Read Your Ears

Everyone who runs in the melted pot of our city has a secret sauce they profusely swear by for increasing their likelihood of finishing first place in their next marathon. After sampling many recipes, I’ve found the best sauce to be the audible sauce - playlists.  I often wonder what Napolean and Genghis Khan preferred to hear while amping themselves up, and contrast this with what Obama or Glen W. might have listened to in the gym this morning.  Many divergent tastes abound, and one person’s Lady Gaga is another’s Phil Collins. While I won't seek to impose my own audio tastes upon you, I have been asked to offer a strategy that you can adapt to your own taste....

GO RHYTHMIC

No brainer.  Whether you are into trance, hip hop, house, soul, rock, funk, or your favorite salsa and mambo hybrid - find the tracks with as much rhythmic backbeat as possible - your stride will briefly change your personality.

MIX IT UP

Especially for longer runs, mix up the tempo and genres as much as you can.  Your sanity will thank you. 

TRADE

Swap with other runners and fans of endorphins - ultrarunners by definition have the most interesting strategies.  Also sign up on MOG Music Network or Spotify to stream and swap playlists for your preferred listening device while you're on the run.

PUT IT ON A BIKE

On warmer days, be sure to take your playlist to the streets by strapping a boombox to your bike handlebars and riding around slow.  Turn up the volume until the speakers blow out the sound.

MOVE AND POINT

Try moving your hands and fingers in beat to the rhythm.  As if performing voodoo.  I don’t do this often, but it works if you find yourself tiring.  Point directly at the runner passing in opposite direction for best effect.

RECOMMENDATIONS?

Recently, my favorite work-out tracks (this changes weekly) are anything by CAN (an experimental and percussion-heavy group that could double as Radiohead covering Pink Floyd), Cymande (an obscure carribean funk band from long ago), and Matias Aguayo (a South American multi-instrumentalist virtuoso I’d first met while moving into a Brooklyn loft with a bag of laundry and an oil painting under each arm).

Here's a link to one of my playlists (more than 20 songs).  Feel free to email and post other stuff you've found.

Jon B.

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Sock It To Me

Lara K

“Do you play soccer or something?” someone said to me after passing by while I was simultaneously stretching and waiting for my Garmin to get a signal.  Maybe those black knee-length socks I was wearing made me look like I had just stepped off the set of Bend It Like Beckham, but those socks were meant more for function than for fashion.

Don’t know when the whole compression sock rage originally started (possibly when Paula Radcliffe won the 2004 NYC Marathon while wearing them?) but my recollection was that it was in 2009 when I started to see them everywhere.  I picked up my first pair at the Marine Corps Marathon Expo  – a pair of black “Recovery Socks” – but given that I was on the DL for a stint after that, those socks didn’t get much use for awhile.

Along came the summer of 2010 and Chicago Marathon training and increased mileage and speed workouts that accompanied the mileage boost.  Given the inferno that was the summer, I didn’t want anything extra on my legs while running, although my socks got much use after speed workouts and long runs to help my legs recover quicker from those runs.  Best testimonial – after running 20 miles in LTR #2, I wore the socks all afternoon and during the daytime on the next day while engaging in some other physical labor –  moving apartments!!  When all was said and done, my legs were not tired (though I couldn’t say the same for the rest of me!)

Lara K in Pink Compression Socks at Chicago Marathon 2010

Now, I know most of you have seen me rocking a hot pink pair of socks by CEP.  Originally, they were supposed to just be part of a fun race day outfit for the Chicago Marathon.  But they were functional as well because I have been prone to calf cramps in long races before and I felt it would be a good idea for my calves to be “supported” in a way.  Not wanting to wear anything new on race day, I tried them out during my last 20-miler and all systems were go.  And as you all know if you heard anything about last year's Chicago Marathon, the heat on race day messed with a lot of people’s time goals.  I missed my goal, but it was no fault of my legs – nope, the rest of me just couldn’t stand the heat.  Even though I was sorta cursing myself by mile 24 for wearing the knee-high socks in 80 degree weather, I will say my legs still felt halfway decent at that point, and even afterwards.  My legs were the least sore that they’ve ever been after a marathon.  In fact, someone commented as I was walking to post-marathon party #2 that I looked like I was walking too quickly for someone who just ran a marathon! 

And I continue to use the socks now both after runs for recovery, and during runs (well, whenever it’s warm enough to wear shorts with the socks!).  And let it be known that wearing compression socks the day after the Awards Gala was definitely the cure for high-heel ravaged feet and legs that danced for a longer time than any of my runs in the last coupla months. J

In terms of brands, I’ve tried three – Recovery Sock, CEP and Sugoi.  My favorites are still the CEPs –  nope, not just because of the hot pink color, as I have them in black and white, too – but I just felt that particular brand performed better (and I believe some other Flyers who own that same brand would agree!).

Want to know the easiest way to put these compression socks, which sometimes can be on the tight side-on?  This YouTube video, courtesy of CEP, will help!  

So besides obvious reasons for spring fever (warmer weather?  No more snow?), another reason I’m looking forward to spring is being able to rock the socks during my runs again – hopefully beginning next weekend during the More Magazine | Fitness Magazine Half-Marathon, where I will be pacing the 2:10 group and sporting the hot pink CEP’s!

Who else is wearing compression socks (or compression sleeves, compression pants, or other compression apparel)?  Let's hear about your experiences with them in the comments section, below....

Lara K.

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Shameless advertising, but totally worth it!

If you can haul your butt out of bed early on a Saturday, the group run in Central Park is always a great way to start the day. It runs a little differently than the weeknight runs, going the opposite direction around the park, and meeting at the 72nd Street Transverse instead of Engineer's Gate.

Today was even more different than usual. The run started at the NYRR offices on E. 89th Street, where New Balance had set up tables and temporary "changing pods", and kindly offered the Flyers a chance to try out (and keep) some new running shorts in exchange for feedback on how we liked them.

The turnout for the event was predictably high. I mean, who doesn't like new stuff for free? The last time I checked on the sign-in page, there were something like fifty names listed. And while some Flyers slept in and missed out, there was still a good crowd gathered.

Everyone, even late-comers, as far as I could tell, got a short, although some ended up with a different color than they preferred. NB was particularly interested in feedback about the men's inner lining of the short. I was actually glad to hear this, because I already own a pair of NB shorts that I bought a few years back and the main beef I have about it is (you guessed it) the inner lining. Sufficed to say (your appreciation for me not going into detail on this is understood) they're uncomfortable and I therefore rarely wear them. The new shorts, on the other hand, were totally comfy, and I expect to be wearing them a lot. Other comments that I heard from my fellow runners included that the sizes (men's and women's) ran large (I didn't find this) and that the men's short was a bit too long. I felt that the length of the short was in keeping with current styles of other shorts out there that seem to be going in the direction of the baggy basketball style. It didn't bother me but I can see how some people might prefer a shorter length, merely out of personal preference.

I myself am guilty of only attending the Saturday morning runs sporadically. I always enjoy them when I do make it out, and today was no exception. I started running with Celia K. and Kate M. for a bit, then caught up with Lara K. for a while, before spending much of the run with our esteemed club president, Glen W.  I also met some new Flyers, Mark and Dave, who seemed thrilled at the idea of having just joined a club that gives you new gear at each group run. Conversation covered everything from very untanned legs to returning to running from time off to, well, of course, blogging.

The good people at New Balance put up cute signs playing on their latest "NP" collection of apparel (Nice Posterior, runners!) and we did actually discuss the fit and style of the shorts. Oh, and by the way, just in case you weren't paying attention, NP = New performance.

On the return to NYRR's office, our hosts further surprised us with additional gifts on filling out the (much-shorter-than-I-expected) survey. Everyone received a very nice NB top and nylon bag - perfect for taking a change of clothes to the races. They even threw in some lip balm, sunscreen samples, and an ice pack.

All in all it was a great time, and everyone appreciated the goodies. Thanks go to Glen for organizing the event, and coordinating it with group run leaders Scott S. and Jim S.

An additional note: Surely some people will read this post and be frowning on us (well, me) for so blatantly advertising NB's products. We have a pretty strict "no advertising" policy on our website, and I'm proud that we haven't taken on an exclusive sponsorship contract like other clubs in the city. However, I like to keep things a little more loose and flexible on the blog. From my perspective, if any other running companies (are you listening?) are willing to treat our members to freebies of their products or services, I'm more than happy to provide them with a review or recap of the event on the blog (but be warned: if it's bad, you'll hear about that, too). The event today didn't only help bring attention to a sports merchandiser, but also brought attention to our Saturday morning group run, and got our members out for a run together, and that's really what this club is about. Comments, of course, are welcome.

Have a great run.  - Eric S.

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I Just Can't Find a Thing to Wear!

(a.k.a. Do My Running Shoes Make Me Look Fat?

So here's a question: what should or shouldn't us runners wear on our feet?

I certainly don't know, but I'll write a bit from my experience and would love to learn what others may have to share about this topic.

When I first started running several years ago, it hurt!  In retrospect, I realize that this was normal and that I could have just patiently let my body adapt.

But as perhaps a particularly naive and impressionable new runner, I tried just about everything that was suggested to me.  I followed the advice of runner friends, heeded the words of running book authors, altered my running form, delved into the wonderful world of podiatry and orthotics, and experimented with different types of running shoes.

Early on, a friend of mine who'd been running for many years told me how he'd experienced some rather serious injuries including a few stress fractures, but had been running injury-free since wearing orthotics provided by a certain highly regarded podiatrist.  So, I figured, I'd be a fool (even more than usual) not to pay this podiatrist a visit.

How excited he was, this Dr. Foot (name changed to protect the guilty) that here I was, Diligent Dave, seeking his help to protect my feet and body from the pounding of my new hobby. After only about a 10-minute exam he fit me for orthotics, and not only for my running shoes but also for my walking shoes, both of which he assured me were essential for my physical well-being.  So who was I to question this confident and caring physician? 

Well, I should have.  They cost a fortune.  Plus, every several months the running orthotics would wear down and have to be re-surfaced.  And when they were being resurfaced I couldn't run for several days because I risked injury if I were to suddenly run without them after having followed detailed protocol for getting accustomed to them.  On top of all that, when the orthotics were returned to me after resurfacing, several times I ended up with blisters due to the texture of the new surface.  Oy vey!

Eventually, it hit me that the orthotics not only were an annoyance, but that maybe they weren't necessary.  Maybe either I was supposed to ease into running more gradually, or it was supposed to hurt a bit until I adapted to running.

So I went to a running store that provides video gait analysis, and was sold a pair of running shoes that I was told would address my very mild pronation.  I then weaned myself off of the orthotics, and ultimately trashed them.  It's been about a year now since I dumped the orthotics, and I've been running comfortably and happily without them ever since.

But being Curious Dave, and impressionable, I also experimented with wearing running shoes that provided very little support and padding.  One recommendation espoused (don't you just love a good espousing?) by ChiRunning guru Danny Dreyer is to wear minimalist running shoes, including to enable one's feet to provide the body with important feedback.  Check out this brand new article about the minimalist shoe movement that quotes Danny Dreyer. 

Well, heeding the minimalist perspective, I went out and bought a pair of New Balance 709s.  They were extremely light and comfortable, and seemed to help me to land on my mid-foot, which is how I seek to run per ChiRunning principles. I ran on my minimalist running shoes once for just 3 miles on a boardwalk in Cape May.  But I didn't feel right toward the end of the run, with discomfort including along my IT bands that continued for several days.  I wore them again two weeks later for 5 miles, and the discomfort was worse than the first time.  I haven't worn them since.  Maybe I didn't ease into them properly, or maybe they just weren't the right shoe for me.

Yet I continue to remain intrigued about what to wear, or not wear, on my feet.  Recently, I read some Flyers posts about barefoot running and interest in Scott Jurek's Born to Run and I find it fascinating that barefoot running appears to be catching on.

I've also recently come across MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) shoes, such as Shugulis. The "B" in MBT is for barefoot, yet the soles of these shoes are massively thick and when I took them for a test-walk in a shoe store I learned that they're designed such that I should essentially rock 'n roll over them, and it felt almost like walking on wheels, or something like that.  I found them to be very comfortable, but also expensive.  I was told that they're supposed to strengthen the calf muscles, among the benefits.  Perhaps.  Or will I end up with over-stressed and strained calves that lead to running injury?

So, maybe I've evolved some from Impressionable Dave who'd try everything that anyone suggested to me, to now Slightly Cynical Dave.  But I do continue to wonder, including:

1. Does anyone else have buyer beware experiences with orthotics?  Do others want to sing their praises?
2. Is anyone having success with minimalist shoes and barefoot running?  Any disaster stories?
3. Do lighter running shoes make you run faster?  More important, will they make me run faster??!
4. What are the pros and cons of padding on running shoes?
5. What's the deal with MBT shoes?  Are they just another fad, and do they require Dramamine to get used to the rocking motion?  Or should I be wearing them, even to bed (yes, my wife is very tolerant :)?
6. And, seriously, do my running shoes make me look fat? 

-Dave K.

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