HELP! JANE! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!

            The first years of my running life were largely untethered—I didn’t belong to any running community so I didn’t know how or what to do in order to get results. One thing I got right was following a build-up plan in the back of a beginner’s book on running that had like a 12-week training plan that got you up to running for 30 consecutive minutes. I’ve been a runner ever since.

            But this time in my life was in Clay Center, Kansas, population 4,500. There was a county hospital that had a very good fitness/wellness center that was about 1.5 miles away from my apartment. So I’d get home from work, run up there, crank a few miles on one of four treadmills, and run home. Each treadmill had its own overhead TV so the miles flew by as I watched a basketball game or whatever. I would always try to figure out whether I’d get done by the end of the half or game—it helped with my need to have numbers to crunch.

            I was always persnickety about running outside. Too hot? Too cold? Too windy? Time to get in the car and drive up there. Eventually I got married and lived in a neighborhood that didn’t have easy treadmill access. The more I ran outside and committed to running, the more incredulous I became as to how I did the treadmill thing.

            With that as a backdrop, meet Astro:

            Astro is our new state-of-the-art NordicTrack 1600 treadmill. It does everything except get you a beer. About a month ago Mrs. Woodrow decided a treadmill would be a good play. It does make sense, as the weather has turned cooler and she has knee problems that the more forgiving surface can help with. Many things in our home get names (in addition to the dog, Beasley). Our charcoal grill picked up the name R2D2, The blender is the Bass-O-Matic 6000, our cars are named Sparky and Scooter, and so on.

            Anyhow I’ve been running on there about three times a week since we’ve had it. I can run on the beach, in Italy, or in Austria due to our subscription to iFit. It also lets me program my run before I begin. Yesterday I ran in my neighborhood without leaving the house. I recognized everywhere I ran, it just didn’t recognize elevation so I played with it a little. It also has me running on the wrong side of the street because the Google Maps camera faces behind the car. So I’m running in one direction but the pictures it shows indicate the car/camera are going in reverse.

            There is also a 400m track for speed/tempo days. I don’t use this much since it gets a little monotonous especially with these other features. It has a 1/8” plug so I can plug my phone in and listen to podcasts safely which I don’t do on the road.

            The only concern I have at this point is that my legs don’t feel as energized after a treadmill run as they did after I ran on the road. I’ll get used to it because I’m just barely scratching the surface on this. I tinkered with the elevation on my 3.4 miler from yesterday and I ran about as fast as I have recently and my legs felt a little charged the rest of the evening. I’m not really sure when I’ll run in my neighborhood again— having a treadmill is a time saver plus we have some adjustable hand weights for me to do walking lunges and shoulder presses.

            Never thought I’d say it but I’m a treadmill guy once again.

Hoka Arahi

One of the best things about working in a specialty running shop is that occasionally the shoe companies will float shoes to store employees as a way to help us articulate how awesome the shoes are to our customers.

I picked up a pair of Hoka One One Arahi seed shoes at the running store a few weeks back. I was pretty excited, since my current experience with the Hoka Infinite (their first actual stability model) is outstanding.

The word on the Arahis is largely positive—very lightweight and responsive. It’s a stability shoe, but a closer relative to say, the Brooks Ravenna than the Adrenaline. One difference is the Arahi has developed a new concept by providing stability through use of a “J-Frame,” wrapping the heel from the outside (lateral side) around the back and up to the midfoot on the medial side.

 

So I took off on my favorite five-mile time trial route in my brand new wheels. This route is sidewalk nearly the whole way with very little traffic coming out onto the busy morning road. It’s mostly downhill for the first half, but the fun ends when I turn uphill and into the theater parking lot. I do a brief circle around and then cover the same ground on the way back. I use it as a way to track my fitness level.

The first few miles were as uneventful as you’d ever want them to be. I always say the highest compliment you can give a pair of shoes is that you barely notice you’re wearing them. That’s what I felt for the first little bit, until I felt a burning sensation on the balls of both feet. I’d never felt that in any other pair of shoes and it was the last thing I was expecting.

This feeling was more about discomfort than actual pain. It didn’t get any worse so I was able to keep doing my thing. The run itself was a good one. The only Strava segment I have is about 0.6 and a slight uphill and ends at a traffic light which then begins another climb. I run quite often, just not where a lot of other runners go, so there aren’t a lot of comparisons with others.

I took the Arahis out again on Wednesday of last week and the same thing happened a few miles in—this feeling that my feet were on fire. I’d taken off in a new pair of Adrenaline 16s a few months back and felt that the toe box was a little narrow at first, but then I got used to them and of course they’re wonderful. That’s what I was thinking would happen on my second trip in the Arahis. No dice. I am still hopeful that it’ll be different.

Otherwise I’ll have to look at options. Arahis are stability shoes so I don’t want to use inserts. Perhaps a second pair of socks or even a little body glide-type lubricant. Heat means friction, which in turn means movement. I do have plenty of lace left over so another choice could be to minimize said movement by using that last pair of eyelets.

I have fresh rubber and I will come up with a solution in order to make them perfect.

90-mile Months

Now that school has been out for several weeks, running has not been the priority I want it to be. It was easier when I had the structure of being on campus and being at a certain place by a certain time. I knew what to do the night before and the next morning.

So I set monthly goals in Garmin Connect of 90 miles for the month. Goals I reached in both March and April, mainly by breaking it down even further, into weekly segments of 20+ miles. Long runs weren't a thing, so I'd run enough four and five-milers to make it happen. It's pretty amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something and commit to it. Georgia heat and humidity are both in full effect so not all of the runs have been good ones, but I'm concentrating on closing the door behind me and taking off.

Through five-plus months of the year, I've run 410 miles, averaging almost 19 per week. I'm off to a good start this month, with a rare Sunday run (an eight-miler, which is also uncommon) leading to me being well ahead of schedule for June. Hopefully I can put a big number up and erase the 70-mile deficit I've made.

My goal by setting the bar at 90 is to make it to 1,080 miles for the year. Still very much within reach. I'm incredulous at one of my running friends who has already made it to 1,000 miles, or about 40 miles weekly. I'm only north of 40 when I'm in marathon mode, and that isn't happening anytime soon.

Another priority I made at the start of the year is to be OK with shorter runs as I finish school. It required a change of mindset, as I used to think I hadn't really 'ran' that day unless I bagged a six or better. Shorter distances are working well for me at this point, and I'll add in some 400 and 800 repeats along the way.