Running shoes: your mileage may vary

On January 4, 2013 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Adrenaline and Kinvara are best in the long run

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I like running shoes for the same reason I like sports cars. They are the only layer between you and the road and they’re engineered to enable performance. If you use your imagination, sports cars and running shoes even look similar, sharing the same aerodynamic profile. The biggest difference between the two is that while anyone can go fast in a Porsche, the best thing a running shoe can do is optimize a runner’s potential.

In the 4+ years that I’ve been running, I’ve acquired a number of shoes. Some of them were great and some are best forgotten. I started logging my workouts on Daily Mile in April of 2010 and that service provides me with a tool to track the mileage of my running shoes. With the exception of the first few pairs I bought back in 2008, I have a complete history of my time spent with every shoe that I’ve owned since late 2009.

Saucony Kinvara (original)

Brooks GTS 10

I recently exported my shoe mileage data and graphed it to visualize the range (above). When people tell me that they notice their running shoes breaking down after five months, I’m usually skeptical because my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9’s held up for more than 700 miles. My all-time favorite running shoe, the original Saucony Kinvara, performed well for almost 500 miles before giving out. I ran a little too long in those and suffered a bad knee problem due to it. Despite that, I still can’t bring myself to throw them out.

My current shoes of choice are the Kinvara 3’s for the road and, for the treadmill, the Pure Drift prototypes that I tested for Brooks. Had I requested size 11’s instead of 10.5’s for the Pure Drifts, I’d probably be wearing them more often. The fit in the toe box is just a little too narrow for my foot, so I don’t use them for long runs on pavement.

The good thing about running shoes (vs. sports cars) is that you buy new ones often without breaking the bank. I suspect, based on history, that the Kinvara 3’s will need replacement in the next few months. I’m tempted to replace them with the production version of the Pure Drift, but there are a couple of New Balance models that interest me. Plus, a whole new crop of 2013 models will soon arrive from the other brands.

While I’m thinking about it, it might be time to add a new trail shoe to my collection. Why not? It would certainly be cheaper than getting a Land Rover.

When metrics matter less, the run matters more

On December 4, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

When you first begin to run, it quickly becomes obvious how much you need to learn. I look back at my early days and realize how many bad decisions I’d made (sprinting without a warm-up, buying Nike shoes, wearing cotton socks, etc.). Once I understood that wicking clothes were de rigueur and finally learned what “PR” meant, I started to focus more on performance metrics and the technologies to capture data.

As I mentioned above, I first bought Nike running shoes, but it was primarily because I didn’t know brands. But I also bought them because they had a storage well under the insole where I could put my Nike+ chip.With the Nike+ chip and Sportband, I was able to capture interesting data about my runs including time, speed and distance. Until the Sportband display corroded (I actually went through three Sportbands, each with a MTBF of 3 months) I was able to see my pace in real time as I ran. It was exciting to monitor my progress.

I switched to Garmins after that, and studiously recorded my metrics. I analyzed my performance and tried to understand why my average pace improved or worsened from month to month. The numbers were important to me. Over the last year, I’ve noticed that I’ve stopped checking my pace as often when I run. I watch my distance and monitor my heart rate but the speed that I run doesn’t interest me much anymore. I can’t say that I’ve given up on performance (it’s always great to see when I’d paced under 9:00) but that’s not what’s important right now.

I can’t help thinking about the recent WSJ article that correlated fast paces to negative health in older athletes. Maybe that’s part of it, though my decreased focus on speed (except when racing) has been a long time coming. I ran my usual route today about 15 seconds slower than average, but I was happy because I did the run. It took years to feel that way. I wonder how long it will last.

My first 100K (it’s not what you think)

On December 3, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

A unique feeling

When I started this blog four years ago, my only goal was to document my experience as a runner. I’d run in the early ’90’s but never documented my progress and I regretted that. I thought a daily journal might motivate me to get out and run so I’d have something to write about. Although I felt committed to both, I couldn’t help wondering whether I’d tire of writing or running and, if so, when.

I noticed that the Emerging Runner site odometer has recently passed 100,000 unique visits. I used to look at hits, pageviews and other metrics and even thought about going beyond the rudimentary SEO that I’d set up for web discovery. After a while I decided to just focus on the content and let the audience build organically. Still, I appreciate every one of those 100K visits.

At some point I’ll go through my large collection of posts and select some favorites that I will share. I’ve found a lot of value from this archive as a gauge of my running progress. But more than that, it’s been a great way to capture the daily occurrences of my life (albeit with a running bias) that would normally be lost over time.

Are male runners more competitive than female runners?

On November 30, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

The 4 hour cliff

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes – 2% grade

If you are a member of Athlinks you may have received an email that shows a graph of 2012 marathon times (above). The graph shows 2012 finish time distribution frequency, and it clearly illustrates that marathon times peak right before the four hour mark (I inserted a blue arrow to highlight that point). Not shown here was another graph that compared times by gender. That graph showed that 58% of men (vs. 42% of women) finished faster that 4:00. One might conclude that men approach these races more competitively than women. The sharp spike between 3:50 and 3:59 times indicates some very tactical planning.

I can’t speak to how women view racing, except through anecdotal conversations with female friends who race. I wouldn’t say that women are any less competitive, but they may carry a different perspective on their performance goals. Many men (including myself ) simply pick a targeted time and focus on beating it. Women (more often it seems) will view their finish times as secondary to the experience of running their best. They are no less competitive than men, but they don’t seem to be as discouraged if they miss a specific time target.

It would be wrong to say that women don’t care about hitting performance targets. That spike on the graph at 4:00 represents a lot of female finishers. But I would say, generally, that woman view and value performance differently than men. One approach is more quantitative and the other is more qualitative. In the end, I wonder who’s more satisfied with their results?

Running in Sandy’s spooky aftermath

On November 15, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

The shadowy world of a 4 AM runner

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

Hurricane Sandy is more than two weeks gone but the after effects will remain for a while. People have been saying that it’s just too soon for Thanksgiving to be happening. One of my favorite times of the year is the period between mid-October and early December. That’s when the leaves turn, the air smells like fall, and Halloween and Thanksgiving kick off the holiday season. Hurricane Sandy interrupted that whole experience. On the other hand, having our power restored and not sitting in gas lines will be top of mind when we give thanks next Thursday.

As I made my way to the top of the first street on my morning run, my headlamp revealed what looked like two cords of wood stacked on the curb in front of a neighbor’s house. If I had a wood-burning stove or used our fireplace, this would be a good time to save money on firewood. Running through the neighborhood is a little eerie these days, especially on mornings like this when there’s little moonlight. My headlamp and the occasional streetlights played off the huge trees, downed by the storm. In the dark at 4:00 AM, it looks like a scene from “Where the Wild Things Are.”

In the days between Sandy and today, we’ve seen temperatures drop, especially in the early morning. I dressed accordingly and appreciated the extra layers as I made my way around the neighborhood. The cold air definitely helps motivate me to run a little harder and I found myself pacing faster than the day before. The spooky shapes created by the storm were a fun distraction and my run seemed to go by quickly, even though I only beat Wednesday’s time by 32 seconds. Sandy overshadowed Halloween this year, but I got it back a little today.

Athlinks bemoans declining race times

On November 14, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

I had a funny exchange yesterday with Troy Busot, the founder of Athlinks. This website aggregates race results and allows members to compile a rich racing history. Athlinks members can comment on their race experiences and compare their performance to “rivals” (other members who have participated in 2 or more of the same races that you’ve run).

The reason I contacted Troy was that he’d sent an email that, in a tongue and cheek way, chided runners for what he called, “an alarming decline in U.S. racing performances in distances across the board.” He compared average finish times for the most common race distances plus Olympic, Half and Full Ironman Triathlons. He made his point but I noticed that his times for half marathons were exactly the same as for 10K’s, an obvious typo:

Average Times for Leading
Race Distances from 2009-2012

Distance	2009	2012	Change	% Change
5K Run	30:30	31:47	+1:17	+4.04%
10K Run	1:01:01	1:02:28	+1:27	+2.34%
Half Mara	1:01:01	1:02:28	+0:18	+0.15%
Marathon*	4:33:18	4:33:13	-0:04	-0.03%
Olympic Tri	2:52:53	2:55:55	+3:02	+1.73%
Half Iron	5:59:43	6:05:49	+6:06	+1.73%
Ironman	12:49:44	13:11:39	+21:54	+2.77%
* Marathon times were the only notable improvement.

Troy quickly fell on his sword after I sent him a note about it and he gave me the correct figures for 2009 and 2012, which were 2:15:16 and 2:16:40 respectively. Troy wrote, “Yep, I have quit the company in typo-shame.” I’ve never run a full marathon but I have run the other distances. In every case (except my first half), I’ve beaten the average, both for 2009 and 2012. So perhaps I’m not as average as I thought, although my scores would not be so favorable were the comparison more age and gender based.

Speaking of average, my pace this morning was exactly that. The temperature was 35 degrees with a noticeable breeze, and I wore some extra layers anticipating the cold. I stayed comfortable throughout the run and didn’t really have a clue how fast I was going until I looked at my heart rate near the end. I saw that I was at 80% of Max. I tried to get it to 85% in the remaining quarter mile, but I didn’t quite get there. Even so, my average morning run still gets me around the course 45 seconds per mile faster than the 5K average!

The quick and the cold

On October 17, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

This time of year it’s hard to judge the weather for running. Last night’s report showed temperatures in the mid-40’s that would seem positively balmy compared to the 35° conditions at last Saturday’s race. This morning I dressed in a similar way to Saturday, with a long sleeve shirt, shorts and calf sleeves. When I stepped outside to start my run, I was hit with a wave of cold that made me consider going back inside to add another layer.

I decided to accept the cold as is, following the practice of dressing for your second mile. The cold can be a good incentive to get quickly up to speed in an effort to raise body temperature. It was odd to be running through the frosty air while lawn sprinklers were spraying water all along the street. I avoided that freezing mist as much as as I could.

A quick check of my heart rate motivated me to pick up my pace. I was starting to warm up, but sweating was beginning to work against me, amplifying the chill. I continued on at a moderate speed and was later surprised to see that I’d paced 30 seconds per mile faster than I felt I was running. My best race times seem to come in the colder months so clearly there’s a correlation between cold and performance. I wonder if my pace would have suffered had I added that extra layer prior to my run.

Fastest running shoes? Oh, it’s ON!

On October 16, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

My pathway to six minute miles

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a link about the Kona Ironman triathlon that listed the types and brands of gear used by competitors this year. The shoe makers were mostly familiar, but 11th brand on the list was “On”, worn by 23 competitors. I looked up On running shoes and discovered that they are a Swiss company that sells its shoes primarily in Europe.

What intrigued me about these shoes (besides their interesting outsoles) was how On characterized the performance profile of each of their models. The Cloudracer has a targeted speed of 6.4 minutes per mile, while the Cloudster seems to be the shoe for us 9:00 milers. But I was thinking, “Hmm, if I ran in the Cloudracers then I too could run 6 minute miles!” If only it worked like that.

During yesterday’s unpleasant migraine, I wondered if I’d ever feel well enough to run again. By last night I had recovered enough to set up my running gear for a morning workout and when I woke up I felt surprisingly good. I didn’t want to push it too hard, so I settled in with a moderate pace and slight incline and ratcheted up the speed as I progressed through my 25 minute run. But if I was wearing On Cloudracers, who knows how fast I would have gone?

Race report: 2012 Oyster Bay Supervisor’s 5K

On October 13, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Big crowd, 70 more runners than last year

Today’s race (Oyster Bay Supervisor’s 5K): 3.1 miles
25:58 – 8:22 pace

When running a race, it’s always good to be familiar with the course. I tend to do better the second time I run a particular race, as I did at today’s 2012 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor’s 5K. I came very close to achieving a PR this morning, but ended up falling short by eight seconds. Still, I did break 26 minutes, if only by two seconds.

I arrived a few minutes after 8:00 for the 9:00 AM start. The temperature was a chilly 35° and I was concerned about parking too far away from registration. I was counting on parking close to the starting area so I could stay warm in my car before heading to the line. I ended up parking at the high school, which was a quick three minute walk to the registration area.

Registration went well, just like last year. The race shirt was actually a sweatshirt, this year’s in grey with blue and black graphics. I returned to my car to pin my bib and fuel with Accel Gel. I headed back up with 15 minutes to spare and lined up near the start. On my way there I was passed by a runner who tripped on a loose cable while doing strides. Fortunately, his spill onto gravel didn’t diminish his spirit and he was up and running seconds later.

For some reason, a large crowd of runners had assembled in front of the line, perhaps because the area had a lot of warming sun. The race starter announced that people needed to move behind the line, and a big wave of people pushed us back a little. The starter then asked that the front area be reserved for 6:00 pace runners.

The guy in front of me turned and asked (not in a nice way) if I ran 6 minute miles. I didn’t answer him, but I did make sure that he saw me when I passed him going up Berry Hill Road. So there were 630 nice people at this race and one jerk. That’s a pretty good ratio.

The race started right on time and I looked forward to attacking the long hill that would eventually give way to an equally long downhill stretch. I felt great from the start and the cold air helped a lot. I wore a long sleeved jersey, shorts and compression sleeves on my calves. It was the right combination of gear and I was comfortable throughout the race.

Since I was familiar with the hill, I knew where I was when we passed the 1 mile point. I came through in 8:30, over 30 seconds faster than last year. I had trained on hills and it was paying off. Berry Hill Road becomes a little steeper at the one mile mark, but I knew that and was prepared to work harder. I was surprised how many people I was passing on the hill. I almost finished in the top third today (okay, it was the top 39% percent) but that’s better than my usual spot, exactly in the middle of the pack.

Once the turn onto Sandy Hill Road came into view, I knew I’d have some relief. I was careful to remember that I still needed to keep pushing for that last mile and a half. The downhill stretches did help me recover and I felt like I was running as fast as I could while still maintaining a safe stride. The last thing I needed was to overrun my turnover capability and take a spill on the course.

At around the 2 mile mark, my friend BL came up on my side and said hello. He’s a great example of how discipline and hard work can deliver amazing results. Two years ago BL was twice the size he is today, but he started walking, and then running, and he hasn’t stopped since. He races almost every weekend and is now faster than me.

The course takes a left turn onto East Main Street where the downhill ends and the road rises. It actually felt good to be climbing again. I was able to tap some surprising energy as I surged along the final quarter mile. The clock said 25:01 when I passed the 3 mile mark and I hoped to make it to the finish in 48 seconds to secure a new PR. Unfortunately, it took me almost a minute more to cross the line.

I felt great at the end and I didn’t care that I’d missed a PR. I caught up with BL who broke 26 minutes for the first time today, finishing almost half a minute before I did. I was happy that he achieved a PR. He certainly earned it.

This is a great race because it gives as much as it takes. The long hill is a great challenge but manageable with training. I realized today that I should probably focus on downhill technique which would have helped me today. Still, no regrets. My next race will be the Run for the Warrior’s 10K in November and I’m excited to start training for that. But for now, a little rest today and a long recovery run tomorrow will do just fine.

Rapid recovery run

On October 7, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run: (street): 4.9 miles

The weekend weather has been highly cooperative for running. The rain held off until the afternoon on Saturday and today was a repeat of that pattern. This morning it was especially cool outside as I made my way through the neighborhood. But it wasn’t so cold that I couldn’t run in shorts. The temperature was around 50° and dry. Compare that to Chicago where they were reporting 38° for the start of the BoA Marathon.

After yesterday’s fun on the hills, I didn’t want to run too hard. I took it fairly easy at the start and focused on the purpose of this workout. I needed to recover from muscle strain and get in a few more miles before I taper down next week.

I appreciated the weather as I made my way through the first mile. I felt surprisingly energetic at that point and hoped that would continue as I went along. I only checked my heart rate a couple of times but noticed it was higher than I expected. I later realized that was because I was running about 25 seconds per mile faster than I thought I was at that time.

I’d originally planned to cap my distance at four miles but I felt so good that I changed course and added almost a mile to my total. Once I calculated my overall pace, I realized that I’d achieved the level of fitness I’ll need for Saturday’s 5K. I’m hoping to maintain that level until race day. Right now I’m feeling ready.

Average Times for LeadingRace Distances from 2009-2012

Average Times for Leading
Race Distances from 2009-2012