Akron Marathon Relay

This past Saturday I participated in my first big running event, ever.  Even though I have been running for nearly two decades, I never made it 15 minutes down the road in Akron to be apart of the Akron Marathon and one of its running events.  This year, I was finally able to find a relay team to run on.

Approximately 16,000 runners ran in the event in some capacity this year, whether it was the full or half marathon, or the 5 person relay team.  The picture above doesn't do justice to the amount of people gathered on N. Broadway St. just before 7am to get ready to race.

There were so many people, that Eric and I stood at the starting line to watch everyone take off.  We stood there for almost 10 minutes for the last person cross the starting line.

I ran the 5th leg of the relay, a 7.9 mile run from the top of Sand Run Park through neighborhoods, including a quick run through Stan Hewitt Gardens and into downtown.  I felt good most of the way, except the few times that I choked on the water I tried drinking at the water stations. Turns out throwing water at your open mouth isn't the best way to get it down.
I got to try out the Saucony Progrid Kinvara 2 shoes for the first time in a race (next month I try out the Nike Frees in a race).  They just so happen to match my outfit, with the neon green shoes, shirt, and black running shorts with the neon green stripe.  The only thing out of place was the red bandana I had on my head.
I felt my pace was good through the first 5 miles, right around the 8 minute mark, if not a bit faster.  One of the things I wasn't prepared for was that the first 6 miles of my 8 mile run was a constant run uphill. Sure, the last 2 miles was straight down into downtown, but it was a slow climb that eventually took its toll on my legs.
My training for this race wasn't what it should have been.  My longest training run was between 5 1/2 and 6 miles, 2 miles shorter than the race itself.  I also have been battling a knee injury that I am going to get checked out this week. More on that later.

Between miles 6 and 7, I used the downhills to my advantage, or at least, to the best advantage I could get. The last mile was probably the most brutal mile I have ever run.  Once I crossed the finish line, getting my team a sub 4 hour time, my arms, legs, and feet were all numb.  My legs and feet were the worst, with my feet the worst overall. I am sure it was due to me stopping running and my feet swelling a bit in my shoes that were tied on tight.

One of the coolest part of the race was the finish.  We finished the race by running down Main St. and into the back of the Akron Aeros stadium.  They opened up the doors in center field and you ran toward the crowd sitting in the stands.

With all this being said, and the pain I had from running just 8 miles, I caught the bug.  I am already starting to increase my mileage to prep myself for a marathon run next year at Akron.  The sights, sounds, fans, and the other runners make you want to get out there and do it yourself.  I had already planned on running a marathon soon, as I want to qualify for Boston some day, but this just sealed the deal for me even more.

The Expo

Friday night was the Road Runner Akron Marathon Expo in downtown Akron at the Knight Center.  I met up with Eric, the 4th leg of our 5 man relay team, at the Expo to get him registered and check out the Expo itself.

I have never been to a running event Expo, and to be honest, I was kind of disappointed with it.  It was too crowded, with everyone shuffling along to get their technical running shirt at the end.  There were many shops set up with running gear to buy, along with Bath Fitter. I mean hell, why not have a Bath Fitter booth? Dumb....

The biggest disappointment was not seeing any of the special guests there, including some Biggest Loser contestants, and the person I really wanted to see, Hal Higdon.

Next year I will try to attend the Expo a bit earlier in the day and perhaps go by myself or some other runners to spend time at some of the booths there.

Why Run Barefoot?

When you run barefoot, you take shorter, quicker steps because you are using your feet as feelers to feel things on the ground. You also dont land on your heel when you run barefoot. Your toes splay out, as if they are reaching for the ground.  In shoes, they can't do that. Your feet are actually pushing through your shoe to feel the ground, but it can't because of all that cushion in your shoes.

Think of it this way. If your kid was running down the street and was in need of you to get to her ASAP, and you had NO shoes on, how would you run? Landing midfoot, rolling from the outside of your foot through your pinky toe to your big toe then push off, and shorter steps, with your feet landing underneath you. You would run tall, hips underneath you, back straight, with light steps.

Also, think about your heel, there are no muscles, no tendons, just bone. The heel was not meant to be landed on. Now, your feet have a ton of tendons, or, rubberbands, that pull and stretch. You arch has them, your achilles is a major one. Point your toes toward your knees, no relax them. Your achilles pulls it back, just like if you were pulling a rubberband then letting it snap back.

If you find the right minimal shoe, shorten your stride (more on that in a minute), and build strength in your feet, no more IT band issues, plantar fasciitis or any other running injury for that matter.

No, how do you shorten your stride? Couple of ways, first, start running for 30 seconds, counting each time your feet touch the ground. Multiply that by 2. Ideally, it should be at 180. Quicker turnover, feet landing underneath you and not in front of you. Then, Google 180 beats per minute for songs. There are a ton of good songs out there that have 180 beats per minute. Run to that cadence. You will be running the same speed, just more steps.

Shoe Review: Saucony Kinvara 2

Saucony Kinvara 2

The Saucony Kinvara 2, one of my two newest minimalist runnng shoes, is a fantastic go between for the runner interested in transitioning to barefoot running.  The first thing you might notice is the flashy color. Yes, I am somewhat of a flashy style runner.  But then again, I don't know many distance runners who aren't flashy.  We are a different breed.  But that is a different topic for a different post.

I first learned of the Saucony Kinvara 2 from Runblogger in May when I was looking for a couple pairs of shoes to help me convert from the modern running shoe to a more minimal style shoe.  As you can see from the picture, there is a layer of mesh beneath a thin layer of what I can only describe as a very thin translucent plastic of some kind.  Both of these features help reduce the overall weight of the shoe, which, for my size 14s, is just under 10oz, much lighter than my old Asics size 14s at 16oz.  The heel drop is at 4mm, allowing the runner to use more of a mid-foot strike rather than a heel-toe strike.  The heel drop is basically the difference in height of the heel and the toe.  The closer to zero, the more the shoe allows the runner to run naturally and take the heel out of the running equation (more on that in a future post).

The sole of the Kinvara is like something I have never seen before.  The midfoot to toe part of the shoe has rubber triangles, which extend slightly past the EVA sole (the white part).  EVA is basically a lightweight polymer.  The toe has a small piece of rubber for less wear on the shoe at toe off.  The heel has these same triangles, but also has a bit more rubber that wraps around the outside of the heel.

These shoes are meant to be worn with no socks.  One of the nicest features about the shoe is the added padding around the back of the ankle in the Achilles tendon area.  It more or less wraps the shoe around the ankle, adding comfort to an area that could get some blisters running with no socks.

The ride of the shoe is very nice.  The shoe has enough padding to protect my feet from the asphalt and rocks.  The toebox provides ample room for your toes to splay, rather than squished together.  The low heel drop has also helped me make changes to my gait, allowing me to land on the outside of my midfoot and roll in from small toe to big toe and push off.  Rarely do I land on the heel in these shoes, which is probably good seeing how there is little padding in the heel.  The only downside to the shoe that I can see in the future is the EVA foam wearing out more quickly around the edges.

Nice shine!

Overall, I would recommend this shoe to anyone looking for a lightweight, everyday trainer.  The shoe can be used for short to long runs.  Whether you are a minimalist fan or not, this shoe will work for anybody.

Born to Run

Over my recent vacation in the Outer Banks I read a book called "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen."  I got the book because of all the craze I had heard about it.  See, over the past well, I'd say 6 months, I have been hooked on the new minimalist shoe craze that is going on.  More and more research is coming out pointing to our modern shoes as being the reason why almost 70% of runners at any level will have at least one running related injury.  This book speaks a lot about this new fad and reasons behind why we were all born to run, and, to run barefoot. 

It puts you on the inside of the Tarahumara tribe, a Mexican tribe that lives in the Copper Canyons in Northern Mexico.  These people, from ages 12 to 90, run on a daily basis.  And not just a few miles here and there, but they will go on races of nearly 100 miles.  It also gives you insight on trail running and ultra running, and some of their most famous races, such as the Leadville 100, Western States 100, and Badwater, a 135 mile race in Death Valley, where the temperatures are so hot, that runners have to run on the white lines of the blacktop, because if they don't, the bottoms of their shoes will slowly melt.

Now, some of you might be reading this and saying that you are not born to run, or that we as humans were not meant to run.  Think about it this: We run when we’re scared, we run when we’re ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time. There’s something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. When you were a kid, you probably did a lot of running, and, you probably did a lot of running barefoot.  It was fun, you ran to your neighbors house, you played tag, or some other activity where you did a lot of running.  You didn't care if you were good or bad at it, you just had fun doing it.  That is the problem with the modern runner, they forgot what it was like to run as a kid and how much FUN it was!  These days, running is about losing weight or money, and a lot of people dread having to do it. That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind’s first fine art, our original act of inspired creation. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.  


Just move your legs. Because if you don’t think you were born to run, you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are. - Dr. Dennis Bramble. 


This post is just the first of many in my series on explaining why humans were born to run, and why we should do it barefoot.  Please comment if you feel the need to, I like hearing other people's opinions on running and barefoot running. 

My Shoes are Catching Up to Me

I recently bought two new pairs of "running only" shoes, the Nike Free 3.0 V2 and the Saucony ProGrid Kinvara 2.  Both shoes are part of the new "minimalist running" or "barefoot running" shoe line.  I wouldn't exactly call them barefoot running shoes, as there are plenty of other shoes, such as the Vibram Fivefingers, that are much more like barefoot running.  Without getting too in-depth tonight, as I want to review each shoe individually, I'll touch briefly on the shoe features.

I have been using both sets of shoes for a few weeks now for my marathon training.  Slowly, I have been logging miles in running more on my mid-foot, with my toes pointed down, rather than pointed up with a typical running shoe.  I used to be more of a heal striker, landing on my heal first and rolling my foot from heal to toe while running.  Striking on my mid-foot allows me to shorten my stride, lessen the blow on my bones and joints, and lets me run in a more natural way.

Anyway, they finally caught up to me.  My legs finally feel like crap.  My calves feel it the most, with some bigtime soreness in the middle of my calves.  I was 1/3 of the way through my speed intervals tonight and had to just stop.

If you have read this, my second daily posting, I appreciate you sticking around.  My shoe reviews, plus a page on barefoot/minimalist running and its benefits will be updated as well soon.

Waking up to Run

So I am in the first stages of my training program for my first marathon this fall (2011).  I have been running mainly at night after work, but while some of you may or may not know, I walk upwards of 10-12 miles a day at work.  Tacking on anywhere from 4-5 or 10 miles after work or on the weekend takes a toll on my legs, at least at night.  In the past, I have had good success running with fresh legs in the morning.  My only issue is, getting out of that comfy bed at 5:30am to get in my miles before work.
I managed to crawl out of bed at 6:00am this morning to get a short run in, allowing myself to do strictly short sprints or strides tonight after work while Morgan was riding her bike.  Yep, two-a-days, running style.  Since I work full-time, go to graduate school, and spend time with my family (and the honey-do list of course), I had to find a way to get both my long runs in while also working on speed to help improve my turnover.

I am going to keep this post short, as it is the first of this new blog I am using, turning away from the previous one I used over at Wordpress (withoutlimitsblog.wordpress.com).

I just uploaded new pictures of the shoes I am reviewing, the Nike Free 3.0 V2  and the Saucony ProGrid Kinvara, and should have those reviews posted within the next day or so.  Thus far, both have been a great pair of shoes for moving more toward a natural stride.