Go slow to go fast.

Time to start cycling again.

Now that the snow has subsided, I’m going to start rotating cycling and running every other day.  I may do both some days if time permits.

I want to be in good biking and running shape before spring and summer arrive so I can maximize my enjoyment of the mountains in the summer months.  The way I see it is the better shape I am in, the more terrain I can cover, and thus the more I can maximize the fun.

But right now, my biking legs basically don’t exist.  That’s ok though.  It feels great to get out, and I’ll get them back with a few weeks of consistency.

Here are the stats for today:

15 Miles – 55 minutes – 16.6 mph – HR – 113 (wow…I was hardly moving, my legs felt weak) – Elevation change: 800 Ft.

What a busy day.  Tuesdays are generally pretty packed for me.  I was gone by 7:30 this morning to a breakfast meeting with some investor friends.  Then out previewing houses to buy all day.  I knew if I didn’t get a run in I wasn’t going to have much energy to stay up all night researching which properties to buy.

When I got home at 4:30 I decided to try out a quick run in my new balance 790’s to test them out again.  I had been wearing them all day to brake them in.

I didn’t really like it much…at all…it turns out.  I turned around after less than 1/4 mile and came home to put my FiveFingers on.

Ahhhhhh....freedom.  I really don’t like my toes to be constricted and confined any more when I run.  Now that I'm accustomed to the freedom of bare feet, it turns out its annoying for me to stuff them back in confined spaces.  It just feels so much better when my toes are free to move around at will, and I don’t have to worry about how the shoe may be mes messing with my stride and bio-mechanics.

If I had shoes that had TONS of room to move my toes around, and if the soles were flat with no raised heal, I think that I could get into shoes like that possibly.  But that’s the Five Fingers…so I’ve already got them.

The pair of 790’s I have are just too constricting for me I decided.  Perhaps I just need a wider pair, but I couldn’t find any wider than D.   I’ll still wear them around, they’re ok walking around in.  But I don’t think I’ll run much in them.  I think I’m going to get some VFF treks to use for trail running and I should be all set.  They have similar flexibility and movement as my current FiveFingers, but with a bunch of tread on the bottom to protect the soles better and give traction on gnarly trails.

Today’s run: 5 Miles – 46:19  9:15/mile – HR: 131 avg – ascent/descent: 502 Ft

I was listening to a seminar about being a better landlord during the run…not super exciting…to say the least.

But good information which I really need to implement because I have been kind of a slacker landlord lately.  But it didn’t really get my blood flowing for running fast.  That was good though…my right ankle is still on the mend a bit from my long run Saturday.  My right inside ankle bone was really stiff for a couple days afterward, I think because I kicked it early in the run on accident.  Its feeling much better today, but not 100% yet.

I ran for 1/4 mile and decided to turn around because my ankle wasn’t feeling that great and I would rather give it a rest rather than pushing through pain and prolonging whatever the issue is.

I’m pretty sure it got tweaked from running in the new balance shoes on Saturday.  But not just running in the shoes, pushing a hard pace for 3 miles, in shoes, which I was unaccustomed to, which were new, which were too tight on my forefoot, at the end of a 2.5 hour run.  That was probably a stupid thing to do.  Oh well, its done.  I’m sure it will heal if I let it.  So in the meantime I’m going to bike more.  That doesn’t bother my ankle.

I went for a quick bike ride to get a small workout in...it felt good.

10.04 Miles – Time: 30:59 – pace: 19.4 mph avg – HR: 143 avg

50 Degrees, sunny, clear skies.  Gorgeous day to be out running.

Started out SUPER slow, like...12:30 miles, because my right ankle was feeling stiff.  It was feeling better and better about a half mile in so I kept going.

I just cruised with really fast cadence and slow speed for minimal impact on my ankle and I felt pretty good after the ankle warmed up.  I don't know what happened to it, but it feels like its getting better each day.  I LOVED the feel of the warm sidewalk barefoot.  It was nice not to have to warm my feet up for the first half mile.

4 miles - 42 minutes - 10:30/mile - HR 131  

I have decided to try not to run until my ankle is not feeling stiff in the morning.  I would just much rather get that thing completely healed than wonder each time I run if I'm prolonging the healing time.  It is already feeling a lot better today, we'll see how it is Monday.

Only did 9.5 miles this week.  Which is not a big deal to me.  I went biking twice which felt great.

Today I lifted for 40 minutes and swam for about 25 which also felt great.  I like changing it up and working exercising parts of my body every week also.