tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38353341964044614382024-03-05T18:41:17.660-08:00Re-Born to Runpepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-11512970196558072342011-09-28T21:39:00.000-07:002011-09-28T21:39:33.596-07:00Like-minded solesIn the last week or so I spotted three separate runners wearing Vibram Fivefingers on their runs, and this was all within a 6 kilometre radius of wear I live. Based on this alone it looks as though they are getting more acceptance as a legitimate running shoe. I am in the middle of my biggest mileage month since I transitioned and look set to get to at least 120 kilometres this month with long runs reaching 14 km.<br />
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Currently, I am basing my training on slowly building up my long runs to 2 hours and fitting in what I can during the week. This will take a couple more months but I am just happy that I am doing as much as I am right now. My feet and lower legs are as strong as they’ve ever been and the only problems I have been having recently are blisters developing on longer runs. I’m interested to find out if other VFF users are experiencing this, and I wonder if it simply relates to the longer duration producing conditions conducive to blistering. Hopefully some blistershield-like product will help with my 90 minute run on Sunday.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-56195873455510287462011-09-15T17:29:00.000-07:002011-09-15T17:30:28.865-07:00Being ThereAgain, it's been a while since my last post but it has more to do with the fact that I am happily running regularly instead of having nothing to say.<br />
Only midway through September and I am about to surpass my highest monthly mileage total in minimalist shoes.<br />
This Sunday, I'm preparing to run for 80 minutes having completed 70 minutes for the last 2 Sundays. I have also consistently trained 4 times a week for the last few weeks and feel as though my fitness is improving.<br />
The best thing about the last few weeks is that my running has now become more about my running rather than about my transition to minimalism. Now I just cannot imagine running in anything other than my Vibram KSO's (I've given up on the Trail Gloves. Still feels like too much shoe on my foot.). Everyday I wake up and feel like running, not like I shouldn't because my calves are to sore. I'm beginning to think about races I'd like to do next year, introducing some speed sessions and generally taking my running to the next level.<br />
I have now convinced myself that I can be as fast as I used to be when I was shod. I'm already nearly there.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-15797490673281875612011-08-31T22:20:00.000-07:002011-08-31T22:20:05.253-07:00SpringtimeI have been quite slack posting on here lately, but it is because I've actually been pretty slack with my running. But I'm back with some renewed enthusiasm which has been brought on by the advent of Spring here in Melbourne and a brand new <a href="http://sites.garmin.com/forerunner610/?lang=en">toy</a>. The Garmin FR 610 was baptised this morning and more on that in a moment.<br />
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The reason there hasn't been more running is simply not making the time to do it. Whereas I have been doing alot of my running in my lunch break, I have simply been too busy at work so I haven't found time in the morning or after work. This has to change otherwise I will make no progress at all. August was only half the kms I'd done in July and I had actually gained 1.5 kgs, so September is going to mean some action.<br />
The weather will start to get warmer and it will be lighter earlier in the morning so I will be setting my alarm to wake me and go from there.<br />
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Here are details of my run from Garmin Connect:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="548" src="http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/110924747" width="465"></iframe><br />
My right calf still hasn't caught up with my left in terms of recovering after a run, but other than a recurring blood blister under my middle right toe, no injuries.<br />
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pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-2494693690336280702011-08-15T22:02:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:05:44.726-07:00Back and betterI haven't posted for a while but I've kept running. August has seen quite a shift for me in terms of pace.<br />
In July my average pace for all my running was 5:54 per km, so far this month I've been averaging something like 5:30s per km. This has been very encouraging for me that I am on the right track, as has been the fact that my legs and specifically, my calves, seem to have made adaptations to the minimalist form.<br />
This has inspired me to some extent and the result is that I am now beginning training for a <a href="http://www.thecity2sea.com.au/">new race</a> here in Melbourne. It will happen in November and is 14km in distance, and this also means that I can use the 10k race at the Melbourne Marathon as a warm up. I've decided to use a training program closer to the half-marathon distance than a 10k program. <br />
Hopefully with my training ramping up, I'll start to see some weight come off as well.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-82171003164238763522011-08-01T21:32:00.000-07:002011-08-01T21:32:28.562-07:00JulyMy running stats for July read like this:<br />
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69 kilometres at an average pace of 5:54 min per km<br />
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My weight is 93.5 kg<br />
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In June I ran the same number of kilometres at an average pace of 5:56 mpk and my weight was 93.8 kg.<br />
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Although both months were very similar I had 22 days of no running in July compared with 17 in June. What does it mean? It means I ran less frequently but when I ran, I ran longer. This wasn’t on purpose as at the start of the month, I had a whole week off because of a lower back complaint.<br />
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What’s ahead for August? Go beyond my longest run of 1 hour and try for at least 80 kilometres for the month. Hopefully, I can continue to bring my average pace down and also continue to lose some weight. I wasn’t very happy with the amount of weight I lost in July, but I didn’t exactly avoid some of my danger foods. I was good for brief periods but obviously not enough.<br />
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The weather in Melbourne is really nice at the moment considering its virtually mid-winter here. I’m really getting a sense of excitement about the coming warmer months and really ramping up my training and just generally enjoying all my runs.<br />
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My last run on Sunday was 35 minutes at 5:27 pace. What pleased me most about this was I wasn’t really trying to go that fast and I was just running how I felt like running. That was the result.<br />
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Happy days.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-54236353121111159902011-07-28T21:03:00.000-07:002011-07-28T21:03:08.114-07:00Where art thou KSOsAfter a couple of days off due to some general soreness and time constraints, I set out for a lunch time run.<br />
The plan was for 30 minutes at a relaxed pace. I did try someting different today in that I wore my Merrell Trail Gloves instead of my Vibram KSOs. Fail. I did this partly because I was getting a bit self conscious about some of the looks i was getting walking out of my work building. After today I've decided that I don't care about that anymore. I think the problem with the Trail Gloves are the aggressive lugs on the outsole. When I run in my fivefingers I am very quiet, but in the Trail Gloves there is a distinctive slapping sound and they just feel a little stiifer to run in. Based on this I sometimes think that it's never going to be easy to surpass Vibram's designs as a minimalist shoe. Vibram, please don't mess with the KSO. Having said all that I still had a good run of 5.23 km in 30 minutes but would've been better if I wasn't so conscious of my shoes.<br />
On a separate running related matter, I have started reading <a href="http://velopress.competitor.com/running.php?id=297">"Run - The Mind Body Method of Running by Feel"</a> by Matt Fitzgerald. I'll post some kind of review when I'm finished, but the first few pages have got my attention.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-82357122430465921582011-07-25T23:16:00.000-07:002011-07-25T23:16:33.605-07:00No news = good news...maybeI've been having a good week running-wise and really have been enjoying my running more than thinking about it. A bit of this has to do with the fact that my body has finally adapted to some extent and am running up to an hour at a time comfortably. I am choosing to limit my running to a maximum of four times a week to still allow me 3 full days for recovery and so far this has worked fine.<br />
I ran on today and on Sunday and plan on running tomorrow and Thursday before having Friday and Saturday off....hang on a minute that sounded suspiciously like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_black">Rebecca Black</a> song.<br />
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On Sunday it rained alot in Melbourne and found myself with saturated fivefingers at the end of the run. This resulted in some painful blisters on the knuckles of my big toes from the wet fabric rubbing on the skin. I ran again today using band-aids to cover the sores but I may have to use my Trail Gloves for tomorrow's run as they have a bit more room in them and no rubbing on the area. Hopefully this will let the blisters heal.<br />
I have been noticing that my overall pace is beginning to come down which makes me happy.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-43322304550195496972011-07-19T21:12:00.000-07:002011-07-19T21:12:01.192-07:00The Hungry CaterpillarI’ve been reading ‘Zen and the Art of Running’ by Larry Shapiro and have been finding it quite a good read. I really like the idea of running as a form of meditation. It’s been dawning on me that this requires a lot of self focus and really listening to what you are doing. I used to run while listening to music but now I’m wondering if I wasn’t inadvertently ignoring signs of impending injury. Since I hurt my knee I run sans headphones, besides, I need all my concentration on my footstrike, posture and cadence.<br />
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Lately I’ve also been doing a lot of reading about the explosion of minimal shoes coming on to the market. I do quite like the look of some but I just can’t believe that any would be able to better the look and feel of Vibram Fivefingers. Vibram if you’re reading this, please don’t mess with existing models, especially KSOs. <br />
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I have found it surprisingly easy this week to avoid chocolate, in fact it’s been something like ten days since I had any and overall my diet’s been pretty good. It will be interesting to weigh in at the beginning of July. Speaking of July, I can’t wait for the southern hemisphere winter to be over. Now that I’m running consistently and without injury, I’m dreaming of the warmer weather and running topless in my fivefingers…pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-54290029901227081302011-07-14T16:57:00.000-07:002011-07-14T16:57:21.934-07:00Happy Happy Bastille DayI normally do most of my running during the week in my lunch hour, but yesterday I just had to much to do to take that time during lunch. I decided to bite the bullet and run home after work. The only problem with this was that the distance from work to my home is roughly twice the longest distance I had run as a minimalist. With the mantra of TMTS ringing in my head, I told myself that if I wasn't feeling good by the 6km mark I would simply walk or catch a train as the path I was running was along my train line.<br />
Well, under some beautiful late-afternoon winter sunshine I got home running all the way. According to my Garmin, 10km in 62 minutes and I felt great. The most pleasing thing about the run was that for the first time in a long time I actually forgot about my knee because it felt like there was nothing wrong with it at all. Today, I am feeling surprisingly good considering the length of the run, but I think this is a result of listening to my body during the run and not worry about how far or fast but just keeping myself comfortable. The only thing that could have made my run more enjoyable was if I didn't have a sloshing in my intestines the whole way. I have also got a blood blister under my middle right toe which isn't painful. I'll take today and tomorrow as a rest and attempt a similar length run on Sunday. Happy days.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-3324574383749173012011-07-11T21:31:00.000-07:002011-07-11T21:31:24.202-07:00DisciplineOver the last few days I have been thinking about my running, health, fitness, body, ageing etc All the things that a man approaching 40 years of age probably thinks a bit about anyways, provided they’re interested in running of course.<br />
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Slowly my mind is formulating short, medium and long term plans for all these facets and I will be talking about these a lot in future posts. Here are the types of things floating through my mind at the moment and apologies if what you are about to read resembles a stream-of-conscience spew onto a page.<br />
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Running<br />
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Hopefully this is slowly taking care of itself and as I have stated before, I need to be patient and listen to my body. Doing this has produced two great runs in the last week. I will not try to stick to any rigid training program for now but simply aim to run 4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time. I will run less than this if my body dictates I must. The hard part here is getting deceived by my conscious mind telling me I can do something and not listening to the counter-argument from my sub-conscious. <a href="http://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/">This</a> is one event I’d like to participate in long term and there has already been some interest amongst work colleagues in putting a team together. My discipline here is to let things happen when they need to.<br />
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Health<br />
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This relates a lot to my diet and consequently my weight I think my ideal weight for doing the type of running that I really want to do is something between 75 and 80 kg. Currently I weigh in at 93 kg and I have a real battle with refined carbs-sugar-chocolate-ice cream that I need to get on top of. The way I am thinking of approaching this is to make small changes on a weekly basis and hopefully in the long term I’ll find myself on a diet that keeps me healthy, sustains my performance and brings me to my best running weight. My discipline will be simply to make the best choices about what to put in my mouth and decide whether I really need to eat as much as I think I do.<br />
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Fitness<br />
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My discipline here is to take full advantage of the gym membership I have and train my body to be strong and supplement/compliment my running. I need to try and do this a minimum of twice a week at best 3-4. If I do this the body will take care of itself and then…<br />
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Ageing<br />
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For the last 10 years I have been trying to convince myself that I was looking forward to getting older. Maybe because I was convinced by then I would be in the best shape of my life. Now that I am 39, I simply am not and am possibly in the worse shape of my life. This is my real spur to turn things around and my recent niggles and injuries have only reinforced this. My ultimate goal is to be in the best shape of my life in my fifties and sixties. My discipline is simply to do all the right things to make this happen. Simple right?pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-57081351461323507972011-07-10T22:20:00.000-07:002011-07-10T22:49:50.210-07:00WarnnamboolAfter 8 days of no running, I decided that I felt pain-free enough on Saturday for a short, easy run.<br />
I was away for the weekend with the family and was staying in <a href="http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl">Warnnambool</a> for the annual school holiday kids festival. We were at a place close to the beach and I decided to head out along the main coastal walking path. Here's an example of the views I had on the run:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JWIXKfp7Qunc2gIso0s2McL1s35Ujf3IlQIeb0Zaq405H-uZRy0-RoQ_LlG2-gayZjYhYRsCfVI_l5n63Z75cVvLqPUPov2DFcu1l5Wniyg9MYacJXMeFLdsOyS_k6DXB7F8qQfeRVJs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JWIXKfp7Qunc2gIso0s2McL1s35Ujf3IlQIeb0Zaq405H-uZRy0-RoQ_LlG2-gayZjYhYRsCfVI_l5n63Z75cVvLqPUPov2DFcu1l5Wniyg9MYacJXMeFLdsOyS_k6DXB7F8qQfeRVJs/s320/photo.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
Within a few minutes, I was feeling great and was purely and simply running. Not looking at my watch, not worrying about my speed, not feeling my calves complain and not wondering if I'll ever be able to be a runner again. Everything felt as easy as it ever was and gave me renewed optimism and a determination to continue on this minimalist path. Me and my Vibrams. By the end, I had run 5.35 km in 32 minutes, my calves weren't sore and I knew that all I had to do from now on was just listen to my body and let it run when it wants to and rest when it wants to. <br />
Today I had a scheduled follow up visit with my <a href="http://maps.google.com.au/maps/place?hl=en&cr=countryAU&safe=on&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=city+physiotherapy+melbourne&fb=1&gl=au&hq=city+physiotherapy&hnear=0x6ad646b5d2ba4df7:0x4045675218ccd90,Melbourne+VIC&cid=15902227612313063931">physio</a> and my back is now nearly 100 % pain free and I'm assure that running wasn't causing any issues. In the coming days, I will be assessing my lifestyle and making some changes re diet and exercise. Stay tuned.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-19160915254388780612011-07-05T15:36:00.000-07:002011-07-05T15:39:00.737-07:00Runblogger: Running Form at the 2010 Boston Marathon: Slow Motion Video of Barefoot, Minimalist, and Traditionally Shod Runners at sub-3:00 Pace<a href="http://www.runblogger.com/2011/07/running-form-at-2010-boston-marathon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Runblogger+%28Runblogger%29&m=1">Runblogger: Running Form at the 2010 Boston Marathon: Slow Motion Video of Barefoot, Minimalist, and Traditionally Shod Runners at sub-3:00 Pace</a> A great example in differences of form between shod and barefoot/minimalist.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-61314763472325010542011-07-04T17:07:00.000-07:002011-07-04T23:17:13.068-07:00Back on the brinkI have mad an appointment to see a physiotherapist today and hopefully sort out my lower back/buttock issue. It is much better than it was on Sunday, but I still feel a painful pulling sensation on the right side when I am striding forward when walking. I'm hoping it's not being caused by any unconscious compensation on my right knee. As it stands, the state of my back will see me taking the whole of this week off and will return gently next week. Deep down I am feeling that I was struck by the TMTS syndrome because in May I had clocked just under 30 km for the month and then I followed that up with nearly 70 km in June. Hmmm what ever happened to the 10 % rule?<br />
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P.S. I have just come back from my first visit with this physio and am feeling a lot more optimistic already. I am now in a lot less pain after some massage/manipulation and he seems to think that I would only need one more visit. The upshot is that he thinks it's a slight strain that has caused the muscle to press on a nerve and that running was not the cause. It is a lot more likely that it was the way I am carrying my kids around and straining my back in the process. They are getting a little bit big for carrying around these days.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-10828156435483409632011-07-02T20:18:00.000-07:002011-07-05T17:37:44.001-07:00FatsoJuly has not got off to a good start for me. I weighed in yesterday and discovered that I had gained 500 grams since the beginning of June, even though I managed to run 70 kilometers for the month. A big increase on the previous month. Clearly I am not out-training my atrocious diet. I should point out that I hardly tried to eat well, in fact I used my extra running as an excuse to eat a ridiculous amount of chocolate. So July will be the month of better eating and hopefully this will result in weight loss.<br />
I think my extra weight is contributing to my latest injury. Just when my calves seemed to muffle their screams at me, I have now been afflicted with some lower back pain which is making it difficult to walk let alone run. So I canned my planned 50 minutes today and will see a physiotherapist early in the week for some treatment. Fingers crossed I won't be out of action for long and don't lose any gains I made in June.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-39721217041842369612011-06-29T18:51:00.000-07:002011-06-30T02:47:57.296-07:00My favourite run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyUE3I-e5evVb9zb5gPY9aLVyfJusebIr62b5g2K5m6z9DxdiySSH7Ww7bZuP1hUwRCSqOmdCMHPsCVWt14jUoq-LsHB2L9e08nq9MQe7mJzx0TGUp5uNl-E4HlCPsLjnjy0dfFCG81jp/s1600/untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyUE3I-e5evVb9zb5gPY9aLVyfJusebIr62b5g2K5m6z9DxdiySSH7Ww7bZuP1hUwRCSqOmdCMHPsCVWt14jUoq-LsHB2L9e08nq9MQe7mJzx0TGUp5uNl-E4HlCPsLjnjy0dfFCG81jp/s320/untitled.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>This is my favourite place to run in Melbourne. Princes Park in Parkville is situated fairly close to where I live and is a 3.2 km loop that i regularly run laps around or incorporate into long runs. It's flat and a good place for budding minimalists/barefooters as the track offers gravel, grass or bitumen surfaces most of the way around.<br />
Yesterday I ran here and there were a few milestones in my minimal journey that occurred on this run. The run was the first time in my transition that I had run on consecutive days; it was 40 minutes after 33 minutes the previous day. Hopefully I can go 3 days in a row today with my planned 30 minute lunch run. I also ran my biggest distance in minimals, 6.82 km, and passed the 100 km milestone. June really has been my end-of-the- beginning month for me. By the end of the day I will have run over 70 km for the month and hopefully I can continue strongly in the ensuing months. My focus now is really building a base and not worry too much about how fast I am going. <br />
Just as an afterthought, it appears that my calves are now adapting and recovering faster. But it does seem that my right calf is just slightly slower than my left in getting stronger. Curious.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-61509910468209246842011-06-27T17:10:00.000-07:002011-06-27T17:10:46.478-07:00This morning I did something that I haven't done in over 6 years. Normally if I'm waking up at 5:30 am I'll get in the car and drive to my gym for a workout, but because I am now back running regularly I decided that I would go for a run. Because it's winter here in Melbourne, it is still dark at that time of the morning and running in the dark is the thing that I haven't done in years. I decided to stick to a busy road for my route as I would still be quite apprehensive running down quiet, poorly lit streets in the dark. It was cold enough that my breath was clearly visible and cars were covered in dew but my run was good after warming up and managed 5.33 km in just over 30 minutes. Last night I saw a you-tube video featuring the barefoot running coach Lee Saxby talking about barefoot form, in particular posture. Because of this, I focused on staying upright during my run today and it seemed to make things feel a little easier. I also didn't notice my calves so much during the run and hopefully their adaptation is continuing. I need to start doing some more core and strengthening work as I have been neglecting this of late and now I am experiencing a little flare up on my right-lower back which is fine provided I am maintaining a good posture.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-43810512464350490122011-06-25T23:58:00.000-07:002011-06-26T00:01:49.711-07:00Sunday MorningIt seems that during my transition to minimalism I reach certain points of frustration. I'm talking about calves being constantly sore, pace not getting quicker, distances not getting longer, and everything just taking longer to adapt. Over the last couple of months there have been several of these moments and each time I have one I always start to doubt whether I can make the full transition to minimalism. And then I have days like today. After having a couple of rest days nursing a sore calf from my last run, I woke up with no pain and I decided I would head out and see if I could just run for at least as long as 35 minutes (this being my longest in VFF), and maybe get to 40 minutes. I made a conscious decision to not look at my garmin and just concentrate on form and enjoy the beautiful weather. It turns out I had my best minimalist run yet (6.66 km in 40 minutes) and I actually felt like a runner again instead of some experimental runner. Today really made me think that I will be able to this.<br />
My great morning continued and I even taught my daughter how to ride a bike.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-3970532161827788802011-06-23T19:08:00.000-07:002011-06-23T19:08:09.310-07:00TreadmillsIt had been over 3 days since my sunday run and the only way I was gonna get a run in yesterday was to go to my gym and run on a treadmill. <br />
What I learnt: 1) Five Fingers running doesn't suit treadmill running because the heat on the treadmill belt still gets through the rubber and creates hotspots on my feet. 2) The evenness of treadmills and the lack of breeze creates a more difficult environment to run. Running simply feels harder on a treadmill now. 3) Because you are in control of the speed and incline, it is actually more difficult for me to run by feel. The thoughts running through my head are "am I running as fast or as slow as i should be? Why does this feel harder/faster than outdoor? Is the treadmill actually calibrated correctly? i.e. am I actually running faster than 10.5 km per hour?". <br />
In the end my run was cut short by 8 minutes because of a twinge in my left calf.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-18379152148887480552011-06-20T22:05:00.000-07:002011-06-20T22:05:23.055-07:00Weighty IssuesIt is with some apprehension that I enter my first official week of training for my goal 5k race. It's mainly due to the extra soreness I've experienced in my injured knee. It has been fine during runs but since my last run on Sunday (6k), it has been more tender than normal. I am just hoping that I can withstand the pain enough to keep training through to February next year when I can have arthroscopic surgery to repair it. I do need to stress that had it not been for minimalist running, my knee would not have allowed me to run at all. The couple of runs i had in my Brooks Adrenalines after i hurt my knee were extremely painful.<br />
On another note, I have been very slack with my diet of late and need to pick up my game if I want to make any improvement in my running, I need to get lighter. At the beginning of June i weighed 93 kg and when I weigh myself at the beginning of July my hope is that I'm a little lighter due to the extra running I've been doing. If this is not the case, my diet will be a heavy focus in July. I'm guessing being lioghter might also be better for my knee as well. On a positive note my Australian Rules Football team is going great. Go <a href="http://www.carltonfc.com.au/">Blues!!</a>pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-54685326960692172932011-06-16T23:19:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:19:41.422-07:00I decided to change things up today and wear my Merrell Trail Gloves today instead of the Five Fingers.<br />
In keeping with the spirit of mixing it up, I ran a completely different route and at a different time of day than my regular time. It was thirty minutes, 5.13 km and one of my first minimalist runs where i relaxed enough that I didn't think my calves would snap at any moment. It's definitely the strongest I've felt during my transition and also the first week where I have been able to string 3 consecutive runs together with only one day between. Despite the good run today, I still prefer the Vibrams overall due to their superior ground feel.<br />
Feeling good.<br />
This Sunday marks 16 weeks until the 5k race on Melbourne Marathon day. I'm using the <a href="http://www.runningmethod.com/">Run Coach Pro app</a> for i-phone to generate a program and I would highly recommend this to anyone. Anyway, what this means is that next week (my first official training week), I will have my first attempt at consecutive day runs. I am excited at my current progress. My calves seem to be recovering a lot better after runs now.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-51035650748220128942011-06-15T03:16:00.001-07:002011-06-15T03:19:09.162-07:00Free stuff. Good stuff. Please take advantage of Jason's offer .<a href="http://robillardadventures.com/2011/06/14/the-barefoot-running-book-ebook-giveaway/">Jason Robillard's e-book</a> on barefoot running.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-24877530074605504382011-06-12T22:45:00.000-07:002011-06-13T22:36:08.312-07:00ImaginingsToday presented me with a public holiday, beautiful weather and an opportunity to run at my favorite course, Princes Park in inner north Melbourne. I have now gotten to a point where I'm managing a run every other day and the soreness in my calves seems to now be recovering quicker. I'm hopeful that at this rate I'll soon be able to run on consecutive days. For now my early training for the Melbourne Marathon 5 k is 4 days per week. So far the furthest I've been is 6.21km in 35 minutes at today's fartlek session. My long runs will eventually build to 90 minutes and that's pretty hard to imagine, but I know that a month ago I was finding hard to imagine I could run what I ran today. When I have a chance I'll be less lazy and link some of the references I make in my posts, just in case anyone is reading.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-71677324206273915562011-06-08T19:04:00.000-07:002011-06-08T20:56:01.960-07:00FirstsMy last couple of runs have seen me reach and pass the psychological barrier of 5km. This is a big deal for me because a few months ago I would never have dreamt I could do this as a minimalist lwt alone with an injury thrown in.<br />
This blog will make for some interesting reading in a few months time. Hopefully over the coming weeks i'll be passing lots of barriers.<br />
I'm a little nervous about my scheduled run of 40 minutes on Sunday and about my first back to back runs as a minimalist scheduled tomorrow. This whole process is about firsts for me.<br />
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I have just completed my 50th barefoot/minimalist kilometer.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-28030533032065332862011-06-07T17:10:00.000-07:002011-06-07T17:10:57.251-07:00Barefoot Angie Bee: Skillz, a challenge, and perspective in the news<a href="http://www.barefootangiebee.com/2011/06/skillz-challenge-and-perspective-in.html?spref=bl">Barefoot Angie Bee: Skillz, a challenge, and perspective in the news</a>: " If I were to ask you if you have running skill would you answer yes or no? Or are you the kind of person who would call bullshit and say ..."pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835334196404461438.post-86589597467290195032011-06-01T18:39:00.000-07:002011-06-01T18:39:56.836-07:00Beautiful DayI ran for 20 minutes yesterday in the most glorious weather Melbourne can produce at this time of year. Incidentally, this was my longest continuous run in minimalist shoes (VFF) so far and I have also noticed that my calves are recovering a bit faster and are also less painful. I am still amazed at how little, if any, pain my knee is in during and after the run. In fact I think it is actually improving overall. Hopefully it continues (knocks on wood). My next run will be 30 minutes on Saturday and I am really looking forward to it.pepsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140700352040635646noreply@blogger.com0