Running on thin air…

Let me preface this by saying I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be.  I also acknowledge that there are many many people out there who are much more knowledgeable and experienced than I am on this subject, I simply wanted to share a little bit.

okay..enough of that.

Since about 6th grade, i have been interested in health professions.  yes, I know that is a broad term, because it has been a broad interest.  I have gone back and forth a lot on what I want to do (have been pretty settled for some time now) but I have always be interested in a couple of fields of study.  One of those would have to be orthopedics/athletic training/physical therapy stuffs.  I have been relatively fortunate in my life to have avoided any major chronic injuries (IT band, stress fractures, lower back, etc.)  regardless, I have done my best to attempt to keep up with what will help me avoid injuries.

The one true chronic sports injury I have struggled with has been shin splints.  While this isn’t anything major, and probably every runner/basketball player/anyone who exercises has had some bout with them, they still suck.  It is an annoying pain, one that I especially want to run through *note: bad idea* After casually talking to several different sources (an ATC, Orthopedic, and a PT) and some online research, I self appointed one of my treatments to be barefoot running.  This was as easy self-prescribed treatment as i love running barefoot.  There are two large soccer fields near my house, and they work great.  The general idea here, for me, was that I needed to change my running stride.  I was/am a heavy heal striker, and I often over stride.  When barefoot running, 99.99% of runners will turn in to forefoot strikers.  Add in the bonus of running of grass as opposed to asphalt/concrete/brick/gravel, and it seems like a good idea. 

I only bring all of this up because about once a month, a new study is released saying this is either good, or bad, for injury prevention.  As soon as one set of results is released, they are contradicted or invalidated.  A recent study released by Nature brought some results showing decreased impact force and decreased loading rates when running barefoot.  You can check it out, or see what the Sports Scientists have to say about it.  I just thought the study was interesting, though little conclusion was made.  This study pretty clearly states that running barefoot will not HURT you, but the preventative values are not quite ironclad.

If you have something to add or feel that I missed something, let me know!  I enjoy running barefoot, though it only makes up a fraction of my running time.  I enjoy the chance to mix it up just a little bit.

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side note: finally found a friend to swim with, my tri buddy Charles.  We both did our first race together, and raced White Lake Sprint together last year.  He says he’s probably doing B2B this year, so should be great!  now i just have to get him a blog ;-) Yay for getting back in the pool, less yay for sucking this AM.

and because i don’t have another picture to put up here:

pissed off renter or clever rouse to scare the cops away?  wonder how it worked out for them…

Just a quick update…

My toe is almost normal, after only about four days.  I have to say I'm pretty surprised by it.  Other than a “cosmetic” problem, i think I'll be in the pool tomorrow, and in cycling/running shoes by Friday.

On another note, I’ve decided to simply replace my Forerunner 305.  Ouch, that hurts to even say.  It sucks having to buy it, but it sucks even more the fact that I'm re-buying it.  And it sucks EVEN MOST that as of now, I will pay more for it the second time:

Below is a screen capture of my order from 2008:

Please note the price tag of 149.99, with free shipping. Fast-forward almost 14 months, and check out Amazon's price TODAY:

If someone could riddle me Amazon’s pricing scheme, I'd appreciate it.  The price jumps around what seems like at an hourly rate, but I just don’t understand how 14 months after i bought the 305, with no coupon/special circumstance, I am going to end up paying more for it.

Go figure.

Tentative 2010 Race Schedule-right column

*anyone coming here from Dr. Cramer’s blog, sorry if this wastes your time, but possible I'll cover some interesting endurance sports/physiology stuff in the future.  I plan to take this pseudo-sports science in the coming days*

So, last year when i tried this, i think i might have raced four of the 9 races that I originally said i would.  Granted, I added two other races, but id say race/training structure were nearly absent last year.  Twice I decided to race with less than a week ahead of time.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun, but it is my goal this year to race these races listed, and anything else will be a cherry on top.  Raleigh Rocks will be my first legitimate 13.1 and I’m really excited to go and tear it up.  A few sprints and an international distance later, the clear A race for this year, again, will be the Beach2Battleship half.  I originally wanted to do the full this year, but realistically i can’t commit 20 hours a week to training.  However, I feel i can break 6 with even a moderate training plan, and quite possibly, id like to go :25 2:40 2:00.  The run will be the determinant.  The swim is totally with the current, and I swam :30ish last year with pretty awful swim training.  I know I'm making excuses, but hey, we’ll go with it.

There, I put it in writing, it is going to happen now, right?

It’s going to be a lot of fun, doing my hometown race *Mission Man* which should be a lot of fun!

On a side note, I am currently working with the Chapel Hill YMCA and the Chapel Hill Parks & Rec to organize a sprint TRI here in Chapel Hill sometime soon( read: realistically next season, hopefully).  If anyone in this area has any interest, or has some inside sway with either SetUp Events or Finish Strong, please let me know!!!  I’d appreciate it greatly!

I always have to leave with a picture, and this one could quite possibly hurt some feelings, but I can’t help it.

These were taken at a Wendy’s in western NC…

wow?

Ouch…

So, I haven’t posted anything of significance in a long time, and this won’t really change that.

I’ve been busy: “doing” school, work, family, friends, and the occasional, unnecessary, supply of drama..but welcome to college.

I haven’t really had anything that I truly cared to post about, but i think i might decide to change some of that.  I think I'm going to incorporate some real life into my posts on triathlon, most likely solely for my own purposes.  Anyways, we’ll see if Windows Live Writer helps the cause, and if I can manage to find more than 6 people to read what I have to say.  However, I guess that means I need to have something to say that is worth reading.

On the plate for upcoming *soon* posts:

-Tyler the “race director”- yes, I am currently attempting to plan a triathlon in the Chapel Hill Area.  Let me know if you have any interest

-Starting a triathlon club/training group at our local YMCA *where I also happen to work*-I have talked to an upwards of 15 people at the Y about tri’s, and even, for some reason, have handed out some really, really, basic training plans

-How to replace a Garmin Forerunner 305 in the most economically efficient way- debating re-buying it from Amazon, or possibly purchasing the FR60 and buying an Edge 705 at a later date…we shall see

-The recovery of “The Toe”

 

for explanation of the last one, I'll just leave you with this picture….

I apologize for the grotesqueness of this pictures… such is the life of runners feet, and trying to play Intramural basketball…hmm

$50 Rebate on Garmin Edge 605 and 705

If you bought/buy a Garmin Edge 605 or 705 between 1/01/10 and 3/31/10, garmin is offering a $50 rebate. This offer is good if bought from Garmin or 3rd party retailers (amazon and the like)

Click Here for the Garmin link

***If you navigate back to their rebates offers, there is also $50 off of the Forerunner 405