Today marked a small milestone in my recent training log. After being knocked on my butt for a the better part of a week by a head cold, I have now logged four days in a row. It's a small victory but each day has been 15 minutes longer than the previous so that I am up to 1:15. Today was not super-cold according to the thermometer but it felt much colder on the skin. It also felt slow. After last week, who cares!? I'm happy to be running. It is such a critical part of my life that living without for more than a few days wears on me. One advantage of the chill in the air was that last night's mud was this mornings solid ground.
The last few runs (both before and after the hiatus) were completed in the New Balance MT 101's. Admittedly, I was skeptical at first but have since become a fan. My dad and I discuss running shoes and techniques at length and I think I've convinced him that less is more, which is one of the features I appreciate about the 101's. From what I can tell, the heel and forefoot are roughly the same height. As such, they give a similar benefit to running barefoot but with the added protection of a rock guard under the forefoot. After reading "Born to Run" my dad is sold on the idea that heel striking is generally not a good thing. Ironically, wearing through the heel of two paris of Nike Kantaras a few years back didn't bear much weight. Nonetheless, he's a fan now. Growing up in Alamosa and doing our fall cross-country training at Cole Park, we ran barefoot on the grass all fall. We did not do it because we were trying to be "minimalists" or make a statement, it just felt good and we could run faster without shoes. The occasional twig, mud, gravel helped us toughen up our feet. As I recall, I only had one major injury during my years running high school cross-country or track and that was a season where we didn't spend much time at the park. I was also running in a pair of Saucony Procyons. The heel on those was quite a bit higher than the forefoot and, to make matters worse, the heel was PU and I believe the forefoot was EVA. I liken this to pulling a cement mixer behind a sedan. The upper on the 101's isn't the most comfortable I've worn but it is fine with a pair of Smartwool socks. I've yet to take them out on a "hardcore" trail but they've handled the roads around our house better than I expected. Gravel tends to penetrate the forefoot of most shoes but not these. I really enjoy my Vibram KSO's on wooded trails but there is a huge compromise in speed when running on any sort of rocky surface, including country roads with crusher fines. They're great around town or on a treadmill.
The treadmill is an interesting place for the Vibrams. The smart runner uses that winter training device to improve his form. If you listen when running on a treadmill you'll either hear yourself clomping along (the hollow space under the machine makes it act like a drum) or you, hopefully, won't hear yourself at all. I call this "quiet running." A person would really have to have some ninja skills to run silently but it's a nice goal. The idea is to run as fast as you can as quietly as you can. This is achievable outdoors as well, especially on crunchy trails. If you breathe with your mouth a little more open than usual, you can silence your breathing and then try to eliminate any noise from your footfall. A few summers ago, I was practicing this technique on Miner's Creek Trail in Creede, CO and actually startled a deer while I was running at almost full speed. I arrived within arms length before I realized she was there and slammed on the breaks. The sound of the gravel scared her off but, had I been a cougar, she would have been an easy meal. I wonder how many mountain lions have thought this of me. It's probably better not to know. "Quiet running" outside is a treat, to me. On a windless day, without the sounds of my feet and breathing I have a sense of flying through the trees. After a few minutes, a person becomes keenly aware of every twig crunching in a bush just out of view or barking marmot standing on a rock. These are the runs that you never want to end.
Musically, things are progressing towards an upcoming recording session. I am preparing a little Mozart, Strauss, Stravinsky, Mahler and more. I've spent a good amount of time on each of these and am pretty ready to put them aside for a little while and eat some turkey.
Today was far from a "perfect" day but definitely a good day in both categories. Anyone in the Durango area is invited to the First United Methodist Church on the evening before Thanksgiving for an ecumenical service featuring an all-comers choir. If you have any inner American Idols needing exercising, please come and join us at 5:30. I'll be conducting the choir on a piece called "A Simple Thanksgiving" by Joseph Martin. There will be homemade pie following the service. Win-win!
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