Around the block for five miles in eight-two minutes

Saturday March 7 Run

Reminds me of the song I heard when I was a child...'around the world in eighty days...'

Prior to the run footwear-wise I put into effect the recommendations I made to myself after the March 6 run. These were:

"Left foot: increase ball-of-foot & toes-baseline padding from 8 layers to 12; increase toes-area-padding from 16 layers to 20. Continue using the 'pretaping' type m-wrap...Right foot: increase ball-of-foot & toes-baseline padding from 8 layers to 12; continue using 'multipurpose' type m-wrap. Eliminate padding gap under line that separates toes from ball of foot (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/running-footwear-continued-experiments.html)".

With both left and right shoes: I used completely new fresh m-wrap pads; I engineered the pad for the ball-of-foot/base-of-toes-line and the pad for the toes so that the two pads fit together seamlessly; I used tape not glue so as to avoid layers of m-wrap being hardened by glue; I first taped down a 8 layer pad for the ball-of-foot and base-of-toes and a 16 layer pad for the toes with one piece of tape; then on top of this I taped down a 4 layer pad for the ball-of-foot/base-of-toes-line and a 4 layer pad for the toes area with another piece of tape.

This double-layered approach could be advantageous when it comes to tinkering with padding levels in the future.

Following the orders I gave myself I used the 'pretaping' type m-wrap in the left foot and the 'multipurpose' m-wrap in the right foot.

The thicknesses in terms of layers of m-wrap in pads that are most natural to work with are: 2, 4, 8, 16. This is because I fold the m-wrap repeatedly to create a pad.

When I cut the pad out of the folded m-wrap, I place a piece of card representing the desired cutout pattern on the pad and draw around the edge of the card to draw the pattern on to the pad, and then cut the pad out according to the desired pattern.

When I do this, I position as much of the perimeter of the piece of card as possible to align with the edge of the folded m-wrap that is basically all one piece; this helps to keep the layers of the pad aligned with each other. Thus there is advantage in folding into thicknesses of 2, 4, 8, and 16.

Saturday March 7:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). Time after 5th mile: same as Friday March 6, 82 minutes at 4:38 PM. Only 50 seconds was subtracted from the time for breaks such as tying shoelaces.

In the left foot: I felt some pain in the left index and middle toes in the first mile. After the first mile I tightened the shoelaces in the left foot, because I felt a looseness in the heel. After the shoelaces were tightened, for the rest of the run I felt some slight tingliness and numbness but not pain. After the first mile I felt the sensory illusion of unevenness under the forefoot.

In the right foot: The foot felt just about perfect the entire six miles. Whatever slight discomfort I felt in the foot, was I estimate simply what someone who has been running for less than half a year would expect doing six miles on concrete-type surfaces.

I developed a slight soreness on the outside of the pinkie toe on the right foot prior to the run. I estimate this was because I attempted to go to sleep wearing the running shoes as I thought such might stretch the shoes to the proper extent or naturally acclimatize my feet to the shoes. I wore the shoes for a few hours as I lay in bed but I could not get to sleep while wearing them. Thus I woke up late in a sleep-deprived state.

My advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: increase padding in heel area from 16 layers to 24 layers; loosen shoelaces.

Right foot: no change in footwear, be careful re soreness on outside front area of pinkie toe.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.

Right shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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.

During the run, as I ran up Exchange Street, this tall heavy clean-shaven East Asian type man wearing glasses with thick dark frames saw me, and said in a loud tone of voice, 'he's handsome!'. He was walking with some people in the direction of the big local restaurant called 'the Chateau' ( http://www.chateaurestaurant.com/ ). Maybe he was white not East Asian but his skin was white.

Yesterday during the run a couple of 'Latino' teenagers were backing out of a driveway blocking my path as I ran down the sidewalk towards their car. I stopped and patiently waited for them to pull out. They insisted that they should freeze giving me the opportunity to run around behind them. Seemed they desired to express themselves as respectfully courteous. Looking into the driver's face, he seemed to gaze at me with admiration, as if he knew that I would be able to get in shape and become a star.

I hear alot about crimes committed by various types of immigrants. In contrast to such are the Hispanics or 'Latinos' living in the neighborhood now who were not here ten or fiftenn years ago. They all seem like good folks who just want to live law-abiding lives in peace with other ethnic groups.

I'm famous around here for my 'Pele'-like soccer tricks, sprinting 20 yards full speed keeping the ball off the ground but close to the body using alternating left and right feet. To a lesser extent I am infamous for my lack of endurance.

The round-the-block neighborhood is much more lively on weekdays compared to Saturdays.

Whatever the day, today as most other days there was the problem of lots of cars and the fumes they emit. I got whiffs of a few different types of car-type-fumes during the run,. This problem is better late at night and early in the morning.

The weather today was 55-60 degrees during the run (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=7&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ). A long-sleeved sportshirt, a sleeveless t-shirt, the visibility vest, sweatpants and shorts were warm enough, maybe too warm; not wearing the sweatshirt was a good idea.

I estimate that a product that should be easy to find but is not is: a cool, lightweight vest built basically for the pockets it has that joggers can put things in.

Keys etc are a heavy weight for the thighs as they move while running when placed in pockets in pants. The pockets in the pants are shallow and you always feel as if what you have placed in them could slip out with disastrous results.

Strange that the visibility vest I bought at the Running Shoes store, Marathon Sports in Cambridge MA (http://www.marathonsports.com/ ), does not have any pockets for keys and stuff in it.

A so-called 'hip bag', a small bag attached to a belt is a possibility but such could result in physical problems for a jogger.

Running & footwear -- continued experiments in doing without toe-tubes

Thursday March 5:

I implemented all the recommendations--for the alternative of not using toe tubes--that I made to myself in the previous March 4 blog-post (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/running-and-footwear-most-recent.html). I ran the round-the-block course in the afternoon (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). My time after the 5th mile was 82 minutes at 4:04 PM. Seven minutes were subtracted from the time for various breaks such as tying shoelaces.

I felt some pain in left middle and index toes during the first two miles, a sort of strained joints pain. The right foot felt almost perfect throughout the six miles.

Run footwear:

Left shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
8-layers m-wrap pad under 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 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.

Right shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
8-layers m-wrap pad under 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
Adhesives: Glue used. Tape used for the layers added to the layers used the previous run.

After the March 5 run I found that in the right foot, a gap had developed in the padding, under the line that separates the toes from the ball of the foot.

Friday March 6:

I did the round the block course again, finishing at 4:56. The time was 80 minutes after the 5th mile. 6 minutes of various necessary breaks such as tying shoe-laces, discarding a jacket that was too warm, were subtracted from the time.

Footwear during run:

Left shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
8-layers m-wrap pad under line between toes and ball of foot +
16 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
Adhesives: tape not glue.
Padding type: 'Pretaping' type (as opposed to 'multipurpose') m-wrap used for first time

For the first time I used the 'pretaping under-wrap' version of m-wrap, for the padding in the left foot. Up until this time the only version of m-wrap I used was the 'multi-purpose' version of m-wrap. Apparently the 'pretaping under-wrap' version is slightly thicker and softer. Mueller as of now far as I can tell, does not at its website list the 'pretaping under-wrap' version of m-wrap (http://www.muellersportsmed.com/Retail_Tape_and_Wrap.htm). I bought the 'pretaping'-type m-wrap at Olympia Sports in Cambridge (http://www.olympiasports.net/corp/index.jsp?page=storeLocator&locationCode=1215&zip=02451&city=Cambridge&locName=FRESH+POND+MALL).
Right shoe: Footwear/padding same as previous run
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
8-layers m-wrap pad under line between toes and ball of foot on right foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: glue & tape. .
Padding type: 'Multipurpose' version of m-wrap used.

For the second day I used only tape in the left shoe instead of glue, and tape as well as glue in the right. I find that some layers of the m-wrap are hardened by the glue.

During the run:

In the left foot: in the first two miles, there was some pain in the middle and index toes; in miles 4 and 5 there was a feeling of unevenness under the forefoot, which went away 15 minutes after the run ended; in mile 5 there was some pain in the ball of the foot; in mile 6 some pain in the area of the joints that connect the foot to the toes.

In the right foot: in miles 5 & 6, slight pain in the ball of the foot area and in the line marking the connection of the toes to the ball of the foot.

The temp March 6 was in the high 40s (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=6&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1).
I started out wearing: light jacket, sweatshirt, long-sleeved shirt, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt. This was too hot. I discarded the light jacket and then the clothing was appropriate.

My advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: increase ball-of-foot & toes-baseline padding from 8 layers to 12; increase toes-area-padding from 16 layers to 20. Continue using the 'pretaping' type m-wrap.

Right foot: increase ball-of-foot & toes-baseline padding from 8 layers to 12;continue using 'multipurpose' type m-wrap. Eliminate padding gap under line that separates toes from ball of foot.

Since March 5, the pad for the line between the toes and the foot, and the pad for the ball of the foot, have morphed into one pad.

I estimate the main factor inhibiting speed improvement now is still foot discomfort. Even when the pain is mild, there results a holding-back that impairs performance.

My time would be much faster on a track like the Gordon indoor track at Harvard University.

On the hard concrete-like roads and sidewalks, I have to wear heavily padded shoes right out of the box. The gel/foam insole and the gel forefoot pads I added are heavy. The Gordon track: has a pebbly surface the sole of the foot can latch on to; is springy like a trampoline; and, is indoors--its air-cleaners take alot of the pollution out of the air.

Running and footwear -- most recent developments -- 5 miles in 79 minutes new personal record set

Footwear during February 21 run as reported in the Feb 21 blog post (my last post re running/footwear prior to this one) was:

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

After the run Feb 21 I advised myself that the 'logical next steps' in footwear were as follows:

"Increase padding in pad made of m-wrap for left middle index and big toes from 8 layers to 12 layers; add 4-layer pad made of m-wrap to line between toes and ball of foot on right foot; add 4-layer m-wrap pad to ball-of-foot area in left and right feet."

Prior to the Feb 25 run I implemented the recommendations I made to myself after the Feb 21 run. The result in footwear for the Feb 25 run was:

Left shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
4-layer m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
CVS 'toe bandage' (toe tube) for big toe +
pad made of 12 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
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 for ball of foot and toes) +
4-layer m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
4-layer pad made of m-wrap to line between toes and ball of foot on right foot +
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.

Wednesday Feb 25 I did the round-the-block course, 6 miles, run 1st, 3rd, & 5th miles, walk 2nd, 4th, & 6th miles, take time after 5th mile. I finished up at 12:56 PM. The conditions were good, no snow/ice on the ground. My time over the first 5 miles was a new personal record of 79 minutes.

Note: I was forced to take an 11 minute break after the 1st mile, and an 8 minute break after the 4th mile--but during the run, I did not feel that these breaks gave me extra energy for the run.

Feb 25 the footwear produced a run that was almost perfect comfort-wise, the best run so far comfort-wise; meaning, nothing significant to complain about in terms of pain in the feet.

The next run was Wednesday March 4. Again I did the round-the-block course, 6 miles, run 1st, 3rd, & 5th miles, walk 2nd, 4th, & 6th miles, take time after 5th mile. I finished up at 6:08 PM. Significant segments of the run involved having to run on snow/ice. The air pollution during the run was worse than the Feb 25 run as the run was during rush hour. The time over the first 5 miles was 81 minutes.

Note: I subtracted 4 minutes from an actual time of 85 minutes, due to delays involving: tying shoe-laces (traditional for me to subtract time for this); having to come to a complete halt in segments where the sidewalk was so covered in snow that I could not run on the sidewalk, and simultaneously it was not possible to run on the road (traditional for me to subtract time for such). Traditionally, as was the case with regards to the the March 4 time, I do not subtract any time from the final time due to the slowing down that occurs from having to run over snow and ice that can be run on.

For the March 4 run, I did not wear any toe-tubes on any toes. The result in terms of footwear for the March 4 run was:

Left shoe:
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
4-layer m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
pad made of 12 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
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 for ball of foot and toes) +
4-layer m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot area +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
4-layer pad made of m-wrap to line between toes and ball of foot on right foot +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller m-wrap around sides and rear of heel

As it turned out, during the March 4 run I felt some pain in: the joint between the ball of the foot and the toes in both feet (pain worse in left foot than in right foot); the ball of the foot in both feet; the foremost digits of the middle, index and big toes in both feet.

Of podiatric note here is the fact that removing the tube around the big toe of the left foot led to or coincided with some pain in: the joint between the ball of the foot and the toes; the ball of the foot; and, the foremost digits of the middle index and big toes.

Similarly, removing the tubes around the index and middle toes in the right foot led to or coincided with some pain in: the joint between the ball of the foot and the toes; the ball of the foot; and, the foremost digits of the middle index and big toes.

Thus we note the phenomenon that removing padding from one area of the foot led to pain in other areas of the same foot.

I hypothesize this could be due to: me unconsciously or semi-consciously, 'gingerly' reducing the level of stress placed on the areas of the foot from which padding was removed, resulting in increased stress placed on other areas of the foot; and/or, the removed padding had beneficial side-effects in terms of positioning of other areas of the foot different from the previously padded area of the foot.

At this point, I come to a fork in the road podiatry-wise. I can press on to see if a satisfactory solution can be come up with that does away with the toe-tubes, or, I can return to the approach that involves toe-tubes, going back to the Feb 25 setup.

I now estimate the without-toe-tubes approach should next involve:

For left foot: adding pad made of 8 layers Mueller M-wrap to line between ball of foot and toes; increasing the Mueller M-wrap padding level for the left ball of foot area from 4 layers to 8 layers; increasing the Mueller M-wrap padding level beneath the foremost digits of the middle, index and big toes from 12 layers to 20 layers.

For right foot: increasing Mueller M-wrap padding level for line between ball of foot and toes from 4 layers to 8 layers; increasing the Mueller M-wrap padding level for the right ball of foot area from 4 layers to 8 layers; increasing the Mueller M-wrap padding level beneath the foremost digits of the middle, index and big toes from 16 layers to 20 layers.

Doing away with the toe-tubes is attractive because: one no longer has to bother with putting on the toe-tubes prior to a run; and, toe-tubes involve padding on the sides and tops of the toes that is not needed but that takes up space in the foot producing constriction and heat.

I now estimate that the approach to running featured in this blog-post, which is tinkering, 'plodding', meticulous, patient, hard-working, and thoughtful with regards to footwear, combined with a refusal to tolerate any deviation from my own natural style of running being forced upon me due to the pain that arises when a human runs on an unnatural surface such as concrete, has produced excellent results in terms of speed improvement.

I estimate the meticulous foot-wear work combined with a refusal to tolerate being forced into deviation from the natural due to pain caused by inadequate padding, are what allowed me to break the impasse or plateau of 90 minutes for this course, where I was stuck for several runs over the course of a few weeks.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

Feb 21 morning running shoes footwear experiment

The run I planned for the night of Friday February 20, did not get started until 450 AM Saturday Feb 21. Again 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.

Morning of Sat Feb 21 the time was 82 minutes same as previous run. Previous run I had a day's rest, this run I did not.

I wrote the start time down on an index card with a pen, this was relaxing, not having to worry about remembering the start time.

I concluded back when I first ran/walked the round-the-block course of 5 miles in 89 minutes, that I was 1 minute faster on this course than I was on the Main and Moody St 5 mile course. 82 minutes over the five miles on the round-the-block course is real progress.

I remember the days when I would give up after running half of one block on the round-the-block course, due to foot pain and calf pain (around the block twice on the round-the-block course is a mile). Indoor soccer shoes without pads just did'nt cut it for long distance running on concrete, and my calves and the sole area of my feet were weaker back then.

But I did'nt give up and when I got to the speed where foot pain began to develop I persevered and patiently worked out a combination of carefully chosen shoes and footwear add-ons that have produced a situation that is better and better on a daily basis foot-comfort-wise.

What has been happening on the runs has proven that I was correct when I concluded that the reason I had reached a plateau at 90 minutes, not getting any faster than 90 minutes day after day, was that I was experiencing excessive pain in my feet running in the Adidas Powerline cross-trainers.

I was like a slick quarterback the way I figured out the problem and solved it.

Since the time I patiently began working on choosing shoes and then adding padding to the chosen shoes, my personal record time on the round-the-block 5-mile has dropped from 89 minutes to 82 minutes, which I consider equal to 83 minutes on the Main & Moody 5-mile, where my personal best was 90 minutes.

In the two weeks since my first day using these shoes Feb 8, I have dropped my personal best from 89 minutes on the round-the-block course to 82 minutes, an improvement of 8.5%; the 90 minute plateau at which I stagnated has been broken, and a new plateau of 80 minutes has been reached.

Whereas during the plateau phase my rate of progress was such that I could expect to get down to 48 minutes on the run/walk five mile in four years, after all the patient careful work re footwear, looks like I'll be down to 48 minutes in just two months.

Weather during Feb 21 run link:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=21&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 for ball of foot and toes) +
CVS 'toe bandage' (toe tube) for big toe +
pad made of 8 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to area beneath big, index and middle toes, glued to toe area of gel forefoot pad +
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 for ball of foot and toes) +
pad made of 16 layers Mueller M-wrap glued to area beneath big, index and middle toes glued to 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.

Note: Previous blog-post, I accidentally mis-reported that there were 8 layers of Mueller m-wrap in the pad glued to the forefoot gel pad toe area for the right foot. Actually there were 16 layers of Mueller m-wrap in this pad. Wrapping the tape around the hand eight times produces 16 layers, not eight.

Notable in the run today, is the fact that the pad made of m-wrap attached to the forefoot gel pad, was deliberately for experimental purposes, 8 m-wrap layers thick in the left shoe, and 16 m-wrap layers thick in the right shoe.

The foot-wear padding setup used today produced basically good results in terms of comfort except that in the second half of the fifth mile, which was run, discomforts were felt: slight pain in the middle and index toes of the left foot, slight pain in the line that marks the intersection between the toes and the ball of the foot in the right foot, and slight pain in the balls of the left and right feet.

I attribute this pain to the increase in speed that has suddenly come about for me, from 89 minutes to 82 minutes in I guess just 13 days. At the faster speed, certain areas of the foot take more of a pounding.

Generally I was pleased that today for the entire time except the second half of the fifth mile, I could run in exactly the style that comes naturally to me, without having to inhibit this style due to pain produced by the foot hitting the hard unnatural concrete surface.

How great it is to be able to run in one's natural uninhibited style on any surface including unnatural concrete--it's an underestimated pleasure and benefit.

People underestimate the value of such pleasures/benefits, because they have become indoctrinated into the idea that pleasures are expensive, as if the great pleasures and healthy things in life are all bought with alot of money.

For the pleasure of being able to run on any surface in one's own natural style, uninhibited by pain/discomfort, all you need is about $130 for running shoes plus about $30 for pads etc to put into the running shoes = total $160, plus patience with tinkering with pads. That's not alot of money but the pleasure/benefit is still there.

Logical next steps:

Increase padding in pad made of m-wrap for left middle index and big toes from 8 layers to 12 layers; add 4-layer pad made of m-wrap to line between toes and ball of foot on right foot; add 4-layer m-wrap pad to ball-of-foot area in left and right feet.

If this increased padding is implemented, there will result probably excess constriction of the foot and excess heat for the foot. As of now my long term goal is to combine such increases in padding with getting rid of some or all of the toe-tubes (or replacing the toe-tubes with thinner home-made toe-tubes). Currently I am wearing a toe-tube on my left big toe and on on my right index and middle toes. Maybe the upper part of a toe-tube could be removed leaving just the lower half of the toe-tube, held in place with m-wrap.

Today the glue used again was the 'non-toxic CVS School Glue Gel'; weak as it may be it served its purpose again at least for one run.

90 minutes after the conclusion of the run morning of Sat Feb 21, I was still wearing the shoes I ran in and there was no discomfort except excessive heat in both the left and right feet.

Running Tactics

Tactics Sat Feb 21 were the same as the previous day: counteract the natural tendency to go too slow in the first two miles; exploit the natural tendency to be loose and energetic in the fourth and fifth miles.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

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