Return to The Potawatomi

Diving more seriously into my harebrained idea of completing a half-marathon on the Poto in under 2 hours, I manned up and made the trek out there today for a practice run. Being my first real run in two weeks, it took some time to wake the legs back up. And it was one hell of a wake up call.

I’m always gripped with nervousness en route to the Poto. Is it because I perceive it as the only somewhat technical and challenging trail in the area? Compared to my regular haunts, it is a complete step up. Elevation, terrain changes, miles upon miles of rocks. A few miles into the trail, though, and I recognize that it’s all worth it. It’s also among the most scenic runs I’ve found within driving distance of Detroit – and I’m looking forward to a handful of return trips over the next few months (and probably into the winter).

The good news: I took it slow today. Mild run for 8 minutes, walk for 2 minutes. Walked all hills. Stopped to take pictures when necessary. I wore FiveFingers, which I personally think are a ballsy idea for such a rocky trail (as evidenced by the three inch bruise on the bottom of my left foot). All this said, I still did the loop only slightly slower than my racing pace from the last time I did the trail half marathon. Hopefully, slapping some New Balance 790s onto my feet next time for a little rock protection, cutting out the walks and holding a nice, brisk pace will help me reach my goal.

Also, and somewhat tangential: I forgot how much it sucks running with a Camelback. I noted today there are various “watering” stations along the route – basically a spot to pull up well water. I think if I run with powdered Accelerade in one bottle I can keep refilling and mixing the other. We’ll try that next time.

New York Times: Wiggling Their Toes at the Shoe Giants

TODD BYERS was among more than 20,000 people running the San Francisco Marathon last month. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, he might have blended in with the other runners, except for one glaring difference: he was barefoot. Even in anything-goes San Francisco, his lack of footwear prompted curious stares. His photo was snapped, and he heard one runner grumble, “I just don’t want the guy without shoes to beat me.”

+Wiggling Their Toes at the Shoe Giants

Pre-order Vibram KSO Treks (Warning: Not Inexpensive)

It seems there’s a way to pre-order the latest offerings from Vibram; the KSO Treks, Mocs and Performa. A little googling for more info on the KSO Treks took me to a post over at Birthday Shoes, which in turn linked me over to Kayak Shed.

I’m interested to see how the new additions to the lineup hit. One of the things I’ve most enjoyed about my trusty KSOs over the past year has been their ability to run through rain, straight through puddles, streams, creeks, and whatever else the trail had to offer. You get them wet and they remain almost weightless and, conditions permitting, they’re dry within the next mile. How will Kangaroo leather hold up? Are we going to see a chamois cloth effect that gets bogged down with water? How will they breathe? I’m a little skeptical, but will of course give the benefit of the doubt.

Just incase: Dear Vibram – can you please make a KSO Trek out of the lightweight mesh I’ve come to love?

But, oh. . . $130! Yikes.

The Buildup

Perhaps a bit reckless, but nothing extraordinary comes from ordinary actions. Last weekend I attempted my first 10 mile trail run absolutely barefoot. Having not run Lakeshore Park much this year, I forgot what the terrain was like in the more distant sections of the park.

First few miles were fine. By the time I got to mile six I was on the verge of throwing up from the pain. Had to chicken out and grab the FiveFinger KSOs for the rest of the run. The difference is amazing, though. Just adding some protection almost revolutionized the way I ran. More fearless of roots and rocks, the pace dropped by over a minute per mile. I don’t necessarily see this as good – just something to note.

Going to keep working at it, still hoping to do a barefoot trail marathon before the season is up.

Despite the pain in my feet, I’ll keep at it. The ultimate purpose is still in place – I’m running with better form, gentler and more in tune with my body. Actually listening to my body. The knee is fine, with soreness and stiffness working itself out in a matter of a day or two – not months.

Lifehacker Post on Barefooting

A friend linked this article to me via twitter (get me at @nateluzod). Thought I should start archiving things like this, just to make this site more of a resource.

Excerpt:

Christopher McDougall, author of the forthcoming Born to Run, excerpts a section of his book that suggests costly, tech-term-laden training shoes aren’t helping runners all that much—and they may actually be hurting.

+ Lifehacker: Expensive Running Shoes Aren’t a Necessity

Back to 20

After weeks of feeling sorry for myself on account of repeated injuries, I finally made something of myself yesterday with a 20 mile trail. Tried a few new things that might or might not be great ideas for the long haul, but at least I know now:

• Succeed S! Caps
  This was my first pill-popping long run and I must say, they made an entirely noticeable distance. The only nausea/sick-stomach feeling came when I licked my arm to test my electrolytes (salty taste=ok, bland=running low) and forgot that I had about 3 layers of OFF Skintastic dried onto my skin. Mile 17 was spent fighting the urge to duck aside and vomit, but I toughed it out. Popping one every hour worked like a charm. I also downed a Clif Shot Blok every 1/2 hour as a semi-solid intake, so we can thank them for assistance as well.
   
• Green Magma
  I drank this+water rather than the standard Accelerade. Seemed to work OK and provided enough energy, though I wonder if the protein in Accelerade helps ease soreness a bit. I read that some elite ultra runners use Magma during runs, so I thought I’d give it a shot. At $40.00 for a tiny canister though, fat chance I’d be using it regularly unless, like elite ultra runners, I got sponsored by Green Foods (another fat chance).
   
• FiveFingers
  They’ve been seamless for anything under 15 miles, total comfort and great all-around feeling. Beyond that, my feet don’t seem tough enough to handle hours of abuse from jagged rocks and sharp tree-stumps. The bottoms of my feet are mostly bruised, and miles 16-20 were spent coping with agonizing pain in the balls of my feet. I’ll keep trying long runs in them to see how my strength/tolerance builds up. On the bright side, I have no joint pain whatsoever, so they seem to be doing their trick to that end.
   

All-in-all, it was a decent run in a decent, 43 mile week. Some very solid shorter runs with (relatively) respectable times. The 20 took a bit longer than expected, but I just wanted to get the time on my feet and start working on a reasonable hike/run combo. Will try bumping the long-runs up by a mile or two each week, and hopefully be capable of a not-excruciating 30 miler by the end of August. Things seem to be falling into place again. ‘Bout time.

Gear Review: Vibram Five Fingers

I’m pleased to report that the hip/IT-Band injury is now (almost) history. For now. Got a few good trails in last week but am ready to step it up and hopefully make a good showing at the Running Fit Trail 1/2 this Sunday. Will be practicing the Poto this week after work and I’m exceptionally excited to do a few runs in my new Vibram Five Fingers.

Read more »

Ocular Proof of Trail Conditions

In case you didn’t believe me about the mud. The Salomon XAs (above) reached the 275 mile mark this past weekend. Realizing this, I quickly placed an order for the new Puma Trailfox II’s, and I’m excited. The good folks at Tortoise & Hare in Ann Arbor knocked ten bucks off the price, as a thanks for shopping locally when I could have bought it online. Word to the wise.

Mud & Muck

A snow-then-melt-then-rain-then-freeze-then-melt cycle has left our Southeast Michigan trails in interesting conditions. A quick 6 miler on Saturday dampened even my waterproof Solomon XA’s. I even managed to get mud on my upper body, don’t ask me how.

Sunday was my first trip to the Potowatomi Trail, and I’m happy to know with certainty what my Sunday plans will be for the foreseeable future. I did all 19 miles in a record slow time (3:40). I’m factoring in an extra 1.5 miles since I got lost three times (the signs/markers were knocked over or just missing in some spots), and I hiked a bit, stopped on a few of the very great bridges and just relaxed, absorbing everything. This is definitely the best trail I’ve run since the Keweenaw Trail Running Festival last year.

The path was ‘accented’ with ice, mud, almost sand, pretty commanding hills, a few overflowing ponds, and fully blocked by knocked down trees in other spots. Additionally, it rained for a solid hour – but I didn’t mind a bit. Things were just too good.

Next Sunday will be a 13 mile practice loop for the Running Fit Trail Half Marathon. Conditions permitting, hopefully a goal of 2 hours is not overly ambitious for someone as slow as me.

Trail Gods are Smiling

Logged about 24 solid trail miles this weekend. Feels great to be off both dreadmill and street, and finally getting the trail time I’ve been looking forward to. Here’s a weekend recap, if you’re bored and looking to waste a few minutes reading about my life.

Friday: Landed from NYC and swung by the office in Ann Arbor to pick up my two new movies from Zombie Runner, both of which I brought home and watched back-to-back as my weekend relaxation. First was their Western States 100 film, which was shot a few years ago at the beginning of Jurek’s domination of the race. Pretty cheap packaging but definitely a worthwhile purchase and an all around well-done film with numerous insights from some of the race’s veterans (Twietmeyer, Ansleigh, etc.). Next was Forever Running, a film about Yiannis Kouros – who holds an unbelievable amount of world records and who makes me feel as if I should just give up running altogether.

Saturday: 8 miles hard and fast (for me) through Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. First 4 mile lap done in 31:25 (7:51 minute miles). Second lap done in 35:27 (8:51 minute miles). On the second lap I stopped for a few minutes when I found that I had run directly into a family of Deer. There were 7 of them – and when I took notice all were staring at me. I stood still, kept my hands at my side and eventually they took their focus off me, just kept eating and acted as if I wasn’t even there. After a few minutes of reveling in this, I turned to continue running and noticed another three coming up on my right side from behind. They walked past me, then all three stopped and stared yet again. One of them kept her eyes on me, and kept bowing her head and tapping one foot on the ground. She slowly advanced toward me, seeming to check out my scent. To keep it on the safe side, I slowly backed away and continued my run. Pretty amazing to get that close and have them that comfortable, though.

Sunday: 16 snowy and slippery miles of Bald Mountain starting at 8:00am on this fine Easter. I took a nasty spill about three miles into it, losing grip on an icy downhill and using my kneecap to break my fall. The rest of the run was done considerably more carefully, and with slow jogs/walks on the uphills I only averaged 11:30 miles. The first 12 miles were done around a 9 minute pace, but I bonked pretty hard on the last quarter and had to walk a bit. This was my longest run since the marathon and my longest trail run to date. Despite the lackluster speed, it was a great day of running and a happy 1 year anniversary of my first trail run in the same spot. Good trails, but if next week’s 18 miler at the Potowatomi is anything like I think it should be, I’ll probably be going to Bald Mountain a lot less from now on.

Lastly, there as a coyote in my mother’s driveway this morning – right here in lovely Farmington Hills.