Breaking Away

Easy Run: 4 miles (Run 1 of 3 today)

Weather: Mostly cloudy, muggy. 54 degrees, 94% humidity. Gear: Testers, shorts, T. Fuel: None. Carried no water.

I made this run extra-easy this morning, as I try to work out my trail run on Sunday and lab testing on Monday... while getting ready for two separate testing sessions at Nike this afternoon. (The shoe elves are busy this time of year.) I started out creaky and had thought about doing only 3, but pressed on when I felt my legs loosening up around Mile 1.5. I kept it light and easy.

Mike MacLellan wrote:

That is all.

Nice. Thanks for posting it, Mike!

Jim Lentz wrote:Cool place.

Hi Jim! I feel lucky to get the chance to spend some time there. I just hope I'm marginally helpful in the process of making shoes better.

3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Predictably unpredictable...

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Mark what is going on buddy? 3 runs in one day? Yeah keep it up and you will have a reputation! Good for you though buddy. I guess there is a new bar being set.

Jim Lentz wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Predictably unpredictable...

Hm. I don't know if I like the sound of that, Jim... (but you probably expected that )

Schuey wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Mark what is going on buddy? 3 runs in one day? Yeah keep it up and you will have a reputation! Good for you though buddy. I guess there is a new bar being set.

Well, to be fair, it only added a couple of miles to my total for the day. I was asked to come in and do two different sets of "dynamic testing" this afternoon at Nike. It means running around in different varieties of prototype shoes and completing a survey on my perceptions about each variety. It helps designers figure out what works and what doesn't.

That means you get to run in some really cool shoes sometimes, some total flops and some to where some designer apparently thinks, "Hm... I wonder what happens when I do this?"

Dynamic Testing at Nike: About 2 miles total in two different sessions

Weather: Partly cloudy, showers, 68. Gear: Various prototypes, shorts, T.

I did dynamic testing for two different groups at Nike this afternoon. With all the laps around various buildings testing out different shoe conditions, it added up to about 2 miles. I ran them at a slightly faster than easy pace, trying to get a feel for the shoes at different speeds, but I didn't have to put the hammer down as I have during some tests. Considering my ankle are still a bit sore from my twist-o-rama run last Sunday, that's probably for the best.

Jim Lentz wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Predictably unpredictable...

+1....

Joel H wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Predictably unpredictable...

+1....

nice!

Joel H wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:3 runs in 1 day?!?!?!?!?!?...6 months ago that would have been a big NO-NO! Now, totally the opposite, the more out of the ordinary it is, the more likely Mark is going to do it. Very cool Mark, good luck and be safe.

Yipes! If I keep this up, I'm gonna get a reputation...

Predictably unpredictable...

+1....

I don't know that anyone on these boards has accused you of being predictable. We'll recently anyway

Hm....

Well, I guess I'll take all this as a compliment. Though I'm not entirely sure.

Easy Run: About 9 miles

Weather: Mostly cloudy, mild, muggy. 57-61 degrees, 92-82% humidity. Gear: Testers, shorts, T. Fuel: Banana and coffee, two endurolytes. Carried nuun in handheld.

This run didn't start off well. In my warm-up walk (about a quarter mile), my left foot (the one that got twisted last Sunday) started to complain loudly, with a sort of muscle spasm under the ball of my foot. I thought about heading home, but I decided to keep going and see if it would release. It did.

I took the run easy, focusing on maintaining good form. I ran my Llama Ridge route (I only saw Larry) and helped some kid who'd run out of gas after having his tank siphoned and needed to call for a rescue from his grandma. The run went fairly well, and it felt smooth and strong as long as I could maintain form - I've been working on that for a couple of months now, and I can really tell when I'm doing it right.

Nice job on the 9 miles, Mark. I like the temps you ran in, the humidity, not as much.

9 Miles looks good on you. Humidity was high but certainly with those cool temps I would take it.

Jim Lentz wrote:Nice job on the 9 miles, Mark. I like the temps you ran in, the humidity, not as much.

Thanks, Jim. It's not nearly as nasty as it is in the Midwest (it never is), but I'd prefer if it was a little less muggy in the morning.

Kenny B. wrote:9 Miles looks good on you. Humidity was high but certainly with those cool temps I would take it.

Hi Kenny! Nine miles was just about right for where I am now, between cycles. I never felt like I was overheating, but I did have to wipe the sweat out of my eyes a couple of times. It's kind of an odd combination, but pretty normal for around here. Still, this weather we're having lately is more like June than July.

Easy Run: 8 miles

Weather: Steady rain. 57 degrees. Gear: Testers, shorts, T, jacket, hat. Fuel: Coffee and instant oatmeal (didn't agree with me), endurolytes. Carried nuun.

It looked cloudy but mild this morning when I got up (with about four and a half hours sleep), so I didn't think much about it when I heard what sounded like the sprinklers coming out outside, even though I hadn't set them for Sunday. So when my buddy arrived wearing a rain jacket and hat, I got the full "whaa???" reaction. Yup. Not quite but almost pouring. Great.

I can't complain much, really. It's been a while since I've had to run in the rain. But when I got done, I was just about as wet as I've ever been running. You know, when it looks like you've been swimming, and you can wring a decent amount of water out of your socks and shorts? Yeah. It was like that.




The run itself was a challenge, too. I've mixed it up a lot this week, and even though this was a road run, it was a challenge. My left foot is still sore from getting twisted last Sunday, and my glutes wished they were still in bed. Still, we pressed on down into the Salmon Creek Greenway near my house (first time in a while; it had been underwater for a month earlier this summer) and tried to find a comfortable pace.

Comfortable for me is a challenge sometimes. I've been working to move away from being a huge heel striker back to how I used to run (I have photo evidence) with more of a midfoot strike. I'm getting better at it, but I still have to focus to maintain that form. We considered doing 10 but turned around early to make it an even 8. I made it back up out of the greenway feeling strong on the uphill, splashing through runoff, and we eased our way back home.

I feel pretty good now (now that I've showered and finally dried out), but I have the biggest craving for protein right now. If a cow wandered into our house, I'm sorry to say that it would not make it out.

Mark B wrote:

I can't complain much, really. It's been a while since I've had to run in the rain. But when I got done, I was just about as wet as I've ever been running. You know, when it looks like you've been swimming, and you can wring a decent amount of water out of your socks and shorts? Yeah. It was like that.

I had this yesterday, except it wasn't raining.

I actually rather enjoy running in the rain as long as it's not too cold.

Interesting about the foot strike. I would have thought the Frees would have eliminated that issue.

mul21 wrote:

Mark B wrote:

I can't complain much, really. It's been a while since I've had to run in the rain. But when I got done, I was just about as wet as I've ever been running. You know, when it looks like you've been swimming, and you can wring a decent amount of water out of your socks and shorts? Yeah. It was like that.

I had this yesterday, except it wasn't raining.

I actually rather enjoy running in the rain as long as it's not too cold.

Interesting about the foot strike. I would have thought the Frees would have eliminated that issue.

Hey Jim! I'd much prefer 57 and rainy than 37 and raining. I get enough of that in the winter.

I'm wearing testers at the moment so I can't talk about them, but I can say that Frees do help you improve your form... but in the Free Run (5.0) configuration, it's still possible to get away with at least some heel striking. On the 3.0, not so much.

57 Degrees? Damn, I hate you

Testing for Nike must be pretty cool - I'd love to find such a gig as it would be interesting to see what's next on the agenda. And keep up the good work, Mark.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:57 Degrees? Damn, I hate you

Testing for Nike must be pretty cool - I'd love to find such a gig as it would be interesting to see what's next on the agenda. And keep up the good work, Mark.

Hey, Michele! 57 doesn't feel like much of a treat here. While the rest of the country has been broasting, we've been stuck in what feels like a perpetual spring. I heard a meteorologist quoted recently saying that the Pacific Northwest's weather has been a month behind schedule all year. April was like March, May was like April, etc. It seems to be holding up, because this late July weather feels a lot like June. We put up a pool in the backyard, but it's only been warm enough to jump in a couple of times. My 10-year-old is not amused.

Getting a peek at what's coming up is a fun benefit of Nike - plus you also get to see a few abject failures from time to time - but the weird part is, by the time the shoe you're testing hits the market... you've forgotten about it, because you're testing the next generation.

We on the West Coast are really getting a break thus far from the summer norms. Last few days here have been in the 50's/60's for morning runs, complete with drizzle. When I read about all of our friends in the Midwest right now, sheeze, I'm glad I'm not in Cleveland any more!

Tom H wrote:We on the West Coast are really getting a break thus far from the summer norms. Last few days here have been in the 50's/60's for morning runs, complete with drizzle. When I read about all of our friends in the Midwest right now, sheeze, I'm glad I'm not in Cleveland any more!

Good point, Tom. Those conditions remind me a bit of when I lived in Thailand. But that's Southeast Asia - it's supposed to be like that. I hope their weather breaks soon - maybe that'd mean whatever is chilling the West Coast will finally move east.

---

I think cutting my planned long run today to 8 was a good thing. I'm still pretty sore, thanks to all the different shoes I ran in this week, and the hard trail workout last Sunday. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll be phasing my Tuesday morning run back in... at least for this week. Then we're heading to Central Oregon for vacation at a cabin at La Pine State Park. Ah. Trail running through the ponderosa pine, bike riding, grilling and just relaxing - totally off the grid. It should be nice.

Tom H wrote:We on the West Coast are really getting a break thus far from the summer norms. Last few days here have been in the 50's/60's for morning runs, complete with drizzle. When I read about all of our friends in the Midwest right now, sheeze, I'm glad I'm not in Cleveland any more!

Well, I will be in Cleveland again, Tom - which will be a break from Atlanta.

Love the drowned rat look!....and still a smile! 14 miles in the hot sun for me today...a cool rainy run actually sounds pretty good to me. We had cool weather until late spring too, but its full on summer now.