Barefoot running

I've been reading Born to Run.

It's really interesting, about the Tarahumara Indians living in the Copper Canyons of Mexico and how they are arguably the greatest distance running culture in the world.  Anyway, to make a long story short there's a section in the book that extolls the virtues of barefoot running, listing it as the magic bullet that will solve all running-related injuries, make you faster, make you taller and grow your hair back if it has left for greener pastures - okay so the last item is not completely true but all the rest is there.

This morning was my long run and I decided to build in a segment of barefoot running, just to try it.  I figured I'd throw in 2k on a nearby highschool track, after finishing 18-20k or so and just before heading for home.

IT HURTS!

Running barefoot is not easy if you've spent your whole life in big, heavy, clonky "motion-control" thumper shoes.  It takes some time to build up the outer sole toughness to be able to run barefoot.  I managed to get in 2k (but not without slowing down a bit by the end) and my feet are still "crackly" at the end of the day.  I also feel some muscle pain in the arch.  Logically this is where the benefits are supposed to be felt.  After all if the arch of the foot is fully supported every time you run then that muscle doesn't get worked at all.  With no shoes the foot muscles have to do all the work.  In the long run (no pun intended) this is supposed to strengthen the foot, improve form, economy and posture, eliminate all those pesky runner's injuries (ITB, PFS, etc.)  As well, the elimination of injuries and their associated downtime and the improved form is supposed to make the runner FASTER, which is the ultimate goal.

What they don't do, is make your feet any prettier, and mine were bad enough to begin with.  There will be no pictures posted of feet here, but I think I'm going to keep giving this a try.  We'll see what comes of this.

Six days to Milton - opening of the season!

Peace.

Open water swimming

Read this in jono's blog the other day and it got me interested in some open water swimming.  I just might give this a go on one weekend this summer.  This is interesting to me, since the swim is the leg of the race that  I find the hardest to get out and train for and the most work on race day.  I used to be a semi-competitive swimmer, but perhaps the fifteen years' downtime in between events caused me to lose the edge somewhat?  Nonetheless, it is not like riding a bike (well, duh).  I found a few open water event listings for this summer.  I'm giving this some thought, and considering working it into the schedule.

And two last shout-outs to my man Cliff who blazed the Mississauga half today in a PB 1:38 - woot!  And to my other sometime training partner Darren, who I guess has put a little more work into his run since the Chilly - double woot!

Welland - under the four bridges

Buckhorn

Other open water swims 

Peace.

Bottle rockets and speeding tickets

What a beauty of a day.  Warm, sunny and permission slip signed to go off on a monster ride.  Turned out to be the first 100+ km ride of the year (111 to be exact) with only one "where the  frig am I?" moment.

So bottle rockets?  Yep, I'm seriously peed at this (maintaining the PG rating here).  I launched my bottles three separate times today.  Twice I heard them - the third I was stopped at a traffic light where I was saved by a guy in a truck who informed me one was gone.

Three?  Seriously?  I need a new method here.  It's tough to stay aero when you're constantly reaching back to make sure your bottles are still there, to say nothing of drinking from bottles that drop and roll through the muddy brown shmuck on the back country roads still defrosting from the frozen winter just ended.

I also got in some excellent climbs today - the escarpment is great for that, no matter what part of it you're on.  Up Main/Wilson into Ancaster is a beaut - 10-12 minute climb, helped out today by "the unknown roadie" who happened out of a side street and proceeded to pull me all the way up the hill.  I meant to take a turn, but he just kept on going and going and going.  Going down the same street is way better - under 5 minutes.

Lastly, since my wife occasionally reads this, we won't talk about the adventure with the black pick-up truck and apparently no turn signal whatsoever in Waterdown.  Jack@$$.

Peace.

After 30-plus years of dysfunctionality...

Last weekend was a mini-family reunion, and it was actually, surprisingly very enjoyable.   It's not always automatically the case when talking about family events, but seeing so many of the cousins, and now their generation of kids was a great time.  I saw cousin Jamie, who I believe was seven years old last time I saw her and looked like a seven-year old boy.  Now, she's a very pretty nineteen year old young woman (?!?).  I can't say these things to her face - she'll just plick my ear again (after forty-five or fifty ear plicks, it starts to hurt a little).

I saw cousin Vanessa (Jamie's sister) who was patient enough to let my two-year old nephew Cameron roam around the house taking pictures with her digital camera.  She ended up with over seven hundred pictures in one day.  I bet at least six hundred and eighty of them are of knees, butts, ankles, coffee tables and Cameron's thumb (hey he's two after all).

I saw Kelly and Kerry and all the rest of their kids, and Jenn and Pam and Trevor, and my brother and sister and all the rest.

The stinkeye goes out to the cousins who didn't make it, even those with four daughters.  Yes, you know who you are.

Not so much training info in this post.  This weekend was more about mental health training. Everything is now A-okay on that.

More training info tomorrow, after I finish my taxes.  Yes, it's that time of year - BOHICA.

Peace

Once again....

I didn't win the lottery.  No Kona for me this year.

I mean, come on, how could my tear-jerking, made-for-NBC-and-Al-Trautwig-story have been any better?  Okay, so granted I'm not recovering from any terminal disease (that I know of).  I haven't fought in any wars, foreign or otherwise.  I have all my original limbs and appendages.  All my direct family members are still alive, and I'm not going to push any of them in a float/jogging stroller/tandem bike or anything like that.  I've never been a famous professional athlete in any other sport.

Sheesh, is it too much to ask for one little birthday present?

Guess so.  I guess now I'll just have to work for it like any other whacko in this sport.  Oh well, by the time it rolls around to land on my birthdate again, I might just......

....yeah, sure.  Never mind.

Peace.

The humble inner tube, or getting tied up

So I've finally managed to get back into the pool semi-regularly.  That statement may not on the surface have anything to do with the title of this post, but it does.  I have learned of a use for the pile of flat inner tubes in my garage.  They are great swimming aids, if cut to the right length.  A 1-to-2 foot length, tied in a loop and looped around the ankles is a great support for pull sets.

This is not new.  I've read this advice before, and I'm sure others have as well, but until you try it you have no idea how much of a difference this makes in swimming.  Before this, I am ashamed to say, I was a cheater!!!  I must have been.  It's the only explanation for the sudden lack of flotation in my, ahem, posterior.  Cheater!  Cheater!  Cheater!  Now, no more.  I must pull harder to keep the junk in the trunk near the surface.

Getting back to the actual cycling role for the inner tube, check out the seven deadly spins.  Another beauty brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Chuckie.  These look like beauties.  They'll be getting worked into my schedule.

Now, back to the pool.

Peace.

Return

Well, it's been some time since I last posted anything. The tri scene has been a little scrambly, but I'm happy to report the plans for the year have more or less been ironed out. Of course, there's always room for a little tweaking here and there, but the end goal for the seasons is the Canadian Iron in September. Now of course you may recall that I had entered the lottery for IM Hawaii. I do believe the draw is this week. Realistically, I'm not holding my breath so Ottawa it is. Between now and then there'll be Peterborough for the half and probably a few sprints or Olympic sprinkled in. The newest job seems to have settled down (somewhat) although just by saying that I'm sure I've jinxed it.

More news? In the meantime I've joined the Fighting Koalas Tri team. This should make for a slightly different year in terms of training and race day so we'll see.

Not much else to say right now, even with all the time passed since last we posted. Delays, yes, but look on the bright side. It's not Chinese Democracy-like delays.

Peace.