The JS Bach running method

Last night, just for fun, we hosted a Chinese New Year themed dinner party for some friends. We had a great time, the decorations were festive and (of course) we served Chinese food supplied by a local restaurant. The meal was a hit and it was easy to over indulge. Adding the desserts that my wife and daughter had baked, along with those brought by our guests, it made for a high calorie evening. One friend, also a runner, said that we'll have our work cut out for us on our Sunday runs.

I couldn't sleep past 4:30 this morning so I caught the replay of last night's Olympic events and went out early after pre-hydrating with a mixture of Zico coconut water and ground Chia seeds. I've incorporated Chia into my diet at least once a day since I bought my supply. It's hard to know if it's been beneficial but I've felt great since I've started using it and I haven't had a bad run all week. I set out with the intention of running a similar distance as yesterday's and, again, the experience of running felt great in the new Brooks. I smartened up and wore one less layer and wool socks and that worked out well. After a loop around the roads that connect to my street I went south and crossed over to neighborhood #2. I had not run there since December and it was a nice change of scenery. At about 1.5 miles I noticed that I was playing Bach's Cantata 147 in my head as I ran and the 3/4 time matched my cadence very well. I've been playing my classical guitar again, after some time away from it and this is a piece that I've been practicing. When I was concentrating on front foot running and increased steps/minute in December I was mentally following 4/4 timing. Today I realized that 3/4 is a more natural tempo for me (for non-musicians, 3/4 is like the beat to a waltz).

I exited back into my neighborhood and took a long loop around as I made my way home. Along the way I passed a few other runners, one of whom I knew. He was running with a friend who was driving a car alongside him, presumably to keep him company. Not exactly the way I'd do it. I felt so good as I ran that I extended my run another .75 mile and finished with a full five miles, another post-pneumonia distance milestone. My pace was unremarkable (mid-9:00's) but I'm more focused on endurance than speed right now as I prepare for the Stillwell XTERRA race in March. Once I'm past that I'll prioritize speed so to prepare for the Marcie Mazzola 5K in April.

Road test - the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

Today's big decision was whether to do this morning's run inside or out. I try to do my week's longest runs on Saturdays and Sundays because I have more time and flexibility on those days. I just purchased a new pair of Brooks GTS 10's and had only run a few miles with them on the treadmill. The experience was fine but 25 minutes on a flat moving surface is far different from how I plan to use these shoes. I was curious to see how the 10's felt after a longer run. While I knew I could do that on the treadmill, I also wanted to know how they performed on the road. Mark, the salesperson at Jackrabbit who sold me the shoes, said I have 14 days to evaluate them but he asked that I do it on the treadmill in case I need to take them back. I finally decided that I couldn't properly evaluate the shoes unless I tried them under the conditions where I'll primarily use them so I went outside for my run.

It was about 33 degrees with a little wind coming from the northwest. I dressed for the a longer run, meaning less layers and enduring the chill until my body heat rose. I was able to wear the 10's tighter because the tongue does not bite into my instep (as happens on the 9's) and as I set out I appreciated way the shoes wrapped my foot and returned energy with each step. I regretted that I didn't wear wool socks and my feet were a little cold for the first mile but that can't be blamed on the shoes. I was pleased that the "high arch" was a non-issue. I stopped noticing that soon after I'd started. I stretched my route around many different streets and noticed that the 10's felt similar to the 9's when I was maintaining my normal cadence. When I accelerated for some tempo runs they really felt fast, almost like a light trainer or racing shoe. At 11.1 ounces they are definitely not racing flats but the bounce and stability are a great improvement over the 9's.

I ran a total of 4.5 miles which was more than a mile longer than my last long run. Prior to my pneumonia I typically ran five or more miles on each weekend day so I'll call that progress. By the time I reached the last part of my run I knew these shoes were keepers. They felt like they fit my feet perfectly and provided a great combination of cushioning, stability and response. The tongue and collar of the shoe is an improvement over the prior version and the subtle changes to the heel (articulated edges that move independently for a smoother transition) and multi-density materials that make up the medial post allow for less jarring correction of a pronating foot. But geek talk aside, it's a great feeling shoe that really performs on the road.

Of course I chose the Brooks!

Yesterday, before I even left for Jackrabbit,  I'd already decided to buy the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's. Even my wife weighed in on the decision, she wrote me a note in the morning that said "You should get the Brooks!"  I tried them on at the store and ran for a few minutes on the treadmill to confirm the fit. The arch supports in the 10 are more pronounced than in the 9's and that concerned me somewhat. I wasn't completely comfortable standing in the 10's but when  I started running they felt fine. When I got home I compared the fit between the 9's and the 10's and felt that the toe box of the 10 was narrower but not problematic. In comparison it made the 9 feel a little unstable up front, something I hadn't noticed before. The tongue placement and thickness on the 10 seems to be an improvement over the 9 as well. I was able to tighten the shoe well without feeling sharp pressure on my instep. The only concern had was with the arch support, I could really feel it, and I hoped it would not begin to hurt on longer mileage runs.

I had a late start to the morning today because my son accompanied me to work today and we caught a later train. I hopped on the treadmill at 4:45 AM and ran about 25 minutes with the new shoes. My initial impression of the 10's was very positive: good mid foot wrap, good stability at the front, excellent transition off the heel. The higher arch was noticeable but not bothersome. The only other observation was that the fit at the heel was looser than I'd have liked. There was some slight slippage but not enough to consider it unstable. I can probably control that better by experimenting with the lacing. Overall the shoes performed well through the run and I appreciated the energy return off the front. That was my initial complaint about the 9's, that they didn't provide much bounce. I've grown to appreciate the 9's but it's nice to have that zip in the 10's.

This weekend I hope to put them to the test on the road, aiming for 4 or 5 miles as I go into my last two weekends of training for my trail race. I'll be curious to see how my feet feel after 40+ minutes of running in the new shoes. I have two weeks to evaluate the GTS 10's but I'm hoping to determine quickly that they're keepers.

Decision day - Mizuno versus Brooks

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

If all goes according to plan I'll be heading back to Jackrabbit at lunch today to get my next pair of running shoes. I've been fortunate to have had a great experience with my Brooks GTS 9's and I've carefully studied the running shoe landscape to determine what's the best shoe to replace them. I've done enough due diligence in business to know that all this analysis can reduce the risk of making a bad purchasing decision but not fully eliminate it.

Mizuno Wave Inspire 6

Consider the two candidates left in the race: the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 and the Mizuno Wave Inspire 6. Both are highly regarded stability shoes. The Brooks is supposed to be the best in its class and an improvement over the GTS 9 that I've really liked. The Mizuno provides a very energetic response and gets good play in the Runner's World shoe forum. It's considered a fast stability shoe, more minimal than the Brooks. I've run with the Mizunos and liked them. I've only tried on the GTS 10's but I thought they felt great. I've read that the 10's have a higher arch than the 9's which concerns me because my arches fall right between flat and normal. I don't want a shoe that feels superb in the store but creates a problem when the runs go longer.

My affinity for Brooks does give some bias toward the Adrenalines but I've been intrigued by the Mizuno's as well. This is a lot of agonizing for a $100 purchase from a store that will take them back if I'm not completely satisfied. I've spent hours pouring over reviews and trying on running shoes to get to this point, yet when I go shopping for a suit that costs five times that much I invest a fraction of that time. Why is that? Why do you think!?

What's the right pace?

With another few inches of fresh snow on the ground (that has turned mostly to ice on the road) I have had to delay my return to 4:00 AM outside running until at least next week. I was thinking about pace as I started up the treadmill this morning. With my increasing familiarity with the (unmarked) speed control slider on my treadmill I can quickly set whatever pace I wish to run. A check of the Garmin at the end usually confirms that I ran the pace that I expected. It's not ideal but I don't mind since I know my new treadmill will soon provide all that information, and more, in real time. Today I settled on a 9:20 pace because it seemed sufficiently challenging. With the warm temperature of the room it was fast enough. I had a good run and felt the workout.

I started thinking more about the metrics of running and how 5 seconds over the course of a 5 mile race can make such a big difference. In the 8K I ran last year I thought I had nailed a sub-9:00 pace but forgot that 8K is actually 4.97 miles so I missed 8:59 by mere seconds. But does that matter? I'd say yes and no. Yes because running in the 8:00's is usually more desirable than running in the 9:00's. So for racing, yes, pace can matter. But for everyday running - unless one is specifically aiming to improve speed - I think enjoyment wins out over speed. For recreational running, following the strategy of "gain, but no pain" is probably the best way to choose the right pace. That's my view these days.

Nice guys finish last? Not this one.

After a great long weekend that included three good runs I'm feeling very positive about my progress. It was less than a month ago that I took a walk around the neighborhood with my wife and needed to stop before completing a mile. By most measures I have reached a state of conditioning that allows me to push as hard as I wish without concern that it will trigger a relapse. I left the office on Friday with what I thought would be a weekend-ruining cold but my immune system knocked it out like a champ. I guess after taking on pneumonia, a head cold isn't much of a challenge. I attribute my quick recovery to the running I did this weekend. I honestly believe you can sweat your way out of a cold if the sweat is accompanied by physical exertion.

While it may be true that I'm rapidly moving toward my pre-January fitness level I also recognize that I'm short of the distance benchmarks I used to meet on my weekend runs. The longest continuous run I've managed this year has been 3.4 miles, far short of my usual 5 to 8 mile weekend distances. I wouldn't be concerned except that I'll need to cover almost five miles on some rough and technical terrain in just a few weeks when I race at Stillwell Woods. It occurs to me that the profile of runners for this race skews younger and (probably) more competitive than those in my past races. It's possible that I could finish last! Although some view me as competitive it's really me competing against myself. Will it bother me to be the last runner past the finish line? Well, I can tell you I wouldn't love it but I'd still feel okay about finishing a tough race like that two months after a week in the hospital. Either way I'd win. But if it comes down to a tight finish there's no way I'll be the last one over the line.

A presidential run

Click on picture for larger view

I'm off for the President's Day holiday today so I needed to decide whether to run or rest this morning. I usually rest on Mondays because I do my week's longest and hardest runs over the weekend. I thought I'd compromise and do an elliptical session instead but, inspired by my wife's early morning run, I figured I'd do the same. I had an appointment scheduled for later in the morning so while time wasn't  extremely tight I needed to allow for gearing up, running and showering. My wife thought I could get away with a neighborhood run but I thought it would be easier to jump on the treadmill. Frankly, I didn't want to deal with the cold and puzzle through the process of selecting the right amount and type of layers to wear to ensure comfort from start to finish. I quickly selected some light clothes and got on the treadmill.

In the spirit of respecting limits I planned to run a distance similar to my regular weekday runs that average 20-25 minutes.. My first bite of the day was a Green's Plus, Chia Seed Omega 3 Natural Energy Bar that I had with my morning coffee. I found that my last couple of runs went fairly easy after having Chia earlier in the day. It may just be coincidence but I have had two good runs this weekend. Make that three, actually. I started at a moderate pace and felt strong so I gradually increased my speed, dropping from mid-9:00 miles to mid-8:00's by the 12 minute mark.  The time went by quickly, perhaps knowing I was running a third less distance than Saturday and Sunday helped that. My cadence was 82 SPM, up from my average of 80. When I finished I was soaked with sweat, part of that due to running the last couple of minutes at close to an 8:00 pace. I've run almost 9 miles over this long weekend and my pace has slid back down to pre-pneumonia levels. I need to get some distance runs in next week as I prepare for my March 5 mile trail race. I think more than ever that I'll be prepared for whatever Stillwell throws at me. Maybe this Chia stuff is working.

I heart my Valentine's Day run

This weekend has been a holiday treat with Valentines Day today, President's Day tomorrow and the start of the Olympic winter games on Friday. Well the Olympics games aren't really a holiday but they are fun. My kids are off all next week from school so they are pretty happy right now. This morning we celebrated Valentines Day with a pancake breakfast, cards and small gifts.  In the spirit of good eating I sprinkled Chia into my pancake mix. I still don't know if this stuff provides any noticeable benefits but, if nothing else, it is a great source of Omega fatty acids. My kids shared their holiday treats and I probably exceeded my daily sugar intake by 8:00 AM. I can only hope that the Chia works the way it's described by isolating simple carbohydrates in the system and delaying their conversion to sugar and fat.

The other thing that helps burn off sugar's effects is exercise and running is my workout of choice. I decided that the noisy treadmill was too much to bear today so I suited up in layers and headed outside. The temperatures have remained cold since last week's blizzard so most of the snow we got is still on the ground. That made me slightly concerned because many sidewalks - my escape route from cars - are still snow-covered. The streets themselves are completely clear and I figured that I could always jump onto a roadside snowbank if I needed to. I wore my reflective running vest over my thermal zip top (it was about 32 degrees when I went out) as an extra precaution.

My goal was to run 30 minutes through the neighborhood at whatever pace felt natural and comfortable. It may be the fact that I'm still on the tail end of my recovery that I care much less about pace than I did two months ago. All the same, when I resumed running after my illness, I was happy to see my paces go from low 11:00 minute to mid-9:00 miles. I really don't know if I'm hitting mid-foot or not and today I didn't care. My Brooks GTS-9's felt great and, like yesterday, I ran my distance with no discomfort, only the pleasant feeling of floating along. Well most of the time anyway. The wind was sharply blowing from the north and that made for some chilly times. By the end of my run I was happy to have that cold air to cool me off.

It's been a very nice Valentine's Day and there's plenty left to do. My weekly mileage is starting to build and my average distance has been increasing about 10% each week. I'm pleased with my progress and very glad I got outside today.

My Chia fueled run

Yesterday's trip to Jackrabbit did not result in the purchase of a new pair of shoes as I'd expected. I was accompanied by my friend FS who was interested to see if the store carried her shoe of choice, the Brooks Addiction (unfortunately not). She is running a half marathon in late March and now would be the time to start breaking in a new pair. As soon as I saw Mark I knew I wouldn't be going home with any shoes on Friday. The snow had delayed the Brooks shipment and he was out of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's that I was ready to buy.

You may recall that I tried the Brooks Ravennas a week ago but, despite their lighter weight and responsiveness, I wasn't convinced they were the shoes for me. I tried them on the treadmill on Friday and validated that doubt. While the shoes performed okay at speed the Ravenna's fairly narrow forefoot required me to move up a half size to allow for adequate room in the toe box. That was fine but the heel volume prevented the snug fit I want in an everyday training shoe. I just didn't feel like the shoe fit my foot that well. Mark had me try a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 6's and they felt great when I ran with them. I need to decide whether the Mizunos are the shoe for me or if I should follow my instincts and get the Brooks GTS 10's. I'll go back next week and try them both again. I asked Mark if I should be looking at higher end shoes (like the Brooks Trance 9) and he said it's absolutely unnecessary to spend more to get a top notch shoe. Honesty like that will make me a return customer.

Today I took a trip to a local mega-vitamin store in search of Chia energy bars. They had what I was looking for but they priced the product too high (I'd comparison shopped online) so I didn't buy a whole box as planned. I did buy one bar just to try it and I also bought  a bag of ground Chia so I could experiment with that. When I got home I mixed 1 1/2 teaspoons of the ground Chia with 10 oz. of coconut water and drank it down. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the lack of grittiness in the mix. I then headed upstairs and ran 5K on the treadmill. Although the room was warm and my choice of running shirt too heavy I had a great run. Unlike most longer runs on the treadmill that devolve into boredom and exhaustion I was almost as fresh at the end as I was when I started. I only ended at 3.14 miles because I'm still recovering from pneumonia and didn't want to push past my limits. Was it the Chia that provided the energy to get through the run so easily? Or was it the coconut water? Maybe it was neither, just a combination of good timing and decent rest. Either way I'm intrigued. More experimentation to come!

Soreness and slowess but a good run nonetheless

It's been a while since I've woken up with sore muscles but today I really felt it in my lower legs. I first thought this was related to all the shoveling I'd done between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. That didn't make much sense to me since most of that effort involved pushing snow with low resistance and occasionally lifting it up a few feet. Most of that required muscles above the waist. I now believe the soreness came from my running in the snow with the traction devices that slipped around laterally and required constant corrections to my stride. I imagine that a serious attempt to transition from heel striking to mid-foot running would probably generate similar aches at first and barefoot running would be even worse.

Despite the soreness in my legs I did my run on the treadmill this morning. There are days when running your race pace feels effortless and there are days when running a more moderate pace feels like a challenge. That was my experience today. My warm-up pace felt far faster than normal and I had to check my Garmin to verify my moderately slow speed. After a few minutes I increased my speed and, if not for the contrary evidence, I would have assumed I was moving at a record pace. I did eventually increase my speed enough to give me a mid-9:00 overall pace but it wasn't an easy run. In the end I was more than satisfied by this morning's workout and I'm hoping for decent weather this weekend so I can get some longer miles in.

My plan for today is to go to Jackrabbit and look for a new pair to replace my Brooks GTS 9's that have 500+ miles on the odometer. Despite claims that GTS 9's were a misfire compared with the 8's I have to say they have been problem free for me. It makes me wonder if my best bet is to move to the new, highly rated, 10's or try out the less plush but more energetic Ravennas. I'll try some other brands too just for comparison. You never know, I could find myself choosing something completely different. I'll know soon enough.

Working out like the ancient Greeks

Last weekend I caught a few minutes of an interesting show about the ancient Olympics. The narrator made an interesting point about athletic conditioning, then and now. Back in ancient Greece there were no Bowflex or elliptical machines for training. Those tools were unnecessary because virtually everything back then required physical work. The average citizen's body was probably far better conditioned than his or her equivalent today and the athletes, using stones instead of free weights, were likely on par with today's best athletes. I thought of this as I attacked the snow at the end of my driveway at 4:00 AM this morning. It was the fourth time since yesterday afternoon that we went through the process of shoveling the driveway and walk. The town plows had succeeded in walling us in with icy packed snow but my wife and I, with our ergonomic shovels, have this down to a science and we cleared the driveway in time to catch the 4:30 news.

Neither my wife nor I plan to do our usual workouts today. We figured that all that shoveling is a good substitute for the exercise we get on our runs. I felt a kinship with the ancient Greeks who may have helped build their fitness by clearing snow so they could get their chariots out of their garages. That is if they even had snow. Maybe it was volcanic ash. Well, you get my point.

Since this is the year 2010 I have no choice but to rely on fitness equipment for my conditioning. After about 3,000 hours of service it is becoming clear that our treadmill is nearing the end of it's useful life. On the suggestion of fellow Runner's World blogger RunningChick I looked at the Sole models which are highly rated by Consumer Reports. RC and her husband did lots of due diligence before choosing the F80 and they've been very happy with it. My wife and I decided to buy a well rated but lighter duty model, the F63, that has some really great features. I'm excited to get it and we're hoping that our old but reliable (1998!) ProForm L18 will last a few more weeks until we take delivery of the new unit. Aside from the 100+ decibel wailing of the motor it seems to be okay.

Running with traction devices is not snow good

Snow has been the story of the day. Predictions that 12-16 inches of snow would hit Long Island made me decide to work from home today. With Skype, high speed networks, VPN and cellphones I can do anything at home that I can do at the office except get coffee from the Keurig machine in the pantry. Before I started my run I decided to try the traction slip-ons that I recently bought at TJ Max. They are made of rubber and after slipping them over the front of the shoe they can be stretched tightly over the rear for a secure fit. On the bottom are steel studs across the front foot and heel that supposedly provide traction on snow and ice.

I set out for my run and quickly noticed that amount of snow was too high to let the snow treads make much of a difference. Further, while the treads were stable front to back they were very unstable from side to side. It was a lot like running on sand and after 1.3 miles of discomfort, I became concerned that I was putting too much strain on my ankles and knees. I decided to head home thinking I would have been far better off just running with trail shoes.

I wasn't ready to give up before completing my workout so I headed upstairs and fired up the treadmill. I ran about 2.4 more miles at 9:14 per mile, the fastest pace I've maintained since my recent bout with pneumonia. Although it was a busy day with conference calls and other business related matters I managed to get out and shovel the driveway a couple of times. My wife set the pace and we got through a good amount of snow fairly quickly with my daughter helping as well. I'll admit that I actually enjoy shoveling snow. That said, I am hoping that we're seeing the tail end of the storm so that tomorrow's commute will go smoothly. In terms of activity, I'm not quite done for the day. We'll be heading out around 9:00 tonight for one more round of shoveling. No complaints here.