Will Runner's World start covering hedge funds now?

Yesterday morning my friend Sedentary Man handed me a section from the Wall Street Journal and said I'd probably want to read this article entitled "We have ways of helping you buy running shoes." I think that was supposed to be a play on the way German officers would threaten torture in old WWII movies. If that was the case the writer missed her mark because the article described four complex but helpful experiences that led to her being fit with the right running shoes. The writer referred to herself with the royal "we" throughout the article which I found odd but, that aside, I thought she did a good job researching the buying process. She visited four running stores, three in the state of Washington and one in NYC. I recently went through this experience at Jackrabbit so I was curious to see how these other stores performed their evaluations.  

Three out of the four stores performed gait analysis using video and a treadmill. A doctor who was quoted in the story said that the video process is "gimmicky" but I disagree with that. Seeing myself pronate in hi-def convinced me that I needed a moderate stability shoe. One store used a pressure sensitive mat that changed color based on weight distribution. A couple of stores had the writer run barefoot on the treadmill. I thought that was weird because most people heel strike but will never do that when running barefoot so what does it prove?

In the end it seemed like each store did a good job of identifying the right shoe for the writer. I was amused to read that she tried on a pair of "Mizunas" and I'm sure the Mizuno people loved reading that!

This morning I considered my choices for my daily workout: run, strength conditioning, another elliptical session or shoveling the newly fallen (and still falling) snow on our driveway. A look out the window confirmed the report of 3"-8" with 5 inches on the ground at 4:00 AM. I decided that my car could blast through that provided I escape before the town plows come by and deposit 20" of hard pack in front of the driveway.

I decided to stay inside and started with the Lolo core exercises that I found in Runner's World last year. I really like them because they only take 15 minutes but you feel like you've accomplished something when you've finished. I followed that with about 20 minutes of hand weights. I only used 5 and 10 pound weights because I wanted to do lots of reps and start a baseline for arm and upper body conditioning. I left for the train before the snowplows came. Standing on the snowy LIRR platform I was happy to see the train come in and I was glad that I started my day with a different but energizing workout.

I may be weak but I'm slow!

Up until yesterday I was feeling very good about my state of conditioning. I was chatting with a work colleague who I hadn't seen for a few weeks and he asked me if I'd lost weight. I didn't know how to respond to that question. Yes, I did lose weight when I restarted running back in 2008. Forty pounds in fact, all due to lower calorie consumption and more activity. More recently, after battling severe pneumonia, I lost another five pounds. My recovery is now complete and my weight is back to mid-December levels so I was puzzled by his question. The next thing he said floored me, "You look kind of...weak." Weak? I really didn't know how to respond to that. Then I thought about it and realized that it's probably true. While my running gives me stamina, I'm not doing all that much to build strength. A year ago I was mixing up my workouts and including core exercises and some upper body conditioning. In the time that I've returned to daily exercise I've been focused solely on running. Even my elliptical sessions have been more about speed than effort. I decided that it's time to stop ignoring my core and upper body.

Although my wife and I have accumulated a closet full of hand weights I'm loathe to use them. I find weight lifting to be mind numbingly boring. I've been thinking about getting one of those stretch band systems that attach to a doornob and provide a variety of ways to exercise muscle groups. It's low tech but it works, as do sit-ups and push ups. This morning I chose the elliptical but cranked up the resistance as high as I could handle. It felt good and it was good preparation for my trail race. The benefits that come from moving the unit's upper poles is questionable but it's better than doing nothing. I'm going to put some more attention to strength building and I'm hoping to gain about five pounds through upper body muscle development. I suspect that strengthening my core will also lead to better running performance.

11 days to go before the XTERRA Trail Run

Helly Hansen Trail Lizard

I am eleven days away from my next race and I'm looking forward to the event. This upcoming race is different from any I've raced before, including my previous trail race, the Dirty Sock 10K. The March 7th XTERRA race at Stillwell Woods presents conditions that will challenge runners at every step. Unlike a road race where the streets are wide enough for bunches of runners, Stillwell has a lot of singletrack paths that barely accommodate one person. I don't know exactly how the course will be routed but there are some significant drops and climbs in those woods. On the bright side, if I am able to keep up with the other runners I may have my first experience running at Stillwell without getting lost.

I haven't been able to train on trails since my adventure at Muttontown Preserve a few weeks ago. Since then there's been too much snow and more coming this weekend if predictions for a Nor'easter are accurate. I've been relegated to the treadmill except on days off so I'm under-trained for hills. I ran 2.4 miles this morning at 9:17/mile. The guest room was warm and I wore my Atayne shirt that I love but it's slightly heavier than my other short sleeved running shirts. Together they contributed to a sweaty but pleasant run. I had the TV on so I could catch some highlights from last night's Olympic games while I ran. I'm hoping that I can get outside this weekend for some hill training or do some elliptical sessions at a high resistance level. Otherwise I'll just need to manage my way through the race with my present state of conditioning. I'm also wondering what the Stillwell course will be like if there's a ton of snow on the ground. I'll be wearing my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards, my most capable trail runners. I'm hoping they'll be enough shoe for the day's conditions.

Spirit, check. Strength, more work needed.

My decision to keep Monday as a rest day turned out to be a good one. Last night my legs felt incredibly tired and I tried to relate that to my day spent sitting around waiting for the jury selection process to play itself out. I thought my leg fatigue may have come from standing for long periods on the marble floors outside the courtroom. I think it's more likely that my legs are tired from all the running I did over the weekend. It's good that I have no residual breathing issues from pneumonia. Based on my recent runs I'm sure that my breathing capacity has returned to pre-illness levels. What still needs work are my quads, calf's and gluteal leg muscles that aren't yet used to five miles of pounding. To paraphrase an old cliche: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh could use some strength training."

I took it easy this morning for the first ten minutes of my run. Despite a speed south of 6 MPH I felt the challenge and it seemed faster than indicated. Once I'd loosened up I moved the control closer to a 9:20 pace for the remainder of the run. In all I averaged 9:36 per mile for 2.5 miles. If I had another ten minutes I probably could have pushed my pace enough to get closer to 9:15 overall, especially if I threw in a few speedy tempos into the mix.

I know I'm not supposed to be thinking about pace but it's a metric that tells me if I'm progressing. Besides, LSD (or even SSD*) works fine when you have distraction of the outdoors to complete the experience. But on a treadmill it's very hard not to think about speed.

* Short Slow Distance

Is more time to run worth serving jury duty?

I spent my day today at the county Supreme Court building after being summoned for jury duty. Oh well, it's the price we all pay for being a registered voter. I'm not complaining about being called to serve but I really hoped that I'd be dismissed by the judge. It's difficult to be away from the office and this trial could have gone on for two weeks. On the other hand, court starts at 9:00 AM and I'm usually in the office by 7:30 AM so were I selected for a trial I'd have had more time to run in the morning. It was a long day and after waiting hours for Voir Dire I finally had my moment in court. Happily they selected almost everyone else but me to serve so tomorrow I'm back to work on the 6:20 AM train.

I'm thrilled that I got dismissed but I really would have loved having more time to run during the week. I'm used to getting up very early and starting my workout as quickly as possible to maximize the use of my 30 minute window. All the same, the process of rushing through the experience detracts from its enjoyment. This is why I enjoy my weekend runs, when I can start at different times and run longer distances. In the summer my company allows people to leave mid-day on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. With no obligation to return to the office after lunch, I was able to experience some great NYC running experiences and still make it home for an early weekend. During the summer I was averaging about 20 miles per week because Fridays gave me three days a week for longer runs. I was happy to total 17 miles this past week, almost double what I've averaged since getting the okay from my doctor to resume running in mid-January.

Since I was local, I got home earlier tonight than I normally would. I was tempted to do a run while there was still a little daylight left but I held off because Mondays are my rest days and I put in 9 miles over the weekend. Back to the treadmill tomorrow morning. Our ProForm unit continues to work despite its high decibel whine that's signalling its failure is imminent. I only hope it lasts a few more weeks until the Sole F63 arrives.