A Lean and Hungry Look

Easy run with Maja (Sugarhouse Park loop).  I had expected the roads to be completely empty after their New Year's festivities, but it looked like quite a few people were getting right on their  resolutions.

More snow fell overnight, making the going a little slower and more arduous than usual, but it was a beautiful morning.  I ran up to Wasatch, then across Parley's on the snow-covered trail (not packed down, which made for a bit of a slog) and out to Millstream Lane and back.  I left Maja home, as the longer distances can be a little frustrating with her.

I was in such a good rhythm of running early before the holidays crashed the party.  I just didn't get out of bed in time to run today, so I brought my gear and did a quick run after work.  I changed into my running clothes at the office, then drove to Popperton Park and ran along 11th Ave to the mouth of City Creek and beyond toward the Capitol, then turned around.  It was pretty dark by the time I hit the end of 11th on the way out, so the portion of the return route without sidewalks was a little sketchy.  Aside from the fact that my fingers froze (I thought it was supposed to be warmer yesterday, so I left my cold-weather gloves at home), the run felt great.

Pace: 7:21

AHR: 154

My alarm clock lost the battle again this morning, so I once again brought my gear to work.  Fortunately, the end of the year was so hectic that things are a light enough to allow me to take a little longer lunch than usual to run and shower.  Unfortunately, it's another Disgusting Air Day out there, and by the time I sat back down at my desk, I felt like I'd been sucking on the tailpipe of a semi for an hour instead of doing something healthy.  Maybe it's like this every year, but the inversion seems to be coming back every few days or so, and it's bumming me out.

Pace: 7:14

AHR: 162

The past two days have been red air quality days, so I've been wary of filling my lungs with more junk, especially with my asthma.  I skipped yesterday and this morning, but I found an excuse to go to Wasatch County this afternoon and stopped at the Rail Trail (Promontory trailhead) on the way and did 6 miles.  The trail is groomed like a ski trail, presumably for snowshoeing and nordic skiing, so I figured it would be perfect for running.  Unfortunately, though, the layer of crust on the top was not very thick and broke through with probably 50% of my footfalls, resulting in my foot sinking from 2-6 inches at a time.  The softer areas were patchy enough that I could go a few hundred yards at a time without sinking too far, so I managed to continue for 6 miles.  I don't know what the temperature was, but my fingers lost feeling within about 5 minutes (with two pairs of light gloves on).  My right hand recovered about halfway through, but my left got worse and worse, to the point that I was a little nervous about frostbite by about the 4-mile mark.  The trail was incredibly beautiful, though, and the air tasted clean.  I saw a fox in one of the pastures and several spots where largish burrowing creatures had emerged from (or entered) their underground tunnels and sprayed dirt all over the otherwise perfectly white snow.

By the time I hit the 4-mile mark, the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped considerably.  That wasn't good for my fingers, but it did leave the upper crust much more firm, so my last two miles were much faster than the first 4.  All in all, this was a fantastic run, one that I hope to repeat a few times this winter.

I took some time off due to the near-permanent inversion that seems to have settled in the valley, then a mean but quick bout of stomach flu.  There was supposed to be a storm yesterday, then today, but it never materialized.  I finally decided that I couldn't afford to sit out any longer, so I texted Jake last night and we headed out at 5:30 this morning for our first run together since before Christmas.  The air was thick and slightly disgusting, but neither of us died.  I need to refill my inhaler prescription, especially if the rest of winter is going to be as bad as the past month.

We finally got a weak excuse for some snow this morning, so the air was slightly improved.  Unfortunately, there was just enough to cover up all the icy spots, which resulted in one fall, about a dozen near-misses, and a cautious pace.  I'll take slippery over disgusting any day, though.

Jake was planning to run with me, but I think he thought better of it when the alarm went off and the fact that he had the day off finally sunk in.  I worked all day anyway, so it was good to get out early.

I don't remember the last time I went outside into a stiff wind and got excited about it, but I was thrilled this morning to go running right into the storm front.  I headed down to Jake's and waited a bit, but it looked pretty dark so I went back home to get Maja.  She hadn't been out for a couple of weeks and was going a little stir crazy, so I was glad to be able to take her.  (I like to run on the sidewalk due to a history of ITB problems when I run on the road, and when I have Maja Jake has to run on the road, and it's pretty tough to hear him and keep a conversation going.)

For some reason, I felt pretty sluggish today.  I was running into the wind on the way to Sugarhouse, then ended up battling a combination of ice, slush, mud, and puddles in the dark all the way around the park, and by the time I emerged at the southeast corner, I was tired.  Hopefully this storm system will keep the gunk out of the air for a couple of weeks and I'll be able to reestablish a 6-day-per-week habit.

I blew off my alarm this morning and fell back asleep, so I brought my gear to work, thinking I would run at lunch.  The day got busy, though, so that wasn't in the cards.  When it started to taper off near the end of the day, I decided to run home and leave my car at work, then run back in the morning.

The run was a little frustrating, since it was in rush-hour traffic, but I felt great and was able to turn on a little speed in the final mile.  The overall pace wasn't fast, but that was largely because the entire way home is uphill.  No aches or pains anywhere.

Since my car was at work and Kaela had violin this morning, I had to be up at 5 in order to make it out to the office and back in time for Brooke to take Kaela.  After a few months of low and inconsistent mileage, it felt a little tiring to get back on the legs only 12 hours after last night's run.  However, it was great to be out on the same route in nonexistent traffic after battling cars and exhaust all the way home last night.  I listened to a great This American Life episode called "Mind Games," and the miles clicked away pretty quickly.

I made it back by 6:40, just in time for Brooke and Kaela to leave, so it worked out just right.

The VFFs finally arrived (they were a Christmas gift, but were the wrong size, so I took them back, but they were on backorder) on Wednesday, so I decided to give them a shot this morning.  In an effort to avoid damaging myself too severely, I stayed inside and did an easy, short jaunt on the treadmill.  Other than the fact that the little toe on each of my feet seems convinced that it has no identity separate and apart from its next-door toe neighbor (which makes the process of putting the VFFs on a little tricky and slightly painful), I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience on these new-fangled things.  Perhaps the best part of owning a pair is the fact that a woman at work now refers to me as a "hippie-freak" after I told her how excited I was to try them out.  For a guy with my background, that's downright awesome.  I look forward to cashing in on the street-cred the new identity provides.

We'll see how much I like the sensation of running barefoot after I wake up tomorrow for a semi-long run.  I expect my calves to be screaming in protest at Christopher McDougal and his "hippie-freak" ways.  For the record, I have no plans at the moment to become the next Caballo Blanco or Barefoot Ted, but I do look forward to using the VFFs as a way of strengthening muscles and tendons that are underutilized in my regular trainers (and hopefully providing a little insurance against injury in the process), slowly working up to a point that I can do some trail running in them.

Today marked the first day of official training for Ogden.  It was a beautiful, clear morning, perfect for the route over to City Creek and back (the view along 11th Ave was gorgeous).  I kept the pace quite relaxed from start to finish and enjoyed the company of This American Life. 

For the record, although I missed my Saturday long run, it was not due to soreness after testing out the VFFs on Friday.  On the contrary, I didn't feel any soreness at all, and I wore the VFFs around the house all evening on Friday and out to dinner and the mall (for a truly exciting date night with Brooke) on Saturday.  I think my little toes are starting to sense the inevitability of their independence, because the last two times I put the VFFs on, it only took me about 2 minutes instead of 10.  I'm looking forward to integrating them into some of my training, although to what extent is yet to be determined.

Here's hoping for a consistent, healthy, and enjoyable season of preparation.

Jake joined me today and we headed over to City Creek through the middle of campus via the alley.  I guess we got into a rhythm, because we forgot to turn around at 4.5.  It was snowing slightly, so there were a few slick spots, but it was a beautiful morning.  My schedule called for some LT work, but I think I'm going to focus on mileage for a couple of weeks before introducing much speed.  I think one of my problems last year was introducing too much speed too soon, which resulting in my feeling beat up (mentally and physically) all the time.  So I'll probably follow the mileage recommendations but will not start doing tempo or speed until my body feels ready.

Pace: 7:30

AHR: 153

Had a late night, so I slept in and brought my gear to work.  Unfortunately, the disgusting air is back and getting worse by the minute.  I so enjoyed the last week or so of good air!

Pace: 7:19

AHR: 162

Easy effort with Maja in tow, down to Sugarhouse, then along 13th to the street just past 27th, eventually to Zenith Ave and up to 20th, then down to 18th at Parley's Canyon, then back.  Decent 8-mile route for future use.

I decided to try the VFFs out on the road today to see if I could hack it.  I was worried that I'd feel a lot more impact than I did on the treadmill for my 2-mile trial run last week, but I don't feel bruised or sore now (immediately following the run).  We'll see how I feel this afternoon and tomorrow morning.  I took Maja along and we met up with Jake.  The pace was very easy (Jake and I chatted comfortably the entire time), as I wanted to avoid overdoing it on my first time out.

I must say that I enjoy the sensation of padding along the streets this way.  I hope I'm saying the same thing when I wake up tomorrow.

It was interesting to hear a piece on NPR earlier this week about the barefoot running article by Dan Lieberman that came out in Nature this week, especially after I received an email from the "Chief Runner" at RoadRunner Sports on Monday in which he warned people not to fall prey to the crazy and dangerous barefoot running trend that's out there.  I think Mr. Chief Runner might need a lesson in PR and old-fashioned capitalism.  The barefoot-minimalism craze may prove to be enduring and transformative, or it may be a mere flash in the pan.  Either way, though, wouldn't it make sense to sell some gear to people (like me) who are jumping on the bandwagon, or at least to try to disguise the self-interest in telling people to keep buying expensive shoes?

Speaking of the Lieberman article, he's set up a great website devoted to the science of barefoot running here" http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

It has a section containing training tips that include "build up slowly!" For anyone considering a transition to barefoot or minimalist running, these may help avoid injuries associated with too rapid a switch from shod running.

Ran up Emigration a little past the hairpin turn.  The canyon winds were blowing pretty hard for the first 2 or 3 miles, and the temperature in the canyon got colder and colder as I went up.  By the time I hit the turnaround point, my water bottles had frozen and I hadn't been able to feel my hands for about 30 minutes.  The pace on the way up was snail-slow, but the way back was decent without any particular effort.  Splits were:

Mile 9: 6:22 (151)

Mile 10: 6:30 (158)

Mile 11: 6:34 (159)

Mile 12: 6:29 (159)

Mile 13: 6:44 (158)

Mile 14: 6:38 (158)

Mile 15: 6:28 (161)

Overall average: 7:30 (152)