Vibram Running!

Earlier in the month I mentioned that I picked up a pair of Vibram SeeYas after reading Born to Run.  After running with the Vibrams for three weeks, including one race and one 14 mile run, I'm ready to talk about it.

From the start, the Vibrams were fun for running!  I have never been a heel striker so my running form didn't change much by switching to the SeeYas.  During the first few short runs, I had some muscle pain along the outer edge of my feet but that has subsided.  Since these five finger shoes move with my toes, rather than my continually stubbing my toe against them, they do not cause black or damaged toenails as other shoes do.  I was pleasantly surprised that the Vibrams gave me no blisters.

During my 14 mile run with the shoes, I did notice the ball of my foot, where I first strike down, was more sore that usual.  That should be expected since the Vibram's have almost no padding.  The soreness didn't last after the run, and it wasn't enough to cut my run short.  I also found that during the long run I had some ab pain near my hips.  I suspect this was the result of straighter posture and having to extend my legs a bit further.  Again, the pain didn't stop me from running and it didn't last after I stopped so I don't think its an issue.

I often run through a gravelly park.  I can definitely feel some of the larger stones through the shoes.  It's not painful but not always comfortable either.  I suspect that the feeling isn't for everyone though.  I do find myself watching more carefully where I step to avoid sticks and stones that may hurt my feet.

Overall, running in my Vibram SeeYas has been great.  I love the almost barefoot feeling I get when wearing them.

Training Lapses (and ending them!)

While working from California last week, I didn't make time for two of my planned runs.  After taking a redeye back to New York I excused myself from my Thursday and Friday training because I was too tired.  I did run Boomer's 10k on Saturday but my planned long Sunday run ended up being only 2.8 miles (it was supposed to be 10).  Additionally I managed to get a ferocious sunburn that caused my leg to throb just by standing, so I skipped my Monday and Tuesday runs.

After nearly a week of very little running and virtually no strength work, it's time to get back into the habit of running again.  I have the luxury to not worry about taking some time off since I'm not training toward any events at the moment.  So how do I get back into the swing of things?

I'll simply continue my training plan as if I had completed all of the past week's runs.  I can't make up the lost time so the best thing to do is push forward.  Life happens, and sometimes even running falls to the back burner.  Its good to realize when it happens and nip it as soon as possible!

2012 NYRR Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe Recap

The weather on Saturday morning was great for a race!  Alek and I headed up to Central Park for Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 10k.  There was nothing very eventful about the race, just another NYRR race in Central Park.   Boomer Esiason, the former NFL quarterback for whom the race is named, high-fived runners as they began the race.  After the high-fives, Boomer himself ran, although I never saw him on the course.  With the completion of this race, we're one closer to guaranteed entry into the 2013 NYC marathon!

With cool summer temperatures, I hit a 10k PR for the race.  I finished in 53:06 for an 8:34 average pace.  Full results can be found on the NYRR site.

Post race in Central Park!

2012 Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run To Breathe Playlist

The 2012 NYRR Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run To Breathe takes place Saturday at 9am. Alek and I are registered and ready to chalk up another race to our 9+1. My 1 hour playlist is breathing themed.


Sigh No More Mumford & Sons
Breathing Lifehouse
Ocean Breathes Salty Modest Mouse
Recycled Air The Postal Service
Exhale (Shoop Shoop) Whitney Houston
Harder To Breathe Maroon 5
Barely Breathing Duncan Sheik
The Pros And Cons Of Breathing Fall Out Boy
Breathing Yellowcard
No Air Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
Blow Ke$ha
Blow It Out The Features
Dope Nose Weezer
Machinehead Bush
Every Breath You Take The Police
Hey Girl O.A.R.

Race Recap: Davis Moo-nlight Half Marathon

The Davis Moo-nlight run was held on July 14 at 7PM.  There were actually 3 races: a 5k, a 10k, and of course the half marathon.  Alek, Ed, and I got to Davis from San Francisco at about 4PM.  We checked into our hotel and encountered some black-tailed jackrabbits on our way over to bib and t-shirt pickup.  These speedy creatures had to be a good omen for our upcoming race!  Alek would be running the 10k while Ed and I would be running the half marathon.

Jackrabbit community

After picking up our shirts and bibs, we decided to stop at the IHOP for a pancake dinner before the race start.  We finished eating around 5:30, went back to the hotel, changed, rested, and left for the race by 6:30.  When we got to the start area, it was obvious that organization for this race left quite a bit to be desired.  It wasn't clear who should line up for which race at what time or where.  Many smaller races tend to be disorganized though, so this wasn't completely unexpected and wasn't an issue.  

Alek, Wendy, & Ed pre-race: bright eyed and bushy tailed, just like the hares!

The 5k and 10k started roughly 10 minutes before the half marathon.  Ed and I saw Alek off and then went to find our places in the chaos of the corrals.  I lined up near the 1:55 pacer, hoping to finally break a 2 hour half marathon.  I started strong staying with the pacer and taking in the course.  Around the 1 mile marker, we caught up with some of the slower 5k and 10k runners. Fortunately, our courses diverged quickly after that so they didn't hinder anyone's speed too much.  After the split, the half marathon path became too narrow for the number of runners still clustered together.  Much of the race was through parks, and while they were quite scenic for the first half of the race the paths just weren't wide enough.  When it did open we were running along semi-busy streets with only the bike path closed off to runners.    

Normally for a half marathon I would wear a fuel belt, but for this one I did not because I didn't have a bottle of water to fill it with.  Besides, the race advertised water stops at all the even miles.  The water stops were there, but the volunteers at miles 4 and 6 had trouble keeping up with demand as I passed.  Around the 7th mile there were some children handing out cold bottles of water and energy drinks to runners.  Best. Spectators. Ever!  People like this are really what make the smaller races awesome!

By the 6th mile, I was starting to regret the pancakes.  I decided that a gel was not what I needed, although this is when I'd usually have one.  Around the 7th mile, I started to feel dizzy.  I kept pressing on thinking that it must be due to jet-lag.  By the 8 mile mark I realized how salty my skin felt and it dawned on me that I'd been running hard, in the heat, for over an hour, without replenishing salts (only drinking water and skipping gels).  I decided to have a gel and hoped to feel better in 20 minutes once my body processed the nutrients.  

By the 10th mile I was feeling much better and back to really enjoying the course and the cooler temperature (now that the sun had set).  Throughout the course there were supporters cheering and  incredibly enthusiastic volunteers.  Their spirit was great at getting me through to the finish.  There was also a police officer monitoring the course who was shouting encouraging words over his loud speaker.

Toward the end of the race, the sun had set and we found ourselves running on the shoulder of a dark, busy street.  When the race organizers sent emails suggesting that runners wear headlamps and reflective gear, they were serious!

As I approached the finish line my name was called I mustered the power to sprint and cheer for the last bit of the race.  I hoped to PR on this flat course but I came up 31 seconds short with a time of 2:03:57.  Not a bad time considering my heavy dinner too close to the race but I'm left chasing a sub 2 hour half marathon.  Ed and Alek both PR'd in their races (congrats guys)!  Full results can be found here.

Participant medal, participant t-shirt, and half marathon finisher medal

The post race festival was fun, with a live band, beer garden, plenty of food and lots of glow necklaces!

Finished with our glow in the dark medals!

2012 Davis Moonlight Half Marathon Playlist

Tomorrow I'll be in Davis, Ca for the Davis Moonlight Half Marathon. I've created a night themed playlist for this race, which 7:10 PM.  I expect to be running after sunset.  The list is a little long at 2:24, but there are so many night themed songs.  Obviously missing from this list is AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long."  I challenge you to find a digital copy by the original artist available for purchase!


Nightscape Tom Salta
In the Arms of Sleep   Smashing Pumpkins
Tonight is the Night I fell Asleep at the Wheel  Barenaked Ladies
Tonight, Tonight Smashing Pumpkins
Easy Tonight Five For Fighting
The Night That The Lights Went Out In NYC  The Ataris
We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) Fun.
Here's To The Night Eve 6
I Wear My Sunglasses At Night Corey Hart
Another Night Real McCoy
Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) Jay-Z
The Lion Sleeps Tonight 'N Sync
Tonight Tonight   Hot Chelle Rae
Come on Eileen Dexy's Midnight Runners
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) Katy Perry
When the Day Met the Night Panic At the Disco
Everybody Have Fun Tonight Wang Chung
Marry The Night Lady GaGa
Another Saturday Night Sam Cooke
Some Nights Fun.
Midnight Show The Killers
Summer Nights  John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
Tell Her Tonight Franz Ferdinand
Only If For A Night Florence & The Machine
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)   Meat Loaf
Night Shift...Stir It Up O.A.R.
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight  The Postal Service
Last Nite The Strokes
Dance The Night Away The Mavericks
Emenius Sleepus Green Day
Sometime Around Midnight The Airborne Toxic Event
After Hours We Are Scientists
Rock And Roll All Nite Kiss
Closing Time Semisonic

Audiobook Review: Nathan Lowell's Half Share

Half Share is the second book in Nathan Lowell's Trader's Tales series.  The second in the series was much like the first, with very little conflict and an interesting recount of the events aboard the Lois McKendrick.  I didn't enjoy Half Share as much as Quarter Share mostly due to the sexuality portrayed in the book.  In one scene, Ishmael goes shopping for new clothes.  While shopping he becomes aware of how attractive he is.  This also makes him realize that many of the women on the ship also notice that he's attractive and the attraction is mutual.  There is some uncomfortable sexual tension throughout the book.

While uncomfortable, the tension does help to give a better understanding of what its like to be a spacer.  Since the ship doesn't allow relationships between crew members, intimacy is limited to one night stands at port.  Lowell uses this as setup to help us understand why Ishmael should and may eventually want to move on to a different career.

This book is also available as a free podcast download from iTunes.  As he mentioned in his comment on my Quarter Share post, Lowell did end up dropping the "Previously on..." blurbs at the beginning of each episode in the podcast.

Like Quarter Share, Half Share was about 7.5 hours long and took about two weeks at my current training schedule to complete.  While the sexual tension is uncomfortable, I believe it makes a point.  I'd say the book is worth the listen!

Book Review: Born To Run

Christopher McDougall's Born to Run is a book mostly about ultra-marathons (races longer than 26.2 miles) and the people who compete in them.  I picked it up, hoping to learn more about why as the title suggest humans are born to run.

The book starts out much like a series of magazine articles about several ultra-marathons and their stars.   Included amongst the stars are a group of Tarahumara, members of a
Mexican tribe who do a lot of long distance running in shoes similar to the one pictured below.  Also featured widely in the book is Caballo Blanco, a man who left civilization to live and run amongst the Tarahumara.

Luna sandle designed after the Tarahumara running shoes

The magazine style stories were interesting.  But the were not effective at convincing me that people should run ultra-marathons.  For some of the 100 mile races, there were descriptions of runners becoming delusional and even an example of someone going into kidney failure.  The book made me consider the possibility of one day running a 50 mile race, but ruled out anything further than that.

The most interesting chapters of the book were chapters 25-28 where McDougall talks about the creation of the modern running shoe along with human physiology and proper running form.  Proper running form has an athlete strike on the ball of the foot, leaning out to the outer edge, before placing the heal.  Take a look at the women's 1500M olympic trials slow motion video below to see an example of how we're supposed to run (wait for it).

According to the book, the first modern running shoe, created by Nike, was created with a ton of padding on the heel to allow people to strike on the heel and extend their stride.  This running form leads to knee injuries.  Since the invention of the modern running shoe running injuries have increased. There is no study of a single running shoe proving that it reduces chance for injury.  The solution to this problem?  Don't bother with modern running shoes.  Go with a normal sneaker, go barefoot, or go with a minimalist shoe.  Without the extra padding, you will strike more lightly and it is nearly impossible to land on your heal.  This will improve running form and reduce chance of injury.

After reading the book, I did pick up a pair of Vibram SeeYa's.  I'll provide an update on my experiences with minimalist shoes in a future post.

I recommend the book for anyone interested in running an ultra-marathon, improving their own running form, or learning a bit more about how humans became runners. 

Gear: Bia GPS Watch

I've been using my Garmin 305 for over a year now.  I have a few complaints about the watch:

• Loading satellites can take up to ten minutes.
• It is quite bulky and sometimes bothers my wrist bone.
• It is a single sport watch (no swim tracking)

Recently I found a Kickstarter project for a GPS watch that addresses all of these issues and has some additional cool features!  The Bia GPS Watch:

• Uses GSM and satellites to locate you, so loading satellites is supposed to be quick.
• Form factor is small.
• It is a multisport watch.

Additional cool features:

• Realtime race tracking using GSM.  This will have a fee per race.
• Safety alerts for solo runs.

As with all Kickstarter projects, this watch won't happen unless the project reaches its fundraising goal by next Saturday.  If you're interested in seeing this watch become a reality head over to Kickstarter and back it!

Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share review

If you're a frequent reader, you know that I typically listen to audiobooks during training runs.  The most recent book I finished was Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share.  The book is the first in a six book series about life aboard a space freighter told from the point of view of Ishmael Wong, an 18 year old intelligent, albeit regular, guy.

In Quarter Share, Ishmael's mother passes away leaving him with nowhere to live and no source of income.  He had been planning to attend the University where his mother had worked, but that is suddenly out of the question.  Ishmael is able to find a job in the kitchen aboard a ship with a very friendly crew.   The story then grows from Ishmael adjusting to life aboard the ship, to him suggesting changes to the ships captain and crew that would allow the crew to do some private trading on the planets they visit.

David Plass recommended this series to me, mentioning that it is a light read and would probably work well for running.  I agree with David.  While there is almost no conflict in the book, it is still interesting to hear what goes on in the world that Lowell created.  The characters are all likable.  Think of it as a friend telling you an interesting story about a world you know very little about. It kept me going for about two weeks worth of runs. Not so long that you can't switch (like a Song of Ice and Fire) and long enough that you get a developed story.

The entire book was available free as a series of podcasts on iTunes.  One drawback to the format is that I find myself having to manually switch from one podcast to the next.  Also, at the beginning of each podcast, the author summarizes the previous one.  This is great if you're listening to just one podcast at a time, but as I run I just completed the 20 minutes that he's summarizing, so it got to be a bit annoying.

Race recap Queens 10k

The Queens 10k started at 8am yesterday.  The temperature was 82, making it a very hot morning for a race.  Alek and I drove to Queens and parked in citifield then walked a short distance to the start area near the Unisphere.

I enjoyed the race course.  My favorite part was running through what seemed to be a wetlands area near the lake.  The race path was paved but running through an area that I didn't even know existed surrounded by plants taller than me on either side was neat.  After the 3 mile mark, we were headed back toward the observation towers (the towers that actually had spaceships at the top of them in Men In Black).  Once we got close to the Unisphere and observation towers there was an out and back from miles 3.5 to 5.5.  

The race course had plenty of water stops and sprinklers to help us cool down.  The volunteers were also encouraging runners not to go for any records in the heat.  "It's ok to walk, this isn't the olympics," shouted one volunteer as we made our way through the final mile.  

The last half mile took us directly around the Unisphere.  With its fountains turned on, I ran as close as I could hoping to catch some of the spray.  The final stretch had cheering crowds! I finished in 58:55 for a 9:30/mile pace.  I also achieved my best ever 10k time!  Alek finished in 1:03:56 with an average pace of 10:18/mile.  We both got very cool and unexpected finisher medals!

Full results can be found on the NYRR site and it seems that race photos will eventually be available from brightroom.

We did it!