One week to go.

Got my ticket for the marathon.. Getting nervous now. Had an injury which has prevented me from running much the last week and with just one week to go I'm getting worried... Gonna rest pretty much all of this week now, hope my legs get their act together. I'm hoping a couple of walks, barefoot, will keep up the strength in the feet.

Eddie Izzard is the greatest inspiration ever! If HE can run around the UK, well damn it, then I should be able to run a single lap around Copenhagen.

Snow prevents blisters

Passed another milestone yesterday when I ran 20 km. I was almost home at 13km and felt I had so much energy that I'd go for it. The last two K were a bitch but I think that has something to do with me running them through the city on paths I know all too well. I seem to get much less tired when I run in newer territory.


The most interesting thing is that I have suffered almost no ill-effects whatsoever, even though the run was completely unplanned. I have no blisters on my feet and practically no soreness in my calves. I suspect the cold weather (minus two degrees) combined with the unplowed snow on the streets acted as a natural ice bath so to speak. Usually ice baths are applied after a run, for practical reasons I suspect ;), however having that effect throughout the run seems to have helped in preventing any blistering whatsoever. While the skin is cold, the inside of the feet is quite warm so no risk of frostbite. I did discover a small hole on the side of the right foot when I got in the shower. It's as if a needle had been used to make a hole in the skin. I can feel the muscles in my right foot today, so will be giving it some rest.


I've also noticed that running without socks in the VFF is far superior to running with socks. My pinky toes seem to get lodged a strange angle with socks which makes them hit the ground on the side which results in some pain in the nail. No socks have no such problems, however they get colder. They are the only toes that seem to suffer somewhat from the cold weather.

Marathon in 2010

So I've decided to run a marathon this year. Either I'll do it at the Copenhagen Marathon in may or I'll run my own marathon on the same date. I'll be running in my Sprints and I intend to run every day, even if it's just two kilometres, until it's done.

To keep it all recorded, I'll post updates here of my progress, mostly for my own sake.

First thing's first though: creating a playlist suitable for a run of this length...

Running in -10 degrees, bliss

It's interesting how running in -10 degree weather feels the same as 0 degree weather once you get your steam going. Your hands also get more cold than your feet, despite similar amount of protection on both.

After a kilometre or two, it's quite pleasant. I'd say more pleasant than running during the summer actually. And of course you have the roads pretty much to yourself as well ;)

White christmas

Winter is great!

No more niesas

Finally decided to return the niesas after all. The reasons were several and I'm gonna try and explain them below but to make short story shorter: they were just a bad fit.

• Length: As you can read in my previous post about the Feelmax Niesa, the size I ordered (42) was slightly too small for me. My feet were touching both the backside with the heal and front with the big toe. My toes are claustrophobic but that was a bit too tight for my liking.


• Width: I'm not sure if I should describe this as too tight or too loose. But it wasn't good. I felt my pinky being squashed against the side of the shoe, but my heal seemed to slip and slide alot in the back. I want more room for toes, less for the heal.


• Height: The top edge of the shoe is pretty high. So high in fact that it was constantly shafing and cutting into the bones of my lower leg (those knobs sticking out). This would of course make it necessary to wear high socks (which I wasn't) to protect the skin. Doesn't that feel slightly contradictory for a shoe supposed to mimic barefooting?


• Adjustability: The shoes have three non-adjustable rubber bands where normal shoe laces would have gone; and a velcro strap above. Problem is you can't properly secure your foot inside, most likely giving rise to the problem of the slipping heal I described earlier. If the shoe is supposed to be like a sock, and they are really too small for me, why can't I get them tight around my foot?

I'm just generally disappointed by Feelmax. Was hoping for a better product than that. Life isn't easy when you're comparing everything to your vibrams, which guess what, fits like a glove!

Got my Feelmax Niesas!

The niesas arrived today! They're a snug fit and I was contemplating if I should send them back for a size larger. However after walking around the house I have to conclude that it's just my claustrophobic toes talking once more.

I'll be using them mainly for walking so should be alright anyway. But I guess I have to take em for a run sometime just to see what they're like.

The sole is really thin though. If the vibrams are gloves for the foot, the niesas are more like outdoor socks. They feel alot like the super grippy socks everyone used to wear indoors when I was a kid. Will write more once I've had a chance to try them out more.

Aftermath

Argh. Woke up this morning, knees still tired. It's like all the muscles surrounding my kneecaps have just given up. My feet held up nicely though. Wearing socks in the vibrams is really a must when running. Only ended up with 2 very small blisters on my right foot.

Hoping my Feelmax Niesas arrive today or tomorrow. Will be nice to be able to walk barefoot and not feel like society is expecting me to take up drugs and buy a volkswagen bus..

First!

Went for a run with the vibrams. Purposefully forced myself to run slower than normal so my calfs wouldn't give up with a big jolt of pain. Was aiming for 10k but was out for 1:35. Had to walk the last kilometre because my knees were tired! Not in pain, but tired...

Weird feeling.

Update: Ended up to be about 12k. So I ran 10 km and walked the last 2.