Newton shoes - a skoosh faster

I can now reasonably and reliably attest that my new Newton Motion running shoes have made me a tad faster. 

At first I was skeptical of whether my times were a bit better because of the shoes or not, but after running a series of 6 and 7 mile runs, I am definitely posting faster splits.  I have a total of 60 miles on them now.  I had earlier thought that perhaps my better times were just attributed to the fact that the weather was cooler, making it more fun to run.  But I think that the combination of the shoes causing me to change my form ever so slightly (hips forward - land, lever, lift) and the concept of the shoes themselves has played a factor.

For my first time ever I ran the last 3 miles of a 7 mile run at a sub 8min/mile pace (avg 7:44).  That is big for me, since I'm usually holding any attempt at a sub 8min/m pace until the last mile.  And usually after running 6 miles, I'm actually pushing to even do anything in the 8min/m space.  During that particular run, mile 4 was a quick (for me) 8:14, and then to my surprise mile 5 was an incredible 7:34.  I remember that I felt good, felt smooth, and I was concentrating on my form.  I was not necessarily trying for speed - I was just trying to stay in the flow.  Admittedly I started to feel the fatigue setting in during mile 7 - I was definitely at my end.

But the Newton running shoes have also affected my feet in both a positive and negative way:  when running with them, my Plantar Fasciitis seems to abate, but I also developed Archelles Tendonitis in my right ankle.  When I first started running with the shoes, I immediately noticed the stretch in my upper ankle area, thus the short runs to get used to them.  But after multiple longer runs (6 & 7 miles) that right ankle area is not happy.  So I had to back off on mileage and do some running with my older "regular" shoes.  But this has aggravated my Plantar Fasciitis... I'm swapping back and forth with the shoes now, but I want my archelles tendon to heal, so I'm doing fewer miles with the Newtons for a bit.

For all intents, the Newtons are a success for me, although I do need to get my legs accustomed to them.  I love it when I find that sweet spot and am cruising.  It is the best feeling in the world.

Running errands (literally)

I’ve gotten into the habit of literally running my local errands, like to the nearby grocery store to pick up a few items, or the bakery, or the bank…. I’m able to turn it into a 4 to 5 mile run with no problem, and doing errands actually gives the whole running event a purpose.  I run with a small day-pack – it’s not very big, for obvious reasons; I don’t want to wind up buying more that I can actually carry.  Worse, I don’t want to wind up with an awkward load to run home with.

The first time that I did it I had to make sure that I packed the non-compressible items on the bottom of the backpack, so that the stuff that might get squished, wouldn’t.  And it did work out (nothing got squished), but it took about half a mile for the load to wiggle its way into some form of equilibrium.  At first things were pretty much wiggling around - not very comfortable.  After that, the backpack was fairly stable and I had a good mile or two of comfortable running..

I have to admit that I get some weird looks from people – first of all, I’m walking into the grocery store in obvious running clothes, and clearly I had gotten there running (I’m still breathing a little hard – note to self: take a few minutes to catch my breath before entering the store…), and then secondly, I’m walking in with a backpack.  The first thing that store security looks for is people with backpacks (shoplifters)…  but fortunately, I’m somewhat recognizable since I’ve only been in that store several thousand times, so they tend not to bug me.  But still….

Then after checking out I have to go to a little side area so that I can ‘pack my pack’ for the run home.  But once I’m all set, and I step outside, I’m back in running mode:  sun glasses in place, hat on, music on, let’s go.  

Going to the bank is interesting: I run up to the bank with my sunglasses, hat, and backpack.  The staff know me there as well, but I’m sure it looks interesting to other people as I get my receipts or whatever from the transaction that I did, stuff it into a zippered pocket on my backpack, step outside, do the sunglasses and hat routine and start running away from the bank….  It did occur to me that I should not be surprised if someone might call the cops to report a guy with a backpack running away from the bank….

But the best part of it is the fact that I feel that I’m actually accomplishing more than just going for a run; I’m paring down the list of things on my to-do list that I might otherwise have used my truck for.  I’ll try to do more of this – the trick is to make sure that where ever it is that I’m going, that it is ok to arrive a little sweaty…

Train hard to run hard

I read last week that if you are going to train, train hard.  Don’t just train moderately. Train like you mean it.  The article mentioned that most of us will think that we are going out for a “hard” run, but when we start to get fatigued, we back off – I know that I’ve been there.  Ok, we’re still getting our exercise in, and yes, we are probably doing more than the majority of the population, but if you are training, make it count.  And when it’s “hard” is when its beginning to count.

So I did yesterday’s 4M run with the intent of running hard, but smart, and with the goal of doing the last mile as consistently fast as I could.  What would I experience, what line would I cross – if any…

it was an interesting experience for me – so much so that I’m going to try to articulate it here.

At a minimum, I was curious as to what would happen and how I would feel.  My goal was to start as I always do, slow and steady to get loosened up and in a groove, then move it up to a nice cruising pace, and then finish the last mile as hard as I could, with the emphasis on not giving up during that last mile.  I was thinking that I would do my first mile at a 10m/m pace, miles 2 & 3 at around a 9m/m pace, and then my last mile would be somewhere around 8-something.   I wound up doing 9:58, 9:12, 8:05, 7:11.

The temperature and weather were perfect for having a good run – mid 50’s, slight breeze, and sunny.  A beautiful morning.  For fuel prior to the run I had some peanut butter on toast with a coffee chaser.  I took the time to stretch and loosen up.   Music queued up.

The first mile was nice and easy.  The first half mile was at something like an 11m/m pace, pretty typical for me, and by the next half I was up to a 9m/m pace – averages out nicely to a 10m/m pace.  I know that my first half mile will always be slow – it just is; my body is just not ready to flow and it takes 5 minutes or so to get my juices going.

The second mile has a few small hills, nothing significant, but enough to throw me off a steady pace, but I tried to remain consistent.  Netting out a 9:12m/m pace was very satisfactory to me.  I had been thinking that I would do something more along the lines of 9:30.  Around mile 1.5 I noticed that I was feeling a sugar low, so I sucked down a goo, knowing that it would not hit until after mile 2-2.5.

Mile 3 is ever so slightly downhill.  There is probably, maybe, a 10 foot drop in the entire mile, but the net result is that it makes for easier running.  I even lucked out at a major crossroads and barely had to break my pace to get across the intersection.   I had a good pace going and I knew it.  My half mile split was indicating that I was running an 8-something pace.  By now the goo was kicking in and I was concentrating on my form and posture.  As soon as I crossed the street and was back on the trail I know that I subconsciously was turning on the juice – it’s that “we’ve turned the corner and I can see home from here” thing…  I was pretty amped when I saw that my mile 3 split was an 8:05 !

As soon as I got to the start of mile 4 I was in full stride.  I was trying not to over stride, hips forward, making my mid foot land below my hips, pushing forward with my quads, and breathing – always breathing.  I knew that I was moving faster than I usually did, but even so, I felt under control.  As I passed someone walking the other way I was able to say “good morning” easily and without wheezing and gasping the words out – I thought that was a good sign.

I also started thinking about where my mile 4 end point was going to be – clearly it was not going to end at my house; I would have to overshoot the house by maybe half a mile.  That’s not a problem in of itself -  it’s more the psychological aspect of “where is the finish line?”  I was not going to be able to “see” it.  I would be done when my GPS said that I got to Mile 4.  It is an interesting way to push oneself.  Very abstract.

I got lucky again in crossing the road, easily avoiding traffic and powered into my neighborhood.  As I pushed my way down the boulevard I started to dwell on “where is the finish line going to be???”  At the half mile split my watch noted 3:40, or the equivalent of a 7:20m/m pace.  Cool – and all I’m thinking at this point is if I could run at this pace for another 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

I tried counting in seconds but found that I was way off – I was counting too fast.  I concentrated on pushing my quads to power me forward, using my arms to help my momentum.  I was trying so hard to land mid foot and spring off.  And keep moving, keep moving.

But I was getting tired – particularly since  I had no idea where the finish line was.  I had stopped looking at my watch.  I was definitely in an anaerobic state and my calculations were not making sense to me, so I just tried to focus on running hard and NOT SLOWING DOWN for anything.

I got to a point where I know that I was reaching a breaking point – a point where I normally would have said “ok – that’s enough - time to throttle back”, but I kept thinking about the whole thing of “training hard to run hard”.  It’s not like I was seeing spots before my eyes, but I know that I was definitely crossing a new line.  I think I lost a little speed while all of this was going on, but the important part is that I kept going as hard as I could – again just wishing that I knew where the finish line was…. I kept saying “how far, how far….”

And then suddenly it was there in my ears:   “Distance - four point zero zero miles”.  Heaven.  I touched the split button on my watch and pulled off to the side of the road to walk and breathe. And then I looked at my split:  7:11.   I read it, but I didn’t comprehend it.  I don’t run a 7:11 mile.

I then checked my GPS thing on my phone – it confirmed 7:11.  Whoa, this is huge.

Even better, as I walked back to my house, my breathing was good, my heart rate was normal (fully recovered), and my legs felt great (nice to be walking).  “Wow” I thought.

According to my logs, it was my fastest 4th mile, but not my fastest 4 miles.  In February of this year I somehow managed to do a 4 mile run about a minute faster.  Notwithstanding, I met my goal of finishing hard and running the last mile consistently hard.  And yes, I was wearing my new Newton running shoes, now with a grand total of 34 miles on them.

I crossed a line, both mentally and physically.  I understand the concept better now. I’ve crossed lines during an event, particularly towards the end of the race.  But the fact is that I was always unprepared for it – I never knew what would happen.  I’ve heard the saying “training day stud, race day dud”, so I’ve almost always eased back when things got hard.  But the reality of the fact is that if I want to run fast, if I want to run hard, I have to train fast, and I have to train hard. Theoretically, the line keeps moving, meaning that I should have the opportunity to get better and better.

The trick now is to extend this concept into my training routine.  Woof

Running with Newton's - continued

I've done 3 successive 6 mile runs in my Newtons, and I think that I really like the shoes.  My legs feel good, I feel the development of different muscles, and in my last 6M run, I was comfortable enough to sprint the last mile.  And yeah, I think my times are a skoosh better.

But the shoes do take getting used to - my last 6 mile run was a little hilly - not a lot, but some - and I felt the effects of the run in my right achilles tendon area that afternoon and the next day.  I was walking pretty stiffly for a bit, but it worked itself out.

The other good news is that the plantar fasciitis in my left foot seems to be diminished.  I can't determine if it has been because of the Newtons or all the stretching and massaging that I've been doing, or both, but the bottom line is that it feels better (today anyway).

So with that in mind, I'm trying to get into a half marathon later this month (in two weeks), even though registration for the event is closed.  That will be a good test!

Running with Newtons

After running unhappily for 6 months in shoes that had bad karma, I decided to explore the world of Newton running shoes – and so far I’m glad that I did.  I wound up selecting what Newton calls a “Motion Performance Trainer” (the blue one’s with the yellow sole), for the princely sum of $175.  These are by far the most expensive shoes (of any kind) that I have ever bought (I’m not a big “shoe” kind of a guy).   Newton will allow you to return any shoe within 60 days for a full refund, no matter how many miles you’ve put on them… That little option is what finally convinced me to give them a try.   I’m also not sure why Newton designates all of their shoes as “Trainers”…  what’s up with that?

So far I have a grand total of 12 miles on them and I really like them.  Per the advice of a customer at the store that I bought them at (MyTriGuys on 5 Mile in Livonia, MI, www.mytriguys.com), I have been “easing” into them starting with short runs and adding distance slowly, and I could immediately understand why that was important.  In my case, I could feel the shoes stretching and manipulating the muscles in my calves and hamstrings, along with the ligaments and tendons to my ankles.  The design of the shoes has a way of changing my running form just a tad, with two (hopefully positive) effects: 1) I believe that I’m making better use of my muscles, and 2) I think that I’m a little bit faster!  The latter point will be made more evident for fact or fantasy as I put on more miles.

During my first 1.5 mile run I could feel muscles in my hamstring (specifically the muscle area closer to my knee) working differently and after the run I felt the result of new stretching in the ligaments and tendons towards the back of my ankle (in the area of my Achilles tendon).  Subsequent runs, each one a bit further, have resulted in the same feeling in both areas.  It’s not a bad feeling, just different.

While running I can’t help but be conscious of the “knobs” on the bottom of the shoe – it’s not that I feel them so much as I know that they are there and I should be using them to my advantage.  Which forces me to focus on my form: keep my hips forward, lean into the run just a tad, land (lightly) on my midfoot, and release without pushing off with my toes.  When I concentrate on that form, I have been able to post better times per mile that I have in the last 6 months.  For three runs in a row, I have averaged a 7:20 min/mile pace in my last mile (I like to finish harder than I started…  it’s just my thing – I know that most coaches won’t approve, but I’m 55 and it’s what I do…).  That is compared to a mid to low 8 min/mile average with other shoes.  For all I know I’m subconsciously pushing myself, but like I said, fact and fantasy will be borne out as I put more miles on.

This of course is causing me to develop and exercise slightly new muscle groups, so I am now slowly building up mileage with the result of pretty much putting my attempt at the Grand Rapids Marathon out of the picture.  I'm still fighting and dealing with the Plantar Fasciitis thing and I have 5 weeks to go to the event. I can't see any realistic way that I’m going to be ready.  I am very bummed about it, but I don’t want to run it just to run it – I want to have a good time doing it.  I think that if I pushed myself I could actually finish the event, but I don’t want to just finish it – I want to do reasonably well, and I want to have a fun time doing it. (Which takes me to my next thought – someone asked me how could anyone possibly “have fun” running 26 miles?  I didn’t have an answer for the guy – there is just no way to explain it in a way that he would get it…)

(If you would like to leave a comment I've been told that it may be necessary for you to temporarily allow 3rd Party Cookies - it's not my thing... it's seems to be a Google Blogger thing... For example, if you use Chrome as a browser, go to "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and select "Show Advanced Settings", select "Content Settings" in the Privacy section, and then un-select "Block 3rd Party cookies...".   I would not recommend leaving your settings that way, so be sure to reset it back to block 3rd party cookies.)

running and roadkill

I'm back in MI and ran this AM along a fairly busy road that connects a couple of towns.  And I forgot about the choice smells that are part of country roads, i.e. road kill that is beginning to get nice and ripe.  Ran by a couple that really got my attention:  one was a skunk and the other was a raccoon.  The skunk of course, smelled like skunk, and the raccoon just smelled like dead stuff that wants to make you gag.

Naturally, your first inclination is to hold your breath, but when I'm running, I'm pretty much counting on getting as much oxygen into my system as possible - and that means having to breathe at a regular rate.  I could walk instead of run, but then of course it would take me longer to get past the sucky smell - so I keep running - and try not to breathe - much.

Today the skunk came first and I could smell it before I saw it, so I was a little bit prepared and started taking short breaths and holding it for a bit before exhaling and "sipping" a little bit of air at a time.  The funny thing about skunk stink is that you can smell it without breathing - which is really aggravating. I'm dying to take a fresh breath, but I know that if I do I'm going to suck in "skunk stink" - and eventually (not too long actually - its a matter of seconds) I have to take a breath and make it a short one - and of course its not close to being enough air to satisfy my oxygen depleted lungs.  And eventually, after what seems like an eternity, I am past the skunk and the stink.... phew...

About a half mile later I came across the dead, and nicely ripe, raccoon.  He probably got hit the night before and now with the sun beating on it was becoming nice and smelly.  The problem though was that, unlike the skunk stink that I sort of eased into, I suddenly saw the raccoon, guts and all, and was overwhelmed by the ripe smell of opened gastro-intestinal fumes.  It's one of those smells that almost immediately make you gag and want to hurl. It's like hitting a wall of bad, bad pungentness, the likes of which you can't imagine was once a living creature.

And of course I had just exhaled and was taking a deep breath when I got to the raccoon - a double whammy.  And yes, I did hold my breath for as long as I could before taking as small a breath as possible to test the air.  Obviously I got through it and lived to write about it.

But this just goes along with the joys of living on the edge of the country along with all the creatures that live there.

Plantar Fasciitis and running

I've been struggling with plantar fasciitis in my left foot for months now and its really affecting my training for the Grand Rapids Marathon.  The part that is uncomfortable is the pain on the bottom of my foot, just forward of my heel, kind of in the arch of the foot.  It always hurts more in the morning as soon as I put weight on it.  And it always hurts after a run, although I never seem to feel it during a run.  But it hurts enough that I think that I should not be running as much.  In the meantime however, I need to get my long miles in.

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue between the heel and the forward part of the foot.  There is no quick fix for it.  All you can do is stretch, massage, maybe use orthotics....  One doctor friend offered to give me a cortisone shot, which I quickly declined (I have heard that it really, really hurts - a friend of mine did it and seriously thought that he'd rather have his foot amputated).

So to help myself I have been doing a lot of stretching and flexing for my foot and perhaps these things will help someone else:
- while sitting, grab my toes and towards me with my hands or a belt and really stretch out my arch.
- stand and point my toes back and so as to stretch the top of my foot (oddly enough, it makes my arch, where it hurts, feel good).
- stand on a 2x6 or a door jam or a step and do heel drops.
- while sitting, I will bend my foot in every possible direction, holing it stretched out in place for a few seconds.
- I find that walking barefoot makes it feel really good too.
- before I get out of bed in the AM I manipulate my foot for a few minutes, kind of like waking it up.  Apparently the tissue tightens up while I sleep, so stretching it out and "waking it up" makes a big difference and makes it significantly less uncomfortable when I take my first steps.  I've learned that I don't want to just jump out of bed.  I need to prep my ankle before doing so - makes it a little tough whenever one of my dogs has to go outside in the middle of the night, but oh well....

The more I do those things, the better it feels, but of course the problem is that I keep getting out of a steady routine of doing it.

I don't remember feeling any discomfort while running, but for all I know I'm adjusting for it and don't even realize it.  But I definitely feel it afterwards, not horribly, but it hurts. Sometimes, I'll even take an ibuprofen to take the edge off - but that is not a habit I want to get into - and besides, I'm not sure that it really provides much relief.

My big issue is that I don't want to permanently hurt myself by continuing to run on it, which is why I've been limiting my miles.  But at the same time, I really, really want to run that marathon.  So the answer to that is to pay more attention to my stretching...  Like they say, "just do it..."

My bigger worry is that it's not clear to me from all that I've read that I'll ever really rehab myself out of this issue!  Everything that I read says "temporary relief" - what good is that?