Posts tagged running

Still running: Minimalist, Week 15

Over the last few months I’ve been clocking in ~180km in my Vibram FiveFingers. For the most part I take it slow; I run when I feel like it (which is rather often), and I check out routes I’ve not ran before. Sometimes these are long, sometimes not so much.

And I’m happy to say that apart from a one-time, mild case of shin splints caused by running too slowly (I’m not kidding) a few weeks back which “grounded” me for a few days, I am without injury and pain. I run a lot on paved roads these days, due to the currently bad weather and my unwillingness to wrestle muddy tracks. Back in my Nike days, this usually gave me bad sacroiliac joint pain. These days, I’m fine. No complaints, really.

I’ve bought a second pair of FiveFingers KSOs a while back, and since my current client is a KSO fan and owner as well I was able to wear them in the office. It’s good, really.

So yes, I’ve embraced minimalist running. Not just in the shoes department, but also in my mind. My stance towards me running has changed over the last few months; I’ve become more relaxed and calm about it. It doesn’t feel like a drag anymore, like something you just have to suffer through; I run because I like it and because I want to.

Most days I don’t even take a watch with me; I glance at the wall clock when I head out the door and check it again when I come back. That’s accurate enough. And in order to find out the distance I’ve traversed I turn to Google Earth or DailyMile’s handy “pedometer” map feature.

My feet have become stronger, I think my feets’ arches are not as flat anymore, and my toes have straighten out a wee bit. The money I’ve spent on my FiveFingers was a good investment in my health, methinks. The downside is that I don’t like my “real” shoes anymore. ;)

A sweet side story: when my parents visited us a few weeks back, they saw the FFs and tried them on, deciding they like them. So they’ve both bought a pair, and to my big surprise picked up light trekking as a hobby! Even my mom is having fun. So much, in fact, that they both bought a second pair “for colder days” — KSO Trek. Clearly, I’m an influencer…

So, minimalist running still works for me; it works very well, in fact. And I still enjoy my Vibrams. And yes, I would and do recommend both to everyone interested in running.

Learning the Skill of Barefoot Running (by Terra Plana)

Still running: Vibrams, Week 2

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Wore my Nike Free yesterday, as they’re the most flexible (actual) shoes I own. No time for running, tho, also still some residue muscle pain.

Today: Beautiful morning, decided to ignore the bus and walk to the subway. 3.5 km in my Nikes, and while they’re pretty good, I miss the ability to wiggle my toes.

Came home, went for a 3.5 km VFF walk with Dana. My calves seem to man up, finally. With a bit of luck I might be able to go for a run on Thursday again!

Wednesday

Came home, my legs still aching a bit, but I thought “eh, what the eff” and went for a 5 km run. Didn’t even take a watch or anything; I just felt like running. The last time this happened to me was never. And I had fun.

To be honest, the combination of THE BOOK and MY NEW SHOES caused this almost eerie, constant desire to get out and run. I’m not making this up; it’s uncanny. I’ve never had this urge to just crunch some miles. And it’s not because of stress at work or anything. I’m calm, I’m my usual sunny self, not stressed out… It’s just a deep-seated feeling that running would be the right thing to do right fucking now. For no apparent reason. (Perhaps they’ve put brain-altering chemicals into the book; I don’t know… I don’t know.)

And I won’t lie, I’ll enjoy it for as long as it lasts. It might go away tomorrow or next week or in five years time, I don’t know, but I’m cool with it. There are worse urges, really.

Also: I can predict the future! Tomorrow, walking will hurt. (I wish my calves would man up quicker.)

Thursday

Turns out I can’t predict the future after all — I can walk rather painlessly today. Apparently all the extra post-run stretching and muscle rubbing1 was a good idea.

Had a discussion with another (ex) Y! about running barefoot’ish. It’s not just about not running on your heels, but about foot strength/health in general. In running shoes, the foot’s arch is bolstered and propped up to various degrees. And your toes are pretty much suspended. When running without shoes, the arch acts like a spring, and the toes react to the underground, but they can’t do that when shod.

The difference is not just that you’re running on your forefeet, it’s about giving the foot (and therefore the leg) a chance to work as intended.

Friday

5 km, ‘twas okay — not more, not less. The humidity took me a bit by surprise, and my big lunch wasn’t helping the cause either. So: eh.

My lower legs are slowly adjusting to the change. Atta boys!

One of the Vibrams is slowly coming apart a bit at the heel (where the mesh is glued to the rubber “skin”), which is a bit strange after only one week of moderate use. They’re not falling apart or anything, their function isn’t impaired, it’s just a visible “glitch” I’m not too happy with. They’re one week old after all.

I’ll hit the sports store on Monday and ask for either a replacement or (some) money back.

Saturday, Sunday

Rest of the week were wasted on shitty weather and/or me freezing, so no running.

  1. Not an euphemism, thankyouverymuch. ↩

Still running: Going Minimalist

Reading Christopher McDougall’s highly interesting and inspirational “Born to Run”, I came back to my idea of running (semi-)barefoot. Turns out there are a lot of people with the same idea, and companies catering to this idea. So last Thursday I treated myself to a new pair of Vibram FiveFingers KSO.

VFF are basically what you would get if you dipped your feet into molten rubber, minus, you know, the excrutiating pain, blistering skin and earache caused by your own frantic screaming. They’re a thin, highly elastic second skin for your feet, and not much else, really. Needless to say, I love them.

Being the serial enthusiast I am, I’ll try to keep a short-form diary of my semi-barefoot running progress and findings for my own sake.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Was paid by a client today, there’s money to be spent! Went to the sports store to see whether they have Vibrams in stock; the answer was a resounding yes. Tried them on and was sold. 10 minutes and €105 later I was the proud owner of a brown pair of Vibram FiveFingers KSO.

Wore them on my way home; not bad. A bit strange at first, but I quickly forgot about them. Went home, the weather’s nice, decided to go for a quick and easy run. Didn’t expect much, but was surprised.

Without trying to, I ran the first 5km straight, without much effort or being winded. Had to take a quick breather (while walking) because I was starting to feel light side stitches. Walked for ~250m, then took off again. When I got home and checked my time, I noticed I had beaten my usual time by roughly 5 minutes. And I was barely exhausted after those 7.4km.

The fun thing about barefoot running (or running with nothing but a thin layer of protection wrapped around your feet) is that your body instinctively knows what to do. You straighten up involuntarily, you (normally) don’t land on your heel but on your fore- or middlefoot, and you keep your feet right below your frame while running.

All you have to do is forgetting your old shod running style, really, and listen to your instincts.

Now, when your feet are cushioned (i.e., stuck in your average shock-absorbing running shoe), you tend to land heel-first while going for long strides. A long stride means more distance covered per step, right? True, but it’s rather unnatural, because if you’d do it without shoes, you’d end up in a world of pain as the body isn’t made for this kind of self-beating.

So, after the first few steps in my new VFF my body adjusted. I was going rather slow, well within my comfort zone, my back was straight as a candle, yet I didn’t fall into my usual thump-thump-thump rythm.

Awesome shoes! To be fair, when I got home I definitely felt my calves… they were more sore than usual. No, wrong… They were sore, and they usually aren’t. Then again, usually I am sweat-drenched and exhausted by the time I am back on my own doorstep — not this time, so I consider it a good deal. :)

When Dana came home, she wouldn’t stop laughing at them.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Holy shit, my calves. They feel like I’ve actually used them for the first time in my life.

Still, have a good feeling about the Vibrams; even about my calves. I was expecting sore muscles; after all, I’m completely changing the way I run. Obviously, I’ve done that.

Wore the VFF when getting out for lunch. Not much walking there, but I felt like giddy like a little boy about his new Spongebob shoes, and I never want to take them off again.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Took Dana to the sports store so she could see whether the Vibrams are something for her. Like me (even more like me) she could use stronger feet, and naturally I want to share this new sensation with her. She’s picked out a pair of grey KSO.

After we got home we went for a casual 5km walk on my running trail. She liked it, although her feet and legs were a bit sore. Don’t tell her, but I was expecting this. ;)

My calves are still hurting a bit.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Beautiful day, and despite the slightly sore muscles I decided to run. Not the best idea I’ve ever had, really. ;) Now they really hurt.

Well, suits me. I don’t blame the shoes, tho. I just didn’t listen to my body; the outcome should teach me.

Stupid me, always pushing too hard.

Mini Review: 2008

  • I was promoted. Then I lost my job. But I came to a conclusion, and found new goals. (More on this later.)
  • I had planned on running 250km, then hit that goal in October, and ended up doing 400km.
  • My granny passed away, and I miss her.
  • My faith in the USA was partially restored (the Obama campaign and its success even gave me hope, and I don’t even “count”).
  • We’re done with the bulk of the renovating of our 2nd floor. I’ve installed the floor tilings. w00t!
  • I was overly surprised by a videogame — GTA IV. I’ve spent a lot of time on that one. Wonderful adult entertainment.
  • I got me an iPod touch — which turns out to be a good reading device, thanks to both Instapaper Pro and Stanza.
  • I’ve tried to bring Child’s Play to Germany, and failed. Oh well, it was the first round. Better luck in 2009.
  • I’ve launched a few smaller projects — Twitter Twerp Scan, escaloop (which I’ve shut down a few months later) and Random.li.
  • I came to love GitHub. Great site/service.

Verdict

  • A really good year.

Posts

I didn’t write as much as I had planned on doing, but nonetheless, here are a few of my “better” posts (subjective opinion, YMMV).

Have a good 2009.

Using Yahoo! Pipes: Your Most Recent Nike+ Run in Friendfeed

During the last few weeks, I’ve built a couple of pipes I want to share. (“Pipe”, in this context, means an application built in Yahoo! Pipes.)

Here’s one of them.

Your Most Recent Nike+ Run

As I’ve mentioned once or twice in the past, I’ve become a more or less avid runner during the last year. One central piece of my equipment is my Nike+. I don’t run without it. I am a geek, I love numbers. The Nike+ provides me with numbers. It makes running a game.

I sync my iPod with my iTunes after each run, and the Nike site is taking the raw data, crunching it, giving me graphs and more numbers, and (this is the interesting thing) badges for my website.

Now, I don’t really care about those. But when there are badges, there must be an API which provides the raw data to them. Looking behind the scenes, I quickly found it. It’s not password-protected or secured in any way; when you set your nikeplus.nike.com profile to “public”, the API will return some of your data (run overviews, run details etc. — no personal details).

So, knowing the API URL, I’ve built a pipe which will do a few things:

  1. Accept any nikeplus.nike.com “brag”-type of link as parameter (when you’re logged in to the site, these are usually labelled “Share with your friends”, “Grab the link” etc.).
  2. It will extract your public, numeric runner ID from this link.
  3. It’ll fetch the data for the most recent run of the runner with this ID, i.e. you.
  4. It’ll build an RSS feed with the data of your most recent run.

When writing the pipe, I’ve made a few assumptions, namely that…

  • you sync your iPod after each run
  • you’re using the Nike+ site
  • you don’t run more than once per day.

Since I am lazy, I’ll only use the data for the most recent run, so the pipe’s results will be exactly that — just a single item, your most recent run.

That being said, I found this sufficient. After adding the pipe’s RSS URL as new “Custom RSS”-type service to Friendfeed, FF will effectively trigger the pipe a few times each day, and your latest run will be added to your stream quickly. Next time you sync your iPod, the Nike site will pick up the new data, the API will return the new data to the pipe, and the new run will be added as new Friendfeed item.

The pipe will post your runs in the following format: “[Nike+ runner name] ran [distance] [km/mi] in [time]”, for example “3R ran 11.3543 km in 1:03’54””. The message will link to the public page of the run — a page like this. (3R is my Nike+ moniker.)

Now, why would I want to add my runs to Friendfeed? Well, why not? For me, running is a nice part of my life. I’m actually enjoying it, I’m keeping it casual, and I am proud of every damn kilometer mark I pass. Plus, as mentioned, I am a geek, and I like to share what I build. :)

If you have questions or suggestions, speak your mind in the comments.

Going Paleolithic

In his thoroughly enjoyable Science In The Capitol trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson (who happens to be my favourite author) talks about a concept called “The Paleolithic Life”; something he also spoke about in a Google Tech Talk on Climate Change (at ~50min in).

The idea is that there are certain activities engraved in the mind of every human, which result in joy and happiness. These are the things the paleolithic man did during his waking hours, things nature rewarded him for by making him feel alive and capable and good, thus helping him evolve and aiding his development.

Mr. Robinson compiled a list of these activities:

  • Spending the day outdoors
  • Walking and running
  • Looking for things
  • Making things
  • Throwing rocks
  • Cooking and eating
  • Talking and listening
  • Singing and music
  • Dancing and sex
  • Finding a mate
  • Raising kids
  • Looking at fire
  • Seeing by moonlight
  • Killing animals
  • Being killed by animals
  • Making beds at night
  • Exploring new land
  • Feeling emotions, including terror, religion, right and wrong, etc.

Especially when you spend your waking hours in an office job, most of these activities are not part of your life anymore. We do not need to hunt for food anymore, we’re seldom being killed by animals1, we don’t throw rocks. But the engraved patterns, the subconcious memories of our ancestors life in the paleolithic, the biochemical reward mechanisms are still within us — just unused.

What a waste.

Having doubts about this? Here are some quick tests: If you have the chance, find a fireplace in the night and stare at the flames for a while. Or get out at night, take a walk by moonlight. Or meet with friends for self-made dinner. Or have good sex. (Or all of the above, at once.)

KSR’s proposal is picking up our old habits again, raking in the old rewards, in order to lead a happier life. In a slightly modernised form, of course. Throwing rocks is awesome — until someone is crying, that is. Which should be avoided. So, how about Frisbee or Baseball? You throw things at things, with less chance of killing people by accident! And think about walking, running, building things with your own hands…

Intriguing, no?

(His theory doesn’t seem to be entirely fresh or new, tho; I think it has influenced some of the storylines in his wonderful Mars books, even though it was not specifically mentioned (it was in the aforementioned Science In The Capitol books). Some of the characters find some inner peace when doing more or less mundane tasks; Nirgal just wanted to run2, Nadia was happiest when she could build and make, John was at the top of his world when he could talk with and listen to people, etc.)

So, long story short, I’m trying to get a bit more paleolithic in my life.

As mentioned, I have started running in April, and it’s actually pretty cool. I feel really good after most of my runs (not during them, mind you) — my new-found ability to run 5km straight is nothing short of a miracle to me, really.

Since I don’t feel like hitting and paying for other peoples’ stuff, but want to throw things at things, I bought some Frisbees and already took them out for some hilarious practice games with Dana, we had a blast, and I will try to make it a regular activity. I actually want to give casual Disc Golf a try; we’ll see.

Already I try to spend (a little bit) more time outdoors, mostly by walking instead of taking the bus, watching my surroundings, i.e. walking with open eyes. Good for the health, and sometimes you’ll see interesting things, really. And next week I’ll go kayaking. Gonna be interesting.

And I will try not to be eaten by wild animals.

Opinions?

  1. The feeling of successfully outrunning/outsmarting a predator was where the reward and joy lay, KSR mentioned in his Google Tech Talk. ↩

  2. Quite honestly, the figure of Nirgal, especially his recurring wish to “just run” deeply resonated with me. I’d even say he was one of the big influences that made me pick up running. Don’t laugh, please. Interestingly enough, Science In The Capitol’s Frank Vanderwal’s excursions into “running frisbee golf” read so good, it made me order two discs. :P ↩

Still Running: June 2008

After two weeks of not being able to run without pain I’m good again. I had to find a different route, but after poking around in Google Maps and the surrounding forest I’ve managed to come up with a enjoyable one. The slightly annoying part is that I have to walk ~900m before to get to my actual starting (and end) point. Well, I consider it warming up. I’ve added the distance to my usual 5km, and thus I am now at 7km per run.

A few weeks ago I’ve bought some light weights for my hands. They’re ~450g (1lb) each. Doesn’t sound much, but it’s noticable—now my upper body gets some minor workout as well.

I’ve registered myself for the Nike+ 10km Human Race going down end of August. Going to run for the World Wildlife Fund. There’s an official event here in Munich, actually! Unfortunately the whole 10km are over pavement, and I don’t want to risk injury again, so I’ll have to run a different route, I think.

Overall I am well on track towards my “250km in 2008” goal. I believe with my next run I’ll be hitting the 100 miles mark. We’ll see what the Nike+ site is going to tell me. Which is still kind of crappy, by the way. They rather add new and useless features than fixing longstanding issues like the broken OSX widgets.

I’ve discovered Runner+, a site which aims to be Nike+ without the cruft, I guess—but that whole social networking thing is not doing it for me. Also, the data sync is done by either using their desktop widget (requiring the Y! Widget Engine) or manual upload of the XML files or an automated daily sync where I need to give them my Nike+ credentials. Quite frankly, neither method is doing it for me. Plus I don’t really like the site. It doesn’t click with me.

Other options? Yes, OSX software.

  • Runner’s Log is nice and rather simple, but not exactly what I am looking for. Runs are broken down into “laps”, which might be nice if you’re running actual laps, but I ain’t.
  • And then there’s TrailRunner for those who not only use a Nike+ but a GPS receiver and heartrate monitor and have a fully staffed lab crew with instruments running with them. So… that’s not me. In their defense, I believe the TrailRunner target audience is a bit more hardcore about their running, biking, hiking, inline-skating or skiing than I am. (Also I was seeing more error dialogs during my 15 minutes with TR than I have in any other software in the last 6 months combined. Probably some Nike+ sync issues.)

So no help on that front. Too bad. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d probably would’ve hacked together something simple that’s making use of the Nike+ web badge APIs. Maybe the day will come, tho.

Addendum: I’ve set up a Nike+ FriendFeed room. Nothing in there yet, but who knows, that might change.

Pleasant Memories Of Times Past

Trying to keep track of the last one or two weeks…

  • Running again! Avoiding tarmac, thank God there are many forest roads around. Using light weights on my hands now, too. Fun. The most interesting part of the down period was that I was actually missing my runs, and that I was looking forward to start running again. I think it’s official: I like it.
  • Found out I can watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart & The Colbert Report freely and legally on the web,OMG. Thank you, Comedy Central. Too bad there isn’t an RSS feed. Or is there?
  • Jeremy Zawodny is leaving Yahoo! – and so is JR Conlin. Bummer, two of my personal heroes gone. Well, I guess ~9 years at the same company is enough for anyone. All the best, guys!
  • Using FriendFeed now. It’s not bad, really; then again, I mostly use it to have a single place where all my loose threads come together. I really like the stalking helper imaginary friends feature. Makes it easy to keep track of pals who don’t use FriendFeed themselves. I’ve tried subscribing to the combined feed of all the people I’ve subscribed to on the site, but it’s like being fed by a firehose. Unusable, sorry. As I’ve said before, the idea to build a social network on top of peoples’ lifestreams is a bit too meta for me.
  • Discovered Goodreads. Nice.
  • I love GTA IV. Incredible game. So many lovingly crafted details, amazing.
  • New iPhones! Dope. Want. And a revamped .mac! Let’s hope it works as good as it looks in the presentations. The current .mac web implementation is useless for me. It just doesn’t cut it.

Pavement Is Bad, mmmmkay

A week ago, during the day, my left lower back and leg started to hurt. Each step I made stung, and it didn’t get better. I couldn’t think of anything I had done; I didn’t fall, trip or twist my leg. I had just run in the morning.

On Thursday the pain was still there, so I’ve consulted a doctor. She told me to stop running on asphalt the pavement, because no matter how good the shoes, the ground in itself is too hard, too solid, too inflexible. So what I’ve done, in effect, was messing with my joints and cramping up my muscles. I was given a shot and the task to find a better route for running, preferrably something like forest roads.

Splendid.

Anyways, it’s Monday now, I haven’t been able to run for a week by now, and this sucks. I’m sitting around, actually craving to log a few kilometers. Which feels a bit weird because three months ago I didn’t even think about running.

Damn.