Fed up with ordinaryExtra ordinary is where it's at

Today, Smack and I walked from Edale, up Jacob’s Ladder to Kinder Scout and back. It was a fantastic route with a little off piste trekking too. That had nothing to do with mis-reading the map you understand…

The route was about 13 miles in all and was definitely good strength training. Jacob’s Ladder was a killer!

My legs were really tired at the end of the walk, I’d only done my 10km the previous day! But the views were amazing. Stunning. Well, words can’t describe it or do it justice.

All finished off with a nice cool pint of lager in the Nag’s Head.

The only downside was that I went over on my ankle and twisted it. Let’s hope that it heals quickly.

Today I passed a major milestone in my journey. I ran my first 10km or 6.2 miles! That puts me a little ahead of schedule as I was planning to do my 10km at the end of October.

I ran 6.4 miles in total in just under an hour and I’m pretty pleased to say the least!

It was actually much easier than I’d expected too. I was tired at the end but but exhausted. My legs were not cramping and I’d run through some early stitches.

It may be worth noting that I was back in my flat trail shoes. No built up heels in sight and I had no pains in my legs, hips, knees or ankles.

My next target is a 10 mile run out to Burbage and back.

Last night I went on my second short run of the week. A 4 miler through Endcliffe Park to Forge Dam and back. The previous day I’d done the same run and it was easy. This time though it was rock hard.

So what was the difference?

Well, apart from being the second day in a row I’d run, it was also at 5pm. I’d not eaten since lunch time and was still in the post lunch dip to be honest. The previous day I’d got up, had a banana and a coffee and then gone out about 30 minutes later. Obviously my energy levels are much higher first thing. After a day at the office I was obviously drained.

I think I’ll avoid running at that time in the future.

On another topic, yesterday I started to develop a pain in my left hip. It occurred randomly as I was walking home from work. It was a sharp, shooting pain up into my hip socket. It’s come back a few times since and is definitely linked to posture in some way as it’s started when turning or sitting.

I’m going to try running in my flat shoes again as I did find my running shoes caused pain in my ankle yesterday. I’ve checked them and the have padding on the outside of the foot. This has the effect of twisting my foot so that it lands on the inside (with my big toe) noticeably earlier than the outside of my foot.

When I let the shoe dictate my foot position I started getting pain in my ankle. When I worked against it and tried to level my foot, the pain went. Perhaps this is linked to the hip pain? I don’t know for sure at this stage but it’s a bit of a worry as I’m only just starting my training really and issues at this stage could really affect my training. Something to watch for sure.

This week I’m mostly weighing 13st 10lb.

So that’s a 1lb gain from last week which is a bit disappointing but I feel trimmer (should that be ‘more trim’?) so it’s not all bad.

I’m still not experiencing increased energy levels that people say you get when you do more exercise. In fact I’m tired. All the time! Is that normal? When does this extra energy kick in or is that just some myth created to get people to do more exercise?

I was watching a programme on TV the other night (Daredevils: The Ice Man) and someone said that a marathon is an endurance run that most people will never achieve.

But looking at events such as the London Marathon you see thousands and thousands of people running (or walking or crawling). Are marathons as elite as the show made out?

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Today I started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I’ve read a lot about it and am intrigued by the accounts of the Tarahumara I’ve read.

Christopher is a writer for Men’s Health and you can see a section of the book in an article on the Men’s Health website. It’s a long article with 6 pages but easy to read. I’d recommend giving it a go.

I’m really tempted to radically change my diet too, possibly even cutting out meat for all but special occasions. If you know me at all you’ll know that isn’t a decision I would take lightly!

I’ll post updates to my thoughts on the book as I progress…

Today’s run was back in my old running shoes. This was the comparative test to see if there was any difference between running in flat shoes with no cushioning and normal running shoes.

It’s hardly the most scientific test in the world I know but it has given me some interesting things to think about.

Putting my running shoes on I instantly noticed that I felt like I was wearing high heels (don’t that I know what that feels like you understand). The heel felt really high and as I started running I noticed my stride was different. I was obviously heel striking and it didn’t feel great. I could overcome this but it took a lot of concentration to ensure I ran more “naturally”.

As with my last run, running felt easier, obviously partly due to increased fitness but also I believe to concentrating on technique. I tried again to follow the Chi Running aspects of keeping a level pelvis and leaning forward from the hips. What I found was that with traditional running shoes this was more of an effort than it was in my flat shoes.

As regards the cushioning, I didn’t feel like I was loosing out due to not being able to feel the ground like in my flat, non-cushioned shoes. Nor did my feet feel more comfortable.

I did 4.6 miles in total and at the end I felt the majority of effort had been in my calves, just like my previous run, and I had no stress in my knees at all. I’m almost certain now that the having a “high” heel causes an unnatural running position, which is more stressful and less efficient.

Oh this question is a hard one to answer!

I’ve done a lot of reading about the benefits of barefoot running and as you’ll know, I’m very swayed by the arguments that say the human foot is designed for running so why do we need major cushioned soles? Running in my minimal shoes hasn’t hurt my feet at all and it didn’t seem to place any strain anywhere else. I can’t run in these as they don’t fit snugly and give me blisters.

So I’d love to try a pair of FiveFingers but in the UK they’re almost £100.

If I knew they’d be the right shoe for me I’d buy them but I haven’t got £100 to spend on a pair of the wrong shoes!

Perhaps I need to create a FiveFingers fund and do odd jobs to save up for some. Anyone want a website doing?

The other night I had a dream about running. After many hours Internet research, I’d decided to try running in shoes with no cushioning in. I have a pair of Hi-Tec trainers that have very thin soles and so I tried them.

I set off for my run and the next thing I realised I’d run for hours and wasn’t even tired! Running this close to barefoot was effortless and a joy.

Back in the real world, when I woke up on Sunday morning I knew running with no cushioning wouldn’t be effortless but I decided to give it a try. Sunday is my long run day in my schedule and I was aiming for my revised (down) long run target of 4.5 miles.

At this stage, while I’m gaining a level of fitness quickly, it’s hard to tell what is from getting fitter and what is due to style, shoes or technique, but… As soon as I set out I noticed a difference. Without a padded sole, I really couldn’t land on my heel because it hurt and felt unnatural. Instead I was landing mid/fore foot. Also, possibly related, I felt like I was lifting my feet the minimum needed to clear the ground, rather than lifting them high.

The whole thing seemed very lazy and I felt a bit self conscious. I must have looked like I was really knackered and struggling! But I wasn’t. It was easy.

Previously, the first 10 minutes have been hard. Getting my body warmed up and into running mode made me out of breath and it was difficult to do. This time I had none of that at all. I got into a rhythm and felt really good and feeling the ground underneath my feet was nice. I’m not sure it gave me any more grip or whatever but it felt good.

I did 4.9 miles in total and could easily have gone 6 miles. I was faster too, 47 minutes. Less than a week ago I’d done 4.2 miles in 47 minutes. As I said, the run being easier and fast could easily have been due to increased fitness but it’s only been a week. Could I have got that much better in two runs and a week? I don’t know.

After the run my legs felt very different. My thighs felt as though they had hardly been used. But my calves ached. They still do but only when I’m not using them. As soon as I walk the aching goes.

Reading online it seems the ache in my calves is because I’m landing on the front of my foot, the calf muscles take the impact rather than my knees. This seems to make sense and fits with how I feel.

The only downside I had was that my Hi-Tec trainers are not a tight a fit as my running shoes and I got a small blister on my left foot.

Today is my rest day but tomorrow I’m off out in my running shoes to compare results this time. I’m trying for another 4.5 miles in the same time as yesterday. Hopefully that should enable me to tell what is from shoes and what is from fitness.

Today we had the inaugural meeting of the team – the confirmed members are Smack, Rich, John-Paul (JP) and me.

It was great to get together this morning in Caffe Nero and start sharing this experience. For me it was good to be able to get some of the issues and thoughts I’ve had out of my head.

We didn’t agree much, if anything it raised even more issues to be thought about, but just getting together and chatting was great. This now feels like the start of the journey!

I do worry a little bit thought that the others will see this as my run that they’re joining, rather than it being our run. I’ve had longer to think about this and because I’m naturally outspoken (or gobby if you prefer) I need to watch that I give the others a chance to make it their run too.