Fat Kid’s Ironman Fitness Blog

Vibram Trail Run

I had a dinner meeting on Mercer Island, which meant I had to drive across the lake after my swim… as long as I was over there, I figured I might as well try to get a short run in at Courgar Moutain. So I did a very short trail run loop in my Vibrams.

I’m not sure if this is a problem with the general idea of trail running in the Vibrams, or if this is a problem with the Red Town trail head, of if this is a problem with my general lack of experience as a trail runner…. but I am not a fan of the “rocky trails” and the Red Town trail head is littered with golf ball to apple size rocks. These make for not very enjoyable running conditions in shoes, and even less so in the Vibrams.

But once I got more on to the trail, it wasn’t so bad at all, and in fact felt kinda fun. It’s a little like riding a fixed gear bike… I feel more connected to the earth.

Anyway, three straight days of running in the Vibrams… I need to get some longer runs in this weekend, and I know I’m not ready to do those in the vibrams, so I’ll be switching back to shoes for the next couple days.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/02/2009
• Time: 23:05:41
• Total Time: 00:17:00.00
• Calories: 186
• Distance: 1.8 miles
• Average Pace: 9:26.93/mile
• Ascent: 200 ft
• Descent: 200 ft

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Another Open Water Swim

This one was a little slower than the last, maybe I was low on fuel, or bothered by all the non-swimmers in the water… or maybe it just isn’t my bag.

Clearly with an HR of 115 and max of 131, I’m effortless in the water… I just can’t bring myself to swim faster… I’d rather just be done with it at this pace and then pass a bunch of people on the bike.

Splits:

• 2:46 - 117
• 2:50 - 120
• 2:58 - 119
• 3:03 - 120
• 2:28 - 116
• 2:55 - 118
• 3:11 - 113
• 3:12 - 112
• 3:04 - 111
• 3:16 - 109

Workout:

• Type: Swim
• Date: 07/02/2009
• Time: 17:15:00
• Total Time: 00:29:47.00
• Average Heart rate: 115
• Max Heart rate: 131
• Calories: 196
• Distance: 1,234.44 m
• Average Pace: 2:24.32/100m

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Fixie Commute to Pick Up Car

Had to pick of the car from the shop, then off to swim, run, and then a dinner meeting. Bike was loaded up with junk.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 07/02/2009
• Time: 16:30:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00
• Calories: 219
• Distance: 5 miles
• Average Speed: 15 mph
• Ascent: 400 ft
• Descent: 100 ft

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Two Mile Run in My Vibram’s and Injinji’s

I read my horoscope today, and it said that I should try to reconnect with my Sole and my Soul. It encouraged me to focus on my feet, and to get my feet as close to the earth as possible. It recommended going barefoot.

Interestingly, last night, I had the urge to do my run wearing my Vibram Five Finger “toe shoes”…

I had stopped wearing these because I got blisters from the shoes rubbing on my feet, since you can’t wear normal socks with them. But since I now have three pairs of Injinji toe socks, I decided to try wearing my toe socks with my toe shoes.

Last nights run was great, so tonight I decided to double down and do two miles. I’m also considering taking my Vibrams up to Cougar Mountain to do my next short trail run in them. If I like it, then I might consider buying a pair of the Vibram KSOs which are clearly designed for more outdoor/offroad applications.

My PT wants me to consider moving away from orthotics, and he’d really like to see me doing more barefoot running. Well… here we go.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/01/2009
• Time: 23:40:00
• Total Time: 00:17:30.00
• Calories: 211
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 8:44.78/mile
• Ascent: 200 ft
• Descent: 200 ft

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Walked with My Girls to Store

My wife needed some time alone, and my oldest daughter needed to pick up her new glasses (her first pair), so my daughters and I went on a walk to the store to get her glasses, and buy groceries for dinner.

It was a nice walk, my daughters glasses look great, and we bought some tasty veggies and salmon to grill for dinner. But, I was really mad when I realized that it was Wednesday, and there was a farmers market one block away from the Supermarket we went too… we totally missed out on super fresh and yummy locally grown food!

GRRR! I was mad at myself!

Workout:

• Type: Walk
• Date: 07/01/2009
• Time: 21:31:23
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00
• Calories: 164
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 15:00/mile
• Ascent: 200 ft
• Descent: 200 ft

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Commute To/From Meeting

Had to drop my wife’s car off at the shop for maintanance, so I threw my bike in the back and commuted to my meeting from the shop. Then home. Hopefully the car will be ready tomorrow.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 07/01/2009
• Time: 21:25:58
• Total Time: 00:40:00.00
• Calories: 351
• Distance: 8 miles
• Average Speed: 12 mph

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181 Days (6 months) Running Streak

Yep, I have just run my 181st straight day of running.

That puts me at 713 miles for the year.

By way of comparison, last year, I ran 101 days for 697 miles total.

Considering that I had never run further than a couple miles until about 4 years ago, and even then, I never thought I’d actually enjoy running…  Not bad if I do say so myself.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 06/30/2009
• Time: 23:50:00
• Total Time: 00:09:00.00
• Calories: 99
• Distance: 1 miles
• Average Pace: 8:59.73/mile

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Run around the block

Good news is that the blister isn’t so bad I can’t run.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 06/29/2009
• Time: 19:30:00
• Total Time: 00:08:30.00
• Calories: 107
• Distance: 1 miles
• Average Pace: 8:29.92/mile

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Open Water Laps

The beach at Madison park has the longest “guarded swimming beach” in Seattle. The length of the guarded area is 135 yars! Perfect for “open water” swimming… while still having life guards around to make sure you don’t die. I plan to do this swim at least 3 times a week from now till the end of summer. Today I did ten lengths…

Splits:

• 2:35
• 2:52
• 2:54
• 3:05
• 2:58
• 3:08
• 2:59
• 3:08
• 2:59
• 3:10

Workout:

• Type: Swim
• Date: 06/29/2009
• Time: 18:15:00
• Total Time: 00:29:53.00
• Average Heart rate: 120
• Calories: 197
• Distance: 1,234.44 m
• Average Pace: 2:25.26/100m

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Cougar Mountain Trail Run

My goal was to run 14 to 20 miles. My course was one 14 mile loop and then another 6 mile loop. I ended up stopping after the first loop because I got lost on the first loop for about 20 minutes (and maybe 1 mile of distance) and I got a huge blister on my right heel.

Here’s my final course with time checks:

Lessons learned:

• The trails on the “Greens” maps might be old and untended to… the trails on the King County park system maps are legit!
• Always lube up your feet with vaseline or aquafor… even on “short” runs!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 06/28/2009
• Time: 13:00:00
• Total Time: 2:42:25.00
• Average Heart rate: 140
• Max Heart rate: 169
• Calories: 1602
• Distance: 14.7 miles
• Average Pace: 11:02.98/mile
• Max Pace: 8:00/mile
• Ascent: 2,140 ft
• Descent: 2,140 ft

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