Jon’s musing about running and things about running while running and after running and probably before running too

[global_dev]

yesterday was a quick 5 miler while it wasn't raining... trying to ease out the odd outside calf pain, i may be a glutton for punishment with shoes that need to be retired. the blue levitate 2s that i had mentioned specifically before had some more miles on them at the beginning of the month. i put on another 25 miles on them and clearly there is significant wear, and i have a feeling that just like adidas rbl, this might be the cause of my pain.. so i walked and ran in two other pairs, a levitate 3 and a hyperion tempo and i feel like the rest plus the shoe change has addressed the issue. almost 350 miles on these since early aug 2020 when i got them. i may give them a couple more runs to see if it really is related to the odd pain (thats a big maybe as i dont know why i feel the need to eek out some more life) and take a before/after comparison pic.

Ran in the first pair of brooks levitate 2 that I bought and noticed that i dont think i the app was recording the miles on them because of a technical issue as clearly the tread was not at all similar to others reporting similar mileage. I went back and looked through the logs and can probably estimate that there was 2-4 months of 5 mile days unaccounted for which i am going to estimate at 100 days across 2 or 3 pairs with the majority being on these. So at 500 miles, i will add 250 to the current tally and at ~320miles these shoes still felt really nice but some of the tread “markers” are clearly gone.

so today was raining, and of course, an hour or 2 after i ran, it appears to have stopped. no matter... its 42 degrees and not drizzling, not pouring, i feel decent and decided to try to wear some less absorbent garments.. no gloves, no pants, just some shorts, with these gore windstopper leg warmers that i bought many many years ago and used a bit on the MB trails - had to be at least 15-20 years ago, a base & mid layer shirt, and light snow shell i bought in 2001 before the maker (arcteryx) blew up. no sunglasses, brooks hyperion tempo (didnt want to have water logged shoes), and a mixed merion/silk tab sock.. felt really nice (had to figure out how to keep the leg warmers up after the first mile they kept sliding down).

i thought i might try to keep the HR low, but in the end, i decided to just enjoy the run, focus on good pace, form, and getting through without hitting a wall or injury like last time.. btw also ate some apple/strawberry sauce squeeze pouch about 10 mins before i went since i had a light breakfast.

was a pretty good run, overall went 5miles at 9:30min/mile pace.. and wasnt pushing it at all other than to keep the turnover going (87 spm) and the stride decent... spent a lot of time in zone 4 at about 15-20bpms more than i'd like, but i was feeling fine.. thats a good solid 30-60+ seconds per mile quicker than what i've been seeing lately.. but i think i need to add some diversity back in to the rhythm.

 

[global_dev]

yesterday early evening watched a couple youtube vids about running, probably a bit more than i wanted too, but ended up watching some shoe reviews (new, old, comparisons) and one thing that consistently pops up is that the brooks models i own are not the cushioned cloud versions, that the levitates are kind of hard; but one comment and some feelings today while running made me think about how different an experience can be.

i did two different types of workouts today a 30 min low HR and then a 30min high cadence but slow . I noticed that the shoe midsole isnt cushy when you land on the midfoot 2/5s but when you land on the front 3/5s mostly a bit just behind the ball/metatarsal pad its really nice and rolls off well. I think this is why the shoe always felt so nice to me on hills.

50° and windy and absolutely loving the wind stopper legs. I wore a new long sleeve thin mid layer shirt under the goretex shell to keep the drizzle off and it was a great combo. Not too warm but not cold.

felt great at the end of the 5 mile loop and i am getting back into the foam roller and stretching that really helps. Its easy to forget to do it. Really focusing on stretching out the PF underfoot with a tennis ball.

 

[global_dev]

Lots of active recovery which is fast walking, slow jog, stretching, body weight exercises, etc until yesterday. I did my first interval set in a while. What a bittersweet thing. went in the brooks launch6. Interesting to feel the compression of the footbed after 90miles, the ball area seems kind of compromised, doesnt feel bad in the run though so i’ll keep an eye out. I see some people (my generic research) say they only run 150-200 miles as their sweet spot and others say 300-700. Its gotta be personal/individual because i can see most of the modern uppers look great and i dont see how they wouldnt last unless they were really really light/minimal.

I can see the abrasion on the sole and i think most of it comes from the paw/toe off, which i equate to better form for me.

so its crazy how you can feel the intense desire to go out and run when its not planned or recommended, but also how it can be a “don’t wanna go” feeling also when it is.

i did the intervals well, imho and really concentrated on form and tempo maintenance and then getting my HR down during the short rest. Gotta shout out the windstopper again, love it. Definitely see my pace fall off as my HR gets higher on the second half of the interval. Probably need to get a metronome app to help keep cadence as it gets hard to think at higher HR.

went out later in late afternoon for a long quick walk without the windstopper and i was sad about it. Also went in the primal runamocs. They are really comfortable and made me think i should try making some sandal huaraches out of vibram since average flip flops dont fit me either . So diy materials on the way!

 

[global_dev]

I thought it was a really nice day out today. It kind of was sunny, but cold and windy and just a pain to dress appropriately. I had read that people run better in the cold than in the heat, i guess to a balance.

5 mile medium run in the zero drop minimalist 5mm shoes. Felt really good, did it timely. I think i need to work in cadence as i keep reading its technically harder and more tiring to run at a slower cadence, and i dont know if i am activating my glutes to help, i know i can feel when i dont engage my hips but i cant tell if its the same thing. Gotta pay attention. Also can feel the mind-muscle connection but its easy to be thinking about something else.

btw, did the run while in hour 13 of an IF that went to 15. Was surprised i didn’t feel it.

 

[GearNoir]

btw, did the run while in hour 13 of an IF that went to 15. Was surprised i didn’t feel it.

Gutsy move! I guess as long as you’re hydrated though, it’s still too early to affect you too much.

 

[global_dev]

Gutsy move! I guess as long as you’re hydrated though, it’s still too early to affect you too much.

i kind of forgot that i hadnt stopped the IF due to some teleconfs and I remembered just about when i was heading out the door and figured i’d be ok, and the worst that could happen would be i’d have to walk or cut the run shorter. Felt great though. I’m finding IF is way harder for me at night than in the morning.

 

[global_dev]

Yesterday’s run in the afternoon was great. A bit cool/windy but overall it was tolerable. Me and my youngest went for a 5 mile run with a cadence app called “RunCadence”. It was a “long” run day in zone 2/3 so it was perfect for going slow to run fast. Set the app for 175spm but a good slow pace.

I feel like going at a slower cadence feels more tiring and may not be getting the best benefit of muscle action. Watched some videos of folks doing same spm at different paces and i think i’ll keep the same spm and try to gradually increase my stride length. The app is silent until you drift out of it and then it brings you back to the cadence audibly. Not sure if i like that compared to a all the time on metronome.

also trying to include some sets of 100ups in my warmup.

evening 5 mile walk felt great too, foam rolled out after. Definitely recommend boot dryers, clothes drying rack and light gloves.

 

[global_dev]

Another good run today, kept spm at 180 for a good 25 min jog and then did some fartleks for the last half of the 5 miles.

been thinking about keeping form during the 180 and how running is just a controlled fall so tried to keep my body in leaned but straight position, feet touchdown underneath me and pull rather than push.

 

[global_dev]

today was a gorgeous day to move around outside. High 50s and sunshine. Light pants, light long sleeve and puff vest and off into some off and on road running.

did a 10K of fartleking around in 1:05. Ran around in the nike kiger 5s with a 4mm drop iirc.

runcadence app is good, i like the ticks disappear when i am at cadence but sometimes it makes me feel the app isnt working, and then you hear the tick and try to get back in the rhythm.

my “5k training” ends at april, so i am feeling like i’ve made some great improvements in my basic economy.

the off road today was fun. The ground Wasnt too wet/muddy but also not too firm. Felt nice to run, then tried to run on the grass next to sidewalks as much as i could, helps to work the balance and ankle coordination; hopefully not stepping in a rut/hole.

 

[Spider]

btw, did the run while in hour 13 of an IF that went to 15. Was surprised i didn’t feel it.

When you really get fat adapted, and are on a fast, it's amazing how much energy your body will produce and give you from your own stores. When I was deployed to Diego Garcia this summer, I was at the height of my fasting. I was fasting for 48-72 hours at a time. On day 2 of my fast I decided to go for a bike ride and did a 33 mile round trip ride. I've never in my life ridden a bike for more than 10 miles before that. I never felt out of energy. It was amazing!

 

[global_dev]

When you really get fat adapted, and are on a fast, it's amazing how much energy your body will produce and give you from your own stores.

i’ve read and seen a bunch on that concept. So interesting, wish i could easily detect when the body moved to that zone outside of being on keto.

 

[global_dev]

Todays run was insane. 70°F, low wind, and sunshine. I was more than likely overdressed in light pants and light long sleeve shirt.

I went for my interval run which is 5x in the high HR zones for 3 mins and then 2 min zone 3, interestingly i dropped to a good recovery HR during the intervals, but it took me just about 5 mins to drop in the cool down to zone 2 (~125bpm). Man, intervals are hard but feel good when its over.

once the intervals were over (3.5miles) i had about 2 miles left and tried to keep a slow jog home in zone 3 and i couldn’t keep it that low. it kept jumping to low zone 4 and so i walked fast when i overshot the bpm.

Not a bad day at all, just a good realization of how to make sure i dont over do it.

 

[global_dev]

Just for my own recall, HR zone %s are
5: 90-100
4: 80-89
3: 70-79
2: 61-69
1: 50-59

And the correlation of % to bpm are not 100% accurate from my medical testing. Its a combo of polars algorithm on the details i put in (vitals) and what its seen as far as my highest bpm. Its pretty close to 220 - age. the Max aerobic threshold seems to be 180 - age.

 

[global_dev]

Today was active recovery day

a 5 mile walk at 7:30am. Its been a while since i left that early.

a 2 mile walk at 1:30. So quick I almost felt like i had to go around again.

thought a lot about toe splay, dorsiflexion, glute activation, sole offset/drop, etc.

I think dorsiflexion is really related to drop and toe splay. Definitely had to think about heel striking in the walk and trying to walk normally but not overstriding.

the hr monitor was showing me HRR (reserve) had me very confused as i wasn t prepared to see that

 

[global_dev]

Wow.. the warmer weather is killing me. How ironic that i was worried about winter running being miserable it feels like 80° on the pavement, sunny and i am dying to keep my HR at zone 3. Shorts, really light long sleeve (this could be the problem likely) and trying to keep spm at 90/180.

made it around the 5 mile loop feeling good at the end, but at mile 3 i was feeling a bit of tiredness that subsided at mile 3.5 once i got up the hill. I feel like i may have been underhydrated. I also IF’d from 7pm to noon. My oldest is starting to guest play in organized sports again which keeps us out from 5ish to 10ish. Its way easier not to eat when you arent home. But this cuts into my available me time again, so i have to find balance for us both.

probably should have gone in the early AM or later PM to take advantage of the cooler weather. I don’t know how i am gonna manage to time savings change this wknd with maintaining a schedule and losing an hour of sleep. Hopefully not an issue.

i am realy getting a more subtle ability to feel for how my feet feel related to the different shoes during and after run. Not sure i can well say which are worse or better for me for the different activity, but i can feel a difference.

love the injiji socks...

i’ve now measured my feet for the 3rd time creating a 3ish-D model. And its funny, left foot is longer, but narrower than my right and just enough to drive a shoe pair size into suboptimal. 29cm by 11.3cm which is wider than EE but not a EEEE for a 12.5US/46. What a show trying to use a regular size insole to see if your foot profile fits and you cant even see the insole from any angle.

 

[global_dev]

Todays run, i wore shorts and tshirt. Perfect.

dragged my youngest for 5.5miles medium-style run zone 3 HR. It was gorgeous out, little over an hour. Felt good to move and we did some fartleking.

 

[global_dev]

Ha, i went out thinking it was gonna be sunshiney and warm, it was not warm. Not crazy cool, but cool enough to give me some thoughts i should have worn that light long sleeve top. Did about 7miles yesterday.

so the fartlek from friday was interesting as i must have pushed myself harder up a hill than i have in the past as my HR monitor notified me i reached a new max HR which then changes all of the zones. This was about 10% increase to my calculated HR reserve. I dint know if this because i’ve not done the basic 1) road or 2) medical tests, or 3) the monitor misread, but this means that i have another couple of bpm to play with in each zone which theoretically makes the lower zones a bit easier for me to stay in, however in reality, i’ve had trouble this last week staying in zone 2 or 3, the hills make me pop into the next higher zone even as i cut my pace (while trying to maintain spm).

i got a new monitor for helping make sure i dont injure myself through poor form. At first glance, its wild to have that data without video and visual analysis, and it feels like a rabbit hole, but since my current goal is to be able to feel like i can hit my target every time easily rather than just slog through it once , i am excited to see the trends and highlights. I had a pretty bad knee injury on my dominant leg a couple years that i am keeping an eye on as it always feels a little different than the non-dominant one and anecdotally the pre and post stretching lets me know one side of my body is definitely tighter than the other (from my glute all the way to my toe) and i’d like to avoid any issues due to asymmetrical use, if i can (which I think i can).

its been enjoyable to run my regular hills route and i am a bit anxious to go running on a track to better understand a flat baseline of my ability however slow or fast, as well as push for improvements. While I’d like to be better able to control for the distance and elevation, i feel like its more of training, which while i want am sort of doing on my routes, the track makes it a bit more official. Definitely overthinking it. Its a fine line of wanting to move more easily and wanting to go faster/further than before. Hard to describe the difference, but its probably the end goal definition.

 

[global_dev]

Had a rough night sleeping last night, first time in a while, lots of things going on that i havent had to deal with in over a year, but none that i was thinking about last night. That plus the hour change will hopefully put me to sleep earlier after todays activities.

My new data toy totally messed up my flow during todays run which was a monster day! I think i had an extra pod that probably shouldn’t have been connected for cadence/power. The watch couldnt tell me how far i had ran, my cadence, power, etc. Luckily i had a second app measuring my distance and am able to edit the distances in polar, but i miss some of the cool features that are fun to review. Next time!

7.5 miles of action packed adventure. I originally was gonna go out for 40mins and decided about 5 mins from my house to add some boardwalk and trail.

1.5 mile road
0.5 trail
2 miles boardwalk
2 miles trail
2 miles road

ran in the brooks launch 6 which is not a trail shoe and for the most part it was fine. Just like outside though, always encounter folks where i least desire, sharp turns, small intersections and “stairs”.

Tried to keep my HR in zone 3 so was decently slow, about 11min/mile in the trail. Finished about 1 pm

Just went for a 3+ mile walk with my youngest so we dont have to listen to my wife for her not going outside and getting some fresh air.

i am definitely not unhappy with the launch6. They are about 100ish miles in and dont feel bad. As a budget shoe i think its ok. Compared to the more expensive and novel shoes its probably not that exciting. I’ve been finding it hard to switch shoes as much as i was doing in the fall. Just lazy i guess while trying to get some extra mileage in each which was counter to what I originally wanted to do which was spread out the mileage and prevent shoe based injuries. I’ve been switching about every 2-3 weeks though iirc.

 

[global_dev]

Today was an active recovery day, only a 5 mile walk, but i got the power meter working on the watch and 99% integrated into the polar flow app.

With some gait analysis using these wearable tech pods over the last 3 days I was able to start digging into the basic data analytics of my form looking for imbalances, high forces, “off” looking patterns and learn the basics of physiology. So much to learn to ensure that i dont cause myself more problems than i currently have and those i do have, i can attempt to understand and address.

 

[global_dev]

I think my issue with the power was that the watts were so low for walking they didnt register on the zone map that starts at 50% percentage.