Five Fingers Update

I wanted to give a little follow-up to my introduction to Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) shoes. If you read my earlier post you know that calling these shoes is a stretch. They are more like lycra gloves with pliable rubberized soles than shoes. There supposed to help you mimic a barefoot running stride with out tearing up your feet. And to that effect they work nicely.

The deal is you are supposed to work up to any distance over time to condirion the muscles in your feet to working without the artificial support of shoes. You would be amazed by how complex the structure of your feet are. Of course that means there are a lot of muscle, tendons, and ligaments than can become sore, irritated or inflamed if you push this phase.

Anyhow, I had worked up to a couple miles with the VFF and frankly running with conventional running shoes was feeling a little weird. So as my training progressed, it was time to do some speed work. Nothing major just 3) 1/2 mile intervals. So I did them, felt good and went home.
Well,the next morning, while my feet had acclimated, my calves had not. While I slept my calves had conspired to prevent me from leaving the house. The first part of the plan was to make it difficult to stand up after getting to the edge of the bed. After a couple minutes I was almost able to stand upright except ALL my weight HAD to be on my heels. Any weight on my forefoot triggered my calf muscles to fire. It was excrutiating! The next part of the plan was to make it almost impossible to get down the stairs. Do you know how hard it is to go down stairs with all your weight on your heels? Not easy. Go ahead and try it.

After a couple days the pain has lessened. I now know to break up the workouts with regular shoes and VFF. And SLOWLY increase the time with the VFF and ween off the running shoes over time.

Freakin' Mohican

Freakin’ Mohican: Recipe For Destruction

Remembrances of The Mohican 100 Mile or Mohican 100 K Endurance Mountain Bike Race.

A rough recipe for this endurance event in Ohio includes:

• 4 parts of water (3.5” in the 24 hours preceding the race after a whole week of rain.)
• 8 parts dirt
• 1 part leaves, stick and pine needles.
• Three parts rocks
• 2 parts roots.
• 2 parts of elevation gain. I know its Ohio, but there is damn near as much elevation gain as in the Wilderness 101. Over 11,000 feet in 100 miles. Who knew?
• 160+ racers
• First checkpoint at mile #27 Or mile 35 for the full half of the field that got lost… (yes me too) Ride bike for a minimum of 3+ hours to reach said checkpoint (top finishers) or over 8 hours for bottom feeders. Me just under 4 hours.
• No signs for 20 miles of twisty intersecting single track before check point # 1 (all stolen the night before?)
• Lightning and hail warnings
• 2 parts bonus hike-a-bike not quite as bad as Iron Cross, but not part of the course either
• 1 part hike-a-bike up the face of a damn too steep to push your bike, had to carry (5 miles from the end) 200’+- elevation gain
• Attrition rate must exceed 25%
• Crash bikes in every conceivable manner imaginable.
o Yours truly all during the event:
1. Over the bars: tuck and roll, modified superman, and full bar straddle, heel click to full on sprint down hill to remain upright
2. Biff front wheel left and right repeat numerous times or until you can no longer mount bike
3. Rear wash out left and right repeat numerous times or until you can no longer mount bike
4. Walk bike for miles, up hill, down hill, flat terrain, advanced trails, expert trails and even novice trails…helps mix ingredients
5. And fail to make the short extremely steep climb, put your foot down on a slippery root (down hill side) and tumble over a cliff
6. Fully submersed after slipping off creek side trail and falling into 6’ of water


• Numerous unmarked road turns
• Broken chain
• Mix all dry and liquid ingredients in a big basin. Allow to congeal shortly. Roll rubber tires though quagmire until tires scoop up enough of the mixture that the wheels will no longer turn at all. Stop bike and scrape off enough mud to continue. CURSE! Repeat every 500 yards or until a stream crossing affords the opportunity to dunk the entire bike under water to allow forward locomotion. Repeat for 100 K, 100 miles, 5.5 hours (top 100K) 8.5 hours top 100 Mile or stagger in after 17 hours under you own power (last finisher at 12 PM) Whichever is longer and more painful. Or continue until the will to move forward and finish is overcome by man’s natural affinity toward self-preservation and survival.
• Drink beers, lick wounds, and make plans for the Wilderness 101 in July.

Barefootin'

I'm a little odd. This isn't a newsflash to just about about anyone who's spent any time with me. I'd rather be in the snow than at the beach. I'd rather play a sport than watch one. I like to suffer. Yeah I'm weird. But occasionally there is a justifiable reason for my apparent madness. Today was no exception. I ran a mile this afternoon wearing these. I have been studying...well more experimenting with barefoot running and emulating a barefoot stride when running with shoes. It's been pretty amazing. I've been messing with it for over a year now and I'm continually amazed by the great reduction in discomfort I have while running, the better recovery times and oh...I'm significantly faster. So in an attempt to hone my skills, I regularly run barefoot on the padded track at the local high school. Problem is that even though the track is padded, running any distance wears the skin right off my toes. Nice smooth feet for a bit, but then it starts to hurt some. So in walks these shoes. Walks in. Get it? I think that's funny. Weird right? Anyhow, I've been running a little bit on the treadmill with these Vibram Five Fingers Shoes. Really they are more like gloves than shoes with a thin rubber bottom and no padding. But today was the first time i actually ran outside with them. Surprisingly good results, They felt really smooth, comfortable, and took the abrasiveness out of running on a rough surface while still giving that barefoot feeling. I'll keep playing with them and let you know how it goes.

Now we'll just have to see how bad I hurt tomorrow.

Anyone interested in barefoot running, take a look at www.evolutionrunning.com

Evolution!

Revisiting a race recap from a while back.

WARNING: This article is not intended for minors or for old folks with weak constitutions. Read at your own risk!

Proof of Evolution

I just completed the Wilderness 101 mountain bike race, a 101 mile mountain bike odyssey, and have some very valuable scientific evidence leading me to conclude that Darwin wasn’t a quack. But you must read on to make your own decision.

After the completion of the race, I was forced to gloat on the only small victory I could muster, by looking trough the rosiest glasses I could find. My ass didn’t hurt. Not at all. Not even a little. In comparison, the rest of my biking buddies were in varying degrees of pain ranging from mild discomfort to absolute agony. One gentleman in particular was dealing with an exceptionally horrendous case of chafing. Now I’m not talking a little butt rub, but rather a complete loss of numerous layers of dermis, in rather large areas from both cheeks. Painful for Jason…hilarious to me. Believe me; I reveled in his misery as only a good friend could. If you can think of a butt joke, so did I, and I cast it in Jason’s direction without mercy. All the while laughing at his misfortune. I took enormous pleasure waiting outside, within earshot, for Jason to start his post race shower. The squeal of pain he yelped as the first water hit the raw flesh had me giggling uncontrollably.

Through out the rest of the night, while downing my first beers in months, actually my first 7 beers in months, the butt jokes kept on flowing and I was on a roll. I crawled into my sleeping bag at 10 PM giddy from grog, exhausted from riding and still chuckling at Jason’s plight.

The bike gods did not condone the joy I had found in the misfortune of a fellow rider. Karma was out to get me. At about 2:30 in the morning I began to uncover their revenge. I rolled over from a sound sleep to realize something was amiss in my nether regions. In an alcohol-induced fuzziness, I slid my hands down below to figure out what was happening. WOW! I’ve got three nuts! How cool is that? And I dozed back off to dream of my newfound uniqueness. Somehow in my convoluted dream state, I had managed to rationalize my new third testicle as a great advancement in the evolutionary chain. Opposable thumb…walking erect…three stones. Someday all of this new species will have three. The name of this new super species will be…Homo erectus tritestes. I was further anticipating women with three nipples, but I digress. That was a separate dream and not really part of my thesis.

Unfortunately by 3:30 a blistering pain in the proximity of my new super nut rudely woke me. My claim to fame was nothing more than a gigundus saddle sore. That’s right a cyclist’s cyst. A biker’s boil. A peddler’s pustule. I’m not prone to exaggeration; I’ll not say it was the size of a softball or orange. But it was every bit as large as a golf ball. I’m pretty sure it could have won the county fair, butt believe it or not…no one wanted to see it.

Free Beer For Everybody!

Ok. That's an exaggeration. But I did give away over a case of my first batch of home brew. It turned out pretty well. I made an American Amber Ale. It's a pretty full flavored beer that has actually gotten a little mellower after being cold conditioned for a couple days. (Stuck in the fridge) As many of you know, a beer that is actually designed to taste like something versus the major US brands which are brewed with the primary intention of offending the fewest people, tastes considerably better after being poured in a glass. This beer is no exception. Several people have asked me to name a beer that tastes similar. Well the best I can come up with is a cross between Sierra Nevada and Fat Tire. Not quite as bitter as Sierra Nevada and maybe a touch softer than Fat Tire. All in all not a bad first effort. If you stop by (and if there is any left) I'll gladly pour one for you.

Call the SBCA

I ran to the basement to get a screwdriver and there curled up in the corner lay Old Blue. Kind of half sitting, half leaning in the corner. Sad forlorn eyes gazing up at me. Trying desperately, and successfully, to make me feel guilty for the neglect. I’m sorry Blue, I know I should spend more time with you. You need to get out, run, get some exercise. Hell we need to spend some more time together. It’s good for both of us. I know that. I’ve just got too much else going on. Oh and the weather has been bad. I thought the kids would take you out for a bit. But no, they turned their backs on you too. I know, terrible excuses. All while you are cooped up in the basement. What did you say Blue? Blackie isn’t happy about the “arrangement” nor is Big Red. Come on Blue, you know they are fair weather pals. No. It’s you I worry about. You’re just a pup. Not even a year old. Full of energy. Full of spunk. You need to get out and feel your legs. So sad! I’m sorry Blue. The snow will melt and again we will play in the woods together. Don’t worry Blue, good times are coming again. Don’t worry. I know you are still the best friend a guy can have. I still love you Blue!

Who's with me? Alternative fuel I can BACK!

Maybe not Miller, but a good premise just the same. Blog update coming later discussing the first tasting of the new home brew.