tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21004666804686775822024-03-13T04:42:30.857-04:00Isn't It Supposed To Get Easier?A fairly one-dimensional blog about running (with a very occasional commentary about life, but you already read enough of those, right?)John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-78670020063678541702010-06-06T14:49:00.000-04:002010-06-06T14:49:05.632-04:00Hellacious Blister<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two runs to note here, since my last post....</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Friday, lunch time. Decided to run in the heat of the day (mid 80's, hot, and humid). Since I haven't acclimated to the heat yet, what's the best way to run? Right in the middle of the day! No, not really. It sucked. Big time. I ran in my 5Fingers, thinking that I could increase my mileage in them by now. However, I knew I was in trouble because at 1.3 miles (while stopping at a light), I noticed that I already had hot spots on my feet where I usually get blisters on longer 5Finger runs. This didn't bode well for my 5-miler... At mile 4, I had to start walking... a lot, because my left foot was hurting really bad. When I got back, I confirmed that I had a *huge* blister that went across two toes (in width) *plus* major bruising underneath the blister. When I popped it (I had to... I could hardly walk on it), it streamed a bloody pus (sorry, were you eating?) like a hose for a few seconds. It didn't just dribble; it shot out! yuck. Anyway, it still hurts to walk on and I think I bruised my foot as well, because...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yesterday, I ran around 6:30 pm. Again, it was hot and humid (around 84 at run time). Still sunny, still very humid (the weather guy said it was the most humid day of the year so far). I was supposed to do 6, but the time of day, the heat, plus the foot bruising (and probably another blister I can't seem to pop) beat me out of it, and I lumbered in with 4 miles. I was exhausted as well. However, I got 24 miles in this week, which is good, as I'm gearing up for some sort of race in the fall, and I need to actually follow some sort of training plan. Maybe a 1/2 marathon in October, maybe a trail long run (by myself), still dunno what, but either way, I need to start officially training for something.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This past week I also started watching what I eat. Not a diet, per se, but tracking how many calories I eat during the day. It has got me thinking just how much I snack, and I *am* trying to keep the calorie intake reasonable. I even add 110 calories of total calorie input I should have that day for every mile I run (this has an extra incentive to run more!). I could not keep a static calorie intake if I ran, say, 6 miles that day. I would be exhausted (and starving). Besides, after running 6+ miles at a time, I get ravenous about 3 hours later. Thanks to My Lovely Wife to helping me track my calories.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-86947810787938454722010-05-31T17:19:00.000-04:002010-05-31T17:19:37.443-04:00Extreme Hill Workouts<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After two hill workouts, my quads are toast This weekend, my family spent the weekend at Wintergreen Resort. It was a lot of fun. We hiked, the kids did the climbing wall, enjoyed a beer fest, and all and all, just had a good time. I ran twice in the mountains as well.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the first run, I ascended 700 feet and descended 700 feet, with a total upper and lower altitude of 3900 and 3000 feet. I ran 5.5 miles total, but due to the extreme hills, I had to walk up the steepest parts. Even so, I managed a 10:50 pace, which, considering the hills, was pretty good. I definitely felt my quads on the downhill portions (which I ended up running, or more appropriately, shuffling, instead of walking). I felt great at the end though, and I was very glad I was able to run.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This morning, I ran *just* four miles, at a 9:48 pace. This was just an altitude change of 550 feet, but all at one go. I started out around 3,550 feet and ran down to 3,000 feet, then back again. Needless to say, my first two miles (running a net downhill) was significantly faster than my uphill back. However, I ran all the way up this time, although at times I definitely was shuffling, making a very slow progress. Ironically, I was listening to a walk/run podcast during my first run (where I walked and ran) and listened to a podcast where they described how to run hills during second run (where I..um.. ran up the hills). I kept my cadence up during the second run where I was shuffling along, so that was good. Plus, if my quads weren't trashed the first time, they were definitely trashed the second run. They hurt even now, a good 7 hours later.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hopefully, this week will be better than my last week, where I ran exactly 1 time (the first mountain run described above). There are so many hilly areas around here, I should take advantage of them. Heading out 20-some miles out west, I can find some really good hills. I just need to go out and do it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-59148433043791908632010-05-22T16:44:00.000-04:002010-05-22T16:44:32.609-04:00Long Run and Shirt Review<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's start with the shirt review and get that out of the way... A month or two ago, I received a free t-shirt in the mail after signing up <a href="http://stinkatnothing.com/index.php/the-science/">here</a>. It is an Agion shirt with one side treated with an odor reducer, and the other side treated with nothing. A while back I did a test where I wore the shirt out for three runs without washing. I overwhelmed the odor reducer, but on the other hand, I *did* wear the shirt three times in the hot sun sweating up a storm! Now, let me say one thing, when I run and sweat, I don't exactly smell like roses. I tend to smell like, well, a guy who ran outside and sweated a lot. So, now I wore the shirt two times in a row, again, without washing. The treated side smelled a little bit, but I really had to get up close -- *much* closer than I would expect someone to come up to sniff me. The untreated side? whew... I didn't need to get close to smell it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How did the Agion shirt do? Very well. The odor treatment (or should that be the anti-odor treatment) worked very well. It's not supposed to totally eliminate the odor (or maybe it does), but it significantly reduces them... so much so that I *could* run a couple of times without washing the shirt (not that I would ever do that, no, never). </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I not only got a free shirt, but I got a shirt that doesn't smell on one side. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Case Closed.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, today I ran 10 miles (this happened to be the second run in the second test in the Agion shirt). The mugginess in Washington DC is starting up this year and this morning, even at 6:00 am, a touch of the mugginess was there. I ran a sorta-new route, going on one route towards Wegman's, but then crossing Route 29 onto a neighborhood road. Now, I don't recommend crossing Route 29 during the day, but at 6:30 am (and then again at 6:50 am), the road was pretty clear. I was able to cross without the cross walk one way, but had to wait a minute or so crossing back. The run itself? The first 8 miles were great :) At half-way, I was very very strong. 2 miles later I still felt good. At 8 miles, pretty good. Miles 9 and 10? Not so good. The last mile was about 15 seconds slower than my average pace. My right plantar was acting up a bit as well. All in all, only three runs this week, but still, 22 miles. So that is not *too* bad... but I need to get my miles up (and I need to figure out what I want to run this fall so I choose a training program).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, today I bought <a href="http://www.brooksrunning.com/product/1100641D/123205/Ghost%202">Brooks Ghost 2</a> shoes. I'll let you know how they do, but when I went to the running store (<a href="http://varunner.com/">VA Runner</a>, great store!) and told them that my 'other' running shoes were the Vibram 5 Fingers, and suggested that I wanted a neutral shoe, the Brooks Ghost 2 were one of the ones they brought out. Historically, I'm used to the Brooks Adrenaline, more of a stability shoes, so my experience with Brooks has been with a heavier shoe. These were as comfortable as my Saucony Guide shoes (my most comfortable shoes -- EVER). But, the proof of the pudding is in the eating (no, really, that's how the proper saying goes -- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudding#Cultural_references">check it out</a>), so maybe I'll have another review after a hundred or so miles in these shoes.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-2628119646184793232010-05-21T18:37:00.000-04:002010-05-21T18:37:15.903-04:00New Distance for 5Fingers<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, yesterday evening, I ran a new distance with my 5Fingers -- 6.29 miles. I ran from Reston Town Center onto the W&OD trail after work -- something I can thank My Lovely Wife for, as she took care of dinner for the kids, allowing me to do the run after work.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I ran at an 8:53 pace, which was faster than my previous run in my regular running shoes, so I was happy about that. However, at about mile 5 I started getting hot spots on the bottom of my feet. At the end, I had blisters on my forefeet (close to my toes). I'm sure that was totally due to the fact that I'm landing on my midfoot, and probably twisting the bottom of my foot on the ground before take-off. It's causing a rub on my feet. Now, I'm probably not doing to do anything about it, and my feet will get some callus' on them, so the blisters will stop. On the other hand, my feet were a bit tender at work, although shoes helped :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get a long run in to round the week at a whopping 3 runs :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-84062326581399644722010-05-18T21:27:00.000-04:002010-05-18T21:27:27.877-04:00I Have Been Running, You Know<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">... Not that you've known from my posts, or lack thereof. The past two weeks have sort of fizzled out.. Two weeks ago (or, the week of my most recent post), I ran nearly 14 miles. Last week, I ran 14.25 miles. Both weeks I didn't run Friday or Saturday. This week's start wasn't much better. I didn't run Sunday or Monday, but finally ran this evening... but only be bringing my running stuff to the office so that I could run before I went home and 'settled down' for the evening -- which is easy to do once you walk inside the front door.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, this past weekend, My Lovely Wife ran a half marathon! She ran in the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg, VA. It was a good weekend, and good weather (although a bit warm my late morning on Sunday). The whole family had fun. She was very happy to get the race under her belt, and happy that it was a half marathon.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now what.. I don't know. I've been in a 'base training' mode for months now, and need to change it up a bit. I need to figure out what sort of races there are this Fall, and also figure out what sort of distances I should consider. Should I go for speed, and concentrate on 5k's?, or go the total opposite and walk/run an ultra? What say you?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-75987929174613464842010-05-05T19:45:00.000-04:002010-05-05T19:45:27.094-04:00There's such as thing as a 'bad' run...<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, with 4 runs (okay, maybe three) this week, I realized that last Saturday's run can be termed 'bad'. Not just bad, but terrible....</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I ran a few miles on Sunday, one mile with My Number One Son, and then another few miles by myself... then Tuesday evening (6 miles at 8:35 pace) and just now (another evening run -- 4.5 miles at 8:43 pace). I felt great for all the runs. Now, my right plantar still hurts, but it doesn't actually kill me the next day (unlike in the past), so I'll take that as a good sign. Today's run was in my 5Fingers! I was able to handle the distance without pain (always a good thing), although I stepped on a rock with my right heel, *exactly* where my right plantar hurts on my way back, which *really really* hurt. However, within a half-mile of the 'rock incident', I was fine (thanks for asking). But, I think I"m getting used to the 5Fingers. I'm still going to take it easy with them (not run too far), but over time, I still hope to increase the distance to 6 miles or so.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The rest of this week? Dunno. I'm going camping Friday afternoon through Sunday morning with Cub Scouts, so I won't have time to run. So I"m hoping to get 8-10 miles on Friday morning or noon (not sure which). Since I probably won't be able to run tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening isn't looking good either, I'm not sure I could run tomorrow (Thursday) night, and then a long run Friday morning. Who knows. I didn't plan this week correctly :/</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-5940720868691402902010-05-01T20:41:00.000-04:002010-05-01T20:41:32.414-04:00One Run Past a Good Week<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Up until this evening's run, this running week was very good. I had very good runs, including an 8-miler, well in the 8-something pace. My right plantar didn't hurt (too much), and 24 hours after a run, I hardly felt it. However, this evening changed all of that.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Suffice it to say, that if you have one or more of the following conditions, your run may not be considered 'a great run':</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>It's evening and you are used to running early in the morning</li>
<li>You just had a dinner-sized meal</li>
<li>It's 81 degrees, hot and sunny, when you are used to running in cooler temps when the sun is first rising</li>
<li>You didn't do pushups 'to exhaustion' earlier in the day</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have done one or more of these items, or in my case, did all four, well, you may not have the best run.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This evening's run was kinda sucky. It started out fine. I ran 2 miles and I was tracking pretty well. 3 miles, and I was beginning to suffer a bit, 4 miles, and it was over. I had to begin the first of several walking breaks. Towards the last mile, I think I was walking at least half the time. Fortunately, My Lovely Wife was driving home just when I was three-quarters of a mile home, jokingly asked if I needed a ride, and was surprised when I said 'Yes'. Boy, it was a bad run.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, I will have been glad to get some miles in today, because in the end, there are no 'bad' runs, because your worst run is better than not running at all (unless you are injured).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Total for the week 25.5, so that wasn't too bad.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-61483468764892097232010-04-29T16:15:00.000-04:002010-04-29T16:15:50.656-04:00Some Things Considered<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever wonder how your life would be changed if you left earlier or arrived later than your actual arrival or departure? I was thinking that when I was heading to the airport last Sunday. I was thinking back to after my senior year in high school. My friends and I had gone to the Ocean City, Maryland for beach week before (or maybe it was after) Graduation. On the last day, I caught a ride with a buddy to go back home to do something or other. It turns out that the other group of people I was hanging out with took their rental house security deposit and went water skiing. I missed out of that because I left early. I was bummed when I found out (apparently I still am because I was thinking about it 20+ years later). Anyway, something like that happened again this past Sunday. I got to the airport a little early as I wasn't sure about security lines, etc, when I saw my oldest sister in the security line ahead of me! Now, my sister lives in Kansas and doesn't often come out this-a-way. She was here for some event nearby and was only here for the weekend. I could not even calculate the odds of this happening and the events that needed to occur for this to happen (for starters, my business trip was delayed a week). We couldn't even have planned it better if we tried. Anyway, that was really nice that I got to see her. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, I ran some this week too. I ran 6 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 8 miles this morning. My pace was very good too. It seemed that the run </span><a href="http://yagerrunner.blogspot.com/2010/04/running-with-group.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">last Wednesday</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> really got my pace going. I ran well into the 8-something pace monday and Wednesday, and something like an 8:25 for the 8-miler this morning. I was really happy with that. Now, my right plantar hurts a little bit when I stand up and start walking (since I was flying today, I hobbled a bit funny when I got off the plane). I'll try to (re)start my effort to run on trails or other soft surfaces on weekends. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of trails, considering that although my speed is coming along, and that I seem to be able to keep the speed up on longer runs, I'm not sure I should sign up for a race (read: marathon) this fall. Mostly due to my plantar fasciitus. I fear the long runs required to train will prevent it from healing. However, that doesn't preclude me from taking on the distance this fall on the </span><a href="http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/bullrun/?pg=bridlepath.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bull Run Regional Trail</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Since the trail goes on for 20+ miles, I could easily go out 13.1 (and then back) and end up running the full marathon distance. I'm not sure I'm going to do this, as I'm just mulling it over in my mind (also still thinking of an official fall marathon as well). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During my run today, I was also thinking of how many people run 20+ miles when they are *not* training for a marathon**. I know *I* haven't run 20*** unless I've been marathon training. If I were to do the marathon distance trail run this fall, it would be the first time I've run over 20**** miles without training for an official marathon. Hmm... should I do that?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another part of me is wondering if I can qualify for the </span><a href="http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marathon Maniacs</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. To qualify for the Bronze level, I need to either (1) Run 2 Marathons within a 16 day time frame, OR (2) Run 3 Marathons within a 90 day time frame. Of course, this is totally opposite the paragraph above (that is, *not* training for an official marathon to avoid further injury). Oh well....</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** The number 20 has now appeared 3 times in this post. You should use that number to play the lottery!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*** 4 times!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**** 5 times!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*****</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-45044216567433569492010-04-22T21:37:00.000-04:002010-04-22T21:37:12.097-04:00Running with a Group, Part Two / Another Evening Run<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do want to point out one thing about last night's run -- although I *think* I ran an 8:20-8:25 pace, it was no walk in the park. I was beat. I was *happy* I had to wait 2-3 minutes at the intersection going out, and happy I had to wait 1-2 minutes at the same intersection coming back. I was beat at the end. I wasn't going race pace, but I was close. *That* is the biggest thing to (re) learn about running with a group -- don't go too fast. I could handle it, but it was definitely a hard run.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight? Another evening run. My Number One Son had another sports practice tonight, so I took the opportunity to get another run in. Where he practices is roughly 1.2 miles from a path going to </span><a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/ecl/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellanor C. Lawrence park</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (according to my Garmin) so I headed there. Apparently, I keep forgetting that I can't do simple math while on a run, so although I chose a path where it ended 2.45 miles in, I couldn't remember that I had to add .55 X 2 -- or roughly a mile -- to my run to make it an even 6 miles. I got the .55 mile part, so I added another 1/2 mile to my run, or thereabouts, but at the end, I only had 5.44 miles. I had forgotten to add *another* .55 miles to my run to make it 6. Oh well, my legs were shot anyway (see above). In fact, my quads are a bit sore from running, and of course, my right heel hurts. Some say it's plantar fasciitis, and they are probably right. All I know is that I wake up in the morning and need to hobble around for a few minutes until my heel can stand walking normally on it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers.</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-65694296046479767262010-04-22T15:52:00.000-04:002010-04-22T15:52:25.122-04:00Running with a Group<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, I went on my very first Wednesday evening run with </span><a href="http://www.restonrunners.org/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reston Runners</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> / </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.potomacriverrunning.com/">Potomac River Running</a> (PRR)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. At the PRR Reston store, at 6:30 pm on Wednesdays, the store and the club offer a 50 minute run on the </span><a href="http://www.wodfriends.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">W&OD trail</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I haven't run with Reston Runners in years, although I do belong, and I've never started a run at PRR. I also realized that I don't run with a group very often, but I'm getting ahead of myself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pre-run was good. Since I knew zero people there, I didn't talk much, but I noticed a lot of race shirts (rule #1: on a group run, flaunt the fact that you have done some races!). There was a representative from Mizuno there with a raffle, so I entered my name. I couldn't / wouldn't enter any other personal information about myself, that was good :) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we started. I immediately started running at my running pace, but apparently others started running at a warmup pace (I guess that's rule #2 about group running...). It didn't matter too much, as different groups started running their own paces. There were two people who really just took off, running what had to be a sub-8 minute mile. I hung out in the second group, but took the hills pretty hard, so I went ahead of them. A few of them caught up and passed me at an intersection (we lost about 2-3 minutes waiting there), and they never looked back. I kept my pace up pretty well though -- I think I was running a 8:20-8:25 average, with some 1/2 miles splits at around an 8:00 minute/mile. That's the big thing about group running, I tend to run faster than when I'm by myself. However, I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 25 minutes, I turned around, and started back. For some reason, I got it my head that I needed to be back at 45 minutes (instead of 50), so every time I looked at my watch, I thought I was behind, so I sped up a bit. With about a mile to go, I realized that I was not tracking correctly, but by then, I knew I was doing a negative split, so I kept it up. In the end, I did a negative split by about a minute, so 49 minutes overall. I'm guessing I did an 8:20 or 8:25 pace overall, so I"m guessing that I did 5.88 miles (since I knew I ran for 49 minutes). Since I didn't have the Garmin, it was guess work, but the W&OD trail is marked very half mile, so this was close.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the run, I stretched my calves and heel as much as I could while waiting for the raffle. I didn't win anything, but I did notice a cool marathon training shirt sold at the store, so I'll need to remember that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will I do it again? Yes. I enjoy it, but need to remember two things when running with a group: 1) wear a race shirt; and 2) wear clean clothes (see </span><a href="http://yagerrunner.blogspot.com/2010/04/non-morning-runs.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this post</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for more info on this). Note: I *did* follow #2 last night, but it's always a good thing to remember...</span><br />
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</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-43430581694817664282010-04-17T14:55:00.000-04:002010-04-17T14:55:22.943-04:00Non-morning runs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursdays are a bit hectic, as my Number 1 Son has Flag Football practice at 5:30 pm. It does for 1 1/2 hours. This week, I decided to use my time a bit more wisely than last week, and try to get a run in. Now, I had never run in this particular neighborhood before, so it was an adventure in itself. Plus, it was a little on the warm side (when you normally run at O'Dark-Thirty, any time with the sun is 'a little on the warm side'). I ended up doing 6 miles at a 8:59 pace. The neighborhoods were great. I ended up running through some very different parts, and it was obvious they different parts were built in many time time periods, all the way from the late 60's/early 70's to some being built right now. The only bad part was that I was running during evening rush hour, so I had to wait several minutes at one light (today was one of the only times I stopped my watch during these long waits).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday? Lunch-time run. I ran to the local REI store (3 miles one-way) to pick up a shirt and a nalgene bottle. I then ran home. The pace was a little slower, as I still felt sluggish from the day before, but I had a negative split. I also took a 15 minute break between runs, so on </span><a href="http://buckeyeoutdoors.com/training/traininglog?viewid=2965"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">buckeyeoutdoors</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I tracked it as 2 3-mile runs, versus 1 6-mile run. My right plantar hurt after the run, and pretty much hurt all afternoon into the evening. Today, due to a hectic schedule, but also due to my plantar, I decided to take a rest day. Hopefully, I'll be able to run before church on Sunday, but only a short run to ease my way back to the week.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I received an Agion t-shirt in the mail by signing up </span><a href="http://stinkatnothing.com/index.php/the-science/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I have been meaning to write my review of it, but wanted a few good runs in first to really test the anti-stink power of the shirt. Early reviews though.. it seems to work. I wore the shirt three times (without washing) to really begin to test it. I stank a little, but when compared to a shirt I wore two times** (again, without washing), whooooooeeeeoooo, there was a difference. The older shirt (worn twice) was noticeable from several feet away, while I had to get up close and personal (actually holding the shirt up to my nose) on the Agion shirt. Now, I normally won't walk up to somebody, grab a piece of their shirt, and hold it up to my nose -- well, normally, that is -- so, I guess the Agion shirt passed the first test. Now, to test it after washing to see if anything of the magic components washed out. I'll write more after more science experiments with the shirt.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** Note: I only wore the shirt two times without washing for science reasons. No, I would never do that outside of laboratory conditions.. Well, mostly never.. that is, sometimes.. well, okay, often... happy?</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-73537945982437267832010-04-14T18:33:00.000-04:002010-04-14T18:33:52.253-04:00What's Going On?<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't know what is going on this week. Last week, I did my last real run on Friday (documented in <a href="http://yagerrunner.blogspot.com/2010/04/no-groove.html">this post</a>). Saturday, I ran a mile with Number One Son (but didn't track it). I didn't run again until Tuesday, a 6 miler, but very sluggish. This morning, I ran 3 miles in my 5Fingers (btw, I figured instead of typing VFF like the VFF fanatics, I can type 5Fingers, with my reasoning being I'm less of a fanatic). This was *very* sluggish. I originally was going to do 4, but after running 1/4 mile in the 5Fingers, I figured I didn't want to injure myself, so I dropped it to 3. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tomorrow? Who knows... Hopefully 6, but also expect it to be sluggish (how's that for positive thinking!).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The good part of the week (here's the positive thinking) is that I can finally wake up early again. However, I'm *very* beat by the end of the day. You know, if it were going into Winter, I'd understand, with the fewer hours of sunlight, etc., etc., but geesh... the days are getting *longer*! You think I'd be rarin' to go each and every day.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh well. :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-86476053890481374492010-04-09T11:50:00.000-04:002010-04-09T11:50:22.177-04:00No Groove<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Didn't have any groove this morning. Was going to do 10 miles, but after started, realized that since I hadn't run 10 miles yet this week, and I didn't want my 'long run' to be > 50% of my weekly total (I actually shoot for my long run being no more than 30% of my weekly total), I cut my long run to 9 miles (which, in my book, doesn't actually make it a 'long run', more of a long-ish run, but I'm being picky now).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I came up with every single excuse to prevent myself from heading out the door this morning, including running 2 houses away, and then turning around to get a long sleeve shirt on (although it has been quite warm this past week, a cold front came in, making the temps in the 50's, but there was a very stiff wind out this morning, on top of a rainy night, making it a little chilly this morning). I was actually lucky that I got up enough guff to go back outside after committing a cardinal sin of using excuses not to run -- going back inside the house to get something.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a 1/2 mile, I still wasn't motivated. After 1 mile, I wasn't motivated, but was committed. After 3 miles, I was thinking about cutting the run short. After 4.5 miles (the turnaround), I was thinking that soon, very soon, I would get a groove going so that I wouldn't look like I was lurching down the road (I'm sure, well, pretty sure, I wasn't actually doing that, but it sure felt like it). At 8 miles, I thought a felt a groove coming on, but it quickly went away. At 9 miles, it was over, and thank God for that. It was a bad run. My time wasn't too bad (9:05 pace), but I felt terrible (or should it be 'turrible'). My right plantar made itself known, but my left knee kindly didn't. I just need to stretch (a lot) today.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, not that I posted, but I ran two other times this, both of them to Cub Scout adult/leader events (i.e., no kids). The first night (yes, Night... for some reason, mornings weren't kind to me this week either, so no early morning runs) I ran 1.3 miles to the meeting, cleaned up, had a meeting, and then figured out a way to get 2.3 miles in on the way home, making a 3.6 mile run. The next night, I packed up with new clothes and a sandwich, ran 3.6 miles to the meeting, changed, cleaned up, ate the sandwich, had a meeting, and then 1.3 miles home, for a total of 5 miles.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, a light week, certainly not what I am intending, but hoping to get a Saturday run in. The morning is out, but hopefully in the afternoon?</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-83114295988206997152010-04-07T05:43:00.000-04:002010-04-07T05:43:24.499-04:00Slooooow Start<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's been a slow start to the week, pretty much a downer from last week. Let's see, Sunday, Rest Day, Monday, Skipped Run, Tuesday AM, Skipped Run. Tuesday Night -- Finally got a (short) run in. I had a Cub Scout meeting Tuesday evening, so I decided to run there and back. Not too bad a run -- the total was less than 4 miles, and there was a 2 hour break in the middle, but at least I got something in.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's another meeting tonight. Dare I risk running to that one too? Now, keep in mind, that I don't bring a change of clothes with me, so I do try to put a little distance between me and the rest of the folks. I also wouldn't consider running 5-6 miles TO a meeting, although I would love to run 5-6 coming home, but somehow don't have the fortitude to change my route enough to get the distance in coming home, plus it's late.</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-14366931822304989882010-04-03T18:48:00.000-04:002010-04-03T18:48:53.348-04:00*Now* I Can Say It's Been a Good Week<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you remember yesterday, I was hestitant to say that it was a good week, because I still had a run today. Well, 10.12 miles later, *now* I can say it was a good week. 38.57 miles. 6 days of running out of 7. Not bad. Of course, I had to go on vacation to do this. Wonder if I can make it a habit. Well, I could, but living out in the street would put a damper to my running....</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I ran 10.12 miles at a 9:05 pace. It sounds better than it felt. For the first 5 (!) miles, I felt sluggish. I couldn't get a rhythm going. I started out pretty early, but since I was going to finish up in daylight, I didn't bring my night running gear (reflective vest, headlamp). The ironic thing was that I was listening to a podcast where they were interviewing the President of Go Motion Gear -- the maker of high-end lighting for runners. Go figure. I thought very highly of the interview, but after checking their website, felt that although the gear looks very good, I don't want to spent $80 on lighting. You should <a href="http://gomotiongear.com/blog/">check it out</a> though. I personally like the waist belt add-on, and they are supposed to work very well, but $80 is $80.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope to continue my streak next week by running at least 5 days. Tomorrow, however, I'm taking off.</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-71739853720504630492010-04-02T19:06:00.000-04:002010-04-02T19:06:36.091-04:00Rollin' 'cross the Bridge<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week we were on vacation at Sunset Beach, NC. It's a wonderful place, where you can relax, take it easy, and of course, get some good runs in! Let's get the run recap out of the way...</div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>Monday: 4.71 at an 8:49 pace. It was windy and a bit rainy, but overall, a good run. My calves were tight, but even though I ran stopped and stretched at mile 2, I kept a good pace. I was sluggish for first couple miles, as it had been a while since a good run.</li>
<li>Tuesday: Ran a mile with my kids (yes, I'm counting that), and then ran 4 miles with My Lovely Wife. I wore my 5Fingers on this run, and yes, my calves were very tight again! Kept the pace easy though.</li>
<li>Wednesday: 8 miles with My Lovely Wife. Normal shoes this time. Kept pace easy and it was a very good run (mostly because I got to run with my wife!)</li>
<li>Thursday: A Fast 5.7 miles with my normal shoes (with mile 2 and mile 5 at an 8:04 pace), with an overall pace of 8:11. Then I ran 2 miles with my Number One Son. That was good too! (also did the 2 mile run in my 5Fingers).</li>
<li>Friday: Back at home, did an easy 3 miler in my 5Fingers (9:03 pace).</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So far, 28.45 miles. Hopefully, I'll get a good long run in tomorrow to round out the week.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, the Beach. Very nice, very pleasant. Got to stay with My Lovely Wife's parents, so that was very good. Also got to spend time with her Grandmother (Nana), so that was a double-bonus.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUxShBRLxD7p-jMaDsaE6AGz-nk87RiqKC4Nb3LTZV1w3CqmF9C_ujO_qR_FeEdJbvcoYMkXK-IfhUJOhOQZq9_GDAio-t_8s3HU2IAPlSAqeSpD7KynpbTgZnsfI9hAxLOptIg4SfbE/s1600/Draw_bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUxShBRLxD7p-jMaDsaE6AGz-nk87RiqKC4Nb3LTZV1w3CqmF9C_ujO_qR_FeEdJbvcoYMkXK-IfhUJOhOQZq9_GDAio-t_8s3HU2IAPlSAqeSpD7KynpbTgZnsfI9hAxLOptIg4SfbE/s400/Draw_bridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It also may be the last time we got to drive across the old swinging bridge. They are building a new bridge (non-swinging, non-draw) to replace the old one, and it may be done by the time we visit again later this Summer. Who knows. It's a one lane bridge, pretty bumpy (wooden planks on iron or steel -- I think) and you can't go more than 10 mph on it or else it rattles your car apart, but it's been there since 1961 and it has helped defined the beach since. It is pretty much a residential beach, with only a few commercial stores on the beach. I don't know if the new bridge will bring more commercial stores (probably), but I hope they keep the spirit of the beach intact. But enough about that :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did run across the bridge last year, and I don't really recommend it. I ran early in the morning, which was good, as there was less traffic on the bridge. They don't mention pedestrians explicitly, but they say that bicyclists must cross after the cars, so I ran pretty much sprinted across the bridge as fast as I could after the last car, but still didn't make it before the car traffic started coming back the other way. Fortunately, they were nice and drove extra slow when passing me. The new bridge is supposed to have a pedestrian walkway, but we'll see. It's a pretty steep incline (since it's a bridge) so it might be a tough climb. Ask me again later this summer about it!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I won't say that it has been a good week in running, as I still have my long run to go, but actually, it has :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-44205096251055913132010-03-30T21:42:00.001-04:002010-03-30T21:42:19.257-04:00I Guess Last Week Was A 'Down' Week... Since I only ran 5.5 miles. I had two good runs though. The first<br>run was good last week. On Sunday, my Number 1 Son and I ran to his<br>Cub Scout meeting (and then we ran back home). On Tuesday, while on<br>business travel, I ran a bit with a co-worker. That was nice. But that<br>was it. The rest of then week? Nada.<p>This week, a little better. Already ran 9 miles, with a long run<br>coming tomorrow. More news then!<p>-- <br>Sent from my mobile deviceJohn Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-13615928920354113982010-03-20T13:56:00.000-04:002010-03-20T13:56:53.118-04:00No Half Marathon....<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yesterday, I decided not to pick up my registration for the National (Half) Marathon. Things were pretty busy at work and at home, plus, last night was busy for Cub Scouts. Since there was so much going on, plus since this race wasn't one I was really training for, I decided to back out.. So, races this year: 0. :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did run at Burke Lake this morning. I had intended to run 13.5 miles, but ended up running only 9. However, I ran the first 'lap' in my Vibram shoes, and the second lap in my normal shoes. Boy, quite the contrast. First of all, I felt every rock on the path, and some are quite large. I also realized that I paid very close attention to where I was landing my feet in my Vibram shoes because a root or a large rock hurt my feet. Even the small gravel made an impact, so to speak. However, my average for the first lap was.. (get this): 8:48. My body seems to gravitate to this number, as I had two runs last week (6.8 and 12) with the exact same pace.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the second lap, since I decided way early that it was going to be my last lap, I decided to fartlek, or tempo, or something on the course to shake things up (also helped justify losing a lap). As a result, my pace was an 8:12 for 4.5 miles (after running an initial 4.5 miles). So I was happy with that. I wasn't too tired at the end, so that's good as well :) Just to be complete, mile 3 (or mile 8.5) was a 7:43 mile.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have a good run!</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-35663339077499746392010-03-19T09:03:00.000-04:002010-03-19T09:03:51.068-04:00Grand Unveiling<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know all of you have been as anxious as teenage girls before opening night of a Twilight movie while waiting to see what kind of shoes I purchased (well, as least *I* was). Well, the wait is over. Yesterday, in the mail, I received my Vibram Five Fingers KSOs:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkT9Zuj9HFXKP03sm670tmz-VObgWpeKFAPSlW3IImEd4ToVxdcC3EDlxzOb2VDaN9Mk0Zcn34KR8CO5mcG2W8-pCA7gc1LsOCgWD_P-Yyx7AidlWqZNzCaUo86JysSz_hufAU4fHtgCQ/s1600-h/VFF+Pair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkT9Zuj9HFXKP03sm670tmz-VObgWpeKFAPSlW3IImEd4ToVxdcC3EDlxzOb2VDaN9Mk0Zcn34KR8CO5mcG2W8-pCA7gc1LsOCgWD_P-Yyx7AidlWqZNzCaUo86JysSz_hufAU4fHtgCQ/s320/VFF+Pair.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I put them on as soon as I got home, tried them out on the treadmill, and think they will do just fine, thank you very much.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They fit pretty much like a sock (with toes). I originally tried some on at Hudson Trail Outfiitters, and it took me several minutes to get all five toes in the right holes in the shoes (at one point, I had toes in the wrong holes, two toes in the same hole, and every combination you can think of. At times, I have a very sad existence). Well, at home, trying on my Five Fingers on for the first time, I had the same issue.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do they feel? great. They feel fine walking around, and I like the fact that I can *feel* the ground when I walk. How do they feel running? Well, good! Today I ran a total of two miles (I thought it would sound longer if I spelled it out, rather than typing '2') at a 9:43 pace. I didn't intend to run that slow, I just did. I'm getting used to landing on my forefoot and I'm taking noticeably shorter strides, so it'll take a while before I can run more than 3-4 miles in them, and I'm sure that I'll be slow in them as well. I remember that when I started running in my Nike Free's, I couldn't do more than 3 or so miles at first. And running in 3 in those Nike Free shoes felt like running 6 in normal running shoes, due to the extra support your actual legs and feet need to provide in your running (rather than your running shoes). I'm feeling the same here with the Five Fingers (fans call the Vibram Five Fingers the 'VFF' -- I don't think I'm there yet). I felt my feet engaging in my run, and landing on my forefoot adds stress to my tendons, but I think that's a good thing (once they build up strength). As long as I increase my miles very very gradually with these Vibram shoes, I should be okay. If I took off and ran a 10 miler in these shoes, well, my feet wouldn't feel so great.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other think I was worried about (well, worried is a strong word, concerned? fretful?) was how to tell others who I am and who to contact after a car knocks me off the road without my handy-dandy <a href="http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx">Road Id</a>. I use a Road Id on my normal running shoes, as they attach to my laces. Well, with the Vibram's, no laces. I then remembered that I embraced the concept of Road Id way before they got all the nifty devices (wrist bands, shoe bands, ankle bands, interactive bands, etc.) and I still have the original '<a href="http://www.roadid.com/common/id.aspx?hash=fixx">Fixx</a>' necklace (it looks like a dog tag). The hardest part about the Fixx is remembering to put it on. That's why I got the shoe Id in the first place. (<span style="font-size: x-small;">as you all know, the Fixx was named after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx">Jim Fixx</a>, a popular runner and author who helped start the 2nd running revolution in the 1970's</span>).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All of you who run, get a Road Id. Seriously. Especially out in this area, there's lots of traffic, and if you run early morning, when drivers are mostly just focusing on getting to work, they may not see you. If you are unconscious lying on the side of the road, the Road Id will tell the first responders who you are, emergency contact info, as well as any drug allergies you may have. Oh, and your blood type. Get it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, the great wait is over. Keep on running!</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-37884378637673099222010-03-18T09:09:00.000-04:002010-03-18T09:09:00.003-04:00Comments and Runs<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So after my post yesterday saying that gosh, there's *no* way that pain on my bottom of my heel could be plantar fasciitis, one of my friends comment in facebook, that (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'hate to break the news, but *yes* the pain could certainly be plantar fasciitis, geesh' (maybe I added the 'geesh'). Huh.. she's right. I always thought it was 'old man' pain -- something I got when I woke up and hobbled around the house until it went away. Now that I think about it, it only happened when I increased my mileage, or increased by speed, or just trained in general :-)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So maybe I have it. On the other hand, I've had it for a long time (I think). It only happens after waking up, and after I've been sitting for awhile (mostly after I drive to work on days when I ran that morning). But it goes away, and in the afternoon or evening, don't even feel it (unless I run then). I'll have to keep an eye on it (plus, keep up with my stretching, which I'm not very habitual about).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did run this morning. A nice, easy (9:13 pace), 3 miler wearing my Nike Free's. Plus, the duct tape helped. About a year ago, the heel fabric split along a seam. At first, it didn't really seem to do anything bad. However, this year, very noticeable now that there's a lot of dirt and sand on the roads due to the snow, every time I wore them I would get a pile of sand inside the shoe with the split seam in the heel. So, after applying some very sticky duct tape to seal the seam, and voila! no more sand in my shoes. I have a feeling that the duct tape is a fairly short term fix, but then again, I really don't feel like purchasing another pair of Nike Free's, nor anything made by Nike (<a href="http://yagerrunner.blogspot.com/2009/10/teamsweat.html">click here for why</a>).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tomorrow, I should run. Saturday, the National (Half) Marathon. Metro opens at 5:00 am.. Working backwards to figure out what time I need to wake up to get ready and be at the metro at 5:00 am makes me think that I'll be getting up just as some late night party-goers will just be getting home... oy.</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-89573786846168704832010-03-17T18:52:00.000-04:002010-03-17T18:52:07.417-04:00So Here are the Hills....<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I realized that my long runs and medium runs lately have been on relatively flat surfaces. Why do I say that? because today I ran a hilly course, and I could not, for the life of me, get any real speed. Plus, I was huffing and puffing all the way through.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I ran to Fairfax Corner (via Safeway). I figured I hadn't run that course in awhile and wanted to do 6. Well, I did it. But boy, were there some hills involved! I managed to get under a 9 minute mile, but just. I did an 8:57. With this amount of effort on a flat course, I would have hit 8:40 or below. (I'm actually wondering if my lofty goal of an 8:48 for the National (Half) Marathon is too lofty, as it is not a flat course...) Anyway, at the end of the run, I wasn't in pain, although the bottom of my heel as a little sore (I'm not sure that this is plantor fasciitis or not, as the pain is squarely on the bottom on my heel, rather than closer to the arch. Also, it doesn't seem like my Achilles because, again, it's squarely on the bottom on my heel. I wonder if it's just sore...) Once I walked around a bit, it was fine.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Plus, at work, I didn't get the sore feeling after sitting for a long time. So that's good.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tomorrow? not sure. Hopefully an easy 3.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rock On, Lenny! (now tell me where that line is from!)</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-30742512708879312382010-03-15T20:54:00.000-04:002010-03-15T20:54:36.107-04:00Got it in under the wire<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, what should have been the first run in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) turned out to be.. well, not so much. I woke up overnight with a super stomach-ache, and didn't sleep <strike>well</strike> the rest of night. There was no way I was going to wake up at 4:30 am to run 6 miles. Nor at 5:00 am, nor at 6:00 am. When I finally got up, I was dragging a bit, so stayed home to work.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, around noon, I started perking up...so.... around 5 pm, I went out to do my 6 miles. Now, with Daylight Savings Time, it gets darker later, so I was able to take advantage of that (so that I am a fan of DST, I'm not. It should go away. But this is another post...). Anyway, I ran 6.03 at an 8:40 pace; however, I was huffing and puffing it at 4 miles to do so. Around that time, I was trucking along pretty well, and sure enough, I was getting very tired. However, I wanted to keep a good pace, so I pushed on through. Now, tomorrow, I may feel it, but right now, it was a good run.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, I don't get <strike>any</strike> a lot of comments on my blog page (although I get a few in Facebook), but of the ones, I get, most are in Chinese. I haven't done much research on this, but I think there's some spammers out there who want you or me to click on their comments, because some of the link you can hit are.. well.. semi-adult in nature. They aren't too bad but are just... odd... This is a translation (through <a href="http://babelfish.yahoo.com/">Babelfish</a>) of my most recent comment:</div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bustles about one day crossed finally, has a look at the article transformation mood, also helps you to add oil oh ~</blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yeah, I don't get it either....</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, the <a href="http://www.nationalmarathon.com/">National (Half) Marathon</a> is only days away now. Just gotta figure out logistics. I have to pick up my race packet on Friday waaaaay-a-ways in downtown Washington DC. Plus, I have a Cub Scout event Friday night, so I need to take time off of work... sigh....</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-77851034828326269942010-03-13T11:45:00.000-05:002010-03-13T11:45:21.664-05:00And Another Thing...<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A couple of points I forgot to mention this morning...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1) I've been following some other blogs, and thought I'd share one post that I thought was hilarious. This is from the blog: I Am Boring, a.. you guessed it, running blog (among other things). In this post, Adam laments that he's doing some long runs on a treadmill, but at the gym, it auto-shuts-off at 60 minutes. So he lists things that should exempt you from the 60-minute time limit -- or, in other words (mine) -- what makes you a longer-distance runner versus a shorter-distance runner: <a href="http://www.theboringrunner.com/2010/03/operation-gyama.html">http://www.theboringrunner.com/2010/03/operation-gyama.html</a>. I can add to that list as well, as I'm sure all of you can.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) Did I mention that it was raining this morning? Man, with the 30-mph wind, at times, the rain was pelting me in the face, and it stung. Reminded me of a Gatorade ad I saw in Runners World once. Anyway, ouch. I was soaking wet at the end, and I think I got a 'hot spot' -- where a blister was able to form, on the bottom on my foot, because there was a lot of slipping and sliding in my wet shoes... Poor me :)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-22622591106863070872010-03-13T09:15:00.000-05:002010-03-13T09:15:25.624-05:00More and More Running Posts Here<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since the last post, I have run twice, once for 6.8 miles and once for 12.05 miles, rounding out my week to 28 miles. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, the runs. On Thursday, I intended to run 6 miles, but cross two major roads to get to another neighborhood. On the way back, I decided to take an alternative to avoid the two roads (seems that early morning rush hour traffic doesn't really pay attention to runners), so that added .8 miles to my run. My run felt good and did an 8:48 pace. This morning, I took the same route, but extended it, to run towards the Church we go to. No need to take an alternative back, as traffic on these roads is significantly less on weekends. I ran 12.05 miles at an... hmm.. 8:48 pace -- exactly the same pace as Thursday. That's weird.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I meant to run yesterday -- an easy 4 -- but couldn't rouse myself out of bed early enough. So, I didn't get my 30 miles in this week (2 miles short). Next week is the <a href="http://www.nationalmarathon.com/">National (Half) Marathon</a>, but considering I haven't really been training for it, I consider it a training run in itself. Goal? Hmm... I've been thinking about that (mostly while running). Let's say: 13.1 miles at an 8:48 pace. I think I can do that, although if the course if like what it was 2 years ago, its rather hilly in spots.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, I decided on what shoes I'm going to get (I know all of you out there are on pins on needles on this). Well, you are going to have to wait a bit longer, as although I ordered them, they'll take a few days to get here. Oh, don't worry, I'll have pictures and autographs available when I unveil them. :)</div>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100466680468677582.post-18726478238972527382010-03-09T21:26:00.000-05:002010-03-09T21:26:25.690-05:00Shoes and Running<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight, I managed to squeeze a run in... When I got home, I put on my Nike Free's (more on this below) and tried to run properly (not landing on my heels) for 3.something miles. Now, I managed to hold about an 8:30 pace, which was totally unexpected, so I was happy about that. Running more 'barefoot-like' adds more stress to my calves, but less on my bones, so although I need to stretch tonight, my knees and ankles didn't hurt. Of course, running only 3 helped as well :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, the shoes.... I mentioned before my going back and forth on getting more 'stability' shoes, or motion-control shoes, versus getting shoes that offer little stability. I will probably end up getting Asics 2100 series shoes, but part of me wants to get the </span><a href="http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vibram Five Fingers</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. They look rather silly, but they seem to have a </span><a href="http://birthdayshoes.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">following</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. For what they do, are are probably really good. There's several styles available, from the 'classic' -- the first one they made, to others, which include the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) as well as a 'water' one, and one that works better in cold weather. Now, barefoot running, or at least minimalist running, has gotten a lot of press, by </span><a href="http://runningbarefoot.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fans</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">books</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and even </span><a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-267--13401-0,00.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">major running magazines</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I do believe that running shoes, by their very nature, shield the foot -- too well. I think I read in a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/ChiRunning-Revolutionary-Approach-Effortless-Injury-Free/dp/1416549447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268187206&sr=8-1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">book</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that running shoes are like neck braces. They work so well that the muscles become weak. Also, since running shoes weren't invented until 1920 or so, but we've been running (well, 'we' as in humans, not 'we' as in you and me, or at least not me) for much longer than that, our bodies must know something. Hence, running in shoes that don't offer much stability. There was even a </span><a href="http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harvard study</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that showed that running barefoot-style (landing on forefoot or midfoot) showed several times less impact than landing on your heel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So... I might get something less than stability shoes, but since my legs and feet have been in 'neck braces' for years (figuratively, not literally), I shouldn't just jump with both feet (get it?), but need to work my way to it. Therefore, getting the Asics 2100 series shoes (as one pair of my current shoes has 700 miles on them), and then, maybe something else.. Vibram Five Fingers???</span>John Yagerlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169839756291361750noreply@blogger.com0