Monday/Tuesday 10/26-27

Run home/run to work. Easy run home on Monday. Felt ok to start, but progressively hard trouble catching my breath. I think I had a bit of an asthma attach...weird. 5 miles or so.

Ran to work on Tuesday. Felt entirely better. Used my new asthma inhaler which must have helped. Did a 3 mile 10k+ pace tempo. Average of 7:28 for the entire run. 5.13 miles total. Much better. Mellowed on the foot plant and just focused on fast turnover. Seemed more efficient and easier to maintain my pace...even with a bit of a heel strike.

The Precision 10's are working great after 3 runs.
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Friday 10/23/2009

Easy run today at work. 5.17 in 41:44 at an avg pace of 8:05.

Felt a bit tight, but ok otherwise.

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Thurs 10/22/09

Progression run with each mile a bit faster. Fastest in 6:55 or so. Felt great overall...beautiful day. 42 and then around Stearns and back along Imel for 6.36 in 7:42.

Yesterday did 6 flat before work in the rain and snow. Davidson in the dark!

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Tuesday 10/20/2009

Been a long couple days on my shoe journey. What started so promising with the MT100's quickly devolved into taping up another box and sending two pairs of them back to onlineshoes.com. The original pair felt great, but clearly too small in a size 9. So, rather than risk running in them I simply exchanged for a 9.5. Just to be safe, I kept the 9's around for comparison purposes once the 9.5's showed up. So, the 9.5's arrived and I did two runs in them as described in previous posts. I certainly liked the minimalist feeling of them especially since they really forced me to run well, i.e. without landing on the heels, etc. They definitely had a nice foot plate that provided some protection, but they just ended up now having enough room in the forefoot for my foot type...even though I originally reported they felt fine. I got blisters on the first day which I wrote off to the socks I was wearing. On the second day the blisters were worse and I noticed a weird heel thing. For some reason the heel cup is made from rubber rather than padded fabric. I guess they pinched a nerve such that as I walked or ran with an extended foot I felt this strange pull right at the back of the heel. This started the first time I tried the things on in an 9. It did not hurt really, but it was something I noticed. I did not notice it while running, but when I landed on my heel...like when descending a steep hill I would notice it. So, alas; I am no AK and will resort back to my trusty Brooks Cascadia 3's. They may be a bit big, but with the right socks they have carried me through a mountain half, a great 10k at Eldora and numerous Front Range Runs....Back to what works I guess.

The road shoes are not working much better. Although I love the Lunaracers, they are a bit narror as well for me...blisters on the outsides of my big toes and a bit uncomfortable. They are excellent for runs 7 miles or less, but not so good on stuff longer. So, I figured I would try another Nike shoe for the hell of it. Picked up a pair of Nike Avante+s' at Sports Authority as none of the local shops carried them including Solepeppers and BRC. Of course they felt great in the store, but once I got them out on a 5 miler this weekend I ended up with the same blisters as I got from the MT100's. I realize that no shoe is perfect, and that I am always reaching for the "perfect" shoes; but to get blisters on such a short run right out of the box is not a good sign. So, returned those bad boys as well!

Which leads me to today.... Headed out a an excellent 6.7 miler at work today on a slightly random route. Went back to the trusty Mizuno Precision 8's... These are the same shoes I PR'ed the BB back in 2008 with. They have about 500 or so miles on them, but now are almost 2 years old. Needless to say they are a bit compressed. But, they just fit my forefoot and still feel light and almost glove-like. They are under 10oz, so they are certainly a performance trainer light enough for racing and everyday training. They did not disappoint as I had no blisters, no real pains anywhere and I felt smooth out there. Averaged under 8 for the run with the last mile and a half at at 7:39 pace. Not pushing it...just rolling. One of these days I will get a new HR strap so that I can tell what the heck my HR is doing, but for now I am just running on feel.

And, as a followup; I ordered a pair of Precision 10's from RR last night. Got confirmation from "theshoeguy" at Mizuno that the 10's fit the same as the 8's with the same wide forefoot. So, let's hope he is right!

Day off yesterday...just no time, and VERY sore from Sunday.

Sunday, did another round of Ski Training with my neighbor (personal trainer/former Olympic Athlete). Did a lot of plyometrics and core work; i.e. torture for an hour. Ran the mile from the house with the boys on bikes to Heritage Park and the mile back after the workout for an extra 2 miles on the week. Sore in the hips and on the insides of my legs. I got to imagine this stuff is going to help running as well as skiing!

Friday 10/16/2009

Easy run after work. Intended to run before work, but just could not get myself out of bed. It was not that I was tired or anything, it was just more comfortable not moving. So, figured I would fit in a run right after our bi-weekly leadership marathon meeting; today was no exception as there was an extra hour tacked on to the already 2 hour slot. 3 hours...holy crap. So, after 3 hours I figured I could bang out a quick 4-5 at 2pm. Well, this did not happen as sometimes happens in hospitals an emergency required another meeting. So, never got out. Fortunately KT had a good day with all kids in school for the first time in 2 weeks and she was therefore more than willing to let me get one in after getting home.

Headed out in search of the "gnarliest" Louisville trails so as to test the 100's. I pretty much zig-zagged around town into the open space by the Louisville Rez and then across So Boulder to the hills on lower Davidson Mesa hitting just about every steep incline and rocky trails I could link together from home. Overall not much zip today and I definitely was noticing the dearth of padding on the shoes during my concrete connections. I also had neuroma problems again on my left foot. Hopefully  will be able to fix this with different lacing strategies and/or a sock change. Regardless, the shoes performed well off road with great grip and traction on the ups and downs. I am still looking forward to getting them out to some gnarlier terrain in the foothills sometime this weekend.

6 miles with an average of just under 9 minute pace. GPS Data Here....

Thursday 10/15/2009

2 Days off! Really wanted to head out yesterday, but Jack came down with what we think is H1N1. So, 2 out of the three seem to have had it and Lily probably (hopefully) had it a few weeks ago. I guess we will see. Overall, Jack had a mild fever for a day with some serious lethargy for him as well as a cough and a sore throat. Today being his second real day he perked up a lot and was eventually playing outside a bit this afternoon. As long as he stays quiet I hope he is on the mend.

Finally received my second pair of MT100's yesterday in a 9.5. The 9's were just too tight at the tips of my feet and a little around my forefoot. The 9.5's have enough additional room to make them quite comfortable out of the box. Running them around the neighborhood definitely had me thinking these were the most minimal shoes I have every run in; far more minimal than the Lunaracers. In fact I spent a bit of time walking around the house in them marveling how close my feet felt to the ground. I even tried my old Precision's out just to compare; these shoes are year and a half old with about 500+ miles on them. This a lot given that my original pair were retired after just under 300 miles. Needless to say, they are played out. Well, the Precisions felt thick compared to the MT100's; heavy even. The MT100's are amazingly light, but with just enough protection from the sharp rocks to make them seem good for technical trails. I even tested this by putting one of my kid's smoothed-out rocks from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry on the floor and then bouncing up and down on it. I knew the rock was there, but the sharp edge was mellowed and rendered an object not worthy to be gait altering. Pretty cool actually. With all of these perceptions I was still a bit apprehensive hoping that my march towards ever more minimal shoes is a good idea. The first run would tell for sure.

Well, brought the gear to work today excited for the opportunity to run out to Sterns Lake via the Imel Trail in Broomfield. Also excited for some nice weather...I do enjoy running in the cold of the winter, but I am just not prepared to give up the shorts and short shirts. Today was perfect, even with a little wind. From the first few strides I knew these shoes were going to rock. There is no faking form in these things, you have to land on the forefoot/midfoot as there is very  little heel padding and not much padding on the forefoot. These definitely feel pretty close to running barefoot as there is really not much space between the foot and the trail. Started on pavement and concrete on the way to the Rock Creek Trail. Through this section they felt nice, very comfortable with very little distracting me from the feeling of my foot landing. Whereas with the Lunaracers I am constantly noticing that they are a little narrow, with the MT100's I was just noticing my foot strikes. After making the 3/4 concrete section I arrived at the Rock Creek Path which quickly turns into the Imel Trail which continues under E470 and connects with the new trail into Broomfield under 287. Excellent new addition to my running routes by the way as I was really starting to tire of constantly running the Coal Creek Path. Back to the shoes. They felt even better on the trail as well as off trail. Just enough feel for the trail with good protection from the sharper rocks. Continued on to the lake and ran along the top of the damn which has a lot of little, sharp rocks that are a problem in the Mizunos. Not for the MT; they let me know the rocks were there, but did not impede my gait as I knew my feet were protected.

The one problem I did notice was on the way back at around mile 5; I did end up with a hot spot on the pads of two of my little toes in the exact same place I got blisters this past summer while attempting a barefoot run on a rubber track. I think that this is a minor issue as I will probably move down to some thinner socks and maybe even consider running without socks. I will also move the laces up one rung from the bottom so as to allow more room for my forefoot; will probably help the neuroma on that side as well.

So, overall a great first run. Happy with the shoes...so much so that I may even make these my everyday shoes as well. We will see what they bring on some future runs.

6.5 miles in 52:42. GPS Data here...

Monday 10/12/09

Recovery run after CCC. Felt real sluggish today, no zip. Mostly positive splitted each mile as I realized that a day off would have done me more good.

6.51 miles at a pace of 8:26 with the last 2 miles slower.

Ran out through Lafayette to the Oatmeal Fest 5k course up to Waneka and the back to 287 and the Public.

Day off tomorrow.

GPS Data here...including mile splits!