ellipticizing with mizunos

My left heel is still tender from the blisters I got from running a half marathon this weekend with my vff’s.  I really hate blisters.  They sure can ruin a workout, eh?  They suck.

I did 45 minutes on my elliptical this evening while watching Resident Evil.  Two lingering blisters, both on my left foot were annoying me during the workout even, though, I was using running shoes.  The two blisters are one on my heel and the other on the ball of my foot, right smack in the center.

After I got off the elliptical I went onto Vibrams site and ordered two pairs of Injinji socks.  I paid $12 for each pair.  That’s highway robbery but I paid it nevertheless. I’m hoping that these socks will eliminate that little friction that exist between my skin and the vff’s and, thus, no more blisters.  I bought two pairs because just having one pair seems fruitless.  This way I’ll always have one fresh, clean pair.  Also, I hope it will stop the dang shoes from stinking so much.  I really should contact Vibram about that smell factor.  They said it has this anti-stink thing but that’s a fib.

I washed my vff’s today and hung them out to dry.  In between the toes is where the bad nasty foot smell seems to originate from.  Now, they are clean, though, and smell great.  You can eat out of my v5f’s if you wanted to -that’s how clean they are.  Hopefully, the socks will keep the v5f’s from stinking too.  What do you think?

washed v5f's

I am going to continue focusing my running with the 5 fingers after all -at least for the next two months.  I want to see how far and how fast I can get with these suckers.  In 2008, I was running a 6 1/2 minute pace for up to a half marathon.  This past weekend, I ran a 7:52 pace for the half with the v5f’s.  I want to see if I can get back to a 6 1/2 pace with the vff’s.  And, I want to see if I can build up to a marathon with them.  If by the end of March I’m not running a sub 7 pace and cranking out the 15 to 20 mile runs with the vff’s I’m going to go back to the conventional running shoe.  I think that’s a fair amount of time to give these suckers a try.  Don’t you think?  Well, I do.

renoir and the vff

Until I get this blistered foot to heal my running is on hold I’m afraid -at least, with the vff’s.  I’ll see how I’m doing tomorrow and decide then if I’ll run with them.  I’ll run with my conventional running shoes, my mizunos, until the injinji socks arrive.  “Injinji”  what does that mean?  Is there a reason for naming a sock “injinji“?  Seriously, what does that mean?  It sounds like some movie starring Robin Williams.  Do I sound a bit agitated?  I think I do.  And, I think I may be coming off as seeming a bit agitated in this blog, eh?  Yeah.  It does seem that way.  And, you know what?  I am a bit agitated.  Sorry.  I wish I wasn’t.  Blisters just agitate me.  Having to spend $28.00 plus shipping for two pairs of socks in hopes of reducing blisters with my vff’s does kind of agitate me.  I’m having to spend a bit of money to test out these vff’s.  So far, I will say that I like them.  I like them a lot but it has taken some time to get used to running with basically reinforced foot gloves.  Two more months.  That’s what I’ll give them.  And, I’ll keep on posting here about them both pros and cons.  I believe in a fair review.  In the end, though, what will it matter?  Will you decide to buy a pair of vff’s or chuck them at what my final review may be of these “wacky” looking shoes are all about and what you can do with them?  Probably not but it’ll be a fun project/experience…with lots of cool pictures, I assure you.

the burial of the vff by El Greco

So, what’s my next deal?  Well, tomorrow I will run 6 to 8 miles with my beloved mizunos and then hit the dairy farm with Isabella.  I’m itching to get back outside and run.  I think I’ll run in thunderbolt tomorrow.  Its close to home, quiet and peaceful.  Maybe, I’ll see some zombies at the cemetery and hopefully, Milla Jovovich, will join me in some zombie butt-kicking fun.  She is so dang hot.  I bet Milla would look great in vff’s.  Until then, though, I’ll just wrap up this blog and finish watching Resident Evil.

Van Gogh loved VFF's

Thank you for taking the time to read my running blog.  I hope you like the artsy pictures I took this evening.  I’m very proud of them.

All the best,

peace,

dh

02/09/2010

before the tybee 1/2

Two days after I ran the tybee half marathon with my v5f’s and my calves still hurt and I have blisters on the bottoms of my feet at the heels and the balls of the feet.  It kind of sucks.

I hit the gym after work and did more talking than lifting.  That’s never good.  I did manage to squeeze in 4 sets of bench, 3 sets of military, 4 sets of dumbell curls, 3 sets of lateral raises, 5 sets of leg press and several other exercises but it took me over an hour to do this because I just ran my mouth about the tybee half marathon experience as well as the future of me running with the vibram 5 fingers.  Also talked about the prayer flag project.

God bless Texas

Speaking of the prayer flag project there are now two in Savannah.  The first is at the end of the rails to trails, of course.  The other is a mystery.  The other prayer flag project location is called the prayer flag annex and its for me to know and you to find out.  So, go find it.  When you find it hang a prayer flag for me, please.  And, I’ll hang a prayer flag for you.  Cool?  Cool.

After I left the gym I went the grocery store, bought some milk, oj, cereal, a pound of almonds, a five pound basket of clementines and almost bought some eggs but they all looked like crap.  I also bought a lottery ticket at the grocery store.  I think I bought the only winning lottery ticket for Tuesday’s drawing.  So, I’ll have $32 million some time this week.  That should be cool.  I think I’ll buy a pair of vibram 5 fingers for each day of the week.

I hit the gym today without my v5f’s.  Instead, I worked out with my mizunos.  It felt weird to exercise without the v5f’s.  I’m really getting hooked on these 5 fingers.  That’s weird.  I met a fellow 5 fingerer at the gym and we talked about the 5 finger experience – how cool it is.  My whole world is turning into this 5 finger experience.  I cannot seem to get away from the 5 fingers.  What’s going on?  The world’s going mad, I tell you.

Any way, I did not work out with the 5 fingers because #1, I have bad blisters on my feet (as I mentioned before and, #2, because my 5 fingers stink like the lowest pit of hell.  Yes, they do.  They smell like dirty socks and dirty armpits and an unbathed homeless person – all combined.  They are nasty.  I don’t know how they ever got to that point where they stink so much but they do.  I thought it was other people around me that were smelling bad but I discovered quickly that it was my nasty 5 fingers.  How does that happen?  The advertisement said that the v5f’s have some kind of anti-stink chemical or something on them.  That’s hog wash.  Mine stink to high heaven.  I’m suing!

So, I have to wash my 5 fingers because they stink like an clogged up toilet at work.

barefoot ellipticalling

When I did get home I did jump on my elliptical in my bare feet and squeezed out 31 minutes on that before my feet could tolerate it no more.  The blisters on my heels burst and that was all she wrote.  I got off the elliptical and said, “no mas”.  I ate a bowl of cereal with 2 clementines and two bananas and two glasses of bare foot pinot noir.  Today, seemed to be a day of two’s, it would seem.

I hope that my feet feel better tomorrow because I am really itching to run – smelly 5 fingers and all.

Ok, thanks for taking the time to read my somewhat of a running blog.  I’m sorry, I’m just not with it this evening.  I’m tired and I just want to go bed.  I just had a drink about an hour ago and it went straight to my…head…or….brain?  I cannot remember the rest of the song.

Tomorrow, I’m going to show you how to make a jambalaya like the one I made this weekend.  So, stayed tuned.  Tomorrow will be special.  I will be sharing with you a running blog/jambalaya making blog experience extraordinaire!

btw, we had frost this morning.

frosty windshield

Ok, one last picture.  I leave you with a pic of me by Tupac’s car…

Oh, what the heck, here’s an art exhibit I saw at the dairy farm.  The dairy farm is becoming so artsy…

dairy farm art exhibit

All the best,

Take care and God bless,

peace,

dh

02/08/2010

At the finish!

Well, I ran the Tybee 1/2 marathon today using my vibram 5 fingers.  And, I finished the race with a better time than I expected.  My time was 1:43:13.  I figured I would finish closer to two hours.  So, I’m happy but not my feet.  My feet are very upset with me.  If I don’t watch myself they will kick me hard!  I have burst blisters on each foot in the middle of the ball of the foot.

my v5f's at the end of the 1/2 marathon

I’m very happy and satisfied to have finished the 1/2 and with a time much better than I expected.  I didn’t doubt that I would finish but I did not know what to expect of my feet at the end of the race.  On my tweeter account I joked around with other runners about my feet falling off during the race or, that I would look like the peg-legged dude on the front of the Tybee run shirt by the time I dragged across the finish line.  Thankfully, two little burst blisters and just tired, aching feet was the outcome.  Not bad really.  If you want to hear about bad, I should perhaps tell you about the 100 miler I did in 2008 in 24 hrs & 12 minutes.  That was bad!  Both of my feet were like one great, big, nasty blister with another blister over the blisters!  It was rough.  After I took off my shoes (after the 100 miler) I couldn’t put them back on because my feet were so swollen.  That’s why I say that this 1/2 was painful but I’ve been more uncomfortable before during a race.  So, I’m glad that I did the run with the v5f’s but I want to focus on my conventional running shoes more now.

Next month, there will be the NYC Marathon Lottery and I hope that my number is picked.  If my number is picked I will focus almost entirely on the conventional running for that marathon.  If I do not get picked then, I don’t know.  There are some other races coming up but they are small.  I’m thinking seriously about doing a 50 miler over the summer and that will be using conventional running shoes.

Before the race. there were about 1200 runners

So, will I make the transition completely to minimalist running with the v5f’s?  I’m not sold on this movement completely…not yet.  For some people the use of the v5f’s has become almost cultish.  I’m not an easy convert.  I do enjoy the feeling of running almost barefoot and I think there are many benefits to it but I still like regular running shoes, you know what I mean?  I mean, I love my Mizunos!  They are awesome shoes.

a strange face in the crowd

I saw one guy before the race that had some 5 fingers on.  We shook hands and wished each other luck.  I’m not sure how many runners ran with 5 fingers but I can tell you that I had about a dozen people run alongside me and ask about the experience of running with these shoes.  I told them all the same thing – “if you decide to give these a try give yourself some time to get used to them”.  Its taken me almost two months to get used to them some what but I’m still not there.  It taxes your calves something intense!  If I keep running with these shoes I’m going to have some badass calves.  The girls will be drooling over my calves.

my number 511 - remember it;)

Brian Welch, he’s a running buddy of mine that I’ve mentioned in my blogs several times.  He had a great race.  He finished the 1/2 in 1:26:14.  That is an awesome time!  That dude is amazing.  He’s also 49 freakin years old!  I’ve never met anyone as driven as Brian.  This is the man that just 18 months ago had over a dozen blood clots in his legs and lung.  This is the man that was told that he would never run again.  He is now free of blood clots and running stronger than he ever has.  I admire this guy so much.  Way to go Brian!

coffee, cookie and 5 fingers

After my run today I stopped at Starbucks on Victory and Skidaway (my favorite starbucks) and bought a venti coffee and a great big chocolate chip cookie.  I savored that cookie and coffee.  And, while sitting there at the shop minding my own business enjoying my cookie several people walked up and asked me about the race at Tybee and about my “funny” looking shoes.  I have a twitter friend that refers to my v5f’s as those “silly” shoes.  God bless her!  She’s been such an encouraging person.  Thanks Kim!  You mean more to me than you realize.  Actually the twitter community tends to be very friendly, supportive and encouraging.  I have twitter runner friends from Utah, Savannah, Oregon, South Carolina, Brooklyn, Texas and, we all encourage each other.  Its really cool.  One of my twitter friends, who’s also a facebook friend, Tim Waz ran the Hilton Head Island 1/2 marathon and kicked butt completely on that race.  His time was 1:34 & some seconds.  Way to go Tim!  I’m looking forward to running with your group in the Spring!  Tim heads the Palmetto pacers running club.

Ok, here are the race results for the Tybee 1/2 marathon and 5 k: Race Results

the fleet feet frog

And, above is a picture of the fleet feet frog.  Fleet Feet, as always, put together a great event!  Those guys are totally awesome but next time that I participate in another one of their packet stuffing parties I would like to get more than one slice of pizza.  Is that cool?  Any way, they said to take a picture of the fleet feet frog if we saw it at the race.  Here it is!  Do I get a free slice of pizza?  Please!

runners finishing up the 1/2 marathon

I leave you with this pic (above) of runners coming down the last stretch of the half marathon.  It was a great race, a great event and, it was just so good to be around a great bunch of runners.  Runners are the best!

Thanks for taking the time to read my running blog.

All the best,

peace,

dh

02/06/2010