Shoe Review... Sort of

Our dignity is not in what we do, but in what we understand.--George Santayana

I used to buy a pair of shoes, dog them out and then buy another pair. Every running shoe person would say something like, every 300 miles change them out. I always noticed that I never noticed how many miles I put on shoes. I did notice when my shoes were worn on one side. I noticed if it felt like I ran barefoot in a pair of shoes. I've even heard the range as wide as 300-500 miles and then change them. Usually when a range is that large, the folks volunteering the range have little idea of what one may actually need.

I've decided to train in multiple pairs of shoes. I have been running for long enough to know that different shoes will do different things for me. I would say three pairs of shoes may be good once you hit the point of comfortably having more than one pair. In general, people have running shoes, gym shoes, casual shoes, and something else random in their closet. So whether you believe it or not, most folks are stockpiling shoes for multiple functions. I like to have an everyday training shoe, a long run shoe, and a race day shoe.

I've used the Nike Flyknit Free 5.0 and 4.0 for nearly two years now for my training runs. There is tons of research out there for barefoot type running. I didn't use the research as much as I used actual opinions. I know a few Ultra Runners that will wear shoes more minimal than that in an Ultra- Marathon of at least 60k and up to 100k. When I heard this I was blown away. I always recommended the Free series of shoes to only be good for 5k and max 10k. I decided to experiment with the Flyknit Free 5.0. The show is super light and comfortable. Little by little I ramped up the mileage. The last thing I did in those shoes was a Half-Marathon. I used to supinate when I ran (run on the outside of foot) and now I am closer to neutral. I believe it strengthened my foot.

Although I haven't used it in a little while, I have used the Nike Pegasus for quite some time with different iterations. Most recently I have done distances over ten miles in the Pegasus 31. It was less effective for me after my stride moved from heel to midget from a year training with the Free. That said, the Zoom Air in the heel helps when my side gets lazy and I can no longer maintain my form. I am not yet the strong, disciplined runner I'd like to be so the shoe saves the day when I'm dragging myself through the street for a fifteen miler.

Then we have the race day shoe. I love the Nike Lunaracer 3. I have already purchased it twice. I got it in April 2015 for the New Jersey Marathon and I have only used it maybe 10 times. It is about 6.5 ounces and has a highly responsive midsole. It is very light and gives that bounce to fly through toward your race goal. Shoes wear down and if you have a couple in the stable they may last longer.

I am not suggesting that you go out today and buy three pairs of shoes. I am also not suggesting that you purchase the three that I use. This is not a recommendation. I am suggesting that we research our footwear and experiment. Take the hard data and make better informed decisions.

There's just something about Race Day

You are what your record says you are-- Bill Parcells

I woke up early. I laid out my gear for the day. I took a few deep breaths. Then I kissed my wife goodbye and walked out the door. I swear, I walked down the hallway like those guys in "The Right Stuff". I have a job to do this morning. It isn't like every other morning. It's race day.

Good Enough to Eat

Change will not come if we have to wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.-- Barack Obama

It's no surprise that many running blogs and websites talk about nutrition. Eat and Run by Scott Jurek is called 'Eat' and 'Run' and is peppered with recipes about different meals. Run Eat Repeat is a popular blog that talks about food daily. I have been a serious runner for some time but now I would fashion myself a low talent, freelance, emphasis on free, unpaid, professional runner. I can no longer eat whatever and hope for the best. All food consumed has true purpose.

I won't pretend that I have a nutritionist or that I fully understand the effects that each meal has on me. I will say that after a strong run, like today, or a not so strong run, like yesterday, I usually take stock of the days meal. I think about if I ate too much. Did I have too much sugar? Am I bloated from the dairy products? My favorite one is when I don't eat. If I don't have a meal and I go for an early run I usually produce stronger performances. I've experimented over the years with how much food is necessary for me to get through a half-marathon. I know that I perform solidly on an empty stomach but that performance wanes after a 10k or so.

I try to eat the right amount of food that won't weigh me down in the early part of the race but will be sufficient enough for miles nine through thirteen. It's difficult to find the right mix. One needs to experiment with what works best. Everyone has a different metabolism. Each body will burn energy differently so there is no plug and play method for what works.

The unfortunate thing is that if we are running a ton; we are generally very hungry. I don't know the exact science behind it but it seems like the hungrier I am, the more haphazard cravings I have. I know that the body may crave what it needs. The body may need protein and our conditioned image of protein may be a big steak. There are countless avenues to attain the manifestation of protein but we can't go after what we may not know exists.

The bottom line is that I am changing my diet little by little. I am not looking for a magic bullet or the Magna Carta that will change the way I use the bathroom. I reality, I don't think such things exist. I can generally eat tremendous amounts of food or nothing for sixteen hours and there aren't any books out there that can tell me which day is which and how I will perform under said circumstances. What I do understand and respect is real data and actual history.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

That makes zero sense-- Adriana Suarez-Ligon

I've always tried very hard to navigate what it takes to be successful. Ironically, the recipe remains the same in virtually all walks of life. Whatever formula you need to apply to be successful in school, sports, relationships, or business has the same ingredients. There are no excuses or secret sauces that can get you to a goal faster than others or in different vocations.

I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Three hours and fifteen minutes will get me into Boston. Unfortunately, I am not very close to that goal. I have experienced success doing other things. I have experienced failure as well. It is pretty clear what needs to be done in order to fail miserably as well as succeed fantastically.

Let's just isolate the high GPA people out there. This is an easily digestible analogy for all. In order to get a high GPA one has to study. Likely this student has memorized the course syllabi that explains exactly how to grade is configured. They organize their time and realize that perhaps they could spend less time on X because it comes easy to them. Potentially that student needs to spend considerable time on subject Y because it was unclear in class. There are even times where, despite the already lofty GPA, that student will seek out study groups or tutors.

The same applies with running. If you will run a hilly course, one needs to train on hills. If you need  certain qualifying time for entry into a tiny marathon in Boston, one would need to know exactly the pace required and then train to accomplish said pace. There are no secrets, just lack or abundance of effort.

Conditioning vs. Fitness

We laid out all of our options for the project and failure wasn't one of them.--Gene Kranz

I write this post in the dark. No air conditioning or fan either. There is a storm down here and we have no power which, also means no intraweb. Please forgive me if anything seems weird. I am posting from my mobile (British accent).

I've been thinking a lot lately about being fit and being conditioned. It doesn't seem like there should be a difference but there is. I've researched the topic but I cold to find much on it. The bad news is, I'm going to draw my own opinion about it. The good news is, I will posit something potentially thought provoking.

Anyone who works out consistently is probably what one would consider a fit person. You know that person. They can run a 5k or a 5 miler. They have pretty good form in the gym when they lift. Usually, that person can do some push ups or pull ups. That fit person is by no means killing it at any one particular thing but they are fit enough to participate in any physical activity. Sort of like he jack of all trades scenario.

The contrary person would be the conditioned athlete. I guess saint contrary may be incorrect. The well conditioned athlete is also fit. Usually that athlete is very fit. The one caveat to their fitness compared to the person who is generally fit is that they have taught their muscles and their respective cardiovascular systems to perform at a high level for particular movements.

Here is a bad example. About ten years ago I had already run 3 marathons. I had played football for 13 years but I hadn't played for a while at that point. The bad example is that it's me. Although I was fit enough to run 26.2 miles, I was pretty winded by the equivalent of the second half. Now let's take two real athletes. Mo Farah and Floyd Mayweather are good examples. Mayweather may be the most well conditioned boxer in history. Mo Farah is on the fast track to be a Hall of Fame Olympian. Floyd is very fit but not conditioned to maintain championship levels of speed for six miles. No one would argue that he can probably run a 10k faster than most but he has not built his body for that. Mo Farah can run forever but he would find challenges keeping his energy up while throwing punches, dodging punches, dancing around the ring, and absorbing guy shots. As incredible as they are in their respective sports they would likely be subpar if not completely irrelevant in another arena.

Now for the point. We may be all fit people but if we don't condition our bodies to do what we want it to do, one will find great difficulty in achieving those goals. We have fast and slow twitch muscles. There is aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Figure out what your goals are and tailor your plan around conditioning yourself to perform like a person who accomplishes goals. If you want a fast time, you have to train fast. If you want to do ultras, you have to eventually add more miles.

It's not Rocket Surgery

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.-- Henry Ford

I went for an easy ten mile run today. The point was to actually stay under control and maintain the same pace throughout the run. I wanted to focus on my stride and use a little energy as possible. That was a good plan except for I couldn't resist the urge to go off of the planned route. Typically when I change the route, I tend to surge or decelerate because of the uncertainty. The tangent part of the run was incredible.

I set out to do a five mile out and back on the Atlanta Beltline. The Beltline is pretty flat and i wouldn't have to worry about getting lost. As I ran happily on the Beltline I ran to the end of it. At least it was the end of part of the Beltline. Directly in front of me was Piedmont park and what they call a PATH lane alongside the park. Before I began to run that lane, I could see the steep incline of the coming hill. So much for the easy 10 miler. I start to run up the hill on a long straight path and then I see an entrance to the park. I ignore it... that's not the plan I tell myself. Then I see another one. Crap, it looks so cool in there. I ignore it anyway... that's not part of the plan. Finally, I just can't do it Captain, I don't have the power; to ignore an entrance into the premier park in the city of Atlanta.

On top of going into unchartered territory, kind of like Columbus, the park had significantly more shade. It was 90 degrees when I ran and probably 90 percent humidity. I'm looping around and carefully picking my turns. Then I see a Trail Rules sign. The first thought into my mind, why not? The first step is to admit that you have a problem. I do have a problem. I am from the rough and tumble neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York and we didn't get green space like that. On top of that, running is a cool individual sport. It becomes even cooler and more liberating on a trail. One can just lose themselves by focusing on the ground beneath. 

The unfortunate thing is that I went out with the goal in mind to take it easy and potentially find a go to 10 mile route. Runners, I believe, have many go to routes. For instance, one might have a 3 mile route, a 5 mile route or a loop that they can get to consistently and show off to their friends. I really wanted to focus on my aerobic running. I read recently that aerobic running is the running that burns oxygen and not sugar. Therefore, because oxygen is easier to produce than anything else, the body should be more efficient. Granted right now I am absolutely bothering scientific facts but it made me think. I kept my pace steady and I forced myself to not work too hard. That is until I begin to bounce around the rocks on the trail like  fifth grader, at recess, on  a sugar high. 

I couldn't wait to see the next turn or next adventure. By the time I came out of the forest like Daniel Day Lewis in "The Last of the Mohicans" I had spent more energy than I had liked and my pace was all over the place. Despite the less than successful outcome in my experiment today, I find myself wanting to better understand how the body actually works. I don't want to think on the run but I do what to coach and train myself to perform at a higher level. Running, more than many people think, is a game of strategy and process. The longer one goes, the more they need to think about every move.

Decent Performance

All I know is that I know nothing-- Socrates

My first mile today may have been my best ever opening mile of a race. The Atlanta Beltline SW 5k was good to me. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. It was a little choppy in the beginning because of congestion. I couldn't open up until the first quarter. I still managed to cruise to a solid first mile. Then the hills kicked in. For those that have been following my progress down here, you know that I've been struggling with the hills of Atlanta. The sounds sort of like a reality show. Certainly a show that I would never watch. In any event, the hills slowed me down but only by 23 seconds and 19 seconds respectively, per mile, for miles one and two.

Right now I am listening to a Jazz piece by the Dave Brubeck Quartet called "Take 5". Oddly enough, I probably didn't need to give the name of the song because he was apparently a one hit wonder back in 1961 or so. It's really smooth and calming. If you listen to it, I am sure you would recognize it. I did slow down on two of the three miles I ran this morning but I am pleased with the comfort in which I ran. I didn't push too hard to maintain decent speed. In the book, "Born to Run", one of the people, Micah True, better known as Caballo Blanco, spoke to the author about running, "easy, light, and smooth..." That has become my goal.

Of course I want to be faster but at what cost? I am not willing to sacrifice the joy of running so I can cross a threshold of time that is a microcosm of what running actually means to me. My shuffle list has moved on to John Coltrane's "Love Supreme- Part One: Acknowledgement". His piece, isn't as smooth as the aforementioned music but it is equally, if not more beautiful. Sometimes I wish I could design a playlist to pick up right when I need it and bring me down when I need it. Faster paced music on those rolling hills might have made a difference in my speed. I believe on the longest climb I listened to ASAP Rocky "1 Train". That song is great for a steady part of the race. 

I am willing to sacrifice comfort for speed. I am willing to look into ways to increase my speed through a number of means. I would change my diet some. I have already adjusted my stride a little. I would change the amount of work I do in a week to have fresher legs but I don't want to trade the beautiful runs on the trails. Running to landmarks at five in the morning is one of my greatest delights. I've done Fartleks without losing the joy of the run but some other methods are less attractive.

My search begins now. How do I get faster without turning running into a chore? Ironically, as I wrote that line, Miles Davis' "All Blues" blared into my ears. The irony is, I entered into the realm of retrospection and I feel as though this song can be both retrospective and introspective.