Friday, February 20, 2009

Night of Feb 19 running shoes footwear experiment & rant re tactics vs strategy, Smoot-Hawley

Thursday night of Feb 19 was the first night since Feb 5 that I would say that I was not "under the weather". I did the six mile course around the block, jogging the first third and fifth miles, walking the second fourth and sixth miles, timing myself after the fifth mile.

Night of Thursday Feb 19 the time was either 72 minutes or 82 minutes. I thought the time was 72 minutes starting at 336 AM Feb 20 to be exact, but I think that I actually started at 326 AM so the time was 82 minutes. I ended at 449 AM Feb 20, subtracted one minute for tying my shoes twice.

I had earlier decided that I could remember the start time, and that writing the start time down on a card was unnecessary. This might be wrong. When you write down the start time you can forget about the start time, which is relaxing and frees the mind to think of other things.

Digression:

Reminds me of how emphasis on rote memorization can be harmful as the mind is un-freed to do things other than memorization.

Likewise with emphasis on solving problems extremely quickly compared to the average man, the emphasis on solving problems quickly leads to the mind not being available for something other than mental sprinting.

End digression.

The night of Thursday Feb 19 time of 82 minutes for the five miles around the block would be a new personal record, 4 minutes faster than the new 86 minutes personal record set Feb 17. The fast time was again evidence of the power of taking a day off (the previous day there was no running).

The Adistar Control 5 shoes again worn today, were adequate for the cold and snow. The temp was 21 degrees, thin layer of soft snow on the ground, certain areas for several yards featured unavoidable slippery ice. The Adistar Control 5 shoes breathe more than the Adidas Powerline crosstrainers, the foot gets colder in the Control 5s.

Weather during Feb 19 run link:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=20&year=2009&month=2&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

Footwear today:

Left shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad ball of foot and toes) +
CVS 'toe bandage' (toe tube) for big toe +
tube made of 2 layers Mueller M-wrap for index toe + tube made of 2 layers Mueller M-wrap for middle toe +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller m-wrap around sides and rear of heel.

Right shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad ball of foot and toes) +
pad made of 8 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to area beneath big, index and middle toes in toe area of gel forefoot pad +
CVS 'toe bandage' (toe tube) for index toe +
CVS 'toe bandage' (toe tube) for middle toe +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller m-wrap around sides and rear of heel.

As has always been the case thus far, the removeable insole that comes pre-installed in the shoes were also worn.

The glue used was 'CVS 'non-toxic' 'School Glue gel' ( http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=886499&productId=886499&navAction=jump&navCount=3 ), just $1 for a 5 oz bottle. This glue was able to hold layers of m-wrap together but the pad made of m-wrap affixed to the gel forefoot pad with the glue, was just very slightly stuck to the gel forefoot pad at the end of the run (though it had not moved out of place). This despite the fact that I used a 25 pound weight to press the m-wrap pad I was trying to glue to the gel pad. Seems the glue can get absorbed into the Muller brand m-wrap as a result of which it is not able to glue the m-wrap to the gel. When this glue hardens it becomes literally hard, it does not turn into a soft padding type gel like best I can recall certain other glues I know of (whose names I cannot now recall).

The foot-wear padding setup used today produced basically good results in terms of comfort except: the left heel was loose; at times there was a sense of unevenness beneath the left toe; at time slight numbness and tingliness were felt in the left foot.

Logical next steps:

1

Use 4 layers of mueller m-wrap as pad under big, index, and middle toes of left foot, glued to left gel forefoot 'toe bed' instead of m-wrap made from 2 layers of Mueller M-wrap on left middle and index toes. This will produce experimental contrast between 4 layers under the toes on the left foot and 8 layers under the toes on the right.

2

Call or visit the 'green' 'organic' 'natural' stores and try to find some glue that is non-toxic, becomes soft and gel-pad-like when it dries instead of hard, and has more sticking power than the CVS 'School Glue Gel'.

Having become aware of how foot pads can be used to detox the body, and how substances can toxify the body entering the body through the skin, I was interested in using a non-toxic glue.

Heck the blue CVS 'non-toxic School Glue Gel' looks and sounds so nice you could drink it up, it gives you fantasies that when it dries it is like the expensive blue gel pads, and it only costs a dollar, but it lacks sticking power, even when you press the glued substances together 'until dry' like the instructions say. That's alot to ask--to 'press together until dry'. I am not a carpenter equipped with all the tools of a carpentry shop.

During the Thursday night Feb 19 run, The left and the right shoes seemed almost equal during the run in terms of comfort. However 45 minutes after the run concluded, pressure heat and itchiness around the left big toe and left index toe began to be felt. This was not the case with the right foot.

Running Tactics

I've noticed that in the first and second miles I tend to go too slowly (I don't use a warmup, the first mile IS my warmup), and that by nature I go fast in the fourth and fifth miles. Thus I reminded myself not to slack off in the first and second miles; and I reminded myself to take advantage of the fact that by nature I am energetic in the fourth and fifth miles.

I heard some political candidate (McCain) boast that he knew the difference between tactics and strategy whereas his opponent did not know the difference. I scoff at this. Fact is, you could know the difference between tactics and strategy, and still be completely inadequate as a military officer.

Words have flexible meanings, exactly what a word means changes over time, this is a fact of life you can ask any linguist.

Tactics refer to for example the tactics of a particular battle, whereas strategy technically speaking refers to a strategy used for more than one battle but who cares?

A sign of incompetence is failing to realize the similarity between tactics and strategy, and how one blends into the other in terms of linguistics.

A strategy could be composed of a set of tactics applied to several different situations. Therefore to see a radical difference between strategy and tactics when in fact no such radical difference exists, could be a symptom of incompetence and/or a cause of incompetence.

Along this line, it is IMHO as of now nutty (a la Senator McCain) to talk about how in the depression of the 1930s a government action carried out was a 'mistake' and so therefore should not be carried out now, when the situation now is completely different from the situation in the 1930s 80 years ago.

Aside from the fact that the alleged mistake was not actually a mistake.

I re-iterate that the idea that we can now succeed by now doing what should have been done but was not done way back in the 1930s,is foolish, because this is 80 years after the 1930s.

Comparing the 1930s to 2009 is like comparing 1950 to 1870. Think of how different the world was in 1950 compared to 1870. Think of a civil war battlefield with its muskets, cannon and horses compared to a 1950s type battlefield with nuclear weapons, tanks, machine guns, and jet planes.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Running shoes + 2 layers of padding = no pain (imperfect solution number 1 & possible better solutions)

For background to this post see my earlier post, "Running shoes and gel cushioning insoles have padding in the wrong places" at http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/02/running-shoes-and-gel-cushioning.html .

Wednesday night Feb 12, I again ran the five mile course on Moody and Main, the first third and fifth miles jogged, the second and fourth miles walked. The time this time was 94 minutes (again under-the-weather disadvantaged, as has been case since Feb 5). I ran in the 'Adidas Adistar Control-5' running shoes, with two layers of gel heel-to-toe padding in each shoe. I found this resulted in elimination of pain that was experienced in the balls and toes of the feet with zero or one layer of gel padding added to the "Adistar Control 5' shoes. The pain was Wednesday night replaced with a tingly numbness.

Wednesday night I felt grateful that I was able to run every yard of the three miles run in my natural style--heel and ball of the foot hitting the ground almost simultaneously, without pain; this resulted in a jogged-miles-jogged- fast, walked-miles-walked-slowly type of night.

However the time wednesday night was not very impressive; this imperfect solution elevates the feet in the shoes to a level--3/8 of an inch additional elevation due to the two layers of gel sole padding--where they should not be, excessively high in the shoe; and it adds significant weight to the shoe. But as some famous American general whose name I forgot said, an imperfect solution is better than no solution.

Researching the subject on the internet, I came across foot-care products that I had never seen before, products that I did not know even existed, that could replace and improve upon the two layers of heel to toe gel padding:

Toes Padding

Footsmart Gel Toe Crest, $9 each
http://www.footsmart.com/P-Footsmart-Gel-Toe-Crest-ea-40110.aspx
My Adistar Control 5 shoes already contain a built-in, pronounced, toe-crest of this type.

Footsmart Gel Toe Cap, $10 for two, $5 each
http://www.footsmart.com/P-Gel-Toe-Cap-Set-of-2-98122.aspx
Capping each toe would cost $5X10=$50 with this product!

Footsmart Gel Toe Tubes, $9 for two 4.5" tubes (each cuts up into more than one toe tube/cap)
http://www.footsmart.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=2323&cm_re=xsell-_-product-_-1
This way I could cap two toes and tube eight toes for only $10, much cheaper than the Gel Toe Caps.

Ball of Foot Padding

Silipos ball of foot cushions, $16/pair
http://www.footsmart.com/P-Silipos-Ball-of-Foot-Cushions-40021.aspx

Ultra Gel Forefoot Wrap $20/pair
http://www.footsmart.com/P-FootSmart-Ultra-Gel-Forefoot-Wrap-Pr-40298.aspx
This pads the ball of the foot not the toes

FootSmart Gel Forefoot Pads, Pair $9
http://www.footsmart.com/P-Peda-Bella-Gel-Forefoot-Pads-40013.aspx
Seems this pads ball of foot only

Forefoot Padding

Forefoot Pad with Metatarsal Dome, Pair $20
http://www.footsmart.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=65&cm_re=xsell-_-product-_-2
This pads from the middle of the ball of the foot to the tips of the toes.

Silicone Forefoot Insoles, Pair $12
http://www.footsmart.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=262&cm_re=xsell-_-product-_-1
These pad the area from the ball of the foot to the tips of the toes. They pad the entire ball of the foot not just the middle of the ball of the foot. The blurb at the footsmart site is extraordinarily enthusiastic about this product. This product seems like the best deal in foot comfort for me now.

A remaining task for me now is a task I have found so far, to be surprisingly difficult: to find what local retail outlets sell this kind of stuff. I have never bought this stuff before, to me it seems reasonable that the first time you buy something you buy it at a retail outlet. Buying from a retail outlet: I don't have to wait a few days to take delivery and go through confusion and worry, for example, re will the delivered stuff be stolen from the hallway; I establish someone I can ask questions of, who could be indebted to me for being a customer; and, it is easier to return stuff that does'nt work out.

At a time like this when we are staring into an abyss of a terrifying future featuring an attempt to survive without money in a non-agricultural, cold-temperature, high-population-density environment, people probably think, how could someone be getting into detail re jogging-shoe-add-ons at a time like this?'

I get into this matter in detail because my perspective is: that improved aerobic fitness results in improved performance in 'important' tasks related to survival in difficult environments; jogging on a treadmill strengthens different muscles compared to running on ground and is boring; jogging on a track is impossible during snowstorms and results in interesting encounters with a relatively narrow segment of the population; since I could be a star in soccer and sports similar to soccer if my aerobic/anaerobic fitness improved running is the reasonable path to aerobic fitness for me; improvement in aerobic fitness for me is impaired as a result of pain in the feet.

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