This morning my phone said it was 16 degrees. Running in to the headwind it felt like 16 degrees with a headwind. When I turned to run with the wind, I was much more comfortable. I don’t buy in to the idea of wind chill that says any particular temperature actually feels like a different temperature. The temperature is the temperature – with or without wind.
If you are going to be out there pounding the roads for 45 minutes, it’s important for you to find something to do. Otherwise, you will just be tortured by daemons and haunted by the thoughts of all your past mistakes and failures. The common ways to occupy your mind are:
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| Earbuds |
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| Photo of Lancaster Junction Trail, Lancaster PA, USA |
My favorite is to take pictures. I always have a phone or a waterproof camera, and wile away the miles looking for interesting things to take photos of. Then when I get home I post them to all those good places like Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Blogger.
I have a sweet little Fujifilm XP70 Camera. More on that in another post.
Ten or twelve years ago I developed severe running pain in my lower calfs. During my runs, a slow burn would develop, and I would sometimes need to walk because the pain was too much. It felt like some deep down layers of ligaments were torn or damaged. Those rubbery sinewy parts that don’t heal.
I unhappily concluded that all those fatties at coffee hour who say “the body just cant take all that pounding,” were right. My 30 years of running was coming to an end. I resolved not to waste money on a new pair of running shoes unless this pain would go away.
I tried to change my gait. I rested. I massaged, I tried to strengthen my calfs. I stretched. Nothing worked. I was done. My body was finally worn out.
Then, for some reason, I set out one morning with a different pair of shoes. Not a new pair, just a different pair. And joy of joys, the pain went away! I discovered if I wore my other pair of shoes, the pain returned.
Well, that’s a simple fix. But there is a little more to it.
As the miles add up for you over the years, swap out your shoes frequently. And I mean frequently. Right now, I own two pairs of Nikes (different models), a pair of Brooks, Fila and Saucony. Each pair gives a totally different ride. I seldom wear the same pair for consecutive runs. My hypothesis is that this changes the stress points on your legs and back. If you wear the same shoes always, then the same parts of your body are stressed, and will lead to repetitive motion injuries.
Your shoes aren’t only for your feet – they affect your mechanics all the way up your ankles, lower legs, knees, thighs, hips and back. And it is true what the fatties at coffee hour say about all that pounding. So you need to change out your shoes to vary the pounding.
You are much better off buying two different pairs of off brand shoes from the department store for $60 each, rather than one highly engineered pair from the running store for $120.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
This is an interactive 360 panorama.
I wonder if anyone will ever run on Mars.
Mars Panorama – Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 613 in Out of this World