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1) I used to often get shin splints and suffer mild knee pain.
2) No longer with the shin splints and knee pain. At first, your feet and ankles hurt a lot, and you have to take lots of rest days, but eventually your feet and ankles get stronger, and they absorb the shock. I have been surprised at the absence of shin splints.
I have suffered some blisters. But now they are calluses, and I am well pleased in them.
3) It feels as though my feet are very light. I naturally want to pick them up and take longer strides. Also I want to land more on my toes. Though they are light, I run with less impact on the ground (because of the striding) and so they feel cushy as well.
4) my feet are stronger and have more veins in them. My calves are stronger (though that happens whenever you run). I think, from striding better, I have used more hip flexor muscles, and so those muscles seem larger and stronger. Otherwise just the normal muscle increase that comes with beginning a running regimen.
I had been doing more biking. I've never (since highschool) been able to sustain a long running regimen without injuring myself in some way or another. I had always blamed my flat feet.
But Bob Hayes had flat feet, and I had always been fine in cleats. And a fellow flat footed friend of mine suggested I throw away my orthotics, as he had done. I did so. Then I did lots of crack-pot internet research. Various websites, some more reputable looking than others, suggested I run in very little shoe. Since the clunky trainers had never really worked for me, and because I liked the commercials, I bought the nike frees and started running more regularly.
Biking is good too, but harder to exert yourself fully in thirty to forty-five minutes.
Sorry for the barage of questions. I figure-skate in the winter and weight-train year round. This summer I've been doing yoga and the damn elliptical at the gym, but I can't seem to get a good workout anymore from the elliptical.
Since I needed to upgrade the old beat up running shoes anyway and I was really tempted by the idea at least of the Nike Frees, well, that explains the questions.
Oddly, "in [not quite] amazing shape" does not translate to "finds running easy" or "is any good at running" or "can run fast". I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, but running requires like, an enormous amount of coordination.
No, but... different coordination. (Plus, just a beginner skater, only a couple little jumps and rudimentary spins.) Skating boots keep your ankles from rolling out all over the place, which has been my usual problem with running.
Wow, text, that is a positive experience. I've been tempted by them too, but I don't want to buy them just for one run a week (which is Nike's official recommendation, isn't it?) It's good to hear you're managing significant mileage in them.
Biking is good too, but harder to exert yourself fully in thirty to forty-five minutes.
I love biking (mostly trail), but it is a really inefficient workout, isn't it.
I don't understand the complaints about biking. I don't like to run, so I ride, and if I spent 45 minutes pushing hard, I feel like I've had a good workout. Is this just because I don't know the fatigued bliss of a good run? Is it time to *start* running?
I don't argue that running is better than biking on any systematic basis. Any kind of exercise, done often enough, keeps you healthy. I like running better because it's hard for me to find a biking course that's long enough, where I don't have to stop and wait at lights (I don't live by the lake any more) and because I don't feel confident enough to go so fast on the bike that it truly wears me out. Also, bikes supply so much mechanical advantage that it takes you longer to completely exhaust yourself. The tour de france goes on for much longer than a marathon.
I like to push myself to complete exhaustion, even though that's not really necessary to get the health benefits from exercise. Also, I like the idea that you can just run anywhere.
As far as crunching the joints -- you can mitigate that problem through changing your running technique (and weights can help too) but you can't avoid it completely. I figure, at a certain age, I'll have to switch to some other form of exercise. But for now, I like to run.
Labs, if you ran for the same amount of time, you'd have worked harder. For an efficient workout, running is slightly more intense. If you looked at standard training regimens for serious athletes in either sport, I'd bet bikers spend more time on the bike.
But 45 minutes a day on anything is better than I do. Of course I have to chase my toddler around the house to get him into bed, and that's usually good for 20 minutes.
His memoir recalls his 30th birthday, celebrated at a trendy Marina District nightclub. Julie, his wife, had left early. Karnazes continued to party with friends. Their circle came to include a new woman who displayed amorous intent. Karnazes already had felt depressed about being absorbed by classic yuppie pursuits of career status, impressive income and material possession. To find himself tempted toward infidelity was the final straw.
He excused himself and walked home. But instead of going inside, he stripped down to his silk boxer shorts, put on his gardening sneakers, blew a kiss to his sleeping wife, then began to run.
"I got a good look at the pit. I turned, and ran away from it as hard as I could go," Karnazes said.
He ran all night, through hunger, fog and the pain of blood blisters, at last reaching Half Moon Bay by dawn -- 30 miles for his 30 years.
I couldn't quite tell how serious he was when Letterman asked him what he liked about ultra-running and he answered, "the pain." I think pretty serious.
My experience has been that muscles develop faster than joints, but that joints actually do get stronger over time. I don't know if it is the tendons or ligaments or the supporting muscles around the joint, but given time they can become stronger.
My main problem used to be that I'd push the joints too hard when starting something new because the rest of me could take it. Once started joint problems are a bitch to get rid of, so I recommend nothiong too extreme for the first month or two.
Of course youth can get away with an awful lot. Enjoy it while you have it.
no injuries, and I've been running 30-40 miles a week. My stride is probably more efficient. And I still feel His pleasure.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:08 PM
Yes, you have to register and as part of registering you can set your preferences to have them appear chronologically as opposed to by reader rankings.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:13 PM
Some follow-up questions:
1. Do you typically get shin splints/tendinitis/blood blisters when you run? (before the new magic shoes)
2. If yes, any impact of the new magic shoes on said impact-related injuries?
3. Can you give us some sense of the subjective feeling of running in these shoes?
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:18 PM
That, I've tried. I have these settings:
Types of comments to display: all
Sorting based on comment ratings: Ignore ratings
Sorting based on comment age: old
Rate comments: no
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:18 PM
4 to 2, of course.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:18 PM
I second baa's questions and add another:
4) Have you noticed any significant changes in your leg muscles? (More stability, pains in different places).
I'm not much of a runner but I'm serious considering these shoes for cross-training.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:29 PM
I found that my new preferences didn't take effect until I emptied my browser cache and then logged in again.
Posted by Matthew Yglesias | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:31 PM
Ok, that almost worked. Now *most* of the threads are in chronological order, but a few still have rank order. Very strange, but I can live with that.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:40 PM
1) I used to often get shin splints and suffer mild knee pain.
2) No longer with the shin splints and knee pain. At first, your feet and ankles hurt a lot, and you have to take lots of rest days, but eventually your feet and ankles get stronger, and they absorb the shock. I have been surprised at the absence of shin splints.
I have suffered some blisters. But now they are calluses, and I am well pleased in them.
3) It feels as though my feet are very light. I naturally want to pick them up and take longer strides. Also I want to land more on my toes. Though they are light, I run with less impact on the ground (because of the striding) and so they feel cushy as well.
4) my feet are stronger and have more veins in them. My calves are stronger (though that happens whenever you run). I think, from striding better, I have used more hip flexor muscles, and so those muscles seem larger and stronger. Otherwise just the normal muscle increase that comes with beginning a running regimen.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 4:42 PM
Yeah, I imaginedd you would have tried that, but since it worked for me it was all I could offer.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:07 PM
Thanks! That's a ringing endorsement.
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:11 PM
text, were you just starting a running regimen with these shoes, or did already have one?
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:13 PM
I had been doing more biking. I've never (since highschool) been able to sustain a long running regimen without injuring myself in some way or another. I had always blamed my flat feet.
But Bob Hayes had flat feet, and I had always been fine in cleats. And a fellow flat footed friend of mine suggested I throw away my orthotics, as he had done. I did so. Then I did lots of crack-pot internet research. Various websites, some more reputable looking than others, suggested I run in very little shoe. Since the clunky trainers had never really worked for me, and because I liked the commercials, I bought the nike frees and started running more regularly.
Biking is good too, but harder to exert yourself fully in thirty to forty-five minutes.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:19 PM
Sorry for the barage of questions. I figure-skate in the winter and weight-train year round. This summer I've been doing yoga and the damn elliptical at the gym, but I can't seem to get a good workout anymore from the elliptical.
Since I needed to upgrade the old beat up running shoes anyway and I was really tempted by the idea at least of the Nike Frees, well, that explains the questions.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:23 PM
I don't mind the questions -- I like talking about myself more than is usually conducive to blog commenting etiquette.
I am no fan of the elliptical machine.
Btw, figure-skating plus weight training plus yoga must keep you in amazing shape.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:34 PM
Oddly, "in [not quite] amazing shape" does not translate to "finds running easy" or "is any good at running" or "can run fast". I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, but running requires like, an enormous amount of coordination.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:38 PM
moreso than figure skating?
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:50 PM
No, but... different coordination. (Plus, just a beginner skater, only a couple little jumps and rudimentary spins.) Skating boots keep your ankles from rolling out all over the place, which has been my usual problem with running.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:53 PM
my usual problem with skating is falling down on my ass.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 5:58 PM
They do make crash pads. For the ass. (Not the feet.)
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 6:06 PM
my own crash pad also prefers ass to feet.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 6:13 PM
I'm not sure that made any sense.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 6:19 PM
Thanks! That's a ringing endorsement.
Wow, text, that is a positive experience. I've been tempted by them too, but I don't want to buy them just for one run a week (which is Nike's official recommendation, isn't it?) It's good to hear you're managing significant mileage in them.
Biking is good too, but harder to exert yourself fully in thirty to forty-five minutes.
I love biking (mostly trail), but it is a really inefficient workout, isn't it.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 8:01 PM
I don't understand the complaints about biking. I don't like to run, so I ride, and if I spent 45 minutes pushing hard, I feel like I've had a good workout. Is this just because I don't know the fatigued bliss of a good run? Is it time to *start* running?
Who love you, and you do you love?!
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 8:47 PM
Also runners, please to address lack of concern with constant crunching of joints.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 8:52 PM
I don't argue that running is better than biking on any systematic basis. Any kind of exercise, done often enough, keeps you healthy. I like running better because it's hard for me to find a biking course that's long enough, where I don't have to stop and wait at lights (I don't live by the lake any more) and because I don't feel confident enough to go so fast on the bike that it truly wears me out. Also, bikes supply so much mechanical advantage that it takes you longer to completely exhaust yourself. The tour de france goes on for much longer than a marathon.
I like to push myself to complete exhaustion, even though that's not really necessary to get the health benefits from exercise. Also, I like the idea that you can just run anywhere.
As far as crunching the joints -- you can mitigate that problem through changing your running technique (and weights can help too) but you can't avoid it completely. I figure, at a certain age, I'll have to switch to some other form of exercise. But for now, I like to run.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 9:12 PM
Text, do you know about this guy? (The Letterman video is amusing.)
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 9:33 PM
Labs, if you ran for the same amount of time, you'd have worked harder. For an efficient workout, running is slightly more intense. If you looked at standard training regimens for serious athletes in either sport, I'd bet bikers spend more time on the bike.
But 45 minutes a day on anything is better than I do. Of course I have to chase my toddler around the house to get him into bed, and that's usually good for 20 minutes.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 07-13-05 11:08 PM
All they want is some food for godsakes!
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-14-05 6:43 AM
Ogg -- I have heard of that guy. I am convinced his skeleton was reinforced with cadmium, the memories of which suppressed.
I read somewhere that his career as a super-marathoner began when he decided to run home, drunk, after his 30th birthday.
Posted by text | Link to this comment | 07-14-05 7:43 AM
Yes you did:
I couldn't quite tell how serious he was when Letterman asked him what he liked about ultra-running and he answered, "the pain." I think pretty serious.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 07-14-05 7:48 AM
The point text made in 9 is a good one.
My experience has been that muscles develop faster than joints, but that joints actually do get stronger over time. I don't know if it is the tendons or ligaments or the supporting muscles around the joint, but given time they can become stronger.
My main problem used to be that I'd push the joints too hard when starting something new because the rest of me could take it. Once started joint problems are a bitch to get rid of, so I recommend nothiong too extreme for the first month or two.
Of course youth can get away with an awful lot. Enjoy it while you have it.
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 07-14-05 9:40 AM