Getting Better

My right knee and plantar fascia have been bothering me this week; today I did 13 laps at the Genesys track (5k) and that felt pretty good. Both were starting to complain a bit during the last two laps, but I felt fine. I think I have taken it easy enough to rehab things quite a bit.

Maximal metabolic responses of deep and shallow water running in trained runners.

Maximal metabolic responses of deep and shallow water running in trained runners.
Town GP, Bradley SS.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1991 Feb;23(2):238-41.

Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Wheaton College, IL 60187.

The purpose of this study was to compare the maximal metabolic responses of competitive runners during treadmill running (TMR), deep water running (DWR), and shallow water running (SWR). Seven male and two female members of the Wheaton College varsity cross country team served as subjects. Maximal measures included oxygen consumption (VO2max), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HRmax), and lactic acid (HLA). Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed treadmill running to elicit higher VO2max and HRmax than both water tests (P less than 0.05). VO2max was also greater for SWR than for DWR (P less than 0.05). VO2max values for SWR and DWR were 90.3% and 73.5% of TMR, respectively. HRmax for SWR and DWR were 88.6% and 86% of TMR, respectively. RER and HLA did not differ among tests. These data suggest that shallow water running is capable of eliciting metabolic responses comparable to treadmill running. Shallow water running elicits higher metabolic responses than deep water running.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2017021

First Indoor Track Workout

Well, I did 6 miles on the indoor track. Ran in the NB 790s and did lots of Chi focuses. On the last lap, I tried to lean and extend my stride as much as possible. The result was an off the charts lap time: 6:48/M pace.

NB 790s

Those are good shoes for indoor workouts. You can really feel your impact, and they are perfect for ChiRunning. I think I might get another pair of racing flats for indoor workouts.

26.2 Finish Photo

Finish photo arrived today.

Had a decent 3-miler just now; Right PF hurt from doing the lawn all day; it calmed down by the end of the run. I plan to do 8 tomorrow. Bought a cheap headlamp to be seen in the dark.

2010 Races

I thought I'd re-post the last three races of the year:

• Grand Blanc Road Race (5K). 2010-11-20. This race takes place in my neighborhood, in the city where I am a City Councilman. Gotta run it! My current PB in the 5K is from this race, and I think I could have done better last year. I've also run my own DIY 5K course and done better. My best 5K time in a race is 25:40 (8:17/M) and I want to beat this by a good margin. GOAL: 23-something.
  
• Run Like the Dickens (10K). 2010-12-11. I three 10K races last year, including this one, and this was my worst time (56:01). My current PB in the 10K is 52:46 (8:30/M). That PB was set on a really hilly course. The problem with this race is the cold and the snow. For some reason, I just dragged in it last year. I want to improve significantly; this might not be the best race for a personal best, but I want to do it more than the Roseville 10K. GOAL: 51-something.
  
• New Year's Resolution Run (8K). 2010-12-31. The 8K is an odd distance, but it's kind of special for me because it was my first serious race (the 2009 8K Crim). There are only a few 8K races per year. My current PB for this distance (44:11 or 8:54/M) is from this race, where I shaved a measly 11 seconds off my previous 8K finish time. This race will also have the snow/cold issues. I ran this race in "screw shoes" last year because there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. I may do that again. GOAL: 39-something.