My new shoes

my Vibram Five Fingers KSO (Keep Stuff Out)

There's no padding, just a rubber sole to protect your foot and teach your foot muscles not to be lazy. Since running (and landing on your heel) with a traditional heel strike is bad (braking action, and hurts your knees more) I'll wear these some of the time. Without the padding, it trains you to land with a midfoot strike, which is faster and easier on the joints.

Plus, they'll be great for the next couple weeks when I go here (with my soon to be wife) and here (for work).

Edited to add:

I wore these tuesday at the gym (walking and running). They feel great, nobody noticed (or they didn't say anything). I didn't have any pain in my shins/legs/knees from running, so that's good. I did notice the muscles in my calves/feet were getting tired quickly--they're so used to being lazy due to shoes -- so I kept it to 1.5 miles.

Then I took these to the pool. I swam 9 laps in them ( no problem) and then swam another 9 without. I didn't notice any difference in my times-- they don't help or hurt. They do stay wet a LONG time--I figure they'll be dried out by morning.

One of the nice things is that you can just drop them in the washing machine when they get dirty/stinky/sweaty and then hang em out to dry. Sweet!

What I'm reading

Chi Running - It's about teaching you how to run. Without pain, faster, etc etc. Seems important.

Ultramarathon Man - Dean Karnazes writes about his experience running really, really long distances.

and of course, too many twitter posts, facebook updates, and BikeSnobNYC snarkiness

I'm also done with the whole "being sick" thing of the past 2 days. Back to the gym/trail/rode tomorrow.

training slower to race faster

I was reading some information on Mark Allen's website about training and racing. (He did win the Ironman World Championships a record 6 times, including when he was 37 years old).

The relevant text

"So he told me to go to the track, strap on the heart rate monitor, and keep my heart rate below 155 beats per minute. Maffetone told me that below this number that my body would be able to take in enough oxygen to burn fat as the main source of fuel for my muscle to move. I was going to develop my aerobic/fat burning system. What I discovered was a shock.

To keep my heart rate below 155 beats/minute, I had to slow my pace down to an 8:15 mile. That’s three minutes/mile SLOWER than I had been trying to hit in every single workout I did! My body just couldn’t utilize fat for fuel."

Now, I'm not sure I can run at lower than 148 BPM (my number given the formula), but I can bike at that pace.

"And after nearly a year of doing mostly aerobic training, which by the way was much more comfortable and less taxing than the anaerobic style that I was used to, my pace at 155 beats/minute had improved to a blistering 5:20 mile."

So his speed increased from 7.2mph to 11.2mph at an aerobic pace, which burns lots of fat and causes fewer injuries. Sign me up!

Along those lines, I've been thinking about a lot while eating lately -- keeping out the processed carbs. I won't repeat the huge amount of information about insulin and glycemic index, but here's what I'm thinking...

1- If I don't eat as many carbs, I won't be able to work out at that HARD intensity that burns carbs instead of fat (see above). This forces me into lots of long, slowish miles which leave me feeling good and ready for more.

2- If I don't waste my calories on junk with no nutritional value (bread, pasta, potatoes, fried food, candy, etc) then I get to eat far more meat and real vegetables. More protein and nutrients has gotta be good.

3- When I need to, I can eat a bunch of sugar for extra energy. I don't know how this will affect biking--I'm thinking/hoping it'll be some sort of "rocket fuel" for the really tough times-- like the epic Bunyon to Bobs last year.

success

Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they're really not. They're companions - the hero and the sidekick.

~ Laurence Shames

Opportunity

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

Cribbed from Keep it Street Level

failure

failure isn't falling down, its staying down

First ride of the year

Alex and I hooked up the half-wheel to the hybrid and went out for a ride today. We started from our place (right next to Sertoma park) and rode north. When we got up past the airport we struggled for the next 3 miles or so into furious headwinds (had to be 30mph). I think that stretch took us at least 20minutes, if not more. They hybrid is *NOT* good in winds.

Along that path some fab members came crusing by -- Darren, Greg, Gregg, Tammy and Road Legs. We met up at the falls ice cream shop for some treats before heading the rest of the way home.

Alex and I ran into Harlan, his wife and son by Spencer park so we chatted awhile before mounting back up (they were out walking because it was too cold to bike. hehe)

We made it through all the horrible puddles near Spencer park and eventually got home, just in time to pack up so he could head back to Mom's and so I could collapse.

As much as I complain about spin class, I have to change my tune
1- At least I had a dozen or so 'rides' in before today. Today wasn't so bad as a result.
2- 45minutes of non-stop legs spinning (the bikes are kinda like fixed gears in that they pull your feet through the motion) has really helped my pedaling. I used to have a lot of problems with "pedal, pedal, pedal, coast. pedal, pedal, pedal, coast". Today was great-- nonstop legs moving. When we got into the heavy headwinds it was hard, but my legs were up to the challenge.