Mileage Reporting 46th Week of 2012

[happysongbird]

How do people run in the morning? I dont have a problem getting out the door, but have zero energy in the morning, feels like ive got lead weights around my ankles when im climbing my hill - so no fun. But leave it till about midday then im fine.

Is it im just not a morning guy? Anyone else had this problem and overcome ... excluding morning people

I am one of those people who wonder why others need coffee, so I can't help you.

 

[happysongbird]

k, was scheduled to run yesterday, but missed it, partly due to running errands, but also the wet and cold wasnt too inspiring!

what a difference a day makes, sunny 15C and blue skies, got out and did 3.2k = 1k vff, 2.2k bf
2.2 bf is my longest yet, and also to the top of the hill, which is a minor milestone. (from this point, it gets a bit more undulating, and less technical)
not surprisingly, still very sensitive on soles, but does feel like its improving slightly. though had to walk a few meters BF, as the trail is, in places, too technical for my feet at this time. tarmac seemed a bit better, i think as i ensuring i picked up my feet more, and actively avoid scuffing.

funny thing is, i was sweating, not due to physical exertion, but mental...pure concentration on the trail, and the trying to get a better form... after reading ken bobs book, there just seems so much to think about!

cant wait to get out again, but will resist, tommorow off... and then do the same thing again friday, assuming no issues from todays run.

Don't forget that you can concentrate with the mind, but relax the body. This always helps my running immensely.

 

[NickW]

Well, just finished up 3.2 fast miles (ok smart a**es, fast for me) in the Skora Base. First mile I did with the insole in (so stack height of 13mm) ran in 10:14 and felt like I could run with the same form as if I was in my 4mm sandals. The second mile I took out the insoles (now it's a 9mm stack height) and blazed away for a 9:03 mile. I think I might actually like them with the insole in better, just because they aren't as sloppy feeling when going down hill and my form didn't seem to change at all with or without. The last 1.2 miles I did a run walk thing because this was my cool down from pushing the pace and I still avg'd overall an 11 min/mile pace. I think I will like these shoes for occasional wear, but not for all the time running. Downhills suck in these shoes, my big toe slammed into the front of the shoe on occasion because the velcro straps are also elastic... which you might guess would stretch when you actually need it to hold your feet in place, which then allows your foot to slide on the footbed smashing your toes on the front of the shoe... Ouch! I like them for running fast paces on flat ground and they were fine going back uphill. Oh, and another plus today, Terral Fox emailed me and my Unshoes Pah Tempes ship today! Yay! Win for me! Now if I can just do well on my Pre-Calc test tonight....

 

[PatrickGSR94]

W00T E25K donnne, E25K donnnneee *moves both hands around in horizontal circles, whatever that dance is called lol*

Still only 15.5 min/mile but I ran the whole time without stopping.

 

[scedastic]

What can we do to encourage you to get enough rest? It is important!

get me out of this phd program! or start helping me out, man!

 

[barefootn]

I love yogurt, but I think I'll stay away from the old stuff. Thanks for the heads up BL. Hope you are feeling better.

 

[happysongbird]

30 minutes of swimming. Was able to increase time increments of swimming without stopping by just a little.
65 minutes on spinning bike alongside daughter. Only way I can keep up with her.

 

[happysongbird]

8:30 AM is the earliest I've run in a while. Doing a 5 mile tempo run after a poor night's sleep may not have been the most encouraging thing to try, especially since I exercised in the late evening yesterday. Could only manage an 8:40 mm pace. Partly think I felt tight from the morning chill, compared to the afternoon runs. Oh, well. On to other things.

 

[NickW]

Could only manage an 8:40 mm pace.

Only... I wish I could even get one mile at that pace....

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Here is my week so far (all barefoot):

Sunday: 4 hour run, 20 miles conservative guess. Easy pace, lots of hills.
Monday: 3 miles (had to test my GPS)
Tuesday: 7 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles

Friday I am going to force myself to take a day off from running even though YOW is pushing me in the Winter Challenge. Saturday I am doing an underground/unsanctioned half marathon. I would like to do it barefoot, but the course is unknown. That would give me my first 50 mile week.

 

[scedastic]

Only... I wish I could even get one mile at that pace....

right?!

 

[happysongbird]

Only... I wish I could even get one mile at that pace....

Yeah, I know. Everyone is working on their out their own limits. Being the slowest one in my family, I can let myself get discouraged too easily about my pace sometimes.

 

[happysongbird]

Here is my week so far (all barefoot):

Sunday: 4 hour run, 20 miles conservative guess. Easy pace, lots of hills.
Monday: 3 miles (had to test my GPS)
Tuesday: 7 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles

Friday I am going to force myself to take a day off from running even though YOW is pushing me in the Winter Challenge. Saturday I am doing an underground/unsanctioned half marathon. I would like to do it barefoot, but the course is unknown. That would give me my first 50 mile week.

Wow! 50 miles in a week. I have just decided to try to keep track of all my miles for next year. My short term goal will be a 20 mile week.

 

[NickW]

Yeah, I know. Everyone is working on their out their own limits. Being the slowest one in my family, I can let myself get discouraged too easily about my pace sometimes.

You know Laura, I used to be decently fast, but after two back surgeries I am relegated to mostly slow. I can barely get half as fast as I once was, although I am working towards getting faster again, but man is it a slow process. I understand what you were saying though, as I often compare myself now to my former self. That can get frustrating but then I just have to remember I am not the same guy that I used to be.

 

[NickW]

Wow! 50 miles in a week. I have just decided to try to keep track of all my miles for next year. My short term goal will be a 20 mile week.

This year was my first year of keeping track of mileage. I am looking forward to January when I change back to just running without a garmin and being oblivious to my distances. I had a goal of hitting 500 miles for the year, but it is looking not very likely for me thanks to the injury bug. I am at 381.5 for the year so far and will have to churn out near 20 mile weeks to make my 500 for the year. Not sure if I can do that without re-injury. I am contemplating attempting to get 20 mile weeks though, just trying to figure out the best strategy for me doing that.

 

[Bare Lee]

Hopefully a year from now we'll all be able to look back at our current paces or mileage, no matter what they are, and feel encouraged by the progress we've made. I look forward to continuing to hear about everyone's journey.

It's a beautiful day here, and I'm feeling OK (it's safe to fart again, and I slept well last night). Will probably do my intervals and hills workout. I miss the sandy gravel of the track!

 

[NickW]

Here is my week so far (all barefoot):

Sunday: 4 hour run, 20 miles conservative guess. Easy pace, lots of hills.
Monday: 3 miles (had to test my GPS)
Tuesday: 7 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles

Friday I am going to force myself to take a day off from running even though YOW is pushing me in the Winter Challenge. Saturday I am doing an underground/unsanctioned half marathon. I would like to do it barefoot, but the course is unknown. That would give me my first 50 mile week.

Wow, way to go man!

 

[NickW]

Just figured out what I have to average per run if I run 5 days a week to get my 500 miles for the year. I have to run at least 3.5 miles every run (avg). Sounds pretty feasible. I can make some runs longer than others and still avg it out so that maybe I'm only running 4 days a week with one long day and then some shorter easier days. Woohoo! It may still be possible for me!

 

[Bare Lee]

Finally did a fairly complete version of my hills and intervals workout. A little over five miles running, a little less than five and a half total.

First I did a warm-up run down to the track, which is a little over half a mile away. Then I ran a one-mile interval at almost exactly 8 mm pace (7.58). I had set the pace alert to 8:30 mm pace, but I ended up doing better than I thought I could. It felt really great to open up the wings a bit. I can hardly wait for the day when I can do one of my longer runs at that pace. It feels so grand and ebullient. And hey, only a little more than 4 minutes off WR pace.

Then I walked 100 yards and ran 440 x 4 intervals at roughly 7:30 pace with 100-to-120-yard walking breaks in between. I was hoping I could do those at 7mm pace, but I guess that's still a ways off. Then I did some waist-high skipping for 120 yards. I didn't really plan on doing my skips that way, that's just the way I felt it. Kind of a compromise between skipping and bounding I guess. I really dug it, although I probably looked like a complete yahoo. After I rounded the curve of the track, I ran backwards for a hundred yards along the straightaway. Man, running backwards is a lot harder than it looks. I know Willie does this from time to time. Great exercise, really good for the calves. I finished the track work with another 120 yards of high skipping, and another 100 yards of running backwards.

Then I went up and over a big hill nearby, came back up and over to where I had started the climb, then went back up and over a second time. It's about .3 miles up and over, so x 3 = a little less than a mile total of hills, and really slow. A lot of room for improvement there.

Down on the other side I finished my workout (I can't really call all these disjointed stages a 'run') by running another 1.2 miles, taking the long way home.

This kind of training is a lot of fun, and a nice break from the more steady-paced, continuous runs I usually do. I had intended to do skipping, bounding, and stairs as a separate workout from my intervals and hills, but the spontaneous logic that occurred to me today was to combine them. I left out the stairs though, because I know my tendency is to overdo things and let the enthusiasm of something new get the better of me. Maybe next time. I hope I'm not too sore tomorrow.

Then, amazingly, about a half mile into my cool-down run, I met another barefoot runner!

He was out walking his dog. I didn't even notice his bare feet at first. I just spotted him up ahead on the sidewalk, coming my way with his dog, and so was just making a little extra room for them as I passed by when he said something about my bare feet to get me to stop. Wow. I had heard about him. I think both my wife and my brother had spotted him this last summer or maybe last spring. So we stopped to chat a bit.

He's been running barefoot for 40 years, since he was a teenager. His parents were missionaries so he grew up in Africa, and that's why he's been a barefoot runner for so long. At first he said he was from South Africa, so I'm thinking Zola, but he didn't have a SA accent. Then a bit later he let on that he was born in Wisconsin. Amazingly, he lives just up my street, the street I start almost all my runs on. I've run past his house 100s of times. Pretty funny. He wasn't interested in running together though. He mostly runs with his dog for about 30 minutes a pop. Or maybe it was my white Barefoot Running University hoodie that scared him off. Still, I hope we bump into each some more. I'd like to get his perspective on the whole BFR craze.

Overall, a fantastic day. Temps were perfect too, at about 50 F (10 C) and sunny. I got nice and sweaty. Hope I can get in a few more days like this before the cold temps settle in for good.

 

[scedastic]

Here is my week so far (all barefoot):

Sunday: 4 hour run, 20 miles conservative guess. Easy pace, lots of hills.
Monday: 3 miles (had to test my GPS)
Tuesday: 7 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles

Friday I am going to force myself to take a day off from running even though YOW is pushing me in the Winter Challenge. Saturday I am doing an underground/unsanctioned half marathon. I would like to do it barefoot, but the course is unknown. That would give me my first 50 mile week.

That is fantastic.
Great that you are keeping up with the long runs so soon after the marathon.