75 minute 5-mile run in rain, March 26, using long paces style

Thursday March 26:

I left the footwear as it was during the previous run March 25 and March 24. Footwear advice I gave to myself after the previous run (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/74-minute-5-mile-run-march-25-using.html ).

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot/leg: some relatively mild pain in arch of foot 2nd half of 2nd mile; some relatively mild pain in right lower front outside leg muscle, in last quarter of 4th mile (walked mile)

Right foot/leg: some relatively mild pain in arch of foot 2nd half of 2nd mile;

Yet again the pattern wherein if the footwear is left the same as it was the previous run, there is significant improvement in terms of pain in arch of foot and lower leg.

Thursday March 26:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). Style used: E, long-paces, stopping to record split-times

Time after 5th mile: 75:00 (111:02 - 36:02 subtracted for break-times = 75:00).

Pauses were due to: having to retreat indoors to change clothing due to rain & lack of preparedness for rain; recording split-times in car due to rain; tying shoes (on last mile, shoelaces in left foot came completely undone twice); taking notes re pains, clothes, rain etc.

For the entire 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

No walk/stretch before run.

Mile split times recorded: March 26 style E (long paces pauses to rec split times), March 22 style B (long paces no pauses to rec split times),

1st, run: 16:00, 15:15
2nd, walked: 13:41 mild pain, 13:22 IN PAIN
3rd, run: 16:02, 15:05
4th, walked: 14:05, 13:40 pain
5th, run: 15:12, 14:54

Footwear in Left shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

8 m-wrap layers pad under heel +
lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
16 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
8 layers m-wrap pad under middle & index toes +
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: medium tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Footwear in Right shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

8 m-wrap layers pad under heel +
Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 40 degrees with wind at avg 1 mph, rain at avg 0.1 inches per hour during the run (5th mile completed at 1:06 AM 3/27):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=26&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 )

'Twas a night-time run.

Started wearing brown waist length spring/fall-weather-type jacket, long sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, sweatpants, shorts, underwear, gloves, wool winter-type hat, in light rain conditions.

This was too warm and inappropriate for rain conditions. After the first mile I returned indoors. I removed the long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, the sleeveless t-shirt, the wool hat. I put on a baseball hat. I took off the gloves. I found a towel and my car key and took them outdoors. Rest of the run I took the notes between miles in the car, kept pens note-card discarded clothes etc in the car.

I ran/walked miles 2 to 5 wearing only the brown fall/spring-type-jacket, a t-shirt, baseball cap, visibility vest, sweatpants, shorts, underpants. This was about right for the 0.10 inches-per-hour rainfall rate in the 40 degrees 1 mph wind in the night-time; except, in the 5th mile my hands felt cold. I skipped the walked sixth mile because of the rain.

Advice to myself for the next run fotwear-wise: Same as that listed previous run (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/74-minute-5-mile-run-march-25-using.html )

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "F Double-emphasis on long-length-paces AND paces-per-minute, no pauses to note split times".

Chant to use:

'Maxed/long are our strides as we streamline the sky,
Many are our steps per unit of time,
(NEW LINE) the greatness of our speed is famed in rhyme
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

The new line in the chant is based on the realization that the chants for the other styles of running contain lines asserting a high speed, whereas the chant for this style of running up till now has not contained this line.

Running tactics/strategy

The performance was my biggest step backwards in a long time.

Compared to March 22 run in a similar style, March 26 in the rain was 4% slower. This tells me that a run in the rain is a good workout even if it is slower than a run in dry conditions. Similarly a run in pain produces a workout only about 5% slower than a normal workout. Rain rhymes with pain.

Reminds me of a rhyme my mom taught me when I was a child, when the rain would pour down on our little bungalow:

Rain, rain, go to spain
come again another day

Those were carefree days featuring long relaxing rains and an OK relationship with a mother, days I'd get sentimental about if given to sentimentalism. I modify the rhyme into a new one:

Rain, rain and pain, pain
Can't wreck my running day

Possible culprits for the slow speed: rainfall, water-logged baseball hat, water-logged brown jacket, limeade I drank before starting; drinking less coffee than usual before starting; not eating before starting; length of pace becoming so long as to slow down speed.

The brown-jacket is much heavier than: sweatshirts, & the long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material. It has two layers an insulation layer and an outer layer, I expected it to do a better job than sweatshirts of keeping out the rain and it did.

The rain sort of put me to sleep (I find rain to be relaxing).

I have never consumed my home-made limeade (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/david-virgils-lime-sports-drink-1.html ) prior to running up till today when I had 20 oz before starting the run. Before the run I had an unusual version: 4 small organic limes; the fruit of the lime cut out & put in the blender (the limes created little juice), 5 magnesium pills (magnesium emphasis this time), 6 potassium pills, 4 coral calcium pills. This limeade was bitter tasting, too bitter tasting for my taste. The little pieces of the lime's outer skin, and the little pieces of the white connective tissue inside the lime, produce a bitter taste.

Prior to this I tried a calcium emphasis limeade: 40 oz water, 3 'normal' limes, 8 coral calcium pills, 3 magnesium pills, 6 potassium pills. When I first drank this limeade, I had a nightmare when I fell asleep after drinking it. But after a day or two in the frig, this limeade tasted great.

The first version of the limeade was: 40 oz water, 3 'normal' limes, 6 coral calcium pills, 3 magnesium pills. After I drank this limeade, I had a pleasant dream, opposite of a nightmare.

@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

72 minute 5-mile long-paced run

Sunday March 22:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I left everything the same as during the run the previous evening March 21. This is the advice I gave myself after the March 21 run (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/75-minute-5-mile-quick-paced-using.html )

Results foot-comfort wise:

(feet subjected to exaggerated length of stride style of running, style B/E)

Left foot: good during run miles. Pain in arch of foot & rear muscle of left lower leg, during second half of second mile which was walked. Pain again but less pain in fourth mile which was walked. During 6th mile which was walked, top of right toe felt sore.

Right foot: good during run miles. Pain in arch of foot & front muscle of right lower leg during second half of 2nd mile which was walked. Pain again but less severe in fourth mile which was walked.

The pain in mile 2 which is a walked mile was not as bad as yesterday but significant. The pain in mile 4 the second walked mile was similar to the pain level in mile 4 yesterday.

The idea behind not changing the footwear despite the pain is that the feet will get used to the padding increase under the ball of the foot with the passage of time. Today was better than yesterday in that there was no pain during the miles that were run.

I congratulate myself for (like yesterday), putting up a good effort in the pain filled 2nd mile which was walked. I walked the mile in only 13:22 despite the pain, which set in after the first third of the mile was walked.

Sunday March 22:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the first 5 miles, style B, featuring emphasis on: speed & long length of stride, combined with a de-emphasis with regards to achieving a high rate of paces per minute & not stopping specifically to record split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 72:16 (85:54 - 13:38 subtracted for delays = 72:16).

Break-time reasons: in allowance for pain, tying shoelaces, discarding excess layers clothes.

Chants used:

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I;

'Maxed are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

Again, I walked half a mile around the block before starting the run.

Mile split times recorded March 22:

1st, run: 15:15
2nd, walked: 13:22 IN PAIN
3rd, run: 15:05
4th, walked: 13:40 pain
5th, run: 14:54

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:
SAME AS YESTERDAY

lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
16 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
8 layers m-wrap pad under middle & index toes +
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: medium tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:
SAME AS YESTERDAY

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 38 degrees with wind at avg 0 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 7:43 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=22&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

Run as the sun set, sunlight heat not a significant factor.

The lightweight gray sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweatpants, shorts, wool-type hat, & headband were after the beginning, too warm.

After the 1st mile, I removed the wool hat & gloves. Midway through the 2nd mile I removed the sweatshirt. Most of the run I wore only a long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, a t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, headband, shorts, & sweatpants, which were about right for the 38 degree night-time run.

Regarding the 6th mile walked at a leisurely pace with the temp at 38 degrees: I would have been too cold if I had not put the sweatshirt & wool-type hat back on.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: maybe reduce padding under big toe by 4 m-wrap layers; maybe reduce padding under ball of foot by 4 m-wrap layers.

Right foot: maybe reduce padding under big toe by 4 m-wrap layers; maybe reduce padding under ball of foot by 4 m-wrap layers.

(Principle of podiatry: increaseD vertical top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top directional pressure in a shoe, results in increased sidweays pressure and increased heel-to-toe directional pressure).

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "C Double-emphasis on long-length-paces AND paces-per-minute, pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky,
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

Running tactics/strategy

The second mile was walked in only 13:22 despite significant pain in the arches of the feet for two-thirds of the mile.

March 19 when I set the new personal record of 71:35 using the similar style E (E is long-paces, with pauses to record split-times, B used today March 22 is also long-paced, but without pauses to record split-times), the time for the 2nd mile which is walked was 13:15 only 7 seconds slower.

I estimate I am improving in terms of pain-tolerance and/or improving in terms of walking speed. Overall there were more minutes of break-time March 19, compared to today March 22.

I estimate that pain inhibits performance because: performance level is consciously reduced to avoid pain; areas of the body not effected by pain are worked harder to relieve pressure on areas of the body effected by pain, resulting in exhaustion and inefficiency.

75 minute 5-mile quick-paced run using changed footwear

Saturday March 21:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I put into effect optional recommendations I made to myself after the March 20 run.

In the left foot: I increased the padding under the ball of the foot by 8 m-wrap layers; increased the padding under the big toe by 8 m-wrap layers; increased the padding under the middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers; removed the 16 m-wrap layer pad behind the heel at base of heel.

In the right foot: I increased the padding under the ball of the foot by 8 m-wrap layers; increased the padding under the big toe by 8 m-wrap layers.

I wanted to be ready for the pounding my feet were going to take in the run; I knew that since I was going to be using style A, featuring short choppy paces, a new kind of pounding that would cause pain would be inflicted on my feet.

Before the run, at first in the left foot I combined the padding increases with keeping the 16 m-wrap layer pad at the base of the heel behind the heel, inside the shoe. Then I walked the half-mile warmup that has recently become customary. After walking the warmup, I felt as if the toes were very cramped and tight in the left shoe, I felt pain in the middle, index and big toes of the left foot just from walking around the block at a leisurely pace.

At this point I removed the 16 m-wrap layer pad at the rear bottom area of the left heel, which immediately resulted in the left foot feeling much better.

Principles of podiatry: increasing the left-to-right/right-to-left directional pressure in the shoe results in increased heel-to-toe directional tightness; increasing the heel-to-toe directional pressure results in increased left-to-right/right-to-left directional tightness.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 20 run were:

"Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under big toe by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under ball of foot by 8 m-wrap layers...Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.
change.(http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/75-minute-5-mile-run-using-long-quick.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

(feet subjected to new unusual pounding of style A run/walking)

Left foot: best ever, almost perfect first 4 miles in terms of numbness/tingliness and pain in areas of foot that strike the ground. Pain in arch of foot in 2nd and to lesser extent in 3rd mile. Slight numbness/tingliness in 5th mile. Pain in muscles of lower leg in 3rd mile.

Right foot: Some pain in ball of foot and big toe a minority of the time. Pain in arch of foot in 2nd mile. Pain in muscles of lower leg in 3rd mile.

The pain the arches of both feet in the 2nd mile was relatively severe. Towards the end of the 2nd mile I switched from the usual heel-first walking style to heel&ball-of-foot hitting ground simultaneously, due to the pain. The time in this mile was 14:50, 45 seconds slower than the time in the 4th mile which was also walked.

I congratulate myself on putting up a good effort in the pain filled 2nd mile which was walked. The fact that for a majority of the mile I felt an above-average level of pain in the arches of both feet, resulted in only a 5% reduction in speed.

Saturday March 21:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the first 5 miles, style A, featuring emphasis on: speed & a high number of paces per minute; and, de-emphasis of length of stride.

Time after 5th mile: 74:48 (90:42 - 15:54 subtracted for delays = 74:48). The time would have been 74:03 if the pain filled 2nd mile had been fast as the painless 4th mile.

Previous run using the A/D type style, March 18:
time after 5th mile: 75:10 (84:40 - 9:30 subtracted for delays = 75:10)

Pauses: extra-long breaks of approx 5 minutes were taken after the 2nd & 3rd miles due to pain in the arches of the feet; also, removing layer of clothing, tying shoes, recording split-times.

For the first 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

Mile split times recorded March 21 (March 18 splits using similar method D in parentheses):

1st, run: 15:15 (15:05)
2nd, walked: 14:50 (14:15) IN PAIN
3rd, run: 15:26 (15:47) some pain
4th, walked: 14:05 (14:23)
5th, run: 15:12 (15:40)

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
NEW 8->16 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
NEW 8->16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
NEW REMOVED 16 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel+
NEW 8 layers m-wrap pad under middle & index toes +
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: medium tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
NEW 8-16 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
NEW 8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 36 degrees with wind at avg 1 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 8:57 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=21&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

'Twas a night-time run.

The lightweight gray sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweatpants, shorts, and headband were too warm.

After the 2nd mile, I removed the sweatshirt & gloves. Most of the run I wore only a long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, a t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, shorts, & sweatpants, which were about right for the 36 degree night-time run.

However regarding the 6th mile walked at a leisurely pace with the temp at 35 degrees: I would have been too cold if I had not put the sweatshirt back on; things would have been just right if I had put a warm sweater-material type winter hat on my head. The leisurely 18-19 minute per mile walk, produces a cooler body than the faster walks and jogs.

As I finished up the 6th mile around 9:20 PM, I saw some smiling young white adults & kids taking leave of the folks at the house next door after visiting them; it looked like the photos of attractive white folks getting together that they used to use for cigarette ads. I never knew the folks next door led such photogenic lives.

The social cheerfulness, the children and women, reminded me of Indians in India. Indians from India in the US seem gloomily busy with work or shopping all the time.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: Leave things the same.

Right foot: Leave things the same.

I estimate that: the pain in the arches of the feet was due to changes in the elevation of the forefeet relative to the heels, caused by the increased padding under the balls of the feet and the big toes; this change of elevation can be gotten used to as the shoe stretches, the padding compresses, and the feet get used to the new conditions; the change in elevation caused a change in the angle of the foot left foot relative to the top shoelace which reduced the numbness/tingliness problem.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "B Long-length-paced, emphasis on long paces, no pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky,
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

This chant emphasizes speed combined with long strides, and de-emphasizes number of paces per minute.

Running tactics/strategy

During the walking of the second mile, it seemed as if the speed was reduced much more than 5%, as a result of the pain in the arches of both feet. But actually as it turned out, the speed was down just 5%.

Lesson of story: One can tend to err by exaggerating the extent to which pain is impairing performance, and using such exaggerations as excuses to not make an effort, slouch through, or give up.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

75 minute 5-mile run using long-quick-paces style, 20 secs break-time

Friday March 20:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I did not put into effect optional recommendations I made to myself after the March 19 run.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 19 run were:

"Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers...Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe. (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/715-minute-5-mile-run-using-long-paces.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: Some numbness/tingliness in foot; some pain in: middle and/or index toes, ball of foot, and big toe, during minority fractions of the 3rd & 5th miles

Right foot: No complaints.

Friday March 20:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the 1st 5 miles, style F, the style featuring an emphasis on speed, length of pace, & a high of number paces per minute, & NOT taking breaks for the purpose of recording split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 74:55 (75:15 - 00:20 subtracted for delays = 74:55). Did a good job of avoiding breaks as I am supposed to when applying style F.

Pause was due to: a little wretching after approx 1.5 miles.

For the first 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I;

For the 3rd day in a row, I applied a new practice of walking half a mile around the block before starting the run.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel+
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 34 degrees with wind at avg 2 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 6:49 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=20&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

'Twas a daytime run, mixed clouds and sunshine.

The lightweight gray hoodless sweatshirt, 'heavy' fruit-of-the-loom t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweat-pants, shorts, and headband were almost right. After the first mile I stopped wearing the gloves.

Most of the run I wore only: a headband, t-shirt, visibility vest, gray lightweight hoodless sweatshirt, shorts, & sweatpants--which were about right for the 34 degree clouds & sunshine environment, even if such felt a little cool at first.

However this clothing was too cold for walking the 6th mile after taking the time after the 5th mile; by the time of walking the final 6th mile, the temp was down to 30 degrees, consistently cloudy; I walk the 6th mile slowly so the body does not get as heated up.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under big toe by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under ball of foot by 8 m-wrap layers.

Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "A Medium-length-paced, emphasis on paces per minute, pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky,
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

This chant emphasizes: speed and a high number of steps per minute.

Running tactics/strategy

Running styles review:

Emphasis on Quick Paces = Style A (pauses to note split times) & Style D (no pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Long Paces = Style B (no pauses to note split times) & Style E (pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Quick Long Paces = Style C (pauses to note split times) & Style F (no pauses to note split times)

I did not feel thrilled re the 74:55 time of today March 20, coming after the 71:35 time of yesterday; in fact I felt ashamed. This feeling of shame grew out of a superficial view of events and was unwarranted.

Since March 8, 12 days ago, the runs in which there were the least delays/breaks were: March 20 today, 74:55, 20 seconds break-time; March 12, time 77:07, 10 seconds break-time; March 11, 78:54, 2:45 break-time; March 10, time 79:30, 10 seconds break-time.

The time today March 20 was a new personal record for runs involving less than 30 seconds in break-time, 2:12 faster than my previous personal record for such runs, which was the March 12 run.

On March 8, just 12 days ago, I set a new personal record (regardless of style or break-time) of 76:15 using 365 seconds in break-time, which was 80 seconds slower than my time today of 74:55 which involved only 20 seconds of break-time.

This break-time was hardly relaxing, in that it involved wretching. The run today was disadvantaged in that it came the day after a run that set a new personal record.

I wonder how much people impair their own performance by foolishly failing to take pleasure in, and under-estimating, their accomplishments due to a shallow perspective.

I am improving not just in terms of my ability to go fast when taking a short break after every mile, but also in terms of my ability to go fast when not taking breaks between miles.

The time today March 20, divided by the time March 12 = 0.971. Continuing at this rate of time-decline (exponential rate change, current time X 0.971 every 8 days), in 3 months, approx June 20, I should be at my goal of 55.2 minutes for the five miles.

71.5 minute 5-mile run using long-paces style--new personal record

Thursday March 19:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I did not put into effect recommendations I made to myself after the March 18 run. Instead I did maintenance, retaping where the taping of the pads in the shoes had come loose.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 18 run were:

"Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers...Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.
(http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/75-minute-5-mile-run-using-quick-paces.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: Some numbness/tingliness in foot; some pain in middle and/or index toes, during minority fractions of the 3rd & 5th miles

Right foot: No complaints.

Could be the reason the right foot has been better than the left comfort wise, is that I always run around the block counter-clockwise.

Thursday March 19:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the 1st 5 miles, style E, the style featuring an emphasis on speed combined with length of pace, along with a de-emphasis of number of paces per minute, taking breaks for the purpose of recording split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 71:35 (86:32 - 14:57 subtracted for delays = 71:35), new personal record regardless of style.

Pauses were due to: removing layers of clothing that were too warm; tying shoelaces; and, returning indoors to go to bathroom (which took 7:25 minutes:seconds & was the reason the break time was extra-long today). I stopped for the purpose of recording split-times after each mile.

Bathroom break details: solid waste disposal; occurred approx 22 minutes after start; drank sips of pure half n half & ate trail food mix immediately before start to avoid stomach problems.

For most of the 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I;

Maxed are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

Note that the two stanzas are the same except that in the second stanza, the word 'long' is replaced with the word 'maxed'.

This is a chant designed to emphasize long paces and speed, while de-emphasizing number of paces per minute.

For the second day in a row, I introduced a new practice of walking half a mile around the block before starting the run.

Mile split times recorded:

1st, run: 15:27
2nd, walked: 13:15
3rd, run: 14:59
4th, walked: 13:22
5th, run: 14:32

The 1st mile was slower than the 1st mile yesterday during which I was using shorter length paces combined with emphasis on high number of paces per minute. But yesterday, the 3rd and 5th miles run using the shorter length paces style were much slower than today.

Perhaps wisdom may consist of an emphasis on number of paces per minute in the first mile run, and then an emphasis on length of pace in the second and third miles run.

The 5th mile was by a significant measure, my best run mile so far (not counting approx 15 years ago and earlier). It was about 30 seconds faster than my top mile times recently.

Digression re my mile times as a youth:

At Brandeis 15 years ago I ran a mile in 7:44; in 6th grade when attending the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools I ran a mile in 6:34. This 6:34 minutes:seconds 6th grade time marked me as an elite commando type looking at the standards for troops and commandoes. But I never considered myself an elite miler because a significant number of boys in my grade beat me; the boy who came in first ran the mile in 5:50. I was'nt mature enough to realize that the fact that I was a top miler may have been disguised and hid, because other boys trained harder than me or ate better than me.

End of digression.

For many days I had been stuck in this frustrating pattern wherein I could do no better than around a 15 minute mile when running. Then today in the 5th mile, I suddenly dropped to 14.5 minutes--and I did not even feel like I was going fast or stressing myself physically during and after the run.

By way of contrast there have been days where I felt as if I had definitely set a new personal record when in fact I had definitely not set a new personal record.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel+
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 44 degrees with wind at avg 1 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 6:41 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=19&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

'Twas a daytime run, cloudy most of the time.

A sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweatpants, shorts, and headband were too warm. Half way through the 1st mile, I stopped to remove the sweatshirt and the gloves.

Most of the run I wore only: a headband, long sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, shorts, & sweatpants--which were about right for the 44 degree cloudy day environment.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers.

Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "F Double-emphasis on long-length-paces AND paces-per-minute, no pauses to note split times".

Chant to use:

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky,
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

This chant emphasizes: speed; long strides; and, a high number of steps per minute.

Running tactics/strategy

Running styles review:

Emphasis on Quick Paces = Style A (pauses to note split times) & Style D (no pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Long Paces = Style B (no pauses to note split times) & Style E (pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Quick Long Paces = Style C (pauses to note split times) & Style F (no pauses to note split times)

I was surprised that Style E which I used today March 19, featuring emphasis on long strides, produced such a good result. My expectation was that style C featuring a double-emphasis on BOTH number of steps per minute and also length of strides, produces the best results.

I believe I had inadvertently used style C on March 14, when I set a personal record regardless of style of 72:44, which I beat by 69 seconds today March 19. I also used style C March 17, when the time was 73:02.

Prior to March 14 I had been using style B/E involving emphasis on length of stride, almost exclusively; I had credited the new personal record of March 14 to switching to a new emphasis on high paces per minute.

The important new personal records over 5 miles recently have been (minutes:seconds): Feb 25, 79:30; March 8, 76:15; March 14, 72:44; and, March 19 today, 71:35.

At the rate (exponential not geometric) I have been improving since March 14 five days ago, I will be down to 55.2 minutes in about 80 days, around June 7. Thus the rate of improvement from Feb 25 to March 14 was a little faster than that from March 14 to today March 19.

(relevant facts/links: 5 miles = 8047 meters; http://www.arrs.net/SA_O10K.htm )

One could say that the introduction five days ago, of rotation in terms of style of run, has not been in effect long enough to pass judgement on rotation. Or one could say, this is a type of gambit--accepting a temporary slowdown in improvement due to constantly switching between styles, in the hopes that eventually this will in the long range result in a faster rate of improvement.

Possibly, the introduction of rotation, changed my running mechanics resulting in my fastest style becoming the style featuring emphasis on long paces, whereas previous to the introduction of rotation, my fastest style involved emphasis on both long paces and also quick paces.

@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

75 minute 5-mile run using quick paces style

Wednesday March 18:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I put into effect a recommendation I made to myself after the March 17 run. Keeping everything else the same, in the left shoe I again increased the padding behind the lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 17 run were:

"Left foot: increase padding to sides and rear of heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, again make sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect...Right foot: add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; or make no change.(http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/73-minute-5-mile-run-using-long-quick.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: Some numbness/tingliness in foot; some pain in middle toe. Heel situation improved, fairly tight with shoelaces loose.

Right foot: Some pain in big toe in 5th mile.

Wednesday March 18:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the first five miles, the style featuring an emphasis on speed combined with a high number of steps per minute, and a de-emphasis of length of stride, without taking breaks for the purpose of recording split-times. As a result the foot hit the ground differently than it usually does during the run/walk.

Time after 5th mile: 75:10 (84:40 - 9:30 subtracted for delays = 75:10)

Pauses were due to: removing layers of clothing that were too warm; tying shoelaces. I did not stop to record split times but used the stops made for other reasons to record split times.

My philosophy is that it is better to pause and discard an excess layer of clothing, compared to not pausing and pressing ahead while overheating in the excess layer of clothing.

For most of the 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

This is a chant designed to emphasize a high number of steps per minute and speed, while de-emphasizing length of strides.

Mile split times recorded:

1st, run: 15:05
2nd, walked: 14:15
3rd, run: 15:47
4th, walked: 14:23
5th, run: 15:40

This style of running apparently simply cannot compete with styles involving an emphasis on long strides, when it comes to the walked miles. It appears to be a tiring style fur the miles that are run. Nevertheless practicing this style, I now estimate, will produce increased speed in whichever style produces the fastest time for the five miles.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
NEW TODAY 16 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel+
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: medium to tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 49 degrees with wind at avg 2 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 11:57 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=18&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

This was a night-time run, no sunhine.

A sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, second t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweatpants, shorts, and baseball hat were too warm.

During breaks prior to the 3rd mile I removed the sweatshirt, baseball hat, gloves, long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt material, and one t-shirt. Most of the run I wore only a t-shirt, a sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, shorts, sweatpants, which were about right for the 49 degree night-time run.

I was all layered up excessively in clothes, because it felly chilly outside when I went to Walgreens to pick up some stuff befor I started the run. Prior to the run I felt unusually gloomy, tired, cold, hungry. For the first day in many days the run got off to a late start, was a late-night-time run.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers.

Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "E Long-length-paced, emphasis on long paces, pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky,
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

This chant emphasizes speed combined with long strides, and de-emphasizes number of paces per minute.

Running tactics/strategy

Looks like contrary to what I expressed in the previous blog-post (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/73-minute-5-mile-run-using-long-quick.html ), my fastest style is not the style employed during the latest run March 18 involving emphasis on number of paces per minute, but is rather the style involving emphasis on BOTH high number of paces per minute AND length of stride.

I now believe that the style of running I used when I set my current personal record (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/73-minute-five-mile-run-new-personal.html ) was not the style involving emphasis on number of steps per minute (as I had previously believed), but rather the style involving emphasis on BOTH steps per minute AND length of stride.

March 14 when I set the record, I was not chanting; I believe this lack of chant resulted in the style implemented being a combo of length of stride and quick paces, as opposed to emphasis on quick paces alone as intended.

Style D, which was implemented March 18 during the latest run, is the same as style A, except that D does not allow for breaks simply to record split-times, but A does.

Style D produced today a speed 3.2% slower than my personal best regardless of style. This tells me that I can do runs while concentrating on high number of paces per minute, while decreasing my speed overall by only three percent.
Meaning in other words, I can still get a good workout if I run concentrating on high number of paces per minute while de-emphasizing length of strides.

Despite the unusual level of depression, fatigue, chilliness, and hungriness I felt during the day prior to the run, I was able to finish a productive workout. This indicates to me that it is a myth that if we happen to feel unusually low on a given day, we will be unable to perform a productive workout.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs