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!