December 20th, 2010
Not that you’re getting a full meal outta me any time later, but consider this a snack of a post.
Swell run yesterday. The plan called for 5 recovery but my legs were feeling hunky-dory so I made it a comfortable 13-miler. I also added some hillyness by going up and down a ¼ mile rise after Falls Bridge a few times.
Kinvara Funeral
Remember how I was saying I wished I had a clear sign for when to ditch shoes since I never really know? I finally got the death notice for my first pair of Kinvaras, just as they crossed the 500mi mark.
In the past, I’ve had fleeting bouts of Metatarsalgia (pain on the ball of my foot) that I can usually massage away – it’s not painful per se, but it’s an annoying discomfort. I had it over the last week and it was getting worse until I could feel it even at rest. I suspected it was due to the old shoes since I’d been running in them almost daily over a 10-day period. (I usually switch shoes often, but for a reason too convoluted to explain here, I didn’t)
Anyway, switching to a fresher pair on Thursday gave instant relief. It’s nice to finally have a clear signal that a shoe is past its prime instead of just tossing them at some arbitrary point.
Link Fun
I thought this was nice and skeevy: Hotels lending out running gear.
Here’s an interesting article on endurance vs. peak power, How Running Makes You Less Fit. It reinforces the benefit of keeping top-end speed workouts in the mix.
Looks like I’m switching quality days this week due to wind on Tuesday. The good news is that now there’s a weather site that understands my displeasure and commiserates with me: thefuckingweather.com. Enter your own zipcode to see how miserable your neighborhood is.
A Poll
Check out the cute little poll action on the right sidebar. Not that it really matters how often I post since you can always not read it, but I’m interested in your reading habits and what you prefer when it comes to the frequency of this blog. I’ve gotten into a 3/week habit since people seem to come back and check often for new stuff but maybe you’d prefer less.
Also, if you have anything you’d like to say on the matter, I’d be interested to read your thoughts, so leave it in a comment. And please know my feelings won’t be hurt if you’d like less, for real.
Speaking of, I’ve said in the past and will say it again: I don’t want anyone to feel pressure to comment on any of my posts, ever. I sometimes feel guilty that I don’t comment regularly on the blogs I read, yet I know it’s silly. I don’t mind quiet days around here so never feel like you have to comment if you don’t wanna. I know you love me anyway. 
Posted in 
Tags: 
Well, that weather site says that my conditions are “Fucking Alright – Better than a sharp stick in the eye” Hahaha, that’ll show us soft Californians. I’d like to know how they clean those shoes – throw them in the washer on warm?
I’ve been neglecting my own blog lately, and have been wondering if short frequent entries might be the way to go, rather than agonizing over the next big essay.
And yes, we love you anyway.
Your posts are generally race reports which are always essay-worthy but yeah, it definitely makes writing easier the more you do it. I never read my old posts but when I’m hunting for something and come upon an earlier one, I have to laugh – it’s almost as if another person wrote it. P.S. Love you, too.
On the training science front, I discovered “Training Distance Runners” by David Martin and Peter Coe (Seb’s dad) in my local library and am trying to get my head around it. It’s like a degree-level textbook, but is providing some “aha” moments. I feel a blog entry (or five) coming on…
Excellent! Adam told me to read that one but I haven’t gotten ’round to it yet. Would love to read your insights.
omg that weather website is hilarious. i am going to use that one from now on. it tells it how it is. like you. i like your postings. if you’re looking for feedback i’d like more pictures. i can go back and forth with how much i like people to post. i’d love it if you posted 3x/week or more as you are hilarious. no pressure though :P
and yay for 5 = 13 miles. that’s a me move
Good point on the photos, though I’m not a fan of stock photography for blogs so that makes it a toughie. Lol, yep, totally a Karyn move.
Yes, love the weather site. I typed in ‘Canberra’ and ‘I want effing Celsius’ and I got “17°?! ITS FUCKING ….ALRIGHT” — and they are right. It is effing alright!
The Matt Fitzgerald article was interesting enough. I think it’s important to ‘stay in touch’ with top-end speed (power) but I’d like to think that once you’re ‘in touch’, one doesn’t need to do a lot of this type of work to ‘stay in touch’ (if that makes sense). 98% endurance training can get you there down to a certain race distance, which I’d guess at about 5k. Heidi Westover (from the RT article) does no speedwork (aside from racing) yet would run a respectable 5k race.
On the posting frequency poll, I’m now feeling sorry for ‘twice a week’ — which I could live with
Ewen, glad the fuckingweather works for your neck of the woods. Aw, you of all people could have put 2x week, since you’re one of the ones I feel bad for, you’re such a regular commenter – above and beyond the call of duty. I think you’re right on the top-end speed thing, too. That you only need to keep it there in the background and it’ll still be working its magic.
No need to feel bad. I enjoy reading and commenting. I’m a fast typist
Agree with Cathleen too, in that I prefer blog posts that are well written.
On the fuckingweather site… I’d like it better with an apostrophe in “ITS” — like today’s for Canberra: “22°?! IT’S FUCKING NICE”, which it is.
Voted “Don’t give a sh*t.” If it’s well thought out, I’ll enjoy reading it. I’m finding that I’d rather read a really bomb-diggity piece of writing, even if it only happens once a week, than the same old stuff every single day someone’s putting out just to remain relevant. As for photos… your writing speaks for itself. No use in throwing a random image in just to give us a break from reading (unless it really enhances the post), we’re big kids! Anyway, thanks for writing it — I enjoy reading it!
Glad you mention the “big kids” point, that’s how I feel about pics, too. If I had some good, relevant ones, I’d post ‘em for sure, but when people put them in as filler, it’s just more scrolling for the reader. Thanks for the kind comment, I certainly enjoy your blog as well!