You've Got To Be Kidding....

I don't mean to knock La Sportiva, but $45 for their hobnails?  As you may recall, dear reader, I used hex screws I bought at the local hardware box store for significantly less money, and they worked just fine.  Here is my post about it.

Just thought I'd pass along my (apparent) wisdom on this... :)

Year End Review

First things first... as a bookend to my first run of the year, I did a trail run.  At the beginning of the year, it was sorta by accident, but with a very happy ending.  Today, it was intentional.  I ran on the Bull Run Regional Trail.  I ran 6 miles, at a slow pace (11:58) but I had to walk a lot of steep hills (when they put in steps in the trail, you know it's steep, plus there was actually a switch-back to go up one hill!).  In the past, I know I have gone faster, but since I'm still in an off-season, I figure I'm doing pretty well on trails.

Now, 2009:  In 2009, I ran 902 miles, so I met my goal that I set one week ago, but through a little investigation (on my own blog), I seemed to have missed my original goal of 1,100 miles (whoops!). Even so, I feel good about my year, particularly the past several months, as I've been able to keep running after my fall marathon. In 2008, I slacked off a lot in the fall into the winter, but this year, I kept my running up (now, the distances dropped off significantly after the race, but I still ran on average every other day).  Now, the downside of my training this year was the Spring.  I got injured while training for the Shamrock marathon this spring, so I pretty much stopped running, with a low of 4 runs in May.  Over the summer, I signed up for the Richmond Marathon, so that gave me the spark I needed to start running again (plus, I had some time to heal my injuries).

Here's graph of my running in 2009:

How have I done over the years?  Good question! Here's the answer:

Trending over the past couple of years:

2007 Goal: 1,300 miles.  Actual: 1,400 miles, 2 marathons (great year!)

2008 Goal: 1,300 miles, 4 Races.  Actual: 1,066 miles, 4 races

2009 Goal: 1,100 miles.  Actual: 900 miles, 2 races

Now, 2010:  Hmmm, good question.  Maybe 1,000 miles and 3 races?  I think that sounds safe :)

Errata:  In the fall, I discovered Wordle, which collects words you have (in this case, a blog) and prints them out by size in a graphic file:  Here's mine for 2009:

I thought it was interesting.  Here's the link so that you can create your own:  www.wordle.net, with, of course, the link to mine:  John's wordle.  

Let's hope for a great 2010, not only in running, but in all aspects of life!

Keep your run on.

Almost There!

892.24 miles as of this morning, 7-something to go.  I think I'm going to make it.  Now, I ended up running 6, 6.5, and 5 miles since I announced to the (zero) people reading my blog that I wanted to run 900 miles this year, with 8 days to go...  Now, with 3 days to go, I'm in good shape.  Since the snow has (mostly) melted, it's been pretty good on the paths.  Plus, I've been running pretty fast (for me) -- sub 9:00's for the past week.  I'm going to try to keep with with this pace to see how it goes....

What do I need to do in January in order to sign up for the North Face Endurance Challenge?  Not sure yet, but at the very least, I need to keep 100+ % of my training for the National (Half) Marathon  I wonder when the race will fill up?
in March.  Training doesn't officially start until mid-January, so I need to find something else to do in order to prove to myself that I can run 50k in June.

Normal(?) Run

Well, not a snowy run, not an icy run, but a normal run.  I'm on my quest for 900 miles in 2009, and I was/am about 26 miles away from that, so I ran 6 miles today.  I was able to run on the asphalt (albeit very wet asphalt), but was able to get 6 in.  Today I ran Penderbrook / Fairfax Farms.  I last ran this course in the Spring in a hard rain, so I guess I didn't realize just how hilly it was.  It was a light rain, so it didn't take my mind off the hills.  I felt every uphill.

However, I ran a good pace.  My doctor and my physical therapist both say I need to get new shoes, so I'm trying to get my miles in my current shoes while I save up.  However, it'll be very interesting to see how a more stable shoe feels after running in neutral shoes for the past two years (this while all the press plus podcasts are touting the benefits of running in very light shoes or even barefoot!).

900 in 2009?

Just noticed that I have run 874 miles this year.  This is well off my goal of 1,000 miles (probably due to the 2-3 month hiatus I took in the Spring).  However, it is possible to get 25 more miles in in 2009?  I have 8 more days (well, probably closer to 7 as it's not likely I'm running on Christmas Day).  My running has been off-peak as of late.  I'm not running more than 4 or so miles at a stretch during the week, but no more than 6 on my 'long run'.  

It's doable, but I'd need to push it to make it.

Trail running.... Well, the North Face is putting on the Endurance Challenge (again) in the Washington DC area.  They moved the race to early June (instead of September the past couple years).  Doable? Yes. do I want to?  I dunno. I had trouble with the 50k training 2 years ago (they actually cancelled the race due to heavy rain from hurricane remnants coming up the coast).  I need to think about it some more.... Injury-free? Not yet.  The physical therapy is helping my right foot, but we'll see about my left knee.  They can only do one part at a time.

Icy Run

Well, I'm stoked.  I read about using metal screws (the hex ones) in an old pair of running shoes last year (after I had trouble running in snow and ice), and decided to give it a shot this year.  Well, it works!  I used about 11 screws in each shoe (ranging from 3/8" to 1/2") and was able to get a very good run today in my neighborhood.  I didn't slip on the street (I was worried about that) nor did I slip on the ice/snow/slush.  In fact, I had very good grip considering.  

I ran 4.01 miles at an 8:50 pace, which is very good, considering I had to share the single road lane with other cars (meaning I had to stop several times).  I actually preferred running on the softer surfaces, as I felt pressure on the sole of my feet where the screws where (I didn't feel the screws themselves, but felt the uneven surface). On the ice/snow/slush, I didn't feel the screws, and since I had such good traction, I sought those surfaces out.  In addition, I stayed in my neighborhood, as, alas, VDOT hasn't plowed too much.  I kept off the main road as I would have run on the asphalt surface.

All in all, a very successful run in the snow!

My shoe:

Snow Run

Today, so to make sure that I could say it, did a snow run.  It was 25 degrees, the sun had just come out, and I ran 3 miles (I forget my pace, but it was slow).  I ran in 8 inches of soft powder, ice, packed snow, and everything in-between.  While they hadn't plowed my street yet, the main roads were very runnable (and drivable).  I kept the pace easy, and ran in my trail running shoes.  If I manage to get out of the house today, I'll try to get some 1/2 inch metal screws so that I can try the home-made yak-traks so that I can run outside tomorrow.  Given some melting, tomorrow's run will  be much more treacherous, as the roads will be very icy in the morning.

At least the second day wasn't windy

The past two runs were in O'Fallon, Illinois. The first run was done
in a windy, 27 degree morning (wind chill 16). Once my face got numb,
it was better. Fortunately, I brought clothes for 20+ degrees;
unfortunately, I neglected to account for wind chill. The run wasn't
too bad though. I averaged an 8:45 pace for 4.5 miles.

The second run was done in 16 degree weather, but it wasn't windy. I'm
not sure how I would have handled that much cold *plus* wind, but I
didn't have to. My face hurt for a mile or so, I think because of my
eyeglasses (they got very cold very quickly). That run was done
slightly faster (8:42 pace) for 4.1 miles.

I'm traveling today, so not much chance for a run.

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Starting Again

This week I ran 14 miles across 3 runs. Not too bad for an 'offseason'
week, but I hope to increase the mileage over the next couple of weeks
to the 20-ish range.

This week I also began physical therapy. This was as a response to a
doctor visit to check on my left knee, left ankle and right foot. No
broken bones and highly unlikely of any stress fractures, but most
likely a neuroma (nerve damage) at least on my foot. Nothing obvious
found on my other issues. Both the doctor and the physical therapist
recommended more stabilizing shoes though (ascis to be precise). So,
since my adidas are done (600+ miles on them), I guess my next shoes
are the ascis 2100 series shoe. I used to run in them a while back and
they are good shoes. It is weird though that both people recommended
them.

Next week? A business trip to the Midwest (expect cold!) but hopefully
will be able to run 4 days, but its tough on 'travel' days. I want to
keep my runs easy and not too long, but will need to go back-to-back
days to accommodate flights.

We'll see!

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