soccer games, two on two, indoors; hobbled by pain in feet and calves

From 810-915 PM, I played in two-on-two soccer games sponsored by the Irish Village Soccer Club indoors at the Waltham Y. We played ten minute games with about two minutes of breaks in between.

Sean told me that we would be using the games to practice passing and getting open for a pass, so that's the way I played the games. He also told me not to lag back to guard the goal (each goal was just a standard size chair), and that's the way I played it also.

During the games I noticed regarding us as players: we were making passes that would have been great passes if only the point the passes we made arrived at had been six inches away from the point the passes actually arrived at; with the passage of time we will develop into impressive passers, if we practice passing enough.

There were only four of us: Sean, Peter, Jose, and myself. Sean said that only four people showed up, because most of those who usually play, were drinking in a bar watching the Boston Celtics playoff game on TV.

From beginning to end I was plagued by pain in the soles of both feet and the calves of both legs. The pain was worse than what I used to experience previously months ago when attempting to play in games; the pain was worse than what I used to experience when run-walking (alternating between mile run and mile walked) six miles straight nonstop while wearing thigh-weights, ankle-weights, and weight-vest.

As a result of the pain, most of the time though I could dribble pass and shoot, I could do little more than walk.

At first I could not understand the pain. I thought maybe it was because we were playing with just two on each side, half-court. Then I realized that when we were playing full-court four on a side there was much less such pain. Then I thought maybe the problem was something that I had consumed in the previous 24 hours.

Finally I felt that I had mentally fingered the guilty suspect, namely: the new drills I did yesterday evening, involving a heavy cylindrical punching bag (a 'punching bag' of the 'heavy bag' type) hanging from the ceiling, and a 6-lb medicine ball.

Drills done yesterday evening involved me--for 2 hours from 740-940 PM, dribbling a 6 lb medicine ball with my feet, while repeatedly colliding with the hanging swinging punching bag if the 'heavy bag' type; I've been thinking that these punching-bag/medicine-ball drills are clever original inventions which will significantly improve my performance as a player; I was eager to get on with them. Doing the punching-bag/medicine-ball drills did not produce any pain in the soles of the feet or the calves until the pain felt during the games today.

I figure I should have been wiser and postponed the new punching-bag/medicine-ball drill until after the weekly soccer games.

The fact that evidently the punching-bag/medicine-ball drills produced pain in the exact areas where pain has been a problem for me during games (soles of feet & calves), indicates to me that the punching-bag/medicine-ball drills eventually if repeated enough, will help to prevent the occurrence of such pain during games in the future.

74 minute painful 5-mile run using long & quick paces style

Monday March 23 I did not run due to: things to do, fatigue, weather. Again after six days running every day a day without a run, as in the Biblical sabbath.

Tuesday March 24:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I attempted to deal with the pain in the arches of the foot problem experienced during the previous two runs, by departing from the advice I gave myself after the March 22 run, and instead increasing the padding under both heels by 8 m-wrap layers. The idea behind this was that the pain in the arches of the feet had been caused by excess difference between the vertical level of the heel and the vertical level of the ball of the foot, due to the increased padding under the ball of the foot (in both feet).

Prior to the run I put on the shoes with the added padding, and felt some pain behind the toenail of the big toe, caused by pressure rubbing against the shoe. My novel solution: I took an oval shaped bar of sandalwood soap, and wedge it into the shoe inside the shoe, to expand the shoe in the area where the irritation to the toe occurred. I left the bar of soap inside the shoe for at least an hour. Then I removed the bar of soap and put the shoe on. The result was complete lack of irritation in the affected area. I expected a good result because: sandalwood is fab subtance with a fab smell; the sandalwood soap rubbing off on the shoe provides some lubrication; the piece of soap was shaped almost perfectly for wedging into the big-toe area of the shoe.

Footwear advice I gave to myself after the previous 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 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/72-minute-5-mile-long-paced-run.html ).

Tuesday March 24:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the first five miles, style C, featuring an emphasis on BOTH long-length-paces AND ALSO a high number of steps per minute , taking breaks to record split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 73:54 (91:24 - 17:30 subtracted for break-times = 73:54).

Pauses were due to: recuperation from pain, removing excess layer clothing, tying shoes, recording split-times; the unusually high amount of break-time was due to pain experienced in the first and second miles;

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
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

This is the original chant, the first chant that I stuck with for any length of time; it emphasizes BOTH long-paces and quick paces.

Aside from pain-caused-impairment, the time was unimpressive, which leads me to wonder if a weakness in this chant used for styles C/F, might be that it contains no line asserting that I, the runner, am moving at a high speed. By way of contrast, the chants used for styles A/D (short, quick steps), & B/E (long steps), have evolved to both contain lines asserting speed:

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky, Many are our steps per unit of time" for A/D (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/75-minute-5-mile-quick-paced-using.html ); "'Long/Maxed are our strides as we streamline the sky, Far is our distance per unit of time" for B/E (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/72-minute-5-mile-long-paced-run.html ).

Mile split times recorded (split-times of previous style-C run March 17 in parentheses):

I walked slowly for about 150 yards before starting the run.

1st, run: 15:34 (14:57) pain in left calf
2nd, walked: 13:30 (13:40) pain (worse than 1st mile) in left calf and especially in right outside-of-lower-front-leg muscle
3rd, run: 15:30 (15:20)
4th, walked: 13:54 (13:50)
5th, run: 15:24 (15:15)

Footwear in Left shoe:

NEW 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:

NEW 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 during the run (5th mile completed at 9:05 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=24&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 gray lightweight sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt-type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, sweatpants, shorts, and wool winter hat were too warm.

After the first half-mile I removed the wool winter hat. I continued to feel too warm. After one mile had been run, I removed the sweatshirt.

I ran/walked miles 3 to 6 wearing only the long-sleeved shirt made of t-shirt-type cloth, a t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, and the visibility vest on my upper body, shorts and sweatpants on my lower body; and felt about right in the 40 degree night.

Advice to myself for the next run:

To allow for flexibility in padding, build 4 m-wrap layer pads for: both heels, both balls of feet, and left big toe. Adjust padding so that the heels are not so high that the result is pain in the lower legs; adjust padding so that the m-wrap layer-thickness of padding on top of the molding lightweight insole under the balls of the feet, do not exceed the m-wrap layer-thickness of padding under the heels on top of the same insole, by more than 12 m-wrap layers (because: when the difference between m-wrap-layer-thickness under ball of the foot & m-wrap-layer-thickness under the heel is 16 m-wrap layers, there is pain in the arch of the foot; when the difference is 8 m-wrap-layers there is not pain in the arch of the foot). Or make no change wait to see if there is a natural adjustment, and 'tough it out'..

Interesting thing is that an 8 m-wrap-layer-thick pad when compressed with the fingers is only about 1 millimeter thick.

Apparently the padding has been pushed to the max, to the point where an additional 1 millimeter of padding under the ball of the foot produces pain in the arch of the foot, to the point where an additional 1 millimeter of padding under the heel produces pain the muscles of the lower leg.

Go ahead and scoff at the laborious pedantry of blog entries such as this--just remember how easy it is to end up a tortured loser, completely lost with regards to differences of a millimeter here and a millimeter there that can mean, so to speak, the difference between heaven and hell--if careful records are not kept.

Today's experience in footwear showed that I was correct in estimating that reducing the difference in elevation between the ball of the foot and the heel by increasing the elevation of the heel by just 1 millimeter, would eliminate the pain in the arch of the foot. Problem was that the added padding under the heel caused pains in the muscles of the lower legs, especially in the right leg.

This reminds me that it appears that doctors these days, have a weakness: they under-emphasize the phenomenon wherein an intervention that reduces the risk of impairment or death due to a given disease X, increases the risk of impairment or death to another disease Y.

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 "D Medium-length-paced, emphasis on paces-per-minute, no pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

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

Running tactics/strategy

Today I felt that I could feel how pain in one mile tires one out for the next mile even if the next mile is painless; I felt I could feel how pain in a previous day tires one out for a subsequent day.

In the second mile which was walked, the pain in the muscle located at the outside-of-lower-front-right-leg, was very significant. This is the muscle on the front outside of the shin that connects the ankle to the knee. Yet still the mile was ten seconds faster than the second mile, which was walked, on March 17 when I last used the style C that I used today.

Seems running at a 15 minute mile pace has become habitual for me. I wonder whether I should try an alternative: walking the second and fourth miles at a leisurely pace instead of at a competitive pace, combined with running the first third and fifth miles, at a more competitive faster pace.

Best I can recall when, a few years ago, I had the dream about going six miles alternating between a mile run and a mile walked, the idea was to combine leisurely walked miles with competitively run run miles. But what this has morphed into, is three miles run at what for me is a competitive brisk pace, combined with two miles walked at a very brisk competitive pace, plus at the end, one mile walked at a leisurely pace.

@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

Running shoes and gel cushioning insoles have padding in the wrong places

On Monday January 26, 2009, I bought a pair of the 'Adistar Control 5' ( http://www.netsweat.com/Running/Online_Running_Store/Category/Mens-Road-Running-Shoes.htm ) ( http://www.runningwarehouse.com/descpageMRS-ASTCT5M.html ) running shoes at Marathon Sports in Cambridge MA ( www.marathonsports.com ) (617-354-4161). The shoes cost $130.

On Sunday Feb 8 (13 days after I bought the shoes) I wore them outdoors for the first time; while wearing them I ran this outdoors course that I run on Main and Moody Sts in Waltham on the sidewalk, five miles, the first third and fifth miles jogged, the second and fourth miles walked--my time was 92 minutes 2 minutes worse than my personal best of 90 minutes. The course features a run uphill on Moody St going south on the fifth mile, and a walk uphill going south on Moody St on the second mile. On Tuesday Feb 10 I ran the same course a second time, this time with one gel insole ( http://www.paragonsports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category_Insoles%20&%20Pads_10551_10051__20523_-1_1.htm ) for padding in each shoe. The second run my time was 94 minutes, 4 minutes worse than my personal best of 90 minutes.

Since Thursday Thursday Feb 5 I had been in a way 'under the weather', which impaired my performance. Conversely, On the Feb 8 and Feb 10 runs the clothing I wore was lighter than it was when I did my 90 minutes personal best.

I bought the shoes because I estimated that my time for this run had reached a plateau of 90 minutes, and not gotten any faster than 90 minutes, because at the 90 minute speed the pain factor became significant--along this line, the slower you run the easier it is to minimize pain.

One could reasonably theorize, that the time at which the difference produced by a new shoe is most clearly felt, is during the first few hundred yards run in the shoes. While running the first few hundred yards I ever ran in these 'Adistar Control 5' shoes I could tell right away, that the shoes (compared to the cheaper Adidas cross-trainers) made it easier to generate and maintain momentum, similarly to the way a wheel makes it easier to maintain and generate momentum.

However after the first mile on the first run, during the second mile jogged on the first run, I noticed that there was pain in the toes that was slowing me down. The first run in the end my time was 92 minutes, 2 minutes slower than my personal best run in the Adidas 'Powerpoint' cross-trainers.

The second run, run using the gel insoles, combined with the 'Adistar Control 5' shoes, there was pain in the front sole section of the foot again, this time the pain was in the ball of the foot and also the toes, not just the toes; and the pain in the second run started during the first mile jogged not the second mile jogged. Compared to the first run, the pain was more inhibiting during the second run; it got to the point that I switched from my natural style of the heel and the ball of the foot striking the ground at the same time, to the heel striking the ground before the ball of the foot strikes the ground, which is a style that I find to be unnatural dainty and inefficient.

I was disappointed that the Adistar Control 5 shoes failed to provide the level of cushioning support that I need. Seems to me that the shoes and also the gel insoles (from some company that was not Adidas), have not distributed the padding in a way that corresponds to my personal needs.

The Adistar control 5's sole is 1" thick at the ball of the foot, 1.75" thick at the heel, and approx 0.5" thick at the extreme front end of the toe. The gel-padded insole is thickest in the arch of the foot area and the heel, and thinnest in the ball of the foot and the toes area. The Adistar Control 5 shoes like most shoes, force the foot into a position wherein the heel is (compared to barefoot) unnaturally high.

By way of contrast, my feet while running in the Adistar Control-5 shoes both with and without the added gel insole, need padding in the balls of the foot area and the toe area, and have more than enough padding in the heel area.

When I run long-distance type running the heel and the ball of the foot hit the ground at approx the same time. I estimate given my state of knowledge as of now, that this is normal for long-distance running; running on the balls of the foot is the style used for sprinting not long distance running. The heel striking the ground before the balls of the feet strike the ground is characteristic of walking, characteristic of a clumsy type of running.

Alternatives I face now: replace the shoes; get yet another pair of shoes; find gel insoles with padding in the right places; create gel insoles with padding in the right places using scissors etc makeshift style.

I suspect that my tactic of buying the motion control shoe that had the most padding amongst motion control shoes, may have been erroneous. Perhaps I should have just gotten the shoes with the most padding period, and to hell with 'motion control'.

Now I'll find out exactly what Marathon Sports meant when they said that they could let me try out another pair of shoes if these shoes did not work out.