The Beast vs Vibram

Just bought a beautiful pair of the mother of all running shoes, Brooks 'The Beast', made for over 200lb overpronators with flat feet and ankle tendon injuries (ie: me)...what a beautiful pair of shoes to put on, I feel like they were made for me (size 14 US) and havent even run in them yet...

A few friends I know will think Im wearing 'clodhoppoers', that is barefoot friends who claim that Im not relying on my foot's natural abilities

..I notice even on the vibram website it says....

For some over-pronators (people whose feet tend to flatten during full weight-bearing exercise), Vibram FiveFingers® footwear will be too much of an abrupt change in biomechanics. We always recommend what we call a micro progression into Vibram FiveFingers. The too-much-too-soon phenomenon can be a problem for anyone's foot. In the case of severe over-pronators, Vibram FiveFingers might not be a wise choice for weight-bearing activities. Over-pronators will definitely benefit from some focused rehabilitation and foot-specific exercises before wearing any minimalist footwear

Ive read 'Born to Run' and can see the romance of the barefoot craze and the logic behind it but its definitely a no goer for me....

Flying

Do you ever get that feeling when you go out for a run that your flying even though you weren't aiming to go fast....some runs feel like drudgery but this morning's just felt fantastic, a nice 7km run where we held onto 5.1min/km for most of the way, except the massive hill at the halfway point...Im not sure how to figure it out as usually at this speed i feel pretty exhausted, today we smiled and felt really strong....

One possibility, of course, is that the long runs are starting to effect the short runs..marathon training seems at synch a low pace but maybe the fitness involved is generalising to our shorter speeds..

Either way, what a great morning run

Uncharted Territory

This morning heralded my first run over half marathon distance, 24kms from Westleigh to near Berowra and back with my training partner....slow 6.5 pace meant it felt pretty good, when I finished I felt confident for the first time that maybe I could do the full marathon, so long as i dont push the speed....no injuries, just sore legs, hydration managed well with over a litre of Gatorade, plus Shotblocks seem to be the food of choice leaving me with no stomach pains.....Im definitely getting addicted to the longer runs, there's something almost relaxing about the constant rhythm

Two days ago was very different after aggravating my ankle tendon during intervals..I thought id re-injured it but it seemed to go completely after a day..last time it took two week which I dont really understand ??

The next 3 weeks are weekly totals of 40, then we climb the mountain again up to 28 and 30 then 34km long runs.....definitely do-able.....Im just glad to have a break from the lung-busting 5 minute/km pace of shorter runs and can see new horizons opening up for me in the long term

Need to buy some new shoes soon, more boats for the size 14 overpronator I expect

Let me celebrate with this track from my UK hometown of Bolton...Its pure brilliance

Top Ten Running Trax of January 2011

Im completely obsessed with interesting running playlists...I have around 100 on my itunes playlists so far, including Doom and Sludge Running, Pompous Metal Running, Old Skool HiHop Running and even Krautrock running....my favorite, though is Songs About Running Running...or at least songs with brilliant beats and inspiring running-related words...here's the list

1. I Need Air Magnetic Man

2. Dont Sweat the technique Erik B and Rakim

3. Ridin Solo Jason Derulo

4. Tears Dont Fall Bullet for My Valentine

5. The Air That I Breath All That Remains

6. Keep on Runnin Stevie Wonder

7. Long Distance Runaround Yes

8. Against the Wind Bob Seger

9. Blowin Free: Wishbone Ash

10. Click Click Boom Saliva

Here's a taste..sorry about the photo

From Now On Into the Unknown

Just back from a 21km training run, a distance that used to be the goal not a bloody training run! I ran a flatish course in 27C in around 6.5mins/km pace..pretty slow but it felt like a perfect speed, nice and sustainable and really didnt hurt much at all...thanks in part to Marathon Training Academy (easily found on Itunes) podcasts which i took with me which are fantastic...

I consumed 2 bottles of Gatorade on the run, one i had to buy in a shop, it was so hot..shopkeeper looked at me funny as did the other customers as I looked pretty bedraggled...when I got home the menu went a little like this;

1. Sprite

2. Maxibon Ice Cream Sandwich

3. Muffin

4. Three shots of Gin

5. Glass of milk

A little wierd, I had some pretty wierd cravings!

Im Slower and I Dont Care

Thanks to my newish Garmin I just been looking at my times over the past few months and I am quite abit slower than this time last year, having dropped from a max of 5.1mins/km to about 5.5, over our regular ten km course...if Id known this would happen last year I would have been mortified as times were everything but one year on i really dont mind at all....

One reason is that I have managed to run consistently four times a week since then with only 2 weeks out from injury..Im pretty proud of this, the numbers in the Warriors have dwindled quite abit over the past six months, perhaps due to our obsession with getting faster

...sustainability seems more important than speed at the moment...having said that I am still fretting about how my ankle will hold out as distances increase on our way to our first marathon in 12 weeks time...maybe Ill eat my words but I am being super careful to strap and stretch, keep my posture in place, etc...lets see.....

The Mental Side of Marathon Training

Got any tips on the mental side of marathon training? I have recently realized that my brain needs as much work as my body in getting ready...we are currently doing 20km long runs and i keep thinking about the marathon which isnt helping...

So far I have three different tactics I can think of;

1. Save the music until i really need it

2. Dissociate by talking to others or thinking through lists (best 100 albums of all time?)

3. Use meditation to shut of my thoughts

4. Break the run down into 4 ten km lots

5. Memorise quotes as mantras

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. Emil Zatopek It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys. Emil Zatopek Men, today we die a little. Emil Zatopek

Pigeon House Mountain and other holiday adventures

Just back from 2 weeks hols at NSW south coast (Manyana), endless summer of beaches, bbq's, sleeping, reading and of course running.

The highlight as far as running goes was 2 trips up Pigeon House Mountain...about 500M up

I ran with 2 friends and we all had a great time, I was very proud of my ascent in 41mins and descent in 21 on the second attempt....the view from the top

Stepladders near the top...

good friends...

Also did a long 20km solo Marathon training run which was pretty boring...looking forward to tomorrows first run with the warriors in 2011