MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
sunny Sunday daily (1/25) at the Osaka Women's International Marathon
(though it's actually Monday over here in Japan)
.
Go have your own joyous runs in the sun unless you don't as I didn't so you might as well read the rest of this post, if you dare. Extra credit if you understand it and can help me find evidence that elite runners don't heel strike.
= = = = = = = = =
Although a last minute Sunday afternoon meeting preempted the planned mt. oyama marathon a little sourth of tokyo today, it didn’[t stop me from taking the subway over to Nagai Stadium to watch the start of the 34th Osaka Women’s International Marathon. About 30 elite runners led the way with about 300 recreational runners who took up the rear, because they were so slow it might take them as much as three-and-a-half hours to run the 42.195 km. /There was a men’s and women’s citizen half-marathon starting a kilometer away but both were set to finish in the stadium so I stuck around for the fun when the marathon women start returning to a jam-packed track. First-place for a 2:22 by a Ukranian gal who's now won it thre years in a row. However, it turned out there never was a congestion problem as thousands of slower halfies were prevented from entering the stadium after two hours...It’s probably another joke but, in the meantime, maybe twocat can apply his magical graphics to the notion that half of elite runners are heel strikers. In particular, when elite mid-and-forefoot runners are shown photos of their supposed heel striking, e.g. as I did with a Badwater photo of Scott Jurek once, they guarantee that that’s not the case as, because the sole cannot bend up, though it may look as if the heel is touching down first, the heel actually touches milliseconds after the fore-or-or midfoot. ..I guess I ought to know as I have many pictures of my barefoot heel striking when I’m actually mid-footing, . . . and would be in great heel pain on the pavement if I wasn’t. However, I’m not elite so I’m still open to any “research cites to the contrary,.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Mornin' Tet and those to follow!
Tet, it seems that it was an entertaining, if somewhat confusing spectacle to watch the WIM and the half from your vantage point in the stadium. How did they prevent those slower half runners from entering the stadium? Did they just stop them and tell them they'd have to wait? Very strange... I'm an admitted heel striker, but I don't run, so I suppose it doesn't count.
Ribs, you are so right on both counts: I feel very guilty about leaving a doctor's office without even a copay just because I'm on Medicare. There is no good reason why those on Medicare who are able to pay shouldn't contribute something more than our relatively small premiums. But then again, our entire medical insurance system is so screwed up and so full of people and practitioners who abuse the system that there probably wouldn't be a reasonable, equitable way of tracking who can pay and their payments. I also agree that we each need to be in charge of our own health care, and to understand that we shouldn't and needn't do everything a doctor suggests, just because they are the doctor. Question everything, and if you don't agree with it, don't do it. If you don't understand it, learn about it before you say yes or no. With so much information readily available on the internet, we can and should invest in learning more about our own health.
I lollygagged in bed for about 10 minutes before getting up and heading out. We got about 3-4" of snow yesterday, so I also pulled out my Yaks this morning. Even with them, on roads that ranged from just wet to slushy to completely covered with packed snow, it was a hard slog. I just can't racewalk well on snow, no matter what. Still, I managed 10.3 sloppy RW miles, so all is good. I had snowblower workout #1 yesterday afternoon, and will have a quick #2 this morning. The early forecast is for another 12-20" of snow, starting late on Monday, so it'll be an interesting week.
Have a greta Sunday!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
...mornin' guys//.......What An Adventure tet is having............Joyful Running to Ya my friend.........
and, yes, jay is right,,,,,,,,our HealthCareSystem is a Morass of Idiocy.......
I tell my customers
my job is to Keep them out of the Donut Hole (by calling their doctors)
or
to get them out if they overspend the limit,,,,,80% of the costs are the 20% of the Brand Name Drugs used
and
you don't have to use them until the myriad of generics in that category have failed
(not always the case, but more times than you would expect)
one of the ChainStoreGuys
pointed out that I am a Dinosaur
,,,,,,,,,and maybe My Style of Personal Service IS outdated,
probably good I'm retiring soon............
============
...but I digress.......A LOT
60-min bikeride, Cold Start and pulled some Back Muscles,
definitely did NOT feel better after this particular work-out
but
that Fresh Air and Sunshine Thing
beats the hell out of indoor poolrunning,,,,,,,,,,,,,we'll see how it goes Wednesday on my next bikeride
..................good running guys......
..nothing takes the place of persistence.....
one of the ChainStoreGuys pointed out that I am a Dinosaur ,,,,,,,,,and maybe My Style of Personal Service IS outdated,
Personal service is NEVER outdated, and I wish more people understood that.
Tet's running adventures are always so much fun to read. And I actually understood the whole post! Although I have no comment on the heel or non-heel striking as I am definitely a heel to mid-foot striker. My achy lower back after a LR can attest to that.
Meeting up with the Giver of Passes from Green Diamond, the logging company that owns the McKay Tract. About 7 or 8 women will be getting passes so we are actually legally accessing the Tract. Poor Tom - He has no idea how many of us are showing up.
Then it'll be working for a couple of hours with The Hub mowing and string trimming, then back home to work on tax stuff and do transcription. Busy, busy day ahead. Although The Hub is trying his hand at making bread for the first time and is also making lasagna for dinner.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Robin, good to hear about your foot and to see you posting here.
Starr, I've been doing a weekly spin class for a couple months and still haven't started liking it yet! I also listen mainly to podcasts when I run or work out since it keeps my mind engaged. My favorites are Wait, Wait; Car Talk; This American Life; and Zorba Paster On Your Health.
MS, if the 920XT is overkill for me, that Fenix 3 would be megakill! It is a nice-looking watch, though. I actually have very thin wrists, so any of them is going to be a bit clunky, but the 920XT fit very nicely when I tried it on at REI and I like the softer strap than what's on my 610. By the way, REI is taking pre-orders for the Fenix 3 and expects to have them in a month or so.
TW, what's been getting to me is the steeply-rising cost of generics. I used to fill a 90-day supply of my generic BP med for about $30, then the last time I refilled it they charged over $140! So my Dr. changed the prescription slightly to one that's cheaper. I have Medicare part D coverage, but I find that if I shop around I can get my regular prescriptions for less if I just buy them without using my card. For example, one large chain fills my Atovastatin free! The only catch is that it's only 30 days at a time since the idea is to get you into the store. I can see where people who don't pay attention really get taken advantage of.
No workouts today and going to see a movie this afternoon. See you all here tomorrow!
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
I'm refraining from any medical/health insurance rant. You're welcome.
I realized my rail-trail half is coming up soon. Oops. Out for 13 to see if I could still do it. Nice day here in the 40s and the sun finally came out.
Have a good week.
Be safe. Be kind.
King of PhotoShop
The Saint and I got in 8 miles this morning, about 9:50 pace, and I'm packed and off to Atlanta in a bit. Liz Ryan, who used to be LizinDC or something like that, is in town this weekend. We were unable to join her yesterday on the trails, but she said on another forum she might join us today for our club run but she didn't show. Gorgeous day here.
Sorry Jon, but I don't make this stuff up. I hear a lot of the barefoot people pushing back on this topic. Go here: http://runningblog.dallasnews.com/2012/07/running-trivia-quiz-answers-part-ii.html/
Spareribs
New skirt in town
The wear pattern on my shoes definitely shows that I'm a mid-foot striker. For whatever that's worth.
My foot still feels great after yesterday's running! I'm definitely in the treacherous phase of healing: where I feel so darned good I'm tempted to run too far, too fast. I held off on that impulse today by doing my 50-minute resistance workout, 50 minutes on the elliptical and then my ballroom dance lesson with DH. We worked solely on rumba, and my hips are feeling it!!
--RT
NO MO MELANOMA! Help me run 26.2 miles and raise $5000 for the Melanoma Foundation of NE. Visit this page to learn more: http://tinyurl.com/NO-MO-MELANOMA
I refer all questions about foot strike, stride, pronation, shoe type, etc. to my favorite running research blog titled interestingly enough Running Research Junkie! You can find it at http://www.runresearchjunkie.com/. He has had numerous posts about elites and where they strike when landing. I think I can pretty much sum up the results in two words: all over! Front, mid, heal you name it. What you see also seems to depend on when you look at the runner. Sometimes they heal strike sometimes forefoot. It might have to do with keeping fatigue levels down, different strikes likely use different muscles. But who knows, it is all just speculation at this point.
Regarding whether people should change their stride or shoe type or whatnot. The evidence is that we have no idea what the answer is. Looking at someone and saying you should do X and run in Y produces nothing. Injury rates are the same when such changes are or are not made. There is some suspicion, that some people would benefit from making changes but we do not know who would. Experiment is all you can do. The one little result that seems to be holding up is that varying your shoe type during your training helps keep injury rates down. Meaning one day in a zero drop another with a 10mm drop, another with more cushioning another with less, etc. Basically, the hypothesis is that as you vary your shoe type you vary your stride and that makes over use injuries less likely, as in you are over using any one part less.
I am coming off of a cold and that has definitely put a crimp in my running. I went off for a 15k race today. I cannot say I did all that well, coming in at an 8:03 pace. I have run marathons at a faster pace than that! As they say, just wait until next time! That is not too far from today. In two weeks the series has its 20k race and fortunately for me it is a 10 minute drive to the start from my house unlike this morning's 40 minute schlep.
Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.
Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/
Bright and sunny 18 miler at 8:15 pace this morning with Iron J. Lots of runners out getting some miles on this sunny day in NE. Hudson is so happy to have some fresh snow for romping and playing. We'll have to dig tunnels-paths for him on Tuesday if we truly get the 36" promised by all the screaming forecasts.
No judgement from me on what kind of foot strike is best. I just keep doing what I've always done since it works well. Messing too much with it led to injury for me.
Way to run smart Robin. It's so easy to push it too much when everything feels pain free.
Safe travels Ribs. I'll drive to Ithaca later today. I have work there on Monday. I am guessing my Tuesday assignment in the New Haven, Ct area will get cancelled and then I am supposed to fly to SF in the afternoon on Wednesday. Not sure I have it worse, the travel is just constant right now. Having an empty nest makes leaving for a trip a bit easier to take. Mr. CNYrunner (and Hudson goes with him) is back and forth almost weekly as his mother is declining rapidly and his father needs help handling her care.
RANT ON-
...roch//........if you buy them off your DrugCard, they DON'T count toward the Donut Hole
HINT-
if you pay 100%of the price (Tier- 3) on your DrugCard
it STILL counts toward the DonutHole
so fill it off the card if that's the case
we had synthetic levothyroxine go up 3-times in six-months....some from $15 to $64 per 100
........also,
CVS/Caremark bought 36-various drug cards last year
and is paying BELOW what they know it costs on some drugs
I filled
$140 worth of pain patches for an AARP customer (not CVS owned),( the card, not the customer) and they paid $66
generic plaquenil went from $54 for 500 to $251 PER 100 just last month........
..and the DrugCards claim they can't re-price that quickly so they pay for the OLD price for about 2-3 months.
On average
if I filled 90-days on a CVS/Caremark Card, I lose $39 on brand names
,,,,,,,,,,,,the Idiocy may be Mine,,,,,,
of course, my wife already knew that
RANT OFF-
I'll stay out of the drug debate, partly 'cause I work for big bad pharma, and partly as the Canadian scene is much different anyway.
Rest day for me today, which is a shame as it's nice and sunny out, but pretty cold. We still have no snow... which is odd for this far into the winter. I cranked my ankle hard in the woods with friends on Wednesday night, but I've sprained both so many times they tend to heal very fast. Got in a nice 10 miler on the trails yesterday with the gang.
I'm hoping to run my first road marathon this fall, and need to start getting in some longer road miles, so stopped by my favourite LRS after yesterday's run to see if they had a slower group for their Saturday long runs. Apparently they don't, but one of the staff knew someone who's training for a couple of marathons this season and is looking for someone slow to run with. Left my email, although this woman might be too far ahead of me already, since she's aiming for one in May. Twocat... I'll be taking your comments about varying the shoes very seriously... after 3 years of only running long off-road, I'm worried about the switch to pavement.
.....Nancy The road to hell is paved....... run trails!
Tough half marathon in the cold today. Very icy too. But the half went OK. Now I am trying to get to Charleston WV and everything is running late. I give it a 50-50 shot that I make it.
Still no plane here in Midland to take me to Chicago and I got a text that the plane out of Chicago is delayed.
That should mean that I won't miss my connection.
Karen, sorry to hear that your mother in law's health is declining fast. Good luck with your travels this week.
Spareribs, you too! I admire so much how you guys can travel all over the country with little or no complain at all.
No running here today. I did run 45 miles this week and I do not want to bump my miles too fast. Easy does it, right? Today the Easy Pacer and I went cross country skiing with some friends. Great day in the woods.
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
Sayhey! MM#130
Good evening!
Ditto what Leslie said about tet's adventures and about service.
Sounds like a fun day in Japan, or was that yesterday??
And ditto Karin on footstrikes. I did transition slowly; my podiatrist said by going up on the foot, however, over time the peroneal tendon in my case was doing more work. And the Philly fall I took didn't help.
Nice race twocat, even if you don't think so. I ran a couple of slow races this weekend but I'm so tickled to be running again, don't care thy were slow! And the 5K Saturday benefitted Cypress Lake High music, so we had band members playing for us all over Lakes Park. So that was 25:35 and the half today was 1:51, DH was in an hour later.
Now Dave, I spilled; more about yours, please?
And so ditto what Starr said about the stationary bike.
Had to get up at Jay o'clock for the race today as it was a commute. Really good food after!
One of my friends at the 5K said I look "healthy." I fear this is a euphemism for "chubby."
Be careful in the storm, northern friends; hoping it is NOT historic (national news is on and you know how they love weather drama).
Saw Martin Sheen in "The Way" about a real pilgrimage thousands of people take in France/Spain. His son made it; really enjoyed it.
Stay well,
grins, A.
https://agratefullifedotnet.wordpress.com/ (for a piece or two of my mind)