Come Take a Walk With Me

[bryangoodrich]

I need to get a new shoe. I want one without such a big heel and "mobility control." The problem is, I need 12 wide, and that's not exactly a common shoe size for athletic shoes. I'd love me some lightweight pumas or saucony, but they just don't make them in my size! I also just don't have the money right now. Soon, though. I should be getting a new job very soon. Usually I go to Fleet Feet. It's hit or miss about the service, but I've had some really good help there before. I want to get me some five fingers, too, but it's unlikely I'll get those in my size!

[bryangoodrich]

Yeah, but I've yet to see stores carry stuff in my size. Usually it's like "okay, we have 1 or 2 that'll fit you." They're already too expensive for me to buy new ones (which I need), and special ordering isn't going to help! I could try online, but I really do like being able to fit them on before I buy. I want to try some five fingers and Nike free runner shoes. I want to know how it feels to just wear and use them.

I finally am pushing myself to improve now. My running form is getting better and more natural. I still have to be cognizant (a lot) while running, but I'm not falling out of form as much. I'm feeling the difference. I'm not as sore in a bad way, but I am more sore in a good way! I'm not getting the impact pain I would as a "thumper" and my feet and calves are burning from the new demand I'm putting on them. I'm also doing heel and toe raises everyday to build up my feet, calves, and shin muscles. I used to do that a lot when I was training for the marathon. I would get shin splints back then. That took care of it, forever! I would do sets of heel raises by 100 upwards of 2000+ (started about 500). Now I'm doing them in sets of 25. I've got a lot of room to grow.

I decided I'm also going to mix up my training. I'll try and go to the gym everyday, except now I'll do less. Not less qualitatively, mind you. Right now I do 20+ min of cardio, then weights, then HIIT, then abs, then stretch, and finish in the sauna. The problem is my HIIT suffers from how hard I work in my cardio and how much I lift or what body areas I work. If I do a good HIIT routine, I'm pretty much dead for core. HIIT often includes a lot of core, so it's not a significant loss. Instead, I'll try and mix things up. I'll do weights every other day and HIIT on the off days. I can also try mixing those up with classes to mix up the timing of when I workout (because I usually workout later than the classes are available). I'd enjoy throwing in some spinning, cardio kickboxing, or even just yoga. I think this will let me be more focused and make better use of the time. I'll just go more often, which I want to anyway.

In this regard, today I was way too tired to do any HIIT. My shoulder press and arm curl super set were exhausting, especially after my run and very hard bike ride. I also notice I'm able to do the elliptical much faster than I used to (174 strides per minute today vs the 130-150 spm I used to do). I need to do more stairs again, hill walking/running, and get back into swimming eventually. Anyway, the score.

301 + 1 = 302 miles

PT: 24 miles

[bryangoodrich]

That's the thing about nike free and five fingers. Their sizing is different. Sure, they say their shoes can be work with wide feet, but I've used shoes like that for pretty basic things and they rip along the sides in a matter of months. I know these shoes are made to take punishment, but if they're not designed for my flipper feet (I'm good at swimming for a reason lol), I don't want to deal with the risk of ruining a shoe after a few months of use. The footlockers, sports authority, and big 5 around here rarely carry running shoes in wides. The only place I would go to for quality is Fleet Feet. They're the best running store in town. They tend to be more pricey sometimes, they have a great return policy, but they, too, usually have at most 3 shoes in stock that'll fit me. Right now blowing $100+ on shoes is over 20% of my paycheck, which is already not enough to cover my bills and debt I'm running to pay off things like car insurance and registration. That makes it hard for me to consider going out and ordering shoes to be delivered to the store, since I'm sure that'll cost more money, too, or at least put a higher price on the shoe as it is. I will at least try to check out the nike free and five finger shoes to see what they're like. No way I'd consider ordering them online if I've never put them on my feet before.

[hedgie]

i am a fan of any variation of the burpee.

hey let's talk shoe fit--what kind of shoes are you guys wearing? did you get properly fitted at a store or figure it out on your own?

i did another 13+ today so all i can think about right now are my feet.......

I use five fingers classics and KSO's. As well I just recently purchased merrell trail gloves and really enjoy them. I self sized all of them. Sometimes not so successfully. Never had a problem with the Vibram classics tearing and I have wider feet.

[hedgie]

302 + 2 = 304
Pt: 76.75 + 2 = 78.75

[bryangoodrich]

Forgot to update from my workout last night. Will try going again tonight, but some days I may skip the run altogether. My ankle was hurting a bit from that 1 mile, so I cut back this time. I felt fine, though. Didn't want to push it and overdo it! Overall, I didn't work too hard last night. Need to step it up. Wednesday, I may take a cardio kickboxing class. Haven't done that for awhile. Usually some great eye candy. Always a good workout!

304 + 0.5 = 304.5 miles

PT: 23.5

[trinker]

304.5 + 3 = 307.5 miles
Pt: 8

[bryangoodrich]

Glad to see you contributing Trinker! Now where is Dason, hmmm??

I just had the toughest run yet, since I was injured. I did another mile, when I originally only planned half. I also increased the slope during the 2nd half of the run (5 min) up to 3% grade. Slight, but it makes a difference. Good run. Did squats afterwards and swam a little (very little!). Just needed to unwind after today's interview.

307.5 + 1 = 308.5 miles

PT: 24.5 miles

[hedgie]

308.5 + 5.5 = 314
Pt: 78.75 + 5.5 = 84.25

Hope the interview went well bryangoodrich.

Half normal is it good for the body (long term on the joints), that kind of distance\time running? I've only run maybe 13-14 miles as my longest runs but was wondering how good/bad it was for the knees. Thanks for the shoe tip!

[bryangoodrich]

I could run 2 miles and I tried for 2.75. It was a recipe for disaster lol

In truth, it was more of the concurrent frequency of stress and poor running form that was putting way too much stress on my body. Being overweight doesn't help the amount of impact I was taking in my joints! The real problem was that I did a ton of jump roping (lots of impact) ran 2.75 miles, and then 2 days later ran another 2 miles (~70% of top run). That ruined me.

Moral of this story? Be cautious of doing too much and take the time to prepare. Also, do things right. Form is everything, whether it's weight lifting or cardio. I'm pro on the former, and got lazy on the latter, sadly.

[bryangoodrich]

First time working out back-to-back days since I was injured ~17 April. Granted, I haven't done crap for weights in the past 2 days, but I ran both days and my feet aren't hurting at all. Calves a little sore, but that's a good mark that I'm running correctly! lol

314 + 0.5 = 314.5 miles

PT: 25 miles

[bryangoodrich]

Still exhausted from my double-day workout Wed, Thur. The lack of sleep isn't helping, either. Still, I pushed through and went the "distance" tonight. I'm feeling very little residual joint pain after my runs, now. There was a little ankle stiffness when I started today and that I could feel today. That didn't bother me in the least during the run. My calves, glutes, and hip flexors are all getting stronger. I definitely need to strengthen my hips a bit more. Maybe include high knees or mountain climbers in my HIIT workouts. I think I may try for another double-day workout and go tomorrow. I should start getting to bed at a 'normal' time, though. That way I can hit up the early morning cycling classes and start doing a few evening cardio kickboxing and yoga classes. It'll give me a longer (duration) exercise exposure, push me, and just keep my workouts varied.

314.5 + 1 = 315.5 miles

PT: 26 miles

[hedgie]

315.5 + 5.5 = 321
Pt: 84.25 + 5.5 = 89.75

[hedgie]

321 + 3 = 324
Pt: 89.75 + 3 = 92.75

[bryangoodrich]

Whew, today was hard. I think it was a lot of heat, the 2 days off, and eating like crap yesterday in an attempt to ruin myself for an evening. I got my roommate to finally start working out again. He also just bought a heart rate monitor. So I dusted mine off and gave it a go. It doesn't work with the treadmills, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I was able to gauge my HR level as I ran. For the first 5 minutes I was a solid 140 up to 165 at 6.5 mph. I hit my threshold because then my HR spiked to 175. I pushed through to 7:30 (actually hit 0.75 miles at 7:00, but I round down) and then cooled off. The HR monitor is good in this regard, because it lets you see how you're training and maybe if you're pushing yourself too hard. It makes me wonder if that Pebble watch (the one with apps) will be able to sync with HR monitors and such. That would be pretty cool. If they make one that uses bluetooth and connects to your phone, then it could definitely connect with Pebble. Oh, the joys of technology!

324 + 0.75 = 324.75 miles

PT: 26.75 miles