Bag that barefoot stuff

For now anyway.  I looked at the calendar and kinda freaked.  I have only a little over 15 weeks to get ready for the inaugural Rock & Roll Portland Pikermi.  OK, so they don't call it that, they use the OLD term, HALF marathon...like a 5K is a HALF 10K.  Anyway, I realized that I need to just get back into my Pegs and get some real miles in, so I went out the door this crisp morning and knocked out a quick 4 miles.  I don't know how long it took, I ran with just the radio on, and didn't even check to see when I left or when I got back.  I don't care, it doesn't matter.  I think I might do the next 16 weeks just like today.  It doesn't matter. I get up at 4:00 and get out the door when I do, and get back in when I do.  This might be just what the doctor ordered. (No really, I'll ask her on Thursday) I'm betting she will be on board with this from a mental health stance.  It is funny that when I don't run, I don't feel like doing crunches, or push-ups or lifting weights, so this will be a very intense 16 weeks.

Zombie Survival Training Camp starts today.  Ask yourself, are you a "Zombie Killer"? Or are you Zombie Filler?  Rule number 1 is Cardio, so I have to get back to where I was a few months ago.  Along with that, I want to be lean and lithe, so the crunches and push-ups and dumb bell drills will all start in earnest.

Grumble grumble...hurt foot

Pretty much, that is all.  Dammit.

W3D2---Starting Over Barefoot

Ok, today my feet were not happy and that was after giving them a couple of days off.  Lazy buggers.  The tops of my feet were hurting, and, being the crazy runner that I am, did I stop?  NO, kept on keeping on, and ran through it.  Now that it has been about 5 hours since my run, the left foot still is complaining a bit.  I'll give it some TLC in the form of a lacrosse ball later today.  I'll rub the little doggie and see how it feels after that.  My legs feel pretty good, and I can knock out 30 push-ups pretty easily now.  I need to get a good time management set up for adding in the weights, but that is just a matter of getting used to the extra activity in the evenings.

W3D1---Starting Over Barefoot

Today I awoke to well below freezing temps and none of the snow they had predicted.  Since running how I used to run on ice was bad, I figured I would eschew running this morning and hope that one of two things happened today. Either, we would get the snow they kept saying was coming, or we would get just enough of a warm up that the ice would melt.  Either way, my little dogs were gonna be cold.  I got home to a balmy 34* and no snow, just very cold wet pavement. I changed my clothes, slipped on my monkey feet and out the door for a nice 90 seconds run/walk 3 minutes run/walk repeat.  Since that is only 18 minutes, and ends on a walk, I added in another 90 second run and called it good.  My legs are getting used to this nonsense, and the feet are starting to as well. But, DANG!!!  My feet were bright red when I took the ol' VFF's off when I got back in.  I picked up a weight set yesterday, so I will be adding in some weight stuff as I go along to add to the crunches and push-ups.  I also bought a GoogleOffer for 20 visits to a Yoga Studio to add a little stretching and stuff to my weeks.  Since I can only swing one visit a week, this will be like a 20 weeks class for $20. I couldn't pass that up.  Also, the guy that owns the place answers e-mails before 9:00 am, which I was not expecting.

I will let y'all know how that goes...who knows, I may have to change my name...to Couch Yogi.

W2D3 --- Starting over barefoot

Ugg, and no, I'm not talking about my comfy slippers. Today was not easy to do. First, who wants to get up on a Saturday after a long week and go run?  Now I know why Sunday long runs work for me.  And since I plan on running every other day, I "get" to run every other Saturday.  I did get up, and I did get the run in. I will spend some quality time with my foam roller tonight as my right knee is telling me it wants some lovin'.  The calves feel pretty good, but I did have to back off the throttle on one of the legs this morning. Clearly I am a bit tired, and with my knee complaining, maybe was pushing too hard.  My feet aren't bothering me much, so that is good.  The left one feels like I need to pop the knuckles of half of it, but other than that it is all good.  Monday brings 3 minute sustained intervals, so that might be fun to see if I can hold this pace for that long each time.  They say speed kills, and my legs might agree, but then again, they might be getting stronger inspite of their protestations.

Starting over W2D2...going barefoot!

Well, if I thought I was tired on Tuesday...man alive, I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning. But, kick my butt out of bed I did, and pulled on the tights and thermal shirt, slipped into the VFF's and out the door I went.  Another 2 miles, plus a little bit, this morning.  The legs are not happy with the rapid rotations, I am definitely moving at a faster tempo and at a higher rate of foot strikes per minute.  Over all this experiment is going well.  I do feel like I might be getting faster, although I am VERY aware of how long 90 seconds is right now.  Next week will be interesting with its 3 minute run/walk sections.  Not going to worry about it right now though, I still have one more day of this week to get in, and that will be on Saturday.  That is the other part of this experiment, can I actually get into an "every other day" rhythm with my running.  So far, this week, so good.  Keep on keepin' on.

Starting over W2D1...going barefoot!

Today was tough...seriously tough.  It was really hard to get out of bed at 4:00 this morning.  I went to bed kinda later than I had wanted, but that can't be helped at times.  Then I woke up at 2:30. Great, and to make matters worse, I had Metalica's "Enter Sandman" running through my head.  This was rather odd, since I haven't listened to Metalica in a while, let alone, that particular song.  But there I was, laying awake, with "sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight" running through my head over and over.  So, yeah, 4:00 am came a little earlier than I wanted.

I drug my butt from bed, got dressed and hit the road though.  Yea me.  My legs were a little stiff this morning as well, but I did manage to equal the distance I covered on Sunday, so that is a plus.  I figure if I am running the same amount of time, or there abouts, I should finish about the same point, and that was the goal this morning.  I will be looking for adding in some weight stuff soon, as I really want to get that moving forward soon.  I am also consciously working on my posture.  I need to stand and sit straighter so as to force my core to work during the day, so no more slouching.

Starting over W1D3...going barefoot!

So, there was an interesting little side effect noted during Sunday morning's little jaunt.  It turns out that when you are an established runner (if you have run a handful of Pikermis and a couple of marathons, you are established in your running) and you "start over" with the Couch to 5K deal, you are signing up for 9-ish weeks of speed drills.  Think about it, in week one you are running for 60 seconds with 90 second recoveries repeated 8 times.  Sounds like speed drills to me.  And they have been, I covered about 1.7 miles the first two days, but Sunday, I covered 2 miles in that same time.  Now, I know, quick math says, "big deal, that is 10 minute miles. You were doing that for an entire 26.2 miles before." Yup, you would be correct, but when you add in that 12 minutes of that time is walking, then you start to see the deal.  Next weeks, starting tomorrow, is run for 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes, run for 90 seconds, etc.  I will be interested in seeing how much ground I cover in the 20 minutes of this cycle.

Anyway, the calves are starting to get used to the work, that they are now having to do, and the push-ups and crunches are coming along.  Next is to get some dumb bells and add in some actual weight training to see if I can improve the rest of the upper body.  Don't think I want to look like the guys on the cover of the weight lifting magazines, but I wouldn't mind a little extra mass.

Starting Over -- Week 1, Day 2

And going into W1D2, my calves were not very happy with me.  Oh well, sucks to be them.  They will just have to get used to it.  Took a day off from the crunches and last night gave the belly a working over...heh.  I'll get something resembling a stomach if it kills me.  Today's little run went well, though I am noticing that I am running a wee bit faster in these short bursts than I normally would.  That may adjust how I approach the latter weeks, I may stick with running for time versus distance.  I will know if I am faster by the distance I am covering by week 5, so that will be an extra thing for me to pay attention to.  Anyway, push-ups and crunches every night, or nearly so, I might start adding in lunges and the like, just to be clever...

New Year, new goals

I have had my VFF's for a while now. They mock me, often, rotten little pieces of rubber. They sit there as though to say, "You *thought* you were runner enough to try barefoot."  I have actually, a few times, but each time there was a race too close to get in the time to develope the needed strength of leg for this. So they got used as gym shoe more than running shoes.  That is all gonna change. I don't have any races scheduled until late May. I got lots of time, and today, thinking this might be the best way to do it, I did Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program. I am gonna stick with this little project as I hope the benefit is longer shoe life and better form and thus less injury.  Also, my abs hurt, crunches every night, and not just straight crunches, but a mix of regular and side and reverse. Hopefully, I will have a six-pack to go with the new legs in May.