Burning River 100 Mile Training: a work in progress

Six weeks.  That's all I have left before Burning River.  Would I ready if the race were today?  Probably not.  In years' past, my 100 mile training went like this:

• 2008- too few miles, too much Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance.
• 2009- Too many long runs, cross-training was perfect, not enough speed work.

So far this year, I maintained a decent endurance base throughout the winter.  Speed work is okay... I managed a 20:30 or so 5k on trails this last weekend.  About a month ago, I ran about 54 miles in a 12 hour race. Since the 12 hour, I've run an 18 miler and a 30 miler.  I just started heavy weight training this week.  I'm doing some tempo run on trails and hill repeats tomorrow.  I'd like to squeeze in one very long run and another back-to-back.  We'll see.

I'm doing the equivalent of cramming for an exam... trying to shoehorn as much training into the next month.  Will it work out?  I'm confident I'll be fine, but I doubt I'll be flirting with a sub-24 finish. :-)

Quick update on my continuing works and brief race report from the Rectifier 5K

Several people have emailed or messaged me regarding the last part of the Mind the Ducks Race report and the Ultramarathons for Lazy Runners series.  I haven't forgotten about either, but I had a more pressing project that I am racing to finish.  

Rest assured, I will have the last part of the Mind the Ducks story posted very soon.  The Ultras for Lazy Runners series will continue shortly after.  

In the interim, I have to post a very brief race report for the Rectifier 5K held in Montague, MI this last Sunday.  This was definitely the best 5K I have ever run.  The atmosphere was spectacular, the course was entertaining, the race director is awesome, and they had beer at the finish.  It felt like an ultramarathon atmosphere with a lot less pain.  

The course was advertised as a "European style" cross country course, which translated to a flat trail with a few large "hills" of dirt, some logs across the trail (some too big to jump over), and a mud/water pit at the end.  

Times were generally slow for a 5K, but I think the crowd was self-selecting.  The non-competitive atmosphere wouldn't attract the sub-15 minute 5K crowd.  I believe the winner finished around 18:10.

Shelly and I both did well.  Had I not hit a "I hate sprinting" wall at the 2.5 mile mark, this could have been close to a 5K PR for me.  

This race is on my "definite" list for next year!

Also, I'm collecting some reviews of "The Barefoot Running Book."  If you are curious what it is and what it is not, check out these reviews:

The Barefoot Running Book Reviews

• 
  
  Pose Coach Ken Schafer's Review
• 
  
  "Living Barefoot" review and Interview
• 
  
  "Chris' Ultra Blog" review
• 
  
  "Last Mile Lounge" blog
• 
  
  "Bottleworld.net" review
• 
  
  "The Whole Way" blog
• 
  
  "Barefoot Angie Bee" blog
• 
  
  Amazon.com reviews
• 
  
  "Barefoot Phil" blog
• 
  
  "Terrible Twos and Running Shoes" blog
• 
  
  "The Whole Way" blog
• 
  
  "2sparrows" blog

Ultramarathon D-Bag of the Year? Looks like we have a winner!

Normally, I am 100% supportive of race directors.  I got a tiny taste of the experience earlier this year, and it is an incredibly stressful, thankless job.  I have tremendous respect for anyone that accepts this challenge.  Well, until now.  

Running and Rambling is one of my favorite blogs.  If you don't read it, you need to check it out.  Donald is a fellow ultrarunner, ardent supporter of the minimalist shoe movement, awesome product reviewer, and all around nice guy.  He recently posted a race report from the Blue Canyon 100k.  He did not finish due to severe heat coupled with a lack of aid station support.  I'll let you read the race report for the details... but I will make a few comments.

In an handful of ultras I've run, aid station supplies have run low.  Mostly it was the result of my "watching grass grow-slow" pace.  Despite the low supplies, the race director and volunteers always made sure there were enough supplies to assure the safety of the participants.  

In the Blue Canyon race, the temps topped 100°!  The fact that aid stations were supposed to be fully-stocked but only carried water is unfortunate, but excusable.  The fact that aid stations ran out of water in those harsh conditions is downright scary!

Still, it was the RD's first race (based on his own comments.)  Again, it was a bad situation that he could hopefully learn from.  At the end of Donald's race report, I was still feeling some empathy for the RD.  Then I read his response to Donald's post [note- grammar has not been corrected]:

Donald

Fortunately we have we have fair skinned/ SPF'd lathered up softies like youit will keep teabags like you away, at least i hope it does 2nd it will help bring in more tough and honorable ultra runners like Maria, Helen, Brooke, Andrew and the rest of the lot that finished to the BCTR start line next year. So keep up the good literature between your bug bite treatments and pedicures. Yes i made some mistakes that made it a bad day for some several runners and i regret that it occurred. No true back country ultra is immune to mistakes and failures. Do my very best to guarantee satisfaction i dont guarantee mistake free/happy results to everybody- not possible! Your flat out wrong about about the so called Gatorade bottle being empty- that's was a ear biting Mike Tyson cheep shot comment. Its actually a 15 gln FDA approved water storage canister and when i returned to the Gibraltar Mine Aid Station on Sunday afternoon i measured 11.5 gallons of water still inside it. There was even a bit of ice still in the cooler full of cold water. Siphon pump worked just fine too, You were probably to busy shushing flies away to have realized that you had to actually take your other finger off your camera shutter button and put in on them on the pump handle. I have read several well written emails that appropriately detail where i went wrong. Honorable ways to pass on the frustration, complaints and positive feedback. Crybaby diatribes like yourNext time get off your ass make something happen like so many of the other entrants did rather than sit around in the lily pond's and bitch and moan. and how about that lame ass email you sent me tonight Please dont think your doing me any favors by giving me the heads up on something you already posted and asking me for my thoughts "post" posting. ouch! that was another Mike Tyson cheap shot below the belt! Donny,
i have always been clear that if your not satisfied with what you paid for then let me know and i am glad to give you your entrants fee back in full, just let me know where you want it sent too. That goes for anybody else who feels like their experience was not worth the fee they paid. If it sounds like i am angry, i am. I angry that mistakes happened and persons like you think your justified to slam us via a blog rather than face to face.

Later Donald who trot around snapping up your photo logs and conjuring up your narratives on how to pat a race on the back or even slam a new races mistakes. Your blog will serve us well in two ways, 1st difficult day in the back country swatting flies, bugs or other things that buzzed around you and ranting about poor aid stations service/ supplies or lack of.

For those that read my senseless writings regularly, you know I have a reverence for the camaraderie of the ultra community.  I have a serious disdain for arrogant assholes with superiority complexes.  

This was a poorly-run race where runners' lives were unnecessarily placed in danger due to a series of mistakes the RD made.  Instead of apologizing profusely, he chose to personally attack Donald.  

For that, sir, you have earned my D-Bag of the Year Award.  The CEO of Road Runner Sports will be presenting the trophy at a brief ceremony in the near future.

A New Anti-Barefoot Running Conspiracy?

Before I get into my paranoia-filled conspiracy theory, I have to reiterate my stance on barefoot running versus shoes:  I believe barefoot running is not for everyone, though most runners could probably benefit from some barefoot training.  Also, shoes aren't inherently bad.  Some people are able to run with near-perfect form in shoes even if they have a 20mm heel-to-toe drop, 3 inches of EVA and gel-padded sole, and encase the foot like an iron boot.  Essentially, shoes are not inherently evil.

I use Google Alerts.  Google scours the Interwebs for predetermined phrases.  The result- I get a daily digest of the instances when certain phrases are published to the 'Web.  It's a method to keep tabs on all things barefoot.  

Over the last few days, a slew (about 20-40) posts have been appearing.  Some appear on brand-new blogs.  Others appear on running store websites (that do not carry minimalist shoes.)  Some appear on random sites unrelated to running or exercise.  

In almost every instance, the post appears to be cut-and-pasted with a few select words changed.  Presumably, this is to increase exposure so the site is not penalized.  I am pretty sure this is an attempt at search engine optimization.  Web techies, is this correct?

Anyway, this is one example of the phrase:

Getting out for a run is a sensible way to get physically fit mainly because it requires very minimal requirements in terms of of amenities and also equipment. The sole facility required will be some open room and the only gear which is required is generally some good jogging shoes. Nonetheless, lately there has been plenty of press consideration directed at the concept of running barefoot. To begin with this could seem to be odd due to the hard roads that people run on. A very small group of runners use barefoot running, yet they make some amazing claims for the rewards for it.

A number of the gains said range from the a far more face to face with the environment feelings, a smaller amount injuries, a lot more muscle mass power and improved function. In addition they believe present day jogging shoes are usually the cause of most of the overuse injuires that are seen in runners. There is, nonetheless not merely one piece of proof that running shoes contribute to injuries and there is additionally no research evidence that barefoot running is actually much better or worse than working out in shoes. There is some research that has researched the actual variations among without footwear and shod jogging, but none of this research has demonstrated any particular one is better than the other, though many in the without shoes groups read it that way.

There is most likely nothing wrong with barefoot running so long that it’s performed moderately as part of a balanced running strategy and time is put in adapting to this slowly and gradually. Too much of a quick transition within any kind of part of the exercise program is likely to result in injury.

So now my conspiracy theory... since it is unlikely so many people over a variety of backgrounds would post this, could this be some sort of "plant" from a known anti-barefoot entity?  Why is the working changed slightly in almost every instance?  It's not necessarily inflammatory like many previous anti-barefoot posts, which is probably more effective at dissuading people from trying barefoot running.  

Am I just too paranoid?

What Would the Perfect Minimalist Shoe Look Like: An open letter to shoe manufacturers

Dear sir or madam:

Thank you for your recent foray into the minimalist shoe market.  I appreciate your attempt at entering this market.  Some of your competitors are begrudgingly digging in their figurative heels despite the growing body of evidence that the modern running shoe may not be appropriate for everyone.  

Your shoe is certainly pretty; aesthetics are clearly a high priority.  Your marketing is flashy.  The use of barefoot runners in your advertisements shows an awareness of your intended market. 

I do have one complaint, however.  Your shoes kinda suck.  The shoe, like it's heavily cushioned, corrective siblings, has a raised heel.  This still forces runners to run in a constant state of plantarflexion. [thanks for catching that, Rob!]

Your shoe also has a narrow toe box.  My foot width is barely a "B."  I have Kate Moss-esque feet.  Despite my freakishly-thin feet, my toes still are not allowed to splay inside the shoe.

You have arch supports.  I'm neither an architect, physicist, engineer, nor a carpenter, but I'm pretty sure I understand the basics of an arch.  if you support it from below, it weakens.  Our feet play by the same rules.

 I know you will argue that these elements of shoes are necessary for protection.  Maybe this is the problem- without a good selection of true minimalist shoes, children are forced to wear large, overly cushioned, supportive shoes that weaken our feet.  Those children grow into adults with weak, injury-prone feet.  I know this perspective is controversial, so I did some research.

I was digging around on the American Podiatric Medical Association's website.  As it turns out, the APMA recommends children go barefoot or walk around in socks because it "... helps the foot grow normally and develop its musculature and strength, as well as the grasping action of the toes."  

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose sight of the concept of our feet needing the stimulation of movement to maintain health.  Perhaps you could begin to play a role in reversing this trend.  Perhaps you could begin producing true minimal shoes.  Your current attempts at producing said shoes is just diluting the lethal injection of atrophy we've come to expect from the rest of your lineup.  

If you would like assistance designing a quality minimalist shoe, follow these simple tips:

1a. The sole must be thin, completely flat, and flexible.  No raised heel.  No cushioning.  Let's save the EVA for headboard padding. 

1b. The sole should not curve upward.  Look at the shape of the foot.  Do toes curve upward?  That's just silly.

2. The toe box must be wider than our toes to allow them to move within the shoe.  If I cannot freely wiggle my toes, the toe box is too narrow.

3. The upper must be flexible.  Heavy materials, plastic, and rhinestones have no place on footwear.

4. The arch cannot be supported.  See comment above.

That's it.  That would be the perfect shoe.  If you need a beta tester (or whatever the equivalent is referred to in the shoe world), I'll volunteer.  I like giving constructive criticism.

Don't worry about alienating the rest of your customers.  You can still continue manufacturing your miniature foot coffins.  Lots of people use them without problems.  An entire generation has grown up under the misguided premise that the human foot is fundamentally flawed... we cannot expect their weak, atrophied feet to make a quick transition.  Keep pumping out your corrective pillows and your gimmicky "shape ups" to keep them blissfully happy.

For the rest of us, give us what we so desperately want... a shoe that makes us forget we're wearing shoes. 

Signed,

A random humor-challenged blogger with an unhealthy concern for feet