Ran a 5K in the New Shoes

It felt great. I'm excited to see where this goes.

The New Shoes

Kind of strange to actually call them "shoes" but that's what I'm using for the time being. I still have my heart set on getting a pair of Newtons but until then these will have to do. I plan on running a 5K in them this Thursday but after yesterday's mile I may have to rethink that decision. My calfs are killing me.

Going [almost] Barefoot

I'm really having a difficult time choosing my next pair of shoes. The battle is between a pair of Newton Running Gravitas and the Vibram FiveFinger Sprint.

I went to a local running store yesterday with the intention of purchasing the Newtons. I've wanted a pair for such a long time and after testing out a pair I found they do exactly what I need my next pair of shoes to do: encourage me to run on my forefoot which causes me to strike the ground under my hips and push off using my glutes. This sounds like a simple thing but I've been running with incorrect form for so long that it's been a near insurmountable challenge to change my stride and gait even though I know it's not proper. In general change never comes easy but this is much harder than anticipated.

The drawback on the shoes was the $175 price tag. Being in the pricing business and understanding a bit about revenues and profits I need to see some serious facts about this companies profit per shoe before I pay that kind of money. Yes, we want people to be successful and yes companies are in business to make money. Yes, they need to fund their R&D and cover their overhead but if they're making 50%+ gross margin per shoe, that's unacceptable bull$hit and will not be tolerated. That's fleecing.

After chewing on my heart for a few moments I scanned the store and noticed the Vibrams. Intrigued by this ridiculous looking (dare I even call it) shoe I had to try a pair on and give it a go. After jogging around a bit I noticed these shoes also encouraged a proper running gait. Though not as obvious as the Newtons I could still accomplish the same thing in these with the added benefit of seeing what it's like to run pretty much barefoot. This would encourage my body to strengthen the ankles and foot muscles in ways shoes otherwise wouldn't promote.

The Vibrams are still astronomical in price for what they are: $80. But on the flip side I could get two pairs for less than one pair of Newtons while at the same time whetting my appetite to see what barefoot running is all about and leaving the mystery of the Newtons open to me for another day.

After a long and difficult night thinking about this I decided it's going to be the Vibrams. This'll definitely be an experience and one I'll be happy to report on. They're definitely not winter shoes and being at the start of winter they're going to get a lot of treadmill work. Something tells me by the construction of these things I'll be able to get more than 400 miles out of them before they need to be retired.

The Not-So-Accidental Accidental Half Marathon

This past weekend was Halloween weekend here in the states and as of a few years ago a new Halloween tradition was set in Minneapolis. That tradition is to run the Monster Dash half marathon despite the fact that Anoka, which is in the northwest burbs, is the Halloween capital of the world.

This detail aside, the Monster Dash is really the event to do. Thousands of people as crazy as I am line up along the north end of Lake Harriet and pound out 13.1 miles. As fate would have it, I just happened to be doing a 13.1 mile training run that day and I also coincidentally happened to be doing it around the lakes so timing was perfect. Of course I provided my own assistance but it was still fun to run with a group of people instead of just by myself.

A lot of fun was had by all and I did get to run with some friends which was a blast. What made it great was I had negative splits the whole way. I don't do that too often so it was nice to see it happen.

Until the next event (that would be Thanksgiving day when I'm doing a 3.1 mile training run. Not sure where I'll do it but I haven't trained downtown in a while...)

How Wonderful of POM Wonderful

Many thanks and much love to my friends at POM Wonderful (@POMonline if you're a Twitter fiend) for the samples. I just got them and they're as excellent as I remember. And healthy too. Check out the research on pomegranate juice. Yes, I realize the link is at the POM Wonderful website and I do realize no company would put scathing remarks of their own product on their website (Microsoft of course being the exception because they sell Windows and Windows, as everyone knows, is a complete steaming pile of crap). But seriously. Other than an incredible amount of [natural] sugar, what have you ever read that's negative about pomegranates?

Huh? I can't hear you? Nothing? Yes. That's right. Nothing. As long as you get it in your mouth and not on your clothes (which it will instantaneous stain and ruin), pomegranates are one of natures super fruits.

BTW, if you're interested in sponsoring an athlete, it just so happens I'm currently available for sponsorship and am training for my first Ironman triathlon — Ironman Wisconsin in Madison on September 12, 2010. See how great I look next to a bottle of POM. :-D

The Munger Trail Almost-Century

This past weekend some friends and I attempted our last bike ride of the season before retiring our bikes for the winter. This adventure took us to the Willard Munger Trail north of the cities. And other than a few bumps in the road it was a spectacular day. You almost couldn't ask for better.

The south-most trail head, in Hinckley, is the closest point of the trail to the cities and that's about a 1.5 hour drive on clear days — and days where 35W isn't torn to shreds between the Crosstown and downtown Minneapolis. Lucky for me I got to take the scenic route to Hinckley which also turned out to be the long way.

No matter. After the little detour on Hiawatha I got a chance to hop back on 35W and resume the day. It's a good thing I left at 6:00 or else traffic may be bad. One observation I did make on the drive north was on the southbound lane. I noticed the highway had been reduced to one lane but that didn't bother me. I wasn't on that side of the highway. And at that time of day it didn't even cross my mind that I'd be on that side of the highway coming back.

At about 7:30 I reached Hinckley and just before getting off the highway I got a txt from Elizabetsy Brownderstone: "Just getting on the road!"

"Hmmm..." I thought. Interesting txt. Especially since they live in St. Paul which is NOT a 30 minute drive in as much as it's an 80 minute drive. Long story short, I had the opportunity to visit with a few friends who did show up on time while waiting for the others. At the end of the day this turned out to be a good thing because it would have been too darn cold to ride at 8:00. The frost was melting in the sun and as it dripped off the low hanging signs I knew this was all for the greater good.

When everyone arrived we quickly got everything together and hit the trail.

Because of the odd fall, we didn't have a brilliant display of colors like I had hoped but it was still beautiful in its own sense. There was still plenty of fall colors to see along the way. Plus, the rivers we crossed added to the natural beauty all around us.

The only problem I had on the bike was a slight failure of equipment. As it turns out, my shoe booties and biking gloves are not as windproof as they bill themselves to be. Luckily my brother-from-another-mother Karl came to the rescue with 1¢ sandwich bags for my feet and toes. I kid you not. I wore sandwich bags in my shoes and over my gloves and they provided more warmth and protection than the $45 gloves and $50 shoe booties. Needless to say, those got promptly returned.

The rest of the ride was pretty straight forward. Only Elizabetsy and I made it 40 miles out and back for an 80 mile round trip. But honestly I think everyone else came with the idea they'd do 25 out and back for 50 total. Regardless of the distance and despite the fact that no one made the full 100 miles, we all had a blast. As far as I'm concerned that alone made the ride a complete success. Quality time with friends far outweighs any illusion of an arbitrary goal set for a fun ride. The only "goal" should be to have fun.

When everyone was done we headed over to Tobies for some post ride recovery and it was home from there.

Oh, I almost forgot. The ride home. Well, turns out traffic is much more dense in the evenings. Especially on the weekends and especially in the direction of a city. Any sort of a biker's high I had going into that drive was completely ruined by that horrid traffic. But I lived and am ready to fight another day.

Here's the ride we did. The next time I take this trail on it's Duluth or bust.

A Little Breather

I know it's been virtually forever since I posted an update. Rest assured I am still around and kicking. My training is in a low right now as I spend my time recovering from the season we just finished. For the time being my fitness consists of running from time to time, strength training and stretching.

As the season starts to pick up again at the beginning of the year I plan on posting more frequent but shorter posts. Time won't be a luxury like it is right now. Until then, I'll post here from time to time when something interesting pops up.