Gear

The Sound of Silence

I am trying to run as many workouts as I can without headphones and music. Yesterday that was a pretty easy decision, because it was misty and threatening rain at any moment. My phone isn’t waterproof and I don’t have anywhere to stow it.

I don’t run with headphones for a few reasons:

1. I don’t want music to be a crutch during races.
I need to be able to keep sane during races, long or short, without requiring music. I have to be able to self-motivate. Many races don’t allow headphones, and other races I plan on running in the future might not have data access (I do have a regular old MP3 player but I only use it on planes) or might last longer than the battery life on my phone. If I rely on music during training and its not available come race day, I’m at a disadvantage.

2. I don’t like the carry more than I need to.
I don’t want to wear an arm band, and since it’s warm now, I can’t just shove my phone up my sleeve. This means carrying it. If I purchased either an arm band or a top with a nice zippered pocket, it would be easier, but it’s still added weight I don’t need.

3. It’s safer.
I can hear cars, animals, other people, etc. I also don’t wear down the battery on my phone in case of emergency. (This is also a reason I got a GPS watch, I didn’t want to use my phone for tracking and wear down the battery. I still of course carry my phone with me on trail runs in case of emergency.)

4. I can use it as a treat if I need motivation.
If I’m struggling to find the will to get my butt off the couch and run, I’ll pop in my headphones. I like using music as a motivational tool rather than as a requirement for running. I do use music every time I do hill workouts, since it’s the workout for which I need the most pumping up.

5. Nature is a superior soundtrack.
I rarely use music on trail runs (unless I need motivation). I enjoy the quiet on trails, and I like hearing bird calls. I also enjoy scaring myself thinking a bear is coming. Wheeee! I also need to listen for other runners so I can be ready to step to the side and let them pass (it’s a nice way to get a little break!)

I had a great run yesterday, running by feel. I didn’t want to be a slave to my watch, so after my warmup (2/3 mile, I’d planned on 1/2 mile, but during stretching my right hamstring did something weird and I had to walk it off) I covered my watch with my sleeve and ran based on effort. I didn’t walk any hills, running up them at a controlled pace instead, and focused on staying alert during downhills and flat sections. I tend to get complacent on flat sections and run more slowly than I should, only realizing it when I peek at my watch. I need to get that in check without my watch. I did a good job keeping my average heart rate down (120, 134, 139, 139) but not so fabulous on pace (18:39, 17:16, 16:40, 13:34), although a lot of it was uphill. (Guess which split was the downhill?) I’ve got to reduce my dependence on my watch (during the run), just like I’m trying to reduce my dependence on music.

Everything Old is New Again

I wrote a few weeks ago about my problems with my current running shoes, and in the comments a reader suggested contacting the manufacturer. It hadn’t occurred to me, so I appreciated the suggestion and took her up on it.

After tracking down a proof of purchase for the shoes (I bought them in mid-November, and I hardly ran at all in December, so that means the shoes didn’t even stand up to 4 months of wear), I’m now boxing them up and sending them off to Mizuno for an exchange (assuming the exchange is approved).

That means I’m stuck running in my old shoes. My old shoes are by Saucony and I don’t even recall why I bought them. Probably because they looked ok and the price was ok. They seemed like they’re about half the weight of my current shoes, so I thought maybe I’d be flying along with them on my feet. They also smelled horribly, to the point where I could smell them while running. At least, I hope it was my shoes I was smelling, and not something else I was wearing. Ew.

I was wrong about feeling like I was flying, because my current shoes are a lot better shock absorbers than my old shoes (I guess that’s where the extra weight comes in). I also used to run with inserts in my old shoes, but I took those inserts out before running yesterday, in keeping with my semi-minimalist plan, so I was wearing lighter, uncushioned shoes and pounding the pavement with my heels like crazy at first. My stride was completely different and I felt like I was stomping. It took a couple miles to get a stride that felt good. I am a little bit more sore today than I usually am, but not as sore as I thought I would be after a stomp-run.

Unfortunately I am stuck running with these old shoes until they either send me my replacement shoes or send me my old shoes back with a note rejecting my warranty claim. It will probably take awhile to get the return processed and the new/old shoes shipped to me, so I expect these old shoes will carry me through today’s “medium effort” run, a 14-miler, hill repeats, a mid-week 7-miler, and a faux-10k race at a minimum. Shoes, don’t fail me now.

I suppose this would be the time for me to mention conventional wisdom recommends alternating between two pairs of shoes. Whoops.

In My Shoes

Oh look, a picture of my shoes, how gauche.

I took this picture after my excursion to Hartley on Saturday. They look a lot less muddy than they were, although I tried to knock a bunch of it off so it didn’t end up in my house.

I need new shoes. I find this annoying because I haven’t owned them for that long. I can’t remember when I got them but I think it was last fall. So I’ve had them maybe 6 months, and there were a few months in that time frame where I wasn’t running at all. These shoes should be lasting through this marathon training cycle at least!

These shoes are Mizuno Wave Prophecy 3s, which are normally $200+ shoes. They were on sale for the price of a reasonably-priced running shoe, so I got them because I wanted to see what a $200 shoe was like without paying $200. I am not an idiot, it would be ridiculous for a slow n00b runner to buy $200 shoes. I assumed they were on sale because they are hideous, but I believe they were just switching over to the new model, like with cars. I didn’t even know shoes worked like that.

I need new shoes because there’s a hole on the inside of the heel of both shoes. This is probably because I am doing something wrong, and I’m supposed to be slipping them on and off with a shoe horn or having a butler remove them, but I am an engineer. Factors of safety are incorporated into designs in order to ensure a product, machine, or system is safe, not only under ideal operating conditions, but under abnormal operating conditions. A freaking shoe lining shouldn’t be wearing out in six months.

I also need new shoes because I was holding my cat while wearing them a couple weeks ago, and my friend came over and she got scared when she saw him coming and peed on my shoe. I am amazed it didn’t get anywhere but my shoe, since I was holding her, but cleaning the scent of cat pee out of a shoe is not easy.

I don’t really want to spend the money on new shoes now, and I’m not getting any blisters or rubbing, so I might tough it out a bit longer. It’s not the best idea to break in new shoes right before a marathon (especially since I will not be repurchasing these shoes unless they are under $100), but if I start to get hot spots or signs of blisters, I’ll have no choice.

I’m also disappointed that $200 shoes didn’t turn me into Kara Goucher overnight. They were good shoes, though. I did find they were good at keeping water and mud out, except for the really deep puddles.

Like Magellan

I took a rest day Monday, and then had a homemade-Chex-Mix-fueled 3.2 mile run on the treadmill yesterday while watching the first period of the Wild game.

Treadmill Strategy: Run til the game starts (I started about 5 or 6 minutes before the broadcast began, which was maybe 10 minute before the game started, which I didn’t plan for), and then recover during the commercials. This is great in theory because it isn’t based on anything on the treadmill display, so it helped my running posture.

It didn’t work out exactly as planned, as the game didn’t start on time and a commercial didn’t come until I’d been running for almost 25 minutes nonstop. I did take one recovery break of about 30 seconds when I thought they were going to commercial but they didn’t. When I’m watching hockey live it usually feels like there’s a commercial every whistle, but I guess my perception is off. After the first break, I was cruising along and with about ten minutes to go on the treadmill clock, I decided there was no reason for another walk break and just kept running. So, hooray.

For years, I’ve been using shoe inserts while running to cushion my feet. It’s probably not good for them or for my stride or something, but I did. My insteps were very sensitive and I thought I needed the extra support. I also spent a lot of time on my feet when I worked as a makeup counter jockey so I used them in my work shoes (sensible flats!) too. I really hated those stupid “gellin’ like a felon” commercials so for a long time I resisted using the massaging gel inserts, but I finally gave in and used them for a few years.

This summer I started noticing hot spots on my feet when I was running, mostly on the heel base of my left foot. I’d never experienced them before, but it was a very strange sensation, slightly gentler than what I imagine it would be like to have a cigarette extinguished on the bottom of my foot. It happened with different socks, so I don’t think that was the culprit.

I also read a little bit about running shoes and how they are sometimes overly cushioned, and that a more minimal shoe might be a better choice. I am easily persuaded of things, and instead of doing research, I decided to quit using the inserts when I bought my most recent pair of shoes. I didn’t buy a super-light shoe, but I figured my first step toward minimalism was ditching the insoles.

I was concerned I would get foot cramps, which I have in the past, but so far so good. I’ve done long runs and short runs, indoors and out, and haven’t had any issues with foot pain, or with hot spots. I have only run indoors with a fan on or in cooler temperatures outside, so I can’t say the hot spots won’t be there once it’s warmer again (in six months). The shoes, I could take or leave, but that’s a post for another day.

Owning A Treadmill

I think the high today yesterday (forgot I wrote this late and scheduled it for the morning) was 0, but that’s a bit optimistic. Since I don’t have proper gear for running in really, really cold temps, and didn’t feel like improvising and trying to shuffle along in the bitterness, I reluctantly clomped down into the basement to run a couple slow miles on the treadmill.

I hate the treadmill so much. I just hate it. I hate that a slower pace for on the treadmill is harder for me than a longer run on pavement/trails. I ran a 13:30 average pace for 4.6 miles yesterday, and a 14:37 pace (with a little incline) for 2 miles on the treadmill today, and I was huffing and puffing the whole time on the treadmill while I felt great yesterday even with some little hills thrown in. There must be some kind of scientific reason for this, but that’s not the point of the post.

Even though I dread running on the treadmill, I’m glad I have it. I think owning a treadmill is a great decision for runners who can afford it and have space for it. This isn’t ground-breaking for most runners, I know, but for slow folk like me, or sporadic runners, also like me, it’s still a good idea. Even for folks who have had trouble committing to running (like me), it’s still a good idea.

It’s the same cost whether there’s one runner in a household or many, unlike a gym membership.

It will eventually become more cost-effective than a gym membership. It’s a lot of money up front, but that’s it. There aren’t joiner’s fees or contracts or recurring fees. Even after a lapse of months or years, there are no fees or hassles to jump back on the treadmill.

It’s there in cold weather or hot weather, when it’s icy or there’s rain, or when it’s Grandma’s Marathon weekend and I don’t want any actual talented runners watching me run.

I can wear dirty workout clothes, fart while running, blow my nose, or watch terrible movies and TV shows.

It’s there to walk on, on days I can’t fathom doing any other kind of workout.

I don’t miss “appointment television,” like hockey games. I’ve even lugged my laptop down to the basement to listen to a UMD women’s hockey game. I can scream at the TV (or stream) without disturbing other people.

So, bottom line, I love having a treadmill, even if I don’t love using it, and I try not to let its presence make me feel guilty or reproached if I let it get a little dusty.