Is it possible?

I've missed swimming?

My achilles was hurting a lot today, so i decided to take off from running. I went to the gym and lifted and then swung down to sit in the sauna for a bit. I hadn't been down in the pool area of the gym since November. The usual lifeguard immediately greeted me and asked if I had a lane. I told him "no" and he told me I could jump in lane 1 if I wanted it. I decided, "what the hell?" I climbed into the pool and swam for the first time since Nov. 22.

I've always hated swimming, but found myself realizing that I missed swimming. I don't know how that's possible, but I really liked being back in the pool. I only did 20 minutes, and I was sucking wind, but it felt good.

Last night I ran a little under 6 miles. It felt great and I had no issues with the achilles. Today was a different story.

And you thought I was crazy...

I've got nothing on this guy.

First run from the new apt

I did my first run from the new apartment this evening. I ran down to central park, did a loop, and came back for a little over 9 miles. My achilles has been giving me some issues, but it felt fine for the entire run except for one downhill section. I'm not sure what is causing it, but I'm thinking its due to a really tight calf muscle. My right calf has been ridiculously tight for the past couple weeks.

I'm excited to explore some new running routes from the new apt.

An opinion I can agree with

The explosion of barefoot/minimalist runners due to "Born to Run" is really ridiculous. People blindly believe "facts" that are thrown out in a book that contain absolutely no sources, footnotes, or end notes. Studies, facts, and figures are used liberally in the text, but not backed up by any sort of bibliography. The story itself is very interesting, but I was turned off by the author's incessant need to blame every running injury on shoe companies (Nike in particular). Those who know me, know that I could be considered slightly biased due to my job. However, I would have had the same reaction regardless of which shoe company McDougall decided to blame for injuries. Another issue I had with the book is that he took several facts about Nike (and Bill Bowerman) and negatively construed them out of context to fit his argument for barefoot running. People are blindly throwing out their running shoes and opening their wallets to purchase pairs of Vibrams. I'd be interested to know if McDougall gets some sort of kick-back from Vibram.

Anyway, back to barefoot running itself...I think its a wonderful compliment to running in a pair of trainers. I think there are plenty of people out there who can successfully run barefoot without issues. I do think, however, that it is not for everyone and its not a "cure all" for people with running injuries. Those who choose to ditch their Nikes need to ease into barefoot running.

Back to the subject of this post. I read this post on facebook this morning and its the first time I've really found myself in agreement with the overall point of an "article" on barefoot/minimalist running.

45 minutes

Just did a quick 45 minute run with Ozzie after work. Its fairly brisk out, but the run was nice. We kept the tempo down, but still clipped off a decent pace (at least for me). Forty-five minutes sure goes faster when you are running with someone.

It was my first run as a 32-year old. I didn't fall apart, so I suppose I'm doing O.K.

Happy Birthday

As a birthday present for myself, I decided to punish myself. I just registered for the North Face Endurance Challenge Bear Mountain 50 Miler. May 8th. Its on!

What a difference a day makes

My legs felt dead and a little sore from last night's run. I went out tonight for what I was planning on being an easy run. I ended up doing 61 minutes on an out-and-back course, and negative split the run by over 3 minutes. The more I ran, the faster and lighter I felt. I was definitely throwing down some easy sub 8:00 miles. I've got a long way to go, but it sure felt good to have a run that felt effortless, especially the day after having a terrible, terrible run.

Out of shape

I did 5.8 miles with Run Club tonight at just under 8:00 pace and felt like I was going to die. A few months ago that pace would have been an easy pace for me. I knew I was going to lose fitness by taking time off, but its still hard mentally to accept the results. I've got a long road back to getting back in shape. I know it will only take a few weeks of consistent running to get back to feeling decent, but its still hard to accept.

IMAZ Photos

E and Me

Quick 30 minute run up the west side and back to the office with E tonight. Just a nice conversational pace.