The great minimalist experiment

Shoe diversity makes for happy running

Today's run (street): 2.2 miles at 9:38

I've never been much of a barefoot guy and I'm still not likely to walk around with nothing on my feet. But barefoot running and its close relation, minimalist running, remains interesting to me. My experience running with the Saucony Kinvaras has restarted my focus on front foot / mid-foot striking. Yesterday, when running for a short distance in pool shoes, I wondered how well I'd do on a real neighborhood run. I had considered going to Stillwell this morning to take advantage of the shade from the woods but ultimately chose to run closer to home. I decided that I'd conduct the great minimalist experiment by taking to the streets with these un-padded and flat water shoes. I didn't wear socks but I did keep the very thin removable insole which felt good at the beginning but contributed to some uncomfortable friction near the end of my run. I mapped out a 2.2 mile course on Gmaps and went out using my Garmin as a stopwatch. I didn't use the foot pod because I didn't want to deal with attaching it to the stretchy laces. Since I already knew the distance I'd planned to run it was easy to calculate my pace when I got back.

I was pleasantly surprised with the feel of the pool shoes on pavement as I made my way around the route. The small rocks and pebbles that I encountered underfoot did not hurt my feet in any way. I liked that my arches were doing their job without anything to support them.  I knew I was landing mostly towards the front of my foot but I'm not sure if I avoided my heel for all of my footfalls. My stride felt natural and I moved along well without feeling like I was doing too much work. I wanted to keep the run fairly short in case there was an unintended consequence to running with very little protection and no support. The only complaint I had was the insole stuck to my foot due to sweat and that made me concerned that I could develop blisters if I ran much longer. Next time I'll consider leaving the insoles home and see how that goes. Although they're thin they do provide slight protection. Without the insole I'd be running on the same material as the outsole so perhaps I'd be better off with a very thin sock.

So what happens now? I still have well cushioned shoes like my Brooks GTS 10's and Adidas Response 15's. I have supportive and lightweight stability shoes (Saucony Grid Tangent 4's) and minimal but luxurious Kinvaras. Do I stop running with the Brooks and work closer to always running on the Kinvaras (and occasionally my pool shoes)? I'm thinking no. Every shoe I own has its benefit and as long as I feel that's true I'll continue to run with them all. I'm certainly going to keep a focus on the minimalist side because I do think there's something to that. Pool shoes as running shoes? Not as crazy as you'd think.

Super minimalist running shoes for less than $20!

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles at 9:30

What Vibrams should look like

Happy 4th of July! As you'd expect it's very hot but happily not all that humid. One of my work colleagues was due to participate in a 4 mile race this morning that had a starting time of 9:30 AM. I'm assuming that it was a scorcher and I look forward to hearing how he did when I return to the office next week. We've been busy this weekend. Yesterday, after dinner, the Emerging Runner family all went on a run together around the neighborhood. Everyone did well and my son led the way, maintaining a speedy pace under 10 minutes a mile. I'm assuming that because, in a rare moment of practical normality, I decided not to track the run on my Garmin. My daughter will be going out for track next year as a 7th grader and she's already planning her summer training to be prepared for the rigors of that activity. My son has discovered that playing the trumpet has yielded an unexpected benefit -- great lung power when he runs. It won't be long until I can't keep up with my kids. That's okay, I know my wife will still run with me.

We finished our family run and headed straight to the pool. I had already cooled enough to be reluctant to jump in right away (I refuse to put in a pool heater) so I slipped on my aqua shoes and ran around the pool area until I felt hot enough to take the plunge. My kids followed me through that exercise and before long one and then the other jumped in as they ran. I went on a bit longer and discovered (probably due to the Kinvaras) that I was very comfortable running in the pool shoes. The sole is thin enough to protect from rocks and other objects but with no real padding it naturally enabled front foot landing. I think I'll try to run a mile in the shoes to see whether the experience translates well to the road. If so, I'll have found a very inexpensive alternative to Vibram 5-Fingers. Although some disagree, I think the Vibrams look too ridiculous to wear in public.

In the spirit of minimal running I wore the Kinvaras on this morning's 3.6 mile Independence Day run. I thought about running four on the 4th but I decided to cut it a little short because it was getting too hot to run. I went directly to the backyard and stripped off everything but my running pants and dove right in. A perfect way to finish a pleasant run. I have one more day before I return to the office. With Colorado less than a week away, I'm thinking of hitting the trails tomorrow.

Two good runs: Central Park then closer to home

Yesterday's run (Central Park): 4.9 miles at 9:20
Today's run (street): 4.25 miles at 9:40

Things started out very comfortably at noon on Friday as I started my run in Central Park.  The temperature was rising about one degree every 20 minutes and by noon it was up to 73. Humidity was relatively low as I set a course that started from the 7th Ave. entrance to the park and then followed the east side of the lower loop. I continued on until crossing to the upper loop at 72nd street where I encountered another set of hills. I felt good having had a few strong cups of coffee earlier in the morning and running before (rather than after) lunch.

When I reached the reservoir I ran up the steps to run the dirt path that runs around the lake. I traveled counterclockwise and was heading toward the point where I usually jump off and return to the running path on the west side. Before that I abruptly reached a barrier that forced me onto the path at 90th street. That disoriented me a little and I headed north instead of south for about two blocks until I saw my error and reversed direction. The route back is more downhill than up (I already had plenty of hills coming north) but even the southern direction has its uphill spots that were harder to breech as the sun got hotter. I got passed by a few runners in my last mile and ended up covering about 4.9 miles without feeling too exhausted.

This morning I went out for a neighborhood run a little later than I'd planned. I woke up with a sinus headache for the second day in a row and waited for the coffee, ibuprofen and Sudafed to kick in before going out at 7:40 AM. It was only 67 degrees when I left and there was plenty of shade on the streets. I let my comfort dictate my stride and maintained a mid-nine minute pace through most of my run. I covered about 4.25 miles without working too hard. I'm saving some energy so I can put in more mileage tomorrow and Monday. I know that if I want to do more distance per run I should take more days off from running and run longer when I do. It's hard not running on both weekend days because they are my fun runs that are usually not constrained by time. I haven't decided whether I'll follow through on my plan to run against a set time this weekend. If I'm feeling ready to start early tomorrow I may just try to do that.

Pre-Holiday weekend Central Park run

Today's run: Central Park (planned)
The day before a holiday weekend is usually very quiet. I'd considered working from home today since I'm planning to cut out around noon anyway, but I have some things I need to get done in the office. It isn't supposed to get that hot by mid day and I'm looking forward to having a workday-ending run in Central Park with FS. It's budget planning season and that's adding to our busyness. FS and I have a few business items to discuss so we're thinking of covering those subjects during our run. Last summer Adventure Girl and I held our weekly meetings while we traversed the west side bike paths, Central Park and the GW bridge. AG would actually carry an agenda as we ran. It usually took about 4 miles to get through it all. The plan today is to go out at a comfortable, moderate pace and stay with that. I'm not sure what we'll target for distance but we'll work that out.


Or not! It turns out that FS won't be joining me today after all so I'll modify my plan and probably head to the park a little earlier. It's cool and dry and if that continues it could lead to some great running. I'm thinking I might do a loop that goes past the reservoir and then cut across on 97th street. Or I might follow the path around the reservoir itself which will probably keep my run to a tidy 4 miles. I'm raring to go as it's been a few weeks since I've run in the park. The temperature is beginning to climb into the 70's. I hope it stays there!

How far can you run in 80 minutes?

Today's workout (elliptical): 24 minutes

Back in the early '90's I was running three or four days a week on average. My runs took place primarily on the streets of NYC and, with no technologies to track my distance, I never really knew how much ground I covered. After tracing my typical route in Gmaps I now know that it wasn't much. My average run was probably two miles (if that) and progress was frequently interrupted by stops at crosswalks.

I remember once having dinner with my running partner and another couple who were also runners. The guy told me that he ran about 25 miles a week and that amazed me. I'd responded by saying that was practically like running a marathon every week. I recall wondering how he found routes that were long enough to compile that distance. Today I typically run 20 miles per week but my average distance per run is only about 3.75 miles. I do more distance on weekends with my longest run (to date) being 8.15 miles. I ran that in 74 minutes.

I'd like to push my distance further and have decided to see how far I can run in 80 minutes. I just need to find some place where I can do that without traveling the same ground over and over. I can get about seven miles out of running within my neighborhood and the two others that border it but breaking out further requires crossing some major roads which I'm loathe to do. It would be fun to run with some destination in mind but that will take some planning and coordination. With the three day weekend coming up I'm hoping to find an hour and a half to try the 80 minute plan. Even after almost two years I haven't run nine miles straight. My run-against-time plan could help me reach that goal.