Wheeler Farm Loops

December 30, 2024

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Location:

SLC,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 28, 2011

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

PR Table and Notable Races

Marathon: 2:21:12 (Chicago); 2:20:41 (CIM)
Half Marathon: 1:05:45 (Long Beach)
10K: 30:03 (Portland)

All race results:
2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016

Personal:

Favorite Blogs:

Andrea

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to Ukraine's Armed Forces

Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Sat, Nov 05, 2011

Running Miles	Swimming Yards	Bike Miles
20.60	0.00	0.00

AM - 4 miles, shakeout in the snow. Nice morning for an easy run, but its not worth risking running a faster workout in these conditions. When fitness is near its peak, the biggest concern is some sort of freak injury. We'll re-evaluate this afternoon and either do it then, or modify the plan.

PM - 16.6 miles. 4-3-2-1 workout. Andrea and I met Emily B out at the frontage road around 2:15pm... the roads were dry and the weather was clear, although it was pretty windy. We made the right call by waiting until the afternoon. After a quick one mile warmup we got going with the workout. Splits were:

4 miles in 21:09 (5:14, 5:18, 5:20, 5:17). Major headwind the whole way.
3 miles in 15:28 (5:10, 5:11, 5:08). Tailwind. Felt a lot easier!
2 miles in 10:16 (5:13, 5:03). Headwind for the first mile, 180 degree turn, nice tailwind coming back.
1 mile in 4:54. Cruising to the finish with the tailwind.

In between each effort was a half mile of running at about 6:40 pace. Cooled down a little over 4 miles, most of it with the girls once they finished up. Glad to get this one done. I wore my heavier shoes instead of my racing flats, because I thought the roads would be wet... so I am pretty happy with how this one went. Only one more harder workout left!

------------------------------------------------
If you read Chris McDougal's latest article in the NY Times this week, this response by Alex Hutchinson is worth a read. I'm all for minimalist running, good form, etc., but McDougal is so one-sided in his arguments that its pathetic (especially if you have a broader knowledge of the topics he is taking about / skewing). Alex does a nice job in his response of finding the middle ground, and calling out Chris for fabricating his anecdotes. I think Born to Run was an interesting book... and the fallout from it had some great benefits - the shoe companies started to think and innovate, which is awesome... I just don't really think he should be viewed as any type of authority on running, and I get the feeling he definitely looks at himself that way.

Comments

From JG on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 16:28:50 from 71.59.27.33

Ummm ... Congratulations on hitting 5,000 miles for the year! The city of Brotherly Love will be good to you!

From Lily on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 19:07:20 from 67.199.178.210

I agree with your thoughts on McDougal. And I have some Altra's and they are hard to transition into. They hurt your achilles bad!

Glad you guys got the run in you needed. It's cold outside today so good job.

From Jake K on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 19:14:37 from 67.177.21.60

Cool I didn't even realize I had hit 5000 yet!

Lily - my problem w/ McDougal is that he takes things WAY out of context, and uses a lot of selective quoting from true authorities on running (ie. Vin Lanana) in his book. And then people that don't know any better, or don't have a strong background in the sport, take what he says at face value. And in many ways, he is just as guilty of doing what he criticizes the shoe companies for - prescribing a "one size fits all" philosophy towards footwear (or lack thereof is his case). The truth is, while barefoot running and super-minimalism works for some people, the vast majority of us fall somewhere in the middle ground.

From TheMr.K on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 19:24:03 from 74.38.114.91

I agree with that McDougal over simplifies the whole barefoot thing but I too have some Altras and since I transitioned to them I haven't had one day of joint pain, IT pain or achilles pain.

From Jake K on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 19:32:57 from 67.177.21.60

Mr.K - totally agree... lower profile shoes, like the Altras, Kinvaras, etc. encourage good running form (ie. not slamming your heel into the ground). Shoes aren't the enemy... bad form / mechanics is the problem! Running barefoot doesn't necessarily fix that problem.

From Lily on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 21:14:37 from 67.199.178.210

Don't get me wrong, I love my Altra's, but they have been a Mother F'er to transition into. Perhaps if I wasn't trying to train and transition into them at the same time it would have been easier. I also don't think barefoot running fixes the problems. They recorded me running and even when I took my shoes off I still had issues. It really is looked at now as a one size fits all approach. I say run in what feels good.....I ran for about 8 years without an injury until this last winter, so I don't believe that shoes is the problem really. Anyway, it's fun to hash this around a bit. :)

From MichelleL on Sat, Nov 05, 2011 at 23:18:43 from 202.4.201.45

The book was entertaining but as I read it it sounded like hyperbole and some googlefact checking showed that the book was indeed an embellishment of the truth. I agree that he either sees this as a calling or a lucrative career.

oh yeah this is jakes blog right? Great job on your workout. hay is in the barn and you are ready!

From Bam on Sun, Nov 06, 2011 at 05:00:34 from 86.40.251.49

Jake - that's an excellent session. What I like is the recovery: 3:20 0.5 mile recovery when you're mixing it up with some serious efforts; has to be a confidence booster for the marathon. And if I have this right - there's no air where you live - then the session is all the more 'breathtaking'. Can't wait to see your final harder workout.

From Chad Robinson on Sun, Nov 06, 2011 at 15:03:34 from 208.110.158.227

I find it interesting that people just assume that the force of striking the ground dissapear just because you are no longer heel striking or wearing a minimalist shoe. While doing the elliptical in the summer I watched a lady absolutely abuse the treadmill in a pair a Vibrams. There is no way she was going to avoid injury at that rate. And yes, switching to a midfoot strike definately gives your calves, achichiles and ankles a heck of a workout that takes time and patience to develope.

From Jake K on Sun, Nov 06, 2011 at 15:08:48 from 67.177.21.60

Chad - what you said is very important and is exactly what gets left out of most discussions. Yes, landing mid/forefoot reduces impact forces. No doubt about that. But what a lot of folks don't realize is that if they put on a pair of vibrams, and "accidentally" heel strike 3 out of 100 times, the forces are SO HIGH in those couple of individual impacts that its almost worse than just heel striking all the time in cushioned shoes!

That's why I think shoes like the Kinvara are so great... they really encourage the proper form, but there is a little protection there, too... just in case.

From Adam RW on Sun, Nov 06, 2011 at 17:56:29 from 67.182.248.141

Jake great workout. I'm glad it waited for the afternoon and worked out for you.

Also, interesting conversation about Born to Run. That and the accompanying Nature article that came out convinced me to change my running form. But I agree with you. I still wear the same shoes that I always have because of the concern of the 3 in a 100 heel strikes and the fact that hitting a rock or worse yet piece of glass/metal would kill barefoot or in the Vibrams.

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