Day 690

Knocking out a short one before karate. Went a little faster, and the ankle felt good.

16:00
1.55mi

Day 689

My shoes were still wet from yesterday’s soaking, so I used the spare shoes. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the Nike + sensor out, so I just hit the treadmill. I wanted a quick, easy one, and didn’t think I should challenge the rain twice this week.

I felt great, no pain, no ankle issues, but I kept things in control, not pushing too hard.

16:00

1.51mi

Day 688

Delaney and I headed out on a training run, with a few drops of rain coming down. It’s Colorado and we didn’t think much, but about a third of a mile in, it started to rain pretty good. We got to .5 and turned around, but it opened up on us and soaked us.

I jogged in place for a few minutes, protecting him from the hail, but it got to be too much, so he hid under a tree while I raced to the car and came to get him.

Actually a fun run.

22:00

1.25mi

Can I Run This

There's a Rock and Roll Marathon and 1/2 coming to Denver. Not many things have tempted me, but this one does. I wonder if I can up training a little and knock out 13 miles.

I think I'll see how the ankle does in August as I finish baseball and decide. If I feel like I can get up to a 6 miler once a week, maybe I'll give it a go.

Day 687

I struggled to run today. It wasn’t physically hard, and I wasn’t breathing hard, but I could not concentrate or get going. This was a tough one.

16:07

1.55mi

Day 686

My son struggled running today, and so I had a lot of running in place, pacing his walk, as we tried to knock out close to 2 miles.

22:51

1.83mi

Day 685

On the road, a slow run for me, trying to knock it out around work. The ankle felt OK on this one after taking it easy for a few days.

17:16

1.65mi

Day 684

Slow one, early, with my son

26:10

1.88mi

Day 683

Off down the road and trail with my wife. A slow, fun run.

22:20

1.80mi

Day 682

Family in town, rain threatening, a quick treadmill time.

16:01

1.47mi

Day 681

I was all set to run outside with Delaney, but it started to rain this afternoon. So I hit the treadmill, going for a short one, albeit a touch faster today.

16:00

1.49mi

Day 680

I felt much better today, after relaxing and not doing much last night. Another treadmill run with a wet gravel road outside, but I went a little further at a steady pace.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 679

A slow one on the treadmill with a sore ankle. It felt OK running, but I’m trying to heal up.

14:01

1.28mi

Running in the Desert

I had planned on just working in treadmill jogs around our activities in Vegas, but at $25 a day for the fitness center I decided not to. So I ended up trying to figure out where to run.

The first day, around 3:30, I decided to try going down Las Vegas Blvd thinking it would be like London and I could get down the street. No way, only slightly less busy than at night and too hard to move. I finally ended up on Flamingo, near the hotel with this name and went about .5mi down it with little foot traffic.

So that became my route, from the Bellagio, down Flamingo, then turning behind Planet Hollywood down to the next block, about a mile out, mile back.

And warm. Glad I was drinking water before hand. 20 minutes in 105F weather is rough and I always came back very thirsty.

Day 678

Ankle is sore again. Seems like an every other day thing as it gets better and then I start to use it again. Went for another short treadmill run.

14:00

1.31

Day 677

Just before baseball I ran a short treadmill run.

14:02

1.29mi

Day 676

Back outside. The ankle felt better, and I wanted to enjoy the warm day. Felt OK, but a slow, steady run

20:17

2.01mi

Day 675

Another short one on a bum ankle.

14:00

1.35mi

Day 674

Took it much easier last night at karate and then ice. The ankle feels pretty good today. Didn’t push my luck

14:00

1.35mi

Day 673

Feeling better today. A night off last night, and some ice helped.

I ran without much pain today, though the ankle was a little sore after.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 672

Still sore, and after karate, the ankle feels slightly worse today. Limped through a short one.

12:00

1.19mi

Day 671

Sore. A rolled ankle, sore back, and a little more today. I was beat up from a weekend baseball game.

14:00

1.33mi

Action Pocket Mounting

I hadn’t had good reading from the Action Pocket in which I keep the Nike + sensor for a few days. It seems like quite often the reciever doesn’t pick anything up. At first I thought the sensor was dying, but then I looked at the pocket.

I’d moved it from shoe to show, depending on where I was running, and the last few times I’d run, it was high up on the laces, near the tie, and flopping around a bit. I thought that might be an issue, so I lowered it down further on the laces, closer to the toes.

And it worked.

The last run I did, I had my iPhone mapping the time and distance with GPS, and the Nike + on my waist. The runs were:

iPhone: 3.59mi

Nike+ 3.67

Given the hills I was going up, that’s acceptable error for me.

Mounting is important. A good lesson to learn.

Day 670

Slightly sore neck, and baseball later, so I just went on a short one. The ankle felt better, so I did most of it at 6.6mph, and it felt great.

Other than the neck being a little tight.

14:03

1.38mi

Day 669

Sore ankle, so I didn’t go long, but I pushed a touch on speed.
16:00
1.47mi

Day 668

Another run on the trail with my son. Slow and steady, though I did get him to pick up the pace a bit.
20:14
1.39mi

Day 667

Back home, wet outside, so a quick treadmill one. And, of course, forgot to start the Nike + . Grrrr

16:00
1.54mi

Barefoot Running

An interesting article on barefoot running and an increase in injuries from it. It definitely makes me reconsider trying to run in my Five Fingers.

I ran in mine once, about 2 or 3 months after I got them. I hit the treadmill for a short run, and found myself slapping the deck. I couldn’t find a way to get “light on my feet” and that was the last time I ran in them.

I live on gravel roads, and with scrub that has lots of stickers in places. I walked around the yard one day, up the driveway (0.25mi) and decided that the rocks and scrub weren’t suited to barefoot running. There are some trails a short drive away, but after my treadmill experience I gave up on running.

However once the weather gets warm, I find myself wearing the five fingers often. I wear them most days, walk around town, and they seem to make my arches stronger. After getting them last year and wearing them for a month, after 2-3 weeks of short duration break in, I thought my arches were stronger. I noticed that my cleats bothered me less and my feet felt better on Monday after baseball.

It’s hard to test, but I played two games this year and my feet were sore on Mon. The weather warmed up, I wore the Five Fingers for 2 weeks before the next game, and my feet felt fine the Monday after playing. Not scientific, but I noticed it.

I don’t know if I’d recommend running in them or not. I know some friends do, but I haven’t really experimented, and not sure I will. However read the article, and decide for yourself.

Day 663

A long one, to celebrate the holiday. Not fast, just a steady pace down the road, enjoying a nice hot day.

37:52

3.59mi

Day 662

Sore neck, and a sore ankle. I twisted my ankle slightly at the end of my run yesterday and it was sore today. Treadmill, nice and slow.

14:03

1.3mi

Day 661

My neck hurt, but it was a hot, non-windy day and I decided to just jog down the road. No dogs, nothing, so I drove to the mailbox, and then headed down. I forgot my headphones, but was nicely lost in my thoughts. A good run for me.

Once again the Nike + didn’t work. I think I have the pocket too high, too lose.

21:21

2.05mi

Day 660

A sore neck today, so I hit the treadmill, a short one, but good speed.

16:00
1.52mi