Back and better

I haven't posted for a while but I've kept running. August has seen quite a shift for me in terms of pace.
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.
This has inspired me to some extent and the result is that I am now beginning training for a new race 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.
Hopefully with my training ramping up, I'll start to see some weight come off as well.

Where art thou KSOs

After a couple of days off due to some general soreness and time constraints, I set out for a lunch time run.
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.
On a separate running related matter, I have started reading "Run - The Mind Body Method of Running by Feel" by Matt Fitzgerald. I'll post some kind of review when I'm finished, but the first few pages have got my attention.

The Hungry Caterpillar

I’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.


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.

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…

Runblogger: Running Form at the 2010 Boston Marathon: Slow Motion Video of Barefoot, Minimalist, and Traditionally Shod Runners at sub-3:00 Pace

Runblogger: Running Form at the 2010 Boston Marathon: Slow Motion Video of Barefoot, Minimalist, and Traditionally Shod Runners at sub-3:00 Pace A great example in differences of form between shod and barefoot/minimalist.

This 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.