I'll be posting the post-run analysis of how I feel in about an hour. If nothing gets injured in the next 2 weeks or so the vibrams are definitely going to be my new training shoe .
-the picture at the top is the hill I forced myself to run up

No Run Today

Happy New Year

2nd run 12/30/10

After removing said splinter we started out running again. This time we went for 3.5 miles and we completed this in around 27 minutes, leaving us with a 7:42 pace. I have to say, my body was confused when I started to run in my brooks. I kept trying to run like I was barefoot. Eventually, the old "heel to toe" form came back and I began to notice something that I had always taken for granted. I realized that when I run in trainers, I have much more limited motion in my legs then when I run in my vibrams. By the middle of the run I could actually feel the range of motion that my legs had been doing for the 1st half of the run. This was about 15 minutes in and in comparison I felt no such tension in my legs from the vibrams. Also, I noticed that when I run in the vibrams I tend to take shorter strides and my feet are more "under" my body then when I run in my brooks adrenalines. I have to say I think I find the vibram style a little more comfortable, but that may change. All in all, either way gets the job done, whether you run in trainers or vibrams is up to you, I just like the feel of the vibrams better.
PS. the total of both of the runs would have been 5.58 miles in 42:37 which would be around a 7:38 pace

4th Run in Vibrams 12/30/10

Run with Val today. We started out fast and ended up covering 2.08 miles in 15:37, leaving us with a 7:30 mile pace. The vibrams felt good today. My legs and feet feel much more free to do what they need to. I would however like to caution the trail runner against doing a few things. 1) running on pinecones. It doesn't "hurt" exactly, its just a bit uncomfortable, not enough for you to want to actually go out of your way to run around them, but enough for you to notice it. 2) avoid stiff weeds/dead plants. We were running on a slightly overgrown trail with dead weeds and plants sticking up out of the ground (for you westminster runners its the new trail that follows the fence on corncob hill) and as we were crashing through the weeds I got several splinters. Though, I didn't notice it on the run. When we stopped for me to change into my brooks (the original plan was to make a quick switch and run the remaining time in normal trainers) I noticed that my leg was bleeding. On further inspection I found that I had a splinter wedged under several layers of skin, too deep to cut out, but not deep enough to hurt badly. We spent a good 10 minutes trying to get it out, and when we finally did it measured half an inch long (this was after it snapped 2 or three times when we were trying to get it out.) So just a word of caution to those of you considering vibrams-watch the terrain you run on. Also, as promised, I ran a few hills today. I have nothing to complain about, I felt lighter going up the hill and my muscles didn't lock up as much as they did in my brooks. Muscularly I have to say, I enjoy running much more when I run in my vibrams then normal trainers. All in all it was a good day, besides the splinter incident. I will soon post how the second half of the run went.

3rd Run Follow up

Nothing really to report. No aches, pains, strains, pulls, inflammation, (just a side note: did you guys know that the words "inflammable" and flammable actually mean "able to be caught on fire" and the word non-flammable means "not able to be caught on fire"), fractures, tears, or shin splints. The only thing that I notice is that my feet seem to be forming calluses. Other then that everything is all good. Another run tomorrow, I think I'm going to add in some hills (and maybe take it a little slower)

3rd Run in Vibrams

I have to say, my weakness when I run is my respiratory system. I just can't seem to suck down enough air, especially when its cold outside. Getting back in shape really sucks, but its worth it in the end, and that thought is enough to keep me going (usually haha). That being said, my third run in vibrams was once again great for my muscular and skeletal systems but terrible for my breathing. I felt no pain at all as I ran, besides the occasional large rock I accidentally stepped on. It was a beautiful day for a run today, besides the fact that it was still a little cold for my taste. About 5 minutes in I was besieged by terrible cramps, probably brought on by the fact that I ate too close to my run. They stayed with me the entire time. That being said, I still covered 2.01 miles in 13:55, giving me a 6:57 mile pace, which is a little fast for a distance run. Usually you would want to stay away from anything under 7:00 unless you were on a tempo run. I mentioned earlier this week that I felt a small pain on the top of my foot when I ran. After doing some research I learned that having a pain there is a common problem for those people transitioning into minimalist footwear. It comes about by running too much on the toes and not enough on the ball/midfoot. The article I read cautioned against this, saying that it could lead to injury. So today I made a conscious effort to not run as much on my toes. The pain didn't return. I do have to say, I find myself running faster in these shoes then I normally would. Usually I don't run faster then a 7:25 pace on distance runs because of the combined fact of the respiratory and muscular pain. However, I have yet to feel any muscular pain on my runs. We'll see if this fact holds true as my runs increase in length. Sprinting work starts next week, maybe I'll run a few sets in the vibrams to see how they would hold up.

The Importance of Core Strength in Running

All runners agree that the absolute worst thing that can happen to you during a race (besides pulling a muscle or breaking a bone) is getting a cramp. For sprinters it ruins their entire race because of the very short distance they have to cover. They just don't have time to make up ground. Depending on the "magnitude" of the cramp, where it is, and how long it lasts, distance runners can be similarly affected. Sometimes you recover in time and sometimes you don't. So what can be done to prevent these?
Besides the obvious answer of working harder to get in better shape, I have found one activity that always helped me fight cramps in the long run-having good core strength.
When most people get cramps it is because there running form falls apart and they end up doing weird things like hunching their shoulders or having their head roll around on their shoulders, or even slightly bending over. This causes muscle groups to either strain, overcompensate, or just be in awkward positions. All of these things can be combated by having good core strength. Now of course that doesn't mean you should stop your runs early and do extra core. Not at all. If you seem to be getting cramps any time you race then be sure you run for  longer then you have before during your workouts. Only after you have done your full run should you do your core exercises. Push-ups, crunches, flutter kicks, and any other type of abdominal workout will help you with this problem. In my junior year of high school not a race would go by when I didn't get a cramp. My senior year I trained harder over the summer and did extra core over the season. I soon noticed a dramatic increase in my "good races" and a dramatic decrease in my "bad races" So all in all, if you are getting bad cramps when you run do core exercises. You won't get immediate results but eventually, over the course of a month or two you will notice improvement.
P.S......before doing any of this make sure you watch your eating habits...even an olympic athlete can get cramps if they don't eat correctly before their runs.

Some other things I would like to comment on

Unfortunately I did not have a chance to run today. I had to watch my little brother. However there are still a few things that I would like to comment on.
When I woke up this morning and as I started walking downstairs It felt like my entire foot was.....stretching...for lack of a better word. It just felt like the muscles in my foot were relaxing. It was a very odd feeling. Maybe it has to do with the vibrams and maybe not. Also, I can't believe I haven't commented on this before: vibrams are not the best cold weather running shoe. When you wear the shoes it is not recommended that you wear socks with them so basically all thats between you and the cold air is a thin rubber sole and some under armor like material. I was wearing them outside with my brother and after 30 minutes I decided to change into my brooks. Its not as noticeable during runs because of the body heat generated from physical activity
One more thing I would like to comment on: when I wear the shoes I tend to get a small pain in the joint where my second toe connects to the foot. However if I take the shoes off and crack my toe (effectively relieving the stress I believe) The pain does not return (it also works itself out after about a minute of running)
I still believe the 5 fingers are a very comfortable shoe, and if the training aspect doesn't work out with them I would still wear a pair around the house or for other activities, but so far training has been great!

Post Run Review

My feet and legs feel good. No aches or pain at all. The arch soreness I had yesterday did not come back today. Maybe over the weekend I will try two 10 minute runs one earlier in the day and one around 4:00 and see if my legs hurt at all after the second one. Usually after I run in normal trainers I at least have some soreness in my shins. This pain has not carried over to the vibrams yet...and hopefully it won't ever.

Second Run in vibrams

Freezing cold today. I didn't get a chance to run before 5 so it was about 20 degrees when I started. Today I went for 13:28 in the vibrams. In this time I covered 1.82 miles, leaving me with a decent 7:23 mile pace. I have to say, cold weather does terrible things to my body. I had cramps everywhere during the entire run. As far as feel goes, the shoes felt pretty much the same as they did yesterday. Since it was getting dark, I decided that I would only run up and down my street about 10 times. This meant I had to run more on asphalt then on grass. The beginning of my run went much better today. My body seemed to remember that It shouldn't go heel to toe in these shoes and there was no painful pounding of the heels. However, by the 7th lap of my street I did notice a dull ache on the top of my right foot, as well as a very very small ache on the bottom of my heel. I think I can attribute both of these aches to the frozen ground-the grass was almost painful to run on, and the fact that I think that I pulled the top strap of the shoes a little too tight. All in all, for my cardiovascular system the run was miserable. For my muscular and skeletal system it was pretty good.

Second Run Today and follow up on Vibram Run

My second run today had to be cut short by the weather. In this run I used the brooks adrenaline  exclusively, as I said I am only running in the vibrams once a day for no more then 15 minutes. Anyway. This run was worse. Originally planned to be 45 minutes, this run ended up covering 2.15 miles in 18:49...giving an 8:40 pace. This is absolutely a terrible and unacceptable pace for me. However, i do admit the the elements of nature played a part in this slow time.
 After my vibram run at around 12 this afternoon I noticed that my legs felt fine, there was only a slight soreness in the arches of my feet which quickly went away after about 5 minutes (literally). Other then that, It was one of the most pain free "post runs" that I have ever had.
    On the other hand, the run later today (brooks adrenaline) was terrible afterwards. My knees hurt and my shins felt a little sore...and I didn't even run for that long or that fast. I guess only time will tell if it was just a coincidence that I didn't hurt after my vibram run, or if the shoes are actually helping my shins and knees.
I am planning on having another 15 minute vibram run and a 40 minute "normal" run tomorrow, weather permitting.

First run in Vibrams!

Just a bit of background information-
I have always been a high stability shoe guy, usually wearing asics gels, and in the past year the brooks adrenaline.
My first run in vibrams went really well-ok so it went well except for the first five minutes. Up to the five minute mark I had struggled to find my stride in the unfamiliar feel of these shoes, I was running flat footed, and landing heavily on my heel-it was painful, and I debated stopping. Then the pain stopped. I began adjusting to the shoe. I began to run more on my midfoot and my heel began lightly striking the ground instead of the pounding it had received in the first 5 minutes. My posture improved, I was running more upright than I did in my brooks. Also I noticed that I was taking shorter strides. Overall the run only lasted 1.92 miles. I covered this in 13 minutes and 50 seconds, leaving me at a 7:12 mile pace including my awful start. I felt like I could have kept going at this pace for at least 5 or 6 more miles. It was a completely different feel then running in traditional shoes. I could feel the ground as It changed beneath me. Today I ran on at least 3 different consistencies of grass that gave me various natural cushioning , 2 different types of asphalt, and 2 Different types of concrete. I now understand why all of my coaches told me to never run on concrete-it hurts, literally the only thing that keeps runners from getting their feet pounded off by their own stride is the advanced cushioning in their training shoes. Overall, it was definitely a positive experience, my shins and feet feel fine as of now, and the muscles and tendons in my feet feel GOOD. Vibrams definitely allow a more natural approach to running. Over the next few weeks I will be increasing the times of my runs by 5-7 minute increments every week. We'll see how they hold up over longer distances...say 6 or 7 miles. The link to my training schedule is on the right hand column of this page under the name "logarun"

Sprinters mentality Vs. Distance

The age old question-It has been around since the beginning of high school track and field- Who works harder? distance runners or sprinters? I have an answer. Neither works harder then the other. they just work differently. While distance runners do have the claim that they can run more miles (which they can) that does not make them harder workers. Sprinters get just as sore, just as out of breath and just as winded as distance runners would. Both teams have their faults. Sprinters have slackers that only run workouts at around 30% and distance runners have slackers that hide in the woods from the coaches. The difference lies in the mentality. and the mentality of each of the two respective groups comes out in their training. Sprinters focus on putting forth all their energy, all their effort, and all of their willpower into 400 meters or less. Distance runners use their effort and willpower to keep themselves going for laps or miles. I have yet to see a distance runner run a 200 within 23 seconds and under. And I have yet to see a sprinter run a mile under 5:00. It just does’t happen. Something that was once meant to be a friendly competition between two teams, used to create a better work ethic, has now taken on a whole other meaning. Some distance runners view athletes who do cross training with sprinters as slackers. When in reality one light distance run substituted for a decently hard speed workout would actually help the distance runner in question. The same goes for sprinters, although when a sprinter goes and runs with distance they also are given the negative connotation of “overachiever” when also, in reality, the extra distance work is helping run their races better. Truly the attitude in high school athletics has taken a turn for the worse. A track team is a team and should function as such...without the drama of a 7th grade classroom. Now obviously there are exceptions to the rule. We all know of the slackers who actually skip workouts....So in conclusion: in my opinion neither sprinters nor distance runners work harder, they just work differently. If anyone says any type of workout was too easy then 1) they are not running fast enough and 2) they should have been in the front the entire time.