It's Tuesday which means that's my "off day" each week. This is good timing as taking today off will be good for my right foot which is almost 100%. After discussions with my coach, I will continue to run easy and comfortable paces and I will not do speed work for at least another week, maybe 2 weeks to be very conservative with my right foot. I've been injury free for over 1 yr. and it's not racing season so there's no reason for me to unnecessarily push it.
I'm also having some issues with my Evo's for the first time in many months. I thought the blister issue was over but it returned a few days ago and I had to switch to my Mizuno Wave Universe 3's. I put some new moleskin in the Evo's so hopefully that resolves the issue but it's frustrating when it happens.
HHH
3H,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all thank you for your blog as I seem to always gather a new nugget of info to store in my running catalog.
Your interest in the Van Aaken method will be great to follow. After seeing what you said, I did a google search and read other opinions on his method. I think I remember reading in an earlier blog where you said that you have a hard time running slow (around an 8 - 8:30 pace). Is this the pace that VA says is slow or is it slower for the many miles we should run daily?
I intend to order the VA book off of amazon but another question hit me...it seems that even though he advocates running slow to avoid the oxygen deprevation to the body, we are still putting in the miles, which on other running methods that is a no no. More running equals the more chance of being injured. We should train smarter, more short tempo, more intervals but less really long runs. Is all this the everyone has an opinion and method and its just a matter of finding a method that works for you?
Scott
3H
ReplyDeleteJust a quick post, I received an email that the Altra shoe line is available for preorder.
Because of your leaning toward the thinner sole shoe would you favor the Adam over the road or trail shoe that Altra is producing?
I am also looking at the merrell trail glove after the write up at barefootrunninguniversity.
thanks
Scott
Scott, regarding VA, it appears he is saying that a nice easy comfortable pace should compromise most of your running. For me, that would be around a 8:00 min. per mile pace. I was doing my easy runs in the 7;15 pace and that was a bit too fast and not necessarily considering I'm running 6:00 and sub 6:00 paces on hard days.
ReplyDeleteAs for running methods, you hit the nail on the head as you need to determine what mix works best for you. It took a lot of trail and error, including coaching, for me to realize that my body handles pace/speed better than distance. This is why I focus on the 5k/10k and my training is focused on those middle distances. As for getting injured, you can get injured from running to fast for a short period or from running too long, even though you are running slower. The challenge is to find the right mix for you and also consider what type of base mileage you run.
HHH
The shoe stuff is a continuing challenge for me. I really like the Adam shoe from Altra although I consider it a good training shoe but not a shoe I would use as my main running shoe or for racing. Their Instinct model is interesting and that could be a daily training and racing shoe but I haven't tried it.
ReplyDeleteThe Merrill line looks promising and I'm hearing positive early reviews.
In my opinion, the challenge is that there are a few design factors to consider: heel differential, amount of cushion, toe box room, and weight. The problem is weighting these factors vary from individual to individual. There's no "perfect" shoe so the goal is to get a shoe that is as close to perfect as possible and allows you to run barefoot-like. No shoe will allow you to run 100% like you do barefoot but if you can get 90% there, then I think that's a home run.
HHH