Posted a little about shoes--so time for socks. The Newtons, because of their forefoot design are a little tippy at the start. Fortunately, some months ago I started using Injinji toed socks. Among their benefits they allow toes to spread out and grasp the insole--particularly going around corners and on camber changes.
Because easy toe has it's own little ecosystem, blisters don't happen, even if you get shoes and socks wet.
During a Team in Training session after several days of rain, we ended up wading 40 yards on a bike path that was fenced on both sides-no way around the water. There were 5+ miles to go and many got blisters. I did not--had not discomfort at all.
Injinji come in different heights from micro crew to full and now come in different weights. I even use the black ones for street shoes, but the toe arrangement does require a little more room in the toe of the shoe. Not a problem with running shoes, but it can be with dress shoes. Who decided dress shoes should NOT be shaped like a foot?
Think I'm approaching a threshold with the Newtons and the Evolution Running. Feels like it may be coming together and no more injuries. The hip exercise is working well, too. I started using the Gorilla Duct Tape on the soles last week. Slight wear--and it works fine. The forefoot bars are going to be a challenge though--not much surface for the adhesive to stick to.
Mornings are DARK and evenings are getting that way too. One of the reasons I want to move to a lower latitude. Seasons suck for running.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Evolution
Watched the Evolution Running DVD that I bought last week. Interesting stuff. Drills are good and I'm modifying them for my combination of age and old injuries. The revelation that most impressed me is that the quads aren't really that big a player in moving forward. They certainly stabilize the knee joint (another of those joints that is poorly engineered thanks to our foray into bipedalism. We worked much better on all fours.
The gluteus maximus is the star of forward motion according to Evolution. I've had trouble with hip (almost always the right) on long runs. I also have a chronic pull at the crest of the ileum that just hits like a shotgun. Had that happen training for San Diego--bent over to reach in a drawer and BAM! That was it for training for 3 days.
I'm now doing some glute work in the AM when I loosen up and it feels good--knees especially.
Running more on forefeet all the time and the new wrinkle introduced in the DVD is that your foot whole ALREADY be moving BACKWARD at the time in hits the ground. It's a brush thing--not a landing thunderously to push off thing. That give good runners that light barely touching the ground motion.
I need to watch the tape again, but already admit it's much more effective that reading about running. You can visualize the drills and action of the skilled running while you're running. Remembering what the words said isn't much help.
Getting worried about finding Foot Disc insoles--keep pulling up off shore distributors. I want to try the high arch model--mine aren't really high, but my supination is a real problem and the high arch model has the most cushioning. I put another layer of shelf liner (more on that below) in my right shoe at the forefoot. It never felt quite as comfortable as the left shoe in the Newtons. Feels better now. I have had NO forefoot bruising so far. I always had trouble with my left forefoot--always.
Shelf liner?? No, I'm not wacko--well a little. I discovered this black rubbery shelf liner at the hardware store a few months ago. Big roll is pretty cheap and it can easily be cut with scissors. I use it for just a little extra distribution of impact in the forefoot area. It does compact, but it takes a couple weeks or more and it's easy to replace. I just tack it down with some duct tape at the front of the insole and gently slip it in the shoe. Where's in going to go between the footbed and insole--it sits right there till you take it out again.
Getting really dark in the AM now. Hope I can make it till daylight savings time flips! Don't see in the dark like I did 30 years ago.
Oh a quick word of warning if you don't have lights on in the pre dawn and you meet someone who does have a light. THEY will not see anything that their light isn't shinning on. DON'T assume they see you because you see them. They are blind outside the beam of their light. I've been nearly run over by people walking dogs, riding bikes etc etc. It's almost funny--they think they are safe and they are a menace, because their world is limited to their light beam. There are some philosophical implications with that discovery that make it particularly satisfying. Be careful out there!
The gluteus maximus is the star of forward motion according to Evolution. I've had trouble with hip (almost always the right) on long runs. I also have a chronic pull at the crest of the ileum that just hits like a shotgun. Had that happen training for San Diego--bent over to reach in a drawer and BAM! That was it for training for 3 days.
I'm now doing some glute work in the AM when I loosen up and it feels good--knees especially.
Running more on forefeet all the time and the new wrinkle introduced in the DVD is that your foot whole ALREADY be moving BACKWARD at the time in hits the ground. It's a brush thing--not a landing thunderously to push off thing. That give good runners that light barely touching the ground motion.
I need to watch the tape again, but already admit it's much more effective that reading about running. You can visualize the drills and action of the skilled running while you're running. Remembering what the words said isn't much help.
Getting worried about finding Foot Disc insoles--keep pulling up off shore distributors. I want to try the high arch model--mine aren't really high, but my supination is a real problem and the high arch model has the most cushioning. I put another layer of shelf liner (more on that below) in my right shoe at the forefoot. It never felt quite as comfortable as the left shoe in the Newtons. Feels better now. I have had NO forefoot bruising so far. I always had trouble with my left forefoot--always.
Shelf liner?? No, I'm not wacko--well a little. I discovered this black rubbery shelf liner at the hardware store a few months ago. Big roll is pretty cheap and it can easily be cut with scissors. I use it for just a little extra distribution of impact in the forefoot area. It does compact, but it takes a couple weeks or more and it's easy to replace. I just tack it down with some duct tape at the front of the insole and gently slip it in the shoe. Where's in going to go between the footbed and insole--it sits right there till you take it out again.
Getting really dark in the AM now. Hope I can make it till daylight savings time flips! Don't see in the dark like I did 30 years ago.
Oh a quick word of warning if you don't have lights on in the pre dawn and you meet someone who does have a light. THEY will not see anything that their light isn't shinning on. DON'T assume they see you because you see them. They are blind outside the beam of their light. I've been nearly run over by people walking dogs, riding bikes etc etc. It's almost funny--they think they are safe and they are a menace, because their world is limited to their light beam. There are some philosophical implications with that discovery that make it particularly satisfying. Be careful out there!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Change pace
A few years ago I lived in Glad's Castle in Morro Bay (another set of long stories--also not relevant) and ran from there out to Morro Rock and back every day. A few times of year I was rewarded by a full moon setting in the ocean near the Rock. Doesn't happen as often as you'd think--fog, lighting, time of year etc.
Yesterday I realized full moon was here, timing was pretty good. I got up at 6:30 and saw it was clear. Decided to drive to Morro Bay, take a few shots and do a run. The shots were so-so. We'll see how they look after Photoshop.
The run was nostalgic--I've run along the Embarcadero with Team in Training several times in the past few years, but that's Saturday. Haven't done a weekday since June of 06. Much had changed--paths, buildings etc, but I knew about that from TNT. The people were the interesting thing--saw some familiar faces walking--just like they were in '06--even a few cars I remembered were stopped for breakfast at the same places. Also saw TNT coordinator doing her morning run--we were both a little surprised to see each other -LOL!
I had never driven in the Newtons--that is a little strange. The shoes were fine on the boardwalk--a very hard composite. Wind was stiff (still in Los Osos) and I'll post about that later--wind at the Rock can be insane.
Now thinking of doing Morro Bay every Wednesday. Not a bad run and can be stretched up over 10 miles pretty easily, there are restrooms and water at decent intervals. Avila area is better, but Morro Bay is 7 minutes away. I can also run a little earlier -- there are enough streetlights to enable pre dawn start times.
Daylight savings time ends in less than a month, but a month later most the gain in AM light is gone.
Probably be doing some afternoon running soon.
Yesterday I realized full moon was here, timing was pretty good. I got up at 6:30 and saw it was clear. Decided to drive to Morro Bay, take a few shots and do a run. The shots were so-so. We'll see how they look after Photoshop.
The run was nostalgic--I've run along the Embarcadero with Team in Training several times in the past few years, but that's Saturday. Haven't done a weekday since June of 06. Much had changed--paths, buildings etc, but I knew about that from TNT. The people were the interesting thing--saw some familiar faces walking--just like they were in '06--even a few cars I remembered were stopped for breakfast at the same places. Also saw TNT coordinator doing her morning run--we were both a little surprised to see each other -LOL!
I had never driven in the Newtons--that is a little strange. The shoes were fine on the boardwalk--a very hard composite. Wind was stiff (still in Los Osos) and I'll post about that later--wind at the Rock can be insane.
Now thinking of doing Morro Bay every Wednesday. Not a bad run and can be stretched up over 10 miles pretty easily, there are restrooms and water at decent intervals. Avila area is better, but Morro Bay is 7 minutes away. I can also run a little earlier -- there are enough streetlights to enable pre dawn start times.
Daylight savings time ends in less than a month, but a month later most the gain in AM light is gone.
Probably be doing some afternoon running soon.
Monday, October 10, 2011
More duct tape
While running this AM thought of a couple details I should have included in previous post. Thinking while running is almost like the magical time as you're just going to sleep or waking up. Surprising insights--sometimes wondrous--then there are the OOPS! moments when you suddenly remember what you should have done or said.
It would be nice if you could just cut the tape to fit the wear pattern--BUT the shear forces generated by your foot strike require a certain area of adhesive to keep the tape from peeling off. Obviously, before you stick the tape down the rubber needs to be clean and dry. I usually stick it down and then take a sharp rounded object--edge of spoon or ? and really press hard, running the edge across the whole surface--you apply lots of lbs per square inch to the tape this way. After that I trim with some sharp scissors. I'm pretty casual about trimming the inner edges--heel configuration are diverse and often there's a concave area near the middle-overlapping tape isn't a big deal there, but you can trim if you're a neatness fan.
The Gorilla product has some fiberglass in it and while it wears well it will NOT give you the traction on wet surfaces that the rubber did. That's usually OK because your foot strike problem will have less effect if there is some slip at the instant of contact. You'll find that wet weather doesn't seem of cause problems for the adhesive if you stick the tape down well.
I've done beach runs and had no peeling issues with the tape. There's very little wear on the sand either. Nonetheless, I am not a big beach run fan these days. I ran on the beach for several years when I lived in Cayucos--easy on the impact, but some downsides too, those I'll save for later post.
You can also use duct tape to repair the tops of your shoes, if your toes start to come though or if you want to keep sand out of the toes while you're walking down to the moist beach. The trend toward lots of mesh in the tops is great for ventilation, but sand gets right through. Trail shoes don't have that problem, but you don't need trail shoes on the beach. There are some minimalist trail shoes now that are probably a solution, but how many pairs of shoes do most runners want to purchase?
It would be nice if you could just cut the tape to fit the wear pattern--BUT the shear forces generated by your foot strike require a certain area of adhesive to keep the tape from peeling off. Obviously, before you stick the tape down the rubber needs to be clean and dry. I usually stick it down and then take a sharp rounded object--edge of spoon or ? and really press hard, running the edge across the whole surface--you apply lots of lbs per square inch to the tape this way. After that I trim with some sharp scissors. I'm pretty casual about trimming the inner edges--heel configuration are diverse and often there's a concave area near the middle-overlapping tape isn't a big deal there, but you can trim if you're a neatness fan.
The Gorilla product has some fiberglass in it and while it wears well it will NOT give you the traction on wet surfaces that the rubber did. That's usually OK because your foot strike problem will have less effect if there is some slip at the instant of contact. You'll find that wet weather doesn't seem of cause problems for the adhesive if you stick the tape down well.
I've done beach runs and had no peeling issues with the tape. There's very little wear on the sand either. Nonetheless, I am not a big beach run fan these days. I ran on the beach for several years when I lived in Cayucos--easy on the impact, but some downsides too, those I'll save for later post.
You can also use duct tape to repair the tops of your shoes, if your toes start to come though or if you want to keep sand out of the toes while you're walking down to the moist beach. The trend toward lots of mesh in the tops is great for ventilation, but sand gets right through. Trail shoes don't have that problem, but you don't need trail shoes on the beach. There are some minimalist trail shoes now that are probably a solution, but how many pairs of shoes do most runners want to purchase?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Quick start -- shoes and wear
The lightweight shoes (performance training, they are usually called) do not wear very well. The heavy rubber on the heels is usually thin and if you pronate or under pronate (supinate) you're gonna wear the heel down long before the 250-350 miles you should get out of the shoes. Even at $80-$100, that's not fun.
The performance training shoes are less expensive than some of the cushier flagship models, many of which never see serious running.
So what do you do? I tried many things over the years--shoe goo, silicone, etc,etc. All worked to some extent, but the labor in applying the material was a pain.
THEN, a few years ago, I was doing a sound system for an event in Long Beach (long story, but not relevant here) and needed some tape to fix the speaker and amp wires to the floor so no one could trip--big hotel and they were going to check it out before the event. I went to hardware store and saw that Gorilla (as in GLUE) now made duct tape--I figured their glue was good, so I bought a roll--a big roll. It was amazing--stuck well and was a bitch to pull off after the event. I had over half a roll left--and then the light bulb lit up. What would happen if I put a couple of layers on the heels of my running shoes and trimmed around the edge?
It worked VERY WELL. I have been using Gorilla Tape for 4 years now--3 layers will last an entire marathon on pavement. Running 30-40 miles a week just requires a tune up layer mid week.
You still need to replace your shoes when they loose their "spirit", but not because you wore the heels out in the first 100 miles.
The other cool thing is you can tailor the placement and amount to fit individual wear patterns--I don't wear heels out exactly the same on right and left foot (there are other injury stories in there--later!).
Give it a try and see how it works. Should work fine on forefoot areas too--for those biomechanically superior individuals. As you'll hear later I'm getting acclimated to Newton Gravity shoes now and so far the heels are pristine.
RW
The performance training shoes are less expensive than some of the cushier flagship models, many of which never see serious running.
So what do you do? I tried many things over the years--shoe goo, silicone, etc,etc. All worked to some extent, but the labor in applying the material was a pain.
THEN, a few years ago, I was doing a sound system for an event in Long Beach (long story, but not relevant here) and needed some tape to fix the speaker and amp wires to the floor so no one could trip--big hotel and they were going to check it out before the event. I went to hardware store and saw that Gorilla (as in GLUE) now made duct tape--I figured their glue was good, so I bought a roll--a big roll. It was amazing--stuck well and was a bitch to pull off after the event. I had over half a roll left--and then the light bulb lit up. What would happen if I put a couple of layers on the heels of my running shoes and trimmed around the edge?
It worked VERY WELL. I have been using Gorilla Tape for 4 years now--3 layers will last an entire marathon on pavement. Running 30-40 miles a week just requires a tune up layer mid week.
You still need to replace your shoes when they loose their "spirit", but not because you wore the heels out in the first 100 miles.
The other cool thing is you can tailor the placement and amount to fit individual wear patterns--I don't wear heels out exactly the same on right and left foot (there are other injury stories in there--later!).
Give it a try and see how it works. Should work fine on forefoot areas too--for those biomechanically superior individuals. As you'll hear later I'm getting acclimated to Newton Gravity shoes now and so far the heels are pristine.
RW
Disclaimers, caveats etc
Ok, I'll make this post short. I'm not a medical doctor, coach, trained physical therapist, kinesiologist, etc.
In another lifetime I did teach anatomy labs to students who became the above, but that was several decades ago (and I was running then, too).
The posts are intended to share some of my positive and negative experiences with training, rehabilitation, running equipment and psychology. My experiences may be relevant to you or not. Pretend we start talking at a running path and start swapping advice and stories. That's it.
I've discovered there are so many permutations and combinations of stuff being applied to runners, who are each unique, that anyone who claims to have THE answer for you, may be stretching their expertise just a bit.
I enjoyed learning from the coaches and experienced runners I met through Team in Training and elsewhere. Lots of good ideas, many of which I tried, but I also found I explored territory they hadn't.
The prospect that really cool solutions to the problems created by aging and running are drifting around out there awaiting discovery is one of the things that keeps me running.
In another lifetime I did teach anatomy labs to students who became the above, but that was several decades ago (and I was running then, too).
The posts are intended to share some of my positive and negative experiences with training, rehabilitation, running equipment and psychology. My experiences may be relevant to you or not. Pretend we start talking at a running path and start swapping advice and stories. That's it.
I've discovered there are so many permutations and combinations of stuff being applied to runners, who are each unique, that anyone who claims to have THE answer for you, may be stretching their expertise just a bit.
I enjoyed learning from the coaches and experienced runners I met through Team in Training and elsewhere. Lots of good ideas, many of which I tried, but I also found I explored territory they hadn't.
The prospect that really cool solutions to the problems created by aging and running are drifting around out there awaiting discovery is one of the things that keeps me running.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Running off at the blog!
For a while I've thought of starting a second blog--the other one is about real estate and technology. Another thing I'm passionate about, as is apparent from the other blog photo, is endurance running.
I've been running daily since I was a 13 with some time out for injuries, bad behavior, more injuries and still more injuries. Now I've arrived at a rather advanced age--nearly 64 and I'm still running. I ran my first half marathon in 2008, a half with Team in Training in 2009, a full with Team in Training in 2010 and another full with Team in Training in 2011. Had injuries in all those--some worse than others, but enjoyed the overall experience.
The OCD thing I mention propels me to learns LOTS about anything I become immersed in. Running is no exception. I listen to coaches, read books, try new ideas and never give up hope that the right combination of training, equipments, etc. will turn the clock back and I'll be able to run a 5:30 marathon.
Don't laugh--I never inferred I was fast, just still running.
One of the sobering things about running in races past 60 is that there are no casual, slow old people out running. The only old people out running are pretty darn fast. As a result you just aren't going to be very impressed with how you did in your age group. There are people there who have run 30+ marathons and can smoke you big time. That's not why most of us run though.
I should point out that I was a sprinter in my youth and suffered normal sprinting injuries back then--most of which I now understand NEVER healed. They are BACK. Hamstrings, hips, feet--I remember the injuries now--40 years later. When I was in my 20's I would never have imagined running a marathon.
I'm still fast, but sprinting for seniors is not a popular pursuit in many places. In recovering from my latest marathon injury I found that some track work and stair runs helped the really bad knee (as opposed to the less bad knee).
The intent here is to pass on some training thoughts (most training programs are not suited to people in the mature years). Then there are equipment comments--little things that give an edge and make the run more fun. Nutrition/hydration ideas will be included too, along with some running stories--stupid things I've done and lived to tell about, miraculous visions never captured on camera and some humor too.
I've been running daily since I was a 13 with some time out for injuries, bad behavior, more injuries and still more injuries. Now I've arrived at a rather advanced age--nearly 64 and I'm still running. I ran my first half marathon in 2008, a half with Team in Training in 2009, a full with Team in Training in 2010 and another full with Team in Training in 2011. Had injuries in all those--some worse than others, but enjoyed the overall experience.
The OCD thing I mention propels me to learns LOTS about anything I become immersed in. Running is no exception. I listen to coaches, read books, try new ideas and never give up hope that the right combination of training, equipments, etc. will turn the clock back and I'll be able to run a 5:30 marathon.
Don't laugh--I never inferred I was fast, just still running.
One of the sobering things about running in races past 60 is that there are no casual, slow old people out running. The only old people out running are pretty darn fast. As a result you just aren't going to be very impressed with how you did in your age group. There are people there who have run 30+ marathons and can smoke you big time. That's not why most of us run though.
I should point out that I was a sprinter in my youth and suffered normal sprinting injuries back then--most of which I now understand NEVER healed. They are BACK. Hamstrings, hips, feet--I remember the injuries now--40 years later. When I was in my 20's I would never have imagined running a marathon.
I'm still fast, but sprinting for seniors is not a popular pursuit in many places. In recovering from my latest marathon injury I found that some track work and stair runs helped the really bad knee (as opposed to the less bad knee).
The intent here is to pass on some training thoughts (most training programs are not suited to people in the mature years). Then there are equipment comments--little things that give an edge and make the run more fun. Nutrition/hydration ideas will be included too, along with some running stories--stupid things I've done and lived to tell about, miraculous visions never captured on camera and some humor too.
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