Questing, Part 2

[rowyn]

Yesterday and today, my legs felt as stiff and sore as if I'd run five miles. I was like, "Really, legs? One crappy 16 minute mile and you're gonna be like this?"

My legs: "We hate you so much.  Suffer like we do, torturer!"

Me: "Fine. You want to hurt? I'll give you something to hurt about!"

So after work today, I jogged around the neighborhood next to my bank. My plan was to jog it twice , then head home, for about a 2-mile jog. Still not the 3.1 I need for the quest, but I figured I needed to work my way up to it. It was warmer than Saturday, but not yet to Lut's "You are not jogging in THIS heat" level. A nice breeze and the additional shade in this neighborhood made the climate overall better.

At about 3/4ths through the second lap, I checked my progress.  The laps were a bit longer than I remembered, more like .75 miles than .6, according to Cardio Trainer.  I wasn't feeling particularly tired.  I considered doing a third lap.

My feet: "You need new jogging shoes."

Me: "Yeah, I do." My current jogging shoes are probably a thousand miles past their expiration date.

My feet: "No, really. Or at least wear your good socks. Because OW BLISTERS."

Me: "... fine, fine, I'll head home."

1/3 of the way home:

Feet: "We're not kidding about the blisters. Stop jogging."

Me: "C'mon. Frodo walked to Mordor barefoot!"

Feet: "Frodo walked everywhere barefoot!  How big do you want your blisters to be?"

Me: "It's only like another half mile!"

Feet: "ARE YOU PLANNING TO USE US FOR ANYTHING AT ALL TOMORROW? BECAUSE WE WILL MAKE YOU PAY."

Me: [stops jogging]. "Dammit."

So 1.75 miles today, and much easier than Saturday -- probably because the neighborhood near the bank isn't as hilly as near my house. Possibly because I'd eaten real food.  I'll get there yet! 

Maybe after I get new shoes.

And break them in.

Comments

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

You should tell your feet they're not the boss of you. };)

Though I suspect that would do little good!

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

You should consider minimalist shoes, and spending some time training your stride to be lighter and more efficient and healthy (which minimalist shoes can help you do, if you put your mind to it!)

See:

http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

and

http://trainingclinic.vivobarefoot.com/running-the-skill/training-videos/

For some products to help enable this:

http://www.borntorun.com/

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm

http://skorarunning.com/

http://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/

Good luck!

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Oooh found another link!

http://birthdayshoes.com/barefoot-running-shoes

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

AWESOME!!! :D :D :D

Just thought I'd get that out of the way.

Be sure to warm-up/stretch/cool-down to relieve those aches. Also, drink lots of water!

:D :D :D

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend stepping into a good running shoe shop (not your typical mall outlet) and ask for some expert advice. A clerk who knows her stuff should be able to assess if you have any special needs for your running shoes (I require motion control to keep my insteps from rolling in). Do it at the end of your day, so that your feet will be at their largest. If you pick a proper fitting running shoe, you shouldn't have to break them in. And, yeah, a good pair of running shoes is going to be pricey, but well worth it.

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

I don't really agree with this... the idea of requiring motion control and such -- that isn't supported by quality science (most of the stuff was funded by Nike and then not double checked). If you get proper proprioception, it is fairly easy to actually improve your stride. The human foot is evolved really well, and a lot of the things that motion control and other foot coffins 'control' for aren't really the problems that the people who peddle motion control shoes say they are. Go read the book Born to Run...

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Worked for me. *shrugs*