You have not ran far enough if you have not lost a toenail doing it.

Have you ever thrown your car into reverse at a red light to mess with the person behind you? Yesterday I was driving along the main road and a car from a side road turned left into the turning lane directly to my left. This is by far my biggest annoyance from other drivers. First off that is dangerous, turning into the icy lane RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Do you expect me to get over for you? So this particular car drives a quarter block in the turning lane and I'm right next to them. On goes their blinker, they want over. Excuse me, normally I am very polite on the road. But not for you, one who nearly side swiped me. So they brake and slow into the lane behind me. We both come up to the next red light and stop with her behind me. I'm annoyed with her, so throw the Explorer into reverse. I can see her face and it was pretty funny. She totally was not expecting that and was quite shocked. Priceless look, I would probably freak out a bit too, not gonna lie.

Obviously by my lack of posts in the last few weeks they have been pretty slow. Here is a post simply so you do not forget about me :)

I have not done dedicated swim training since my HIM was complete summer of 2008. However with a full Ironman on the schedule for this summer I have to get back into the pool! I have been swimming a lot more lately then I ever have, and some of it has been under the eye of Jason Melby. He is acting as coach for a "Tri Swim" group on Sundays. This was the first time I have had someone actually look at my form and give suggestions.

What he said was that my form looked ok other then I should be rotating my upper body more and my arms are crossing my center line. More rotation allows for more reach. Also the rotation takes some pressure off my arms and shoulders and puts more on my core muscles. You have heard of chicken legs, I could say I have chicken arms. That really doesnt make any sense. Anyway...to use my arms less is very much appreciated.

Another huge tip was to cut back on stroke count. He had the class swim some laps and count strokes and I was pretty high at about 25. Jason instructed us to glide more. With that front hand outstretched use it to feel when you slow down. As soon as that happens, engage the pull for another stroke. Now I am doing 20 or 21 stokes per length, compared to 24 or 26. After a few times in the pool I am now at the same speed i was for the short sprint triathlons a few years ago. The kick is though, I am doing it at a much much lower exertion, something I could keep up for much longer the distance.

Unfortunately a couple swims last week both had to be cut short because of the most painful headaches I have ever had in my life. I have only gotten headaches like this a few times in my life. Barb suggested with more rotation I am perhaps turning my neck more. Who knows. This week I stopped doing the 10 lap warm up and the headaches have gone away.

There are a lot of jokes out there about toe nails and running. The title of this particular post is an example, as is "toe nails are just nature's way of telling you that you are not running far enough." or "you know you are a true marathoner if you have lost toe nails and told people it's not that bad." I have even read about an ultra marathoner who had all of his toe nails removed so he did not have to worry about losing them. My latest victim is my left pinky toe nail. This happens if they get too long, the nail rubs against the shoe. The little guy didn't even have a chance.

My IT band has been injured from too much counter clockwise running up on the track. It is the same side that started hurting from the Jack 15 training with too much running on the same side of the road. I have decided to stop running up there for the sake of..well being able to run.

I believe for the upcoming season I am going to being practicing Low heart Rate Training. This is based off of the training Mark Allen did later in is career. When he was very successful. The idea is to find your heart rate that is the high end of fat burning, and aerobic. Train under this number. Do this instead of the "no pain no gain" training where you go hard almost every time. Eventually when training at a lower heart rate your pace will get faster over time. Allen claims when he started he was doing over 8 minute miles and within four months he was doing just over 7 minute miles at the same heart rate. After a year of this training he was doing sub 6 at that same heart rate.

A closer look at the year goes like this. The first three months of the year are trained exclusively under this HR, called the Patience Phase. this period would end when the occasional speed/hr test indicated that adaption is no longer occurring from the aerobic training.

The second phase was the Speed-Work Phase. Volume went down slightly to include a bike speed workout and a run speed workout each week.

Next is the Push Phase. This is usually before the big event of the year and includes four hard weeks and a four week taper. This will include a bit more speed work and higher volume. During the taper volume is dramatically decreased however at the same time keeping the intensity up. Of course find what works for you with a taper. I have not done enough big tapers to see what I need to consistently do.

One thing I am looking forward to is how cool recording and keeping track of HR, speed, weight lost, etc will be. Hopefully I see that speed increasing!

This type of training reduces risk of injury and burnout since the training is much lighter on your body. Less totally hammering it every session. This week only 12 miles will be done in four short three mile segments at an average HR of about 161 beats per minute. I am slightly concerned with how this will effect my Brookings Marathon time since I was planning to qualify for Boston and now am reduced to doing 12 miles this week at an average pace of about 8:06 per minute.

That pace is my 3 mile pace on the Woodway treadmill at the Wellness Center running at a 159 average HR. Outside or up on the track my pace would normally be faster at that HR or my HR would be faster at that pace. For some reason I believe the Woodway is more difficult then the track or the other treadmills. However even if it is harder then the track, it still works for comparison over the long run. Plus it is the best treadmill for HR training, so I'll use it.

My run on Monday and Tue were pretty identical. The IT band pain was a dull ache that slowly built up during the three miles. Never to more then a dull nag, like someone pushing their finger on my knee. Thursday I swam a half mile and tried to do some stationary biking. I think because I was doing intervals and sometimes the resistance would go way down my legs would be spinning at a high cadence, my IT band started acting up. Sharp pains started flaring up. Sort of what I would imagine a knife being driven into the side of my leg would feel like. After two or three of these I decided to call it quits for the evening. I probably was on the bike for 10, no more then 15 minutes. I did not expect today's run to go well, or even happen because of yesterday. However I woke up and spent the day relatively pain free. Surprisingly Friday's run was more pain free then the other two. Actually almost 100% pain free, only a few times did I get the IT pain, and it was not a almost constant ache like the other times. It would start and then go away. I finished the run feeling pretty good.

Basically I am starting over with my running, starting at zero. Or, 12 I guess. That is my mileage for this week. Next week I will add 10%, or 1.2 miles. Being injured right now I need to be super careful and will stick with the 10% rule.

This year I would also like to implement some low glycogen training into my schedule. Through distance work your body will adapt to using fat for fuel instead of glycogen. This is a good thing to become efficient at because your body unfortunately only has enough glycogen stores for two or three hours of running. The less glycogen you use, the longer you will last. Now some literature seems to support the "train low race high" theory. Doing your first workout like normal except avoiding any post workout recovery. A couple hours later again do a workout. This will not be your best PR session, since you will be low on glycogen from the first session. This second workout is simply to train your body's fuel system. Simply doing a lower effort bike or run will do, just get that body working on low fuel. It may not be the most enjoyable workout, but it will hopefully be worth it in the long run.

I have been doing very well at avoiding processed sugar lately. Really the only carbohydrates I consume are from fruit and the occasional bread or pasta I eat. This is to the point where a Dumb Dumb sucker gave me an upset stomach last week. I had breakfast earlier that morning, probably three hours before the sucker. I went to Hyvee to get a few things and they have teh suckers there where you go through the checkouts. I grabbed a blue berry one and within ten minutes my stomach hurt.

However once a week I have a single bad meal. I eat super clean throughout the week. But when Friday night rolls around it's another story. Two Fridays ago I rented a movie and ate about 1500 calories of cookie dough. Last Friday I bought some Turtle Brownies, you know the ones with caramel and walnuts. When most people binge it's a "I'm fat and depressed" binge. With me it is more like a "omg I'm so skinny I can't help it binge." Defiance and bought some Oreos. There was a coupon for free Oreo Cakesters so I picked up a box of those too :) No wonder my butt won't go away :p

I started a bike savings fund last week as well. There is a great site called SmartyPig.com that is made for savings. You create a goal and it allows you to put money into an account at the bank they are based at. I put my goal at 3 years to save $3,000 dollars for a bike. If I save 20 dollars each week for three years that is almost three grand. Who knows if that is what the money will go to, but I will keep telling myself that. The end of the goal would also be about the time I would get out of graduate school. Anyway I would like to build up a bike myself that will last me five to seven years with minimal change with the components. I do not want to purchase something that will need replacing each two years.

Some bike porn for everyone...

My current ride, a late 90's Trek Y-Foil

And for the frame I would like to build up in the future and ride for a long period of time, the BP Stealth the the most likely candidate. They are currently being produced so I would not have to buy an older frame. Directly from the company they go for 1200 I believe, which is very reasonable for a carbon frame. I could probably find one for less on Ebay.

And here is the Lotus frame. If I could get one of these on Ebay that would be so cool. However they are so rare and sought after that getting a hold of one would be unlikely.

Here are three other options. The Hotta in red is pretty rare but they are around. I have seen a few of those Giants on ebay so getting one is possible. And the last bike is a beam bike from Zipp. They are probably the most common of the alternative frame bikes. Not currently being produced but there's many out there.

Also for the component gruppo I would like to go with Sampson. Rather then the mass produced Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo components I would like to go with a more local manufacturer. He seems like a really down to earth guy and would be great to buy from I think. However that route could end up being more expensive because I will not be able to Ebay last year's used model for 25% off. Like how when the new Shimano and the big companies release a new line up or modify an existing one the old ones are usually reduced in price and often you can find people selling them on ebay to get funds for the new version.

;ljkn

Whoooo. I need a rest after all those pictures. Getting kinda hot in here....

To average 6:52 I'm going to have to run 6:30...

I never thought of this, but recently read it in an astronomy magazine. Rainbows, like vampires, do not have a reflection. When you see a rainbow you are seeing the refracted light from water droplets in the air. So if you turn a mirror to it and see a rainbow in the mirror, you are actually seeing a completely different one. The rainbow you see only exists on the back of your eye, only at that very point in space. Anyone else viewing the same water droplets are actually seeing a completely different rainbow from a different angle. Very cool :)

Monday I ran 13.1 at a pace of 6:59 minutes per mile. I started at 7:30 per mile on the dreadmill and increased it by .1 mph each mile. It probably would have been easier if I would have just ran the 13.1 at 7 minute pace instead of running easy for a while and then finishing at 6:30 per mile but it felt good.

After that I did not feel like I was done so did 100 front squats ass to grass with the 35 lb bar and then did 2 barefoot miles up on the track.

As an ultra distance athlete I have to teach my body and my mind to run when I simply do not want to. To run when I am lacking nutrients, strength, sleep, etc. Monday's run was done on nothing more than 3/4th a bottle of water. No nutrients were taken in during the run. Generally if someone is doing a workout longer than an hour some type of nutrition is consumed. I like to try to avoid this. I feel not taking in nutrition during a strenuous workout will make me mentally stronger since it does make the run a bit more of a struggle. That along with doing 100 35lb squats and doing two barefoot miles up on the track....that was tough. Oh boy, those two miles were a struggle.

Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks. The sweat from the run diluted and really spread out the blood, I did not even notice it until I looked down while doing the last two up on the track. Yeah, I'm hardcore, just reminding everyone :p It did really hurt when I got into the shower afterwards though...

The treadmill tends to really shred up the bottom of my foot if I go too long without a long run on it. I can sometimes feel the heat through the Vibrams from the friction between the platform and the belt if I have it going fast enough. Also I believe the movement of the track and my foot in opposite directions causes movement and a great deal of friction between my Vibrams and my skin, causes blisters and lots of wear. Well after going on vacation to Rapid City and seeing Desi for a week and not running, then jumping on the treadmill for a 91 minute half marathon really shredded my soles. I probably drained three blisters, seriously.

With my nutrition lacking during many of my actual runs. My post run nutrition is very good. I always try to get a shake in as soon as possible and a good solid meal eaten within an hour or two of getting home.

Kyle Nickels is teaching a brick class that I may try to make it to each week. I believe it is a 40 minute spin session and then they do some type of workout up on the track. It would be a good way to get some biking in. If they have a deal on cardio cards once school starts I may pick one up.

Jason Melby is also doing a new Masters swim type class Sunday evenings. For my new availability at work I am going to make me unavailable during the class time so I have no excuses but to make it to the pool.

I had someone msg me on facebook who I have never met before, but she saw a post of mine on the Vibram facebook page and had some questions for me about them. I was also talking to someone recently about my Vibrams, cannot remember who it was actually, but the same thing came up about landing softer and the lack of cushion in the FiveFingers. Ok this is actually the FIRST thing to come up in almost every conversation about the Vibrams. People think it must be painful to run because there is no support and cushion in them. However the exact opposite is true. Shoes block sensory information that your feet and body would normally get from making contact with the ground. I distinctly remember how when running shod as speed would increase so would how hard my feet would slam into the ground. Now however wearing Vibrams the faster I go the smoother my stride becomes and the softer I contract the ground.

Wednesday my run was just brutal. Seriously I cannot remember a worse "easy" run. It was supposed to be eight miles but at three I decided to cut it back and stopped at five. I was running on a treadmill and my body just got super hot. I was sweating like crazy, and my stomach felt like some food was going to come up, so I called it quits. Not sure exactly what happened, no explanation, it was horrible.

Luckily Thursday's run went very well. Five miles at a pace of 6:45. The last two runs have been in my new Vibram FiveFingers Classics. They feel super heavy and stiff compared to my old model which is at 775 miles at the moment. I am afraid they may be too large of a size. Too large as in maybe 1/5th of an inch, super close. I have not been able to tighten them all the way yet though because of the strap design. It is a draw string that goes around the top of them and if it is pulled too far it hangs off the back. Hopefully just cutting this will allow me to tighten it fully and be able to run in them. I remember when I was first getting into the old pair of VFF I had the same blister issues and now they are perfect, so in time this new pair should be just fine.

Desi is all moved into her place in Mexico now (near VeraCruz) until Jan1st. She does not have a cell phone to use there so Skype will be just about the only way to talk to her now. Unfortunately her computer seems to be having issues with the webcam, I hope that gets figured out soon. The son of the family she is staying with uses Skype. Desi talked to him all the time here in the states so hopefully until her's is up and running she can jump on his computer. It is really tough not being able to talk to her between classes or when one of us is on a break at work. I keep my computer on at night now so if she wakes up and gets on her laptop in the morning I will hear her calling me and I can say good morning to her.

For as long as I have been a cyclist and switched to distance running getting in a good hammerfest workout has never been a problem. The hard part is taking those rest days. Even when I get to a rest day, I usually end up doing some lifting or getting on an elliptical, or anything besides running. That folks, is not a rest day. That is cross training, and there is a difference. Here is a page that every endurance athlete should read. It does a good job explaining that your actual training session does make you stronger. Your fitness increases during rest periods. Something I need start practicing more. Today for was supposed to be a rest day but I decided to do three miles since I cut a previous run short because of a super massive blister. After reading this I changed my mind and did not run. Yes I did 20 minutes on an elliptical and maybe 15 of lifting, but come on. If I would have done that run it probably would have been three 6:30's.

Last I have updated my 2010 race schedule. I have my three A races, the Brookings Marathon, Vineman Ironman, and Lean Horse Ultramarathon. However there are two more marathons out in the hills and now I found one taking place in a town near Sioux Falls. The entry fees for all of these are low. The Viborg one is only 50 dollars and it's only an hour drive away. A friend is doing the first Deadwood marathon with me so I could always carpool out there with him. However it would be more likely I would take a few more days off from work and go out there for a little extra time since I could stay at Desi's house for free. It depends on if she can come out with me or not. If she takes on the camp counselor job here again she will unlikely be able to make it out to the race at all.

Thanks so for reading :)

How I overcame ITBS and Plantar Fasciitis

So if you are looking for a quick fix this may not be the article for you. Few things are ever a quick fix when it comes to health and fitness. However, it has been a successful healing for me, so you may get lucky! This is a write up on how it came that I developed both Plantar Fasciitis and Iliotibial Tract Friction Syndrome. Also the important thing, how I am now running faster and farther, pain free. I am hoping with this some insight may be given and perhaps you can see something that will help you.

My IT band first became injured November of 2008. I was increasing my long runs before the inflammation occured. However I thought my ass was covered become I was very diligent with stretching before and after my workouts, and I always did a warmup and a cool down. However it just looked like the stretching and preparation were not enough. I did not run again until the very end of December, taking the time off to focus on finals for school. Nearly two full months off, it was horrible. I remember that my IT band did hurt for a while after starting running but it got better. I did purchase a new pair of shoes but ended up going back to my old worn out ones strangely enough.

Next I developed Plantar Fasciitis in early May 2009. It was really odd how and when it happened. This was right after the time of the four triathlons in three week period and I was running very low mileage during this time. However the weeks before I was running quite a bit. Also I was in a newer pair of shoes again. The last run I did before deciding to take the summer off my white flag when up early at mile 3 and I got a ride home after the run from a friend because I could barely walk. Often it is unknown exactly how these injuries develop, but they do.

So I took nearly the entire summer of 2009 off and focused on cycling. Finally early August I started running again in Vibram Fivefingers. I did roughly 30 slow mile weeks for four weeks and then one night at the end of August I went out and ran 26.2 miles for the hell of it. This was the first time I had felt my PF hurt during a run. The twinge only happened during the tail end of the 26 miles and went away before the run was over.

When I started running again I also began using a night splint, rolling the area on a golf ball, and icing the area. I would go a week in Spearfish and not wear the night splint or do any stretching, and feel absolutely no difference in my plantar fascia. Many people swear by one or all of the treatments I mentioned, I however noticed nothing. I found I was relatively pain free for the most part with our without doing them.

After the 26.2 mile run, for four weeks I did 70 miles a week. This ended with a 31.16 mile out and back. There is a race here where the runners are dropped off in a town 15 miles away and race back to campus. Last year I was dropped off four miles out of town by a friend and ran to the start and back, resulting in 26.2 miles. This time I started from my house and ran to the start and back with everyone. This made the run 31.16 miles. Again I did feel some PF pain a bit towards the end for a mile but it went away quickly.

The week after the 31 miles I did get some ITBS pain again. A few times after that run I did go out again on Medary, same road, and do a few runs. Towards the end, 5 or so miles into them, I would get slight IT pain but finish just fine. Afterwards I simply took some time off and took advantage of a holiday to travel and see Desi. Unfortunately I left my Vibrams in Spearfish with her and was without them for a couple weeks, running in my pair of trainers. While running in the shoes the ITBS pain started hurting within a mile or two of the runs and I would cut them short after 3 miles and have to head home. After a couple weeks without the Vibrams I got them back. First run in them, zero ITBS pain. The experience was amazing. I went from getting the twinge within two miles and cutting the run show to not having any pain at all.

This time however, I knew exactly what caused this bout of ITBS and exactly how to fix it. The race took place on paved road out of town, so I did a great deal of training on that road prior to the run. Looking back 60% of the 167 miles I ran before the 31 were on that road with the center line to same side of my body. I suppose the slight incline of the road for 100 miles caused some stress over time.

Now with my Vibrams I was again back in business. All the races were behind me for the year so I had some easier weeks and the training was down a bit. The snow came and another issue arose. Here is South Dakota is gets really cold. As of writing this I am not sure if it has been above 30 for a few weeks. That tends to make long runs, or any running outside at all, very uncomfortable and difficult. Now comes the track problem. First off, the track at my local Wellness Center is horribly designed. 9 laps for a mile and it is almost in a rectangle shape with slightly curved corners. I have ran on smaller tracks before and this has the sharpest corners I have ever seen. And, who makes an odd numbered mile track?!?

Anyway I began to find that if I went for longer than eight or nine miles with my right side on the outside, my IT band would start to hurt. Nine miles is 324 left hand turns. Luckily though all I have to do is jump on a treadmill, run outside, or go the other direction on the track (if it is late and no one else is on there) and the pain instantly goes away. I am going to rant one more time about that track quick. The old building had five lanes I believe and it was kind of understood that the outside lane was for runners so they could go the other direction and switch it up. This new track only has three lanes so that is obviously impossible and also causes walkers to often take all three lanes.

That explains the only instance when I get ITBS pain, obviously from too many laps around the track. The only time I get plantar fasciitis or heel pain is during a 5+ hour cashiering shift at work. Standing for that long does cause the bottom of my foot to hurt a bit. When I first started working there I bought inserts or tried wearing running shoes. Neither did anything to help. Now I am wearing the flattest shoes I could find, Puma K Street II's and they actually keep the pain to a minimum. I can do a 9 hour shift and my feet hurt less than they did after a 5 hour with the inserts or cushioned running shoes.

But now after 800 miles of running since my return I believe I have finally found what I need to run injury free and successful. I ran for a year and a half and was injured twice for about two months off each time. Now running in the Vibram Five Fingers I am going faster and farther, injury free.

Now if you are feeling any of these pains. Do not go out and switch into minimal shoes and start running again. There is an injury and some time off will be essential, duration based on how much and what hurts. If you have been running in the regular Nike moon boots and switching to minimalist running there should be a transition time as well. You will be using muscles with your new form that have been neglected for years of running. Here is an excellent post on how to make the transition. It refers to barefoot running but the transition is very similar to switching to running in Vibram Fivefingers or XC flats.

The point of minimal running is that it forces a midfoot strike and allows your foot to land how it should. We have been running so for the last 200,000 years and Nike comes along in the last few decades and tells us we are running wrong, I'm not buying it. Here is kind of the flagship article on the subject. Not the first, but one of the best IMO. If you are looking for more, please check this out.

*edit* Yesterday at work (1-10-10) I realized my heel pain from standing even for an 8 hour shit is gone. I do not know when it finally stopped hurting because it did so slowly over time. However were at first I could barely work 5 hours and not have heel pain from standing, now I'm doing 8 without the pain. It's a really good feeling seeing improvement like that.

Cliff Notes:

Shoes = injuries

Vibrams = Faster, farther, pain free

Distance running. If you feel good, don't worry, that will pass.

I was reading about the 100 top science stories of 2009 and there was many about vaccines. The article on a diarrhea vaccine brought this thought to my attention. The article said how there was currently 1.5 million people suffering from diarrhea or 1.5 mil that die annually, cannot remember, but the majority being in developing countries. Well what would those countries do with 1.5 mil more children?!? There are already food shortages and over population in these areas. Many people there are already dieing of so many other things I do not believe increasing the population when there are already food shortages is such a good diea. Yes, saving lives is good. However I could not help but think that it would just be giving these people the chance to die a slow painful death from something else.

Wed was just an amazing run. Felt strong the entire time, and had racing on my mind. Sometimes the feeling would get so powerful and I would find myself within the race. I feel a shiver go down my spine and across my shoulders and all I want to do is drop the hammer but I know I have to hold pace to continue the remainder of the run.

I have noticed lately a difference in how my head and upper body position effects my running. This is only possible when running up on the track when I can see every single lap pace. If I lower my head and eyes and stare only a few feet in front of my body I feel smoother and like I am moving at a pretty good clip. However when I check my pace it is generally slower then when running with my head up looking forward. I feel better with my head down, it feels like I am literally falling forward. Probably because when looking down I see the ground going past quickly. Very much like if you were to look out your side window when in a car and staring at the ground to your side. When I go and lift my head or eyes again, without consciously thinking about it my pace increases. Sometimes I think seeing other runners in front of me may have something to do with it. Maybe it's something with my body position. Or of course a combo of the two.

One of the common excuses for allowing the consumption of junk during the holidays is, well, because it is the holidays. But I believe that eating all this sugary fake food does nothing but reinforce the habit during the rest of the year. Diet soda is another example of this. True, by itself diet soda does not contain sugar. However it has that same taste of the oh so addictive substance and when you drink pop it gives you that amazing feeling so much akin to the first few inhalations of a cigarette to a smoker who missed their first break.

Speaking of soda I saw a man letting his two year old sip out of his Pepsi bottle at Walmart. I gave him the most "omfg are you kidding me you discust me" look I could, without being to obvious.

Here is an interesting thought. This came up a while ago when I was discussing the addition of a barefoot division at a race, along the same lines as age groups. First I said how I looked at age groups as a way of separating older runners from the runners in their prime, to equalize the placings. By making a BF catagory I believed it showed that they were at a disadvantage to regular runners, such as 60 year olds are at a disadvantage to 30 year olds. However thinking about it more, are shoes the disadvantage, being more like wheel chairs for the handicap? Are runners all disabled and incapable of running without the crutches(shoes)?

Such as a person with an amputated leg cannot run without a prosthetic leg, most runners cannot run without shoes.

It's ironic that the modern motion control shoe may be causing more injuries that would otherwise be prevented.

A good comparison I have read is how shoe companies promote their product like baby formula companies did a few decades ago. They told everyone formula was superior to breast milk, gave it away in hospitals and clinics. People started replacing breast milk with formula, and infants paid the price. Unfortunately society has not fully realized that runners are paying the price wearing motion control moon boots. It is turning around though. Look at the slowtwitch forums. Triathletes are the most tech savy athletes out there, and you can even see a movement to more minimal shoes there.

A friend wanted me to comment on Muscle Milk...

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 2 scoops (75.0 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 350 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18.0g 28%

Saturated Fat 8.0g 40%

Cholesterol 5mg 2%

Sodium 200mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 12.0g 4%

Sugars 6.0g

Protein 32.0g

As you can see it has sodium to replace what was lost through sweat. Lots of protein, plenty of sugar, and holy saturated fat! My ideal recovery shake that I like to eat as soon as possible after a workout is some whey protein and a banana blended up into some 100% fruit juice. My current media is the amazing apple juice Walmart has. Muscle milk is manufactured to be a recovery drink for lifters mainly.

It is important to note that no supplements are regulated by the FDA or any governing body. I talk a bit about this here. If it can be helped I would always opt for real food rather than some food like substance.

The book, Paleo Diet for Athletes talks a great deal about recovery and eating around nutrition.

Thursday Walmart closed at 8 on christmas eve. I worked 10.5 hours that day so obviously did not get a chance to run before work. However afterwards it was 12 below with wind gusting up to 28mph. So obviously I had to go run! I only did four but it was awesome. I told someone it was at my easy peasy "sing black eyed peas out loud while all alone running down main street during a blizzard" pace.

You know those arctic explorers you always see in movies with the beard covered in ice about to discover the ancient alien artifact. (transformers, the day the earth stood still, and alien vs predator if I remember correctly) That was me. Except I was running, which is much cooler than discovering an ancient alien artifact. My fingers lost feeling for the first half when I spent most of the time running into the wind. I even stuck them in my mouth and bit down, not feeling a whole lot. However as soon as I turned to a tailwind and was sheltered by houses and buildings more the feeling came back within a few miles.

I hate holidays for the main reason that the Wellness Center closes. I do two things in life. Homework, and run. I have no homework with it being Winter Break so must run, and it's really tough to do so when it's below zero and has snowed a foot in the last two days with another 10 inches to come.

During the next semester I would like to do a bit of studying at the Wellness Center. Bring a book or my notes with me and so some light reading after my workout. Jump on a bike and spend a half hour burning a few extra calories and getting some reading done. Can't hurt to try I suppose.

I was chatting with a coworker and he mentioned how he used to do marathons back in high school. "Oh yeah! Which ones?" I asked. "oh, some 5k's and 10k's" he replies.....I tell him that a marathon is 26.2 miles. He goes on to say how a 5k is a marathon to him. That is like calling a Ford Explorer a Lamborghin....even though it obviously is not. I have just never realized before that some people actually do not know a marathon is 26.2 miles.

Well I am out at Rapid City for a week with Desi before she leaves for school in Mexico until June. I may not run until I get back on the 4th but I am super excited to start a new training diary!

Later all! Thanks so much for reading :)

The Surgeon General gave me permission to smoke you

Here is an update on how the Vibrams are holding up at 750 miles. My right has two small holes as you can see from the below photo.

This is interesting because the bottom of the left VFF has noticably more tread/traction compared to the right.
As you can tell by looking at the second and third toe, the left still has that groove on the second and if you were holding it in your hand you would be able to just see it on the third as well. However on the right they are long gone. I am going to guess I am pushing off just slightly more with my right foot.

Here are the same holes 250 miles ago, at the 500 mile mark.
Here is a photo of the seam separation that many KSO models have gotten. Hopefully soon I can get around to sewing this up. Odd how the right has no separation.
On ebay I just won a pair of these Vibram Classics. I like the look of the classic model much more than the closed top of the KSO so decided to go with these.

I have noticed this before. But if I mention to someone that I ran 26 miles last night or whenever just for the heck of it, once in a while they reply with an almost angry or irritated tone. Justin told me that if I am going to be going that far I should be doing races. Lets see, I have probably done the marathon distance or more at least 6 or 7 times, but have never done an official marathon. Maybe it bothers some people that I can just go and hammer out 26 miles for the fun of it. Jon Kephart and I were talking about the Brookings Marathon and he said something about it being his first and I said it would be mine too. His reaction was full of shock. He could not believe that I have done the distance so many times yet never actually done a marathon.

Monday was a great workout. I did 7 miles at an average pace of 6:40. The main set consisted of five miles rotating 1/3 mile at 7:12 pace and 2/3 mile at 6:00 pace then a warm up and cool down. Felt strong, it was a good run. My calves hurt a bit afterwards though, it has to be the treadmill doing it.

During this run I noticed that going at the slower speed hurt far more than the fast speed. The 10mph intervals obviously stressed my cardiovascular system a great deal, but the legs did not hurt. However whenever I slowed to the 7:12 recovery my legs did not really like it. It seems they can keep up a 6:00 pace for ever, but my lungs get tired out faster. I do not know if I am spending more time on the ground or not landing and taking off as fast but I was much more uncomfortable at the slower speed. Just need to keep running faster I guess :)

Tuesday I ran to my MicroBiology exam and ran to the Wellness Center after that, did 4 and ran back home for 5 on the day. Did them at a 7:12 pace, which was easy. Never was a looking at my speed and telling myself to run faster or slower. I simply ran at a comfortable speed, and that happens to be my hopeful pace for the May marathon.

Wednesday I was just a regular run. Nothing special, as running goes. However an odd thing did happen. I did one mile up on the track and my right IT band starting to hurt. This is the direction around the circle I try to avoid since I lean into the turn and believe it stretches my IT band. So I did a mile and it starts to hurt. I leave the track and finish the run on a treadmill, no pain at all. Odd how that works.

Friday I hammered out 11 at an easy 8 minute pace. Usually I try to stay at least with 7:12 or 7:30 miles minimum. However this day I just felt like sitting in and doing a nice easy run. The first five miles felt a bit awkward, and it was not until around starting mile 6 that I really got into the run. It is funny how sometimes I will not feel totally comfortable, and all of a sudden, "oh, this feels ok :)"

I have been curious and this came up at the Barefoot Forums, so I decided to do a little comparison between track, treadmill, and heart rate

1 Mile on the track at 7:00 = 153 bpm

1 Mile on the Woodway at 7:00 = 158 bpm

1 Mile on another treadmill at 7:00 pace = 153 bpm

Looking at that the Woodway was way off. Even the perceived exertion was much higher on that compared to the other two miles I did. This surprises me because the Woodway should be the most accurate machine in the building. The perceived exertion on the other treadmill was pretty constant with the track. I am not fully sure how to explain this. I would like to test the accuracy of the treadmills. This is done my simply knowing the track length and putting a piece of bright tape on a section. Then you put it at a mph and count how many times the tape comes around in so much time. Also the other treadmill tested is in a completely open area where the Woodway has a lower ceiling and a glass wall in front of it, looking down on the basketball courts. This could account for less air movement and me heating up faster perhaps.

The year is almost up, time to look at 2010 I suppose. Hopefully I have finally found what I need to run successfully.

My 2010 goals are as follows:

-Boston Qualification

-Complete Ironman

-Race a 50miler or finish 100 miler

-Run Injury Free

--And in turn, hit 3000 miles.

3,000 may be a lofty goal but if I can remain injury free I do not doubt I can do it. I will get 1400 this year and that is with taking about 3 months purely off from running, and a few other short periods off. That included almost the entire summer which would have been where the majority of my miles would have taken place.

Oh and you should check out the "About Me" section I added at the top right, under Navigation.

Thanks so much for reading, catch you on the flip side!

First barefoot run in -4 degrees, new 5kPR, and a marathon for the heck of it. What are your workouts like?

Ran barefoot for the first time, got a new 5k personal record, ran another marathon for the heck of it, and the Vibrams hit 700 miles

Monday I only ran four miles. I did not plan on doing anything too long and four is usually my go to for a short "run a few just to get a run in" run. These are usually supposed to be easier runs also, but they never end up being so. I ran the half mile to the Wellness Center in my Brooks and got up on the track. Threw the Vibrams on and went to it. Up on the track I was not purposely pushing the pace, just running comfortably at 6:45 minute miles. Sometime during this mile I decided to go a bit faster for the second mile and really drop the hammer for the last 1.1 miles. My previous best is 19:19 and this day I did 28 laps in exactly 19:19, but if I account for the last lap being longer than .1 it actually puts my 5k time at 19:15. Pretty good for running solo and not even trying to PR :)

It was the weekend before I believe when I decided I should HTFU and at some point run back home from the Wellness Center barefoot. So after the 5k up on the track I decided to just pick the coldest day and do it then, which happened to be that day. It was 8 degrees with a wind chill of -4.

So there I am after the 5k, standing outside in my Brooks. Waiting for the Garmin to pick up a satellite and searching for Linkin Park on my Ipod Shuffle. Finally I find Bleed it Out and the Garmin picks up a signal. Frack, now the shoes have to come off....I remove the ST4's and put them into my draw string bag that I bring with me to the WC to hold my heart rate monitor, phone, wallet, GU, etc. Not wanting to stand there any longer I take off. There were two options for the route. Sidewalks would take longer but I would have to go through less snow. Or go right over the grass and through the snow, but less actual distance and time running. I went with the latter, if I am going to HTFU and run barefoot when it is four below I might as well get the full experience. As I was running I did see one guy, as I passed him I yelled out "LOST A BET!" I did the half mile home at just over 6 minute pace. "Faster I run the faster I get home" I kept telling myself. This was really super ironic, but the image of people walking on hot coals came to mind during the run! I figured if people can do that I can spend 3 minutes running over zero degree ice and snow. Which I did.

This has been bothering me lately but I have been getting these really weird calf pains. It started very slowly a week ago. In the same spot I would, once in a while, get a stabbing pain on on the outside of my right calf muscle. Not sure what triggered the pain while I was running. The first run it only happened once, then each run it would happen maybe two or three times. It seemed much worse on the treadmill. Also looking back that machine is really the only change I have made to my training that I could think of to trigger a new pain. Monday I had the stabbing feeling a few times, so figured the timing was good to take the week off to focus on school. The odd thing was for two days the pain got worse each day. I would simply be sitting and get a throbbing pain in a couple isolated spots on my right calf. What really bothered me was it was also happening on my left calf as well, similar areas on the outside of my calf above my ankle. Luckily Thursday and Friday there was no pain at all so I figured I would be good to run on Friday.

So Friday rolls around. It was ok not running for three full days. Too much school work to be done with finals being the next week. I had a presentation on Wed discussing the position of the American Dietetic Association on Dietary Fat. Thur I had a presentation on our independent project for Food Science. Mine was on sensory analysis of muffins with different fat substitutions. We did a control using regular shortening, and then two other recipes. One had apple sauce instead of the shortening and the other had a homemade fruit puree. After that I had a presentation on Maple Syrup Urine Disease plus a 7 page paper to go with it. Also various other assignments had to be worked on. I decided it best to just take the week off, all the school stuff ending up going very well by the way.

Monday I had a couple classes and ran to the Wellness Center sometime between 1:30 and 2:00. I ran up on the track, not really knowing how far I felt like running. I have said it before but me not knowing how far I am going often results in 26.2 mile runs at 4 in the morning or double marathons on treadmills. So I am just going along at an easy pace, averaging 48 second laps. Now it has been a while since I have ran and I could not remember if my Boston qualification pace was 48 second laps or 50 second laps. I thought it was 48 second laps but it just seemed to be a really easy pace I was going at. FYI it is 48 second laps, which comes to a 7:12 pace per mile, or a 3:10 marathon. Just faster per mile faster then I need to run for Boston. Anyway after about 9 or so miles up on the track my right IT band will usually start to twinge. I have found that if I supinate more with that inside foot while turning it makes the IT twinge go away. I did that and finished mile 12. I went down stairs and did one more mile on a treadmill. At least I know it is obviously the track doing it because I can hop on a treadmill or run outside with no pain. Finished the mile and ran home. 14 miles at a 7:12 pace.

This has happened once before with this same runner. A few Fridays ago I went and ran at this time, and he got on the track when I was like 8 or whatever miles into my run. He paced off me for probably three miles. 6:36ish miles and he stuck right with me, seems to be a good runner. However last time on his final lap he passes me and sprints it. I was waiting for it and when he came around me at speed I stuck right with him for the entire lap. He was done but I kept on running and finished my 14.

I then ate and went to Cottonwood to do some homework. I was feeling surprisingly awesome and told myself if I finished my Assessment in Nutrition extra credit I could leave the coffee shop at 8pm and go run some more. Everything got done and I ran from my house shortly after 8. At this point I was obviously shooting for the marathon, and the second run was much slower as expected.

There was a girl who I see at Cottonwood often, walking on a treadmill upstairs and after I was a few miles into my second run she started up on the track as well. She eventually caught up to me and passed by. She was running a bit faster then I would have by myself so I used her as a pacer. I was on the outside and she was on the inside lane so at every corner I would fall a bit behind but catch up on the straights, yo yoing for the three or four miles she ran. She seemed fine with it since I am sure she recognized me and could have pretended to tie a shoe or jumped off the track for a second and let me keep running. The moment I dread whenever I am using someone as a rabbit, she took off and sprinted her final lap. They always do. After she left I tried to keep my pace up but knew it would inevitably slow. I finished running at a distance where the run home would put me at 26.2 miles. Perfect :)

With no purpose or goal or preparation or nutrition plan my marathon was done at a 7:50 minute per mile pace. Like I said the first 14 were at 7:12 so the last half was obviously much slower. For the first run I had a GU at the beginning and drank water once in a while throughout. I had half a serving of my recovery powder and a couple tuna fish sandwiches afterwards. Before the second run I had a GU, halfway through I went and bought some gummy fruit chews, and drank water throughout. Not a nutrition plan I would recommend even to an enemy. Amazingly, only about 15 minutes total or 37 seconds per mile slower then my Boston qualification time for the marathon. I am supremely confident I could have finished the entire 26.2 at Boston pace if I would have done it all in one shot.

There are usually plenty of hotties up running on the track, and I love staring at their shoes when I come up on them from behind. I even stair at guy's shoes and running form and how their foot lands all the time. Cannot get enough of it. I see three types of form when up on the track.

One is the heel strikers. This just looks utterly painful to me now that I have gotten way past that.

Second is the forefoot or midfoot runners. Most of the time they land much too far forward on their foot and bounce up and down. This results in wasted energy that could be better utilized in forward motion. The excessive bounces also puts a great deal of stress on the calves and is just as bad as heel striking. I made this same mistake when I first began running.

And every once in a while I see solid form. The ticket is minimal bounce and the foot striking the ground under the center of the runner's gravity, not in front.

Then there is one guy who holds his shoulders way up, keeps his arms stiff, and looks like he is trying to defecate a pine cone.

Saturday's recovery run was a ride on the struggle bus. I planned on only doing a few miles. Not a workout but just something to get the legs moving. I could have ran forever but the entire three miles was just really uncomfortable and I could never get into the groove. I had little pains all throughout my feet during the run. It felt good to get running but it felt very nice to finish up too!

Sunday I felt great again, really almost totally recovered! I ran 8 miles at 7:09 pace on a treadmill since I was not really in the mood for the track after the 205 laps on Friday. Also I used the new Woodway. I have described it as feeling like running on clouds, it's fantastic. The running surface is rubber slabs instead of a thin rubber belt.

These are the real deal. The best thing is it allows for both ascents and descents for hill training. I can practice going up hills on any treadmill but going down is a different story. Having skill descending will come in handy during any marathons or the ultra out in the Black Hills.

My urine is also still a pretty nice fluorescent yellow a day and a half after the marathon. That is to be expected I suppose since my fluid intake was pretty low on Friday during the 26 miles and today I was sweating like a small nun during penguin hunting season while doing the 8.

As of writing this the Vibrams are at....shoot well I do not have my training journal with me. Something like 713 miles. It seems like the two small holes in the bottom are not growing much, likely because I am not running on roads anymore. And if I am the concrete or asphalt is covered with snow. I have not looked at the two sew up jobs I did lately but since doing the first one I have barely been tightening the straps. Just enough to keep the shoe on and from being noticeably loose.

Lastly is has recently come to my attention that I have surpassed my speeds from last school year before my injury and two month hiatus from running. I was just telling Barb about a month ago how it would be a struggle to break even 20 in a 5k, now here this week I set a new PR. My half marathon distance training runs are being done at a pace of about 7:30 at the slowest, and that is a pretty comfortable speed. Now with Saturday's run I am sure I have surpassed all my previous distance and speed records. (Aside from the double marathon on the treadmill) I did the first 14 at a 7:12 pace and did the entire 26.2 at 7:50, and that was with a three hour break in the middle which did nothing but make the last 12.2 really slow and uncomfortable.

Things are looking good for a Boston qualification. Maybe I can even break 3 hours? I have 6 months to train for the marathon still. All I am shooting for is Boston as of right now, sub 3 may still remain in the back of my mind though...

Another thought I have had recently is about the ultra I plan on doing. I am thinking about either racing the 50 miles or simply completing the 100. Looking at last year's results, if I were to run 10 minute miles for 50 miles that would have put me finishing 23 minutes before the second place finisher. In 9 months that may very well be do-able. Something to think about...

That is it for the week. Finals is up next! No classes, getting some extra shifts in at work, and hopefully lots of running. What's not to love? Have a great week everyone!

My fast apologizes for making your fast look like apple sauce.

Someone once said "You will never, ever, feel worse after a run than before." and during my Monday night run that was never more true. I was at Cottonwood from 5 to 9 and if there was a bed near by I could have been asleep in five minutes, even with three small cups of coffee in me. Jenna and I were running after that, and I REALLY did not want to. I however knew once I got out onto the road, all would be well.

We ended up doing 5.5 together. I miss running with her five days a week like we did during the summer and early on in the school year. It was a bit cold and my fingers were non functional when I got back home. Through some clumsy effort I managed to get my Ipod on, grabbed my rent, and ran to the Wellness Center. There I did a few miles up on the track just before they closed shop. After that I ran to drop rent off and back to home. 8.5 miles total, it felt good.

Wed was 13 up on the track. I ran to Micro and from there to the WC so had 14 total for the day. Getting ready for the run, the fact that I would pretty much be stuck inside for the next few months really hit me. My short 4 mile recovery runs, or even the longer 9 mile tempo runs are no big deal up on the track or on a dreadmil. But when it comes to anything up to or past 10 miles my IT band acts up. 13 miles is 117 laps, 468 corners, and about 8,775 steps with each foot. The IT tract may twinge for the rest of the night when walking or a bit tomorrow. However running it will be fine. When I ran home after the 13 there was no problem.

Quick word of advice. If attacked by someone with a gun, RUN! Go in a zigzag pattern if you think about it. They will only hit you 1 in 25 times, and odds are they will not get a vital organ if the attacker does happen to hit you. I am also a pretty fast runner, so I like those odds.

It was awesome. There are two other people whom I know at SDSU that train in Vibrams, and they were both at the Wellness Center at the same time as me. Both are pretty cool guys as well, the little I have talked to them. Nice to see others representing.

I kind of enjoy my reputation. Shannon told me her male friend asked her if I was the guy that ran a lot. Two other times that evening I got comments about my running. One was a girl asking about the Vibrams and answered her questions. The Ok I really enjoy my reputation :)

On Thursday I caught two grade school aged brothers stealing YuGiOh! cards in the bathroom at Walmart. There was a bunch of wrappers in the garbage and the kids were out walking around with cards in their hands. Later we saw them go back into the bathroom and I followed, finding them together in a stall. Obviously opening the card wrappers. We called a manager up front and he ripped into them. I could not help but grin, it was just funny. However at the same time I felt horrible. Their obese mother rolled up in her motorized cart. They obviously were living at a low socioeconomic level. One kid was pretty quite while the other was hyperventilating, crying, and repeating "I don't shop lift" over and over again. The mom continued to shop and came through the checkouts a half hour later, with the kid still crying and repeating that he does not shoplift. It ended up being about $50 in cards after they were done.

Lately with the cold weather it seems neckbeards are becoming more popular. That may be the wrong word, they will never be popular but are worn by people. I am sure you are familiar with the growth, but if not, exhibit A:

These are often grown by overweight people attempting to cover up double or triple chins to make it appear like they have a neck. Also it is common among dungeon and dragon players. The more unkept and pronounced your neckbeard, the higher your level.

However let it be known, that neckbeards, are never under any circumstances, cool. People complement nice beards all the time. People never, compliment neck beards. There is a reason for this.

I like all of the songs on my Itunes, except when I am listening to them on my Ipod Shuffle. When walking back from class or during a run I only like 1 in 10 or 1 in 5 if it's a good day.

I ended the week with an six on Friday, six on Sat, and 4 on Sunday. My right calf has been aching these past few days. I am wondering if it is not from the treadmill. I have been inside more lately but it has only been in the last last week or maybe two that I have been on that machine more. I should probably just harden the fuck up and run outside more. I have been running to and from the Wellness Center but would like to do more. I will have to upgrade my gloves though.

Gloves...I just read a review on a good pair of gloves that I thought was very well prices....one sec, where did I see that..

...

The Sugoi Firewall. 35 dollars from most places. I would like to find a good winter glove that does not have a wrist on it, since I find I usually roll mine up anyway. Getting one without that option is unlikely though.

So my madre y padre took me to Pizza Ranch today after I got off work. It was nice talking with them for the hour or so we were there. I realized during during the chat that I would not object to Desi as strongly if she were to bring up transferring back to SDSU. I always tell her to just finish out at Black Hills State U. She was here for her first year but it would just be easier to stay there. However I have been reeaalllyy missing her lately and it has been tough.

She will be in Mexico going to school near Veracruz next semester. She may not have a phone to use but there is always Skype dates :) That will be really hard not being able to see her in person for over two months before and after I go and visit. We found tickets are about 725 dollars to Veracruz. Yeah not cheap but it will be worth it. I have never even flown before, so spending a week in Mexico is going to be amazing.

There was someone else at the Wellness Center Sunday night in Vibrams. I always see him and his wife at WC or once in a while at Walmart. I think they are in the bio department, very outdoorsy. Cool people. He had on a pair of Classics, which I think I will get once mine are done.

Lets end the post with a review of my new sunglasses :) They are awesome by the way!

So I have worn many sunglasses in my time, most notably the Oakley M-Frames, and Rudy Project Sport Mask. Recently I came across a fantastic opportunity and purchased a pair of Rudy Project Ketyums.

The Ketyums differ from the above two in a number of ways. The M-Frames have the best shaped lenses I have ever worn. They flow smooth across your face and past your eyes. The Sportmasks had minimal frame and what it did have was carbon fibre, so they were excessively light. The Ketyums are made of a metalic alloy, making them heavier then both other pairs. This does give them a much more sturdy feeling then most glasses you will wear.

What puts these apart from Tifosi, Oakley, and even other Rudy Project glasses I have worn is their adjust ability. Rudys may be the most adjustable frames out there, but these even put the Sportsmask to shame. The M-Frames I wore lacked pretty much all give. The nose piece was one piece that could not shape to your fit. The frame did not flex much at all, so the size it was was the size it was. The Rudy Project Syleros I have worn had Rudy's rubber coated temple tips and ergonose nose pads with proprietary spring hinges. These can be moved closer or spread apart, or up and down to fit any face. The Sportmask had a similar nose piece. Being a super light frame, the Sportsmask would also spread a bit to fit a wider head. The Ketyums have the great nose piece for adjustability there, but also it much more comfortable around your head as well. The Ketyums have spring loaded temples built into the frame. This makes for putting them on and forgetting about them when wearing super easy.

The first picture is obviously where the frame normally sits. The second picture is how spread the hinges can open. If they sit on your head past the normal point, they slightly grip above your ears a bit. The frame also flexes a small amount above the eyes, allowing for some give when putting them on.

These retail at $274.99 which is obviously a disadvantage. Most people would never pay more then 30 for a pair of sunglasses. However when you get to triathletes and cyclists, whom can be quite obsessive gear junkies, nice sunglasses are not so out of the question. I got a deal on these, being a college student there was no way way I could pull off the retail price.

Anyone can argue over sunglasses and the companies, and which is superior. However there is no argument that Rudy's replacement warranty is one of the best in the business. For a minimal 20 dollars you can send in your old lenses and they will replace them for life. That includes scratches or anything. There is also a three year frame replacement policy at half retail I believe. Oakley does not even touch that with their replacement policy. Oakley has a one year replacement on eyewear if purchased from an authorized dealer. Scratched lenses however are not covered, but you can purchase replacements starting at $40.

Honestly I would not recommend these to people simply because of the price. Luckily most of the features can be found in less expensive Rudy Project eyewear. Nearly all of their pairs have amazing adjustability on the nose piece, which is what truly sets the brand apart. Check them out at e-rudy.com

Thanks so much for reading!