Runners World : How to Lace Your Shoes to Avoid Sore Toes

Running Journal RunDate 09122008

Ooo.. its back to running again. I still kinda perplexed with my knees still giving issue .. considering visiting the physician again for another round of massage to tweak it. One thing I did different was today was relaced my shoes. I found a good video from Runners World website on different methods of lacing your shoes that addresses different issues.

The lacing did leviate pressures for different parts of the shoes and made it a more comfortable fit and wear. I shall post the video up soon .. figuring it out now ! The run was not as expected as I hoped to better my mileage against time for the 6km target today. My heart was not racing yet but my legs were really giving way due to knee. I guess rest, recovery and a massage may do wonders, so tomorrow will not be running as may be leaving to KL today to settle some matters.

Oh ya, I'm that I recorded 70km of total runs as of today, Yippe !!! Plus I had the pleasure of Paula Chasing giving a comment at the end of my run hhhmmmmm, sweet !!!

Till the next run the adventure continues :)

Running Journal RunDate 07122008

Its a Sunday ! The day where everyone comes out ! I decided to take an easy walk today as my knee is still aching. I just wanted to get moving so that there is some blood circulation around the knee. I reached BG(i.e. Botanical Gardens) around 6:00am. Surprisingly its was quite crowded today, families coming out for a walk and the regular crowd(i.e. The Seniors). I spent about an hour walking as my knees were really hurting with every step but I pushed on to complete 5km.

I stopped my worked out and drove over to GD(i.e. Gurney Drive) and walked along the beach side for another 20minutes whilst enjoying the morning breeze and the tide coming in. I left soonafter to pursue my week sin of tosai and vaadai (i.e. Indian Cuisine), yummies :) Today is going to be a damaging day as I have lunch wedding(i.e. to attend, woooooo ..... thy shall moderate ;)

Till the next run ... the adventure continues !!

Running Journal RunDate 06122008

It's Saturday, the day for the longest run of the week (i.e. 10k based on my Nike+ Training Schedule)! I was up at 5:30am as I wanted to run at the PISA stadium today and there was a PCFair going on and wanted to get out there before the crowd got there for fair. I was there at 6:00am, started to stretch a bit to loosen up. My right knee was still hurting a bit, wondering wat went wrong where.

I recalled reading Stu Mittleman's book "Slow Burn", where he quoted muscular pain may something because cause by other weakening of certain organs related to that particular muscle .. hmm wat could be wrong .... Anyways I put that aside for the moment to ponder upon it later and started my run also I was wearing my new NIKE Dri Fit. It's really comfortable plus it has reflectors to warn drives that a runner's is upfront (i.e. for those whom are not blind)

I was having difficulty breathing as I am still having flu and its difficult breathing, wondering when will this go away. Either way I pushed on to complete the 10km but its was in good pace but not good timing though, I felt that I would have done better. I guess I need to be a patient and continue to develop strength and pace.

Knee still giving trouble ... till tomorrow comes ... the adventure continues !

Running Journal RunDate 04122008

Still recovering my flu and and aching knee but the show must go on. Went to the PISA stadium today, a change of venue so that I could do some interval training to improve my pace, strength and speed. Its a good place to train and I will probably use this as the base of training in the future only thing is that I should get there a bit more earlier about 6:00am.

There were already a few seniors on their morning walk and few runners making their rounds when I got there. Seniors, they never seem to fail to amaze me :). My intervals weren't something to be shouting about as I was still not 100% recovered from the flu and cough. I made sure that I kept up the Training Schedule that I set on Nike+ Website and its 6km target to day. I did manage to keep a constant pace today and am happy with that. :))

I completed it and took a slow drive to GD(i.e. Gurney Drive) to get some fresh air and enjoy the view of the ocean, its was nice :) Till tomorrow, the adventure continues ! ;)

Running Journal RunDate 03122008

Today was not so good still recovering from fever and flu, didn't sleep last night either due to discomfort in breathing due the flu. Still crawled out of bed at 6:00 am and drove off for my run. Kicked off the run at about 6:30am after strapping on my new Nike+ Arm Strap. This was the best part of my run, its was comfortable and easier for me to toggle my Nano. :) I didn't feel that I was up to full strength today, was actually not to happy about my run, its was very sluggish.

As you can see from my Nike+ Run there's a huge dip towards the end .. :( , I wasn't at my optimal today, and my muscle were a bit tight. Even after a stretch, it did feel so good :( I still made sure that I did at least 5km+ to keep myself tuned in. My pace is still fluctuating within 7 min/km to 8min/km. Wondering how to improve it ... think of doing a bit more interval training to gather speed and strength.

Another thing is that my should was hurting badly towards completing 30 min of run, I had no idea why as this just happened as well I could feel my spine hurting. I have a feeling that there is a problem with my running posture and have a tendency to learn forward forming kinda a leaning tower hip onwards, kinda feels something no right somewhere. NOTE TO SELF: Be aware of posture ! I finished the run kinda abruptly and got back home to get a quick shower and off to a physician to massage my legs and my shoulders, lets see whether this helps tomorrow ;)

Now a bit about arms bands. If you love to listen to music while you run like me and utilize it during your workout the Nike Arm Band is a useful tool to give you freedom of mobility while you workout and enjoy your favorite tunes. Bellow are 2 version of the arm band by Nike...



The first one on top is original as a storage pouch for your cell phones, I tried using for the iPOD. Its snugly fit in but the draw back in I could not see the iPOD controls plus the strap was a bit small for my arms. This may be suitable for individuals with small arms(i.e. Diameter of 3 -3.5 inches).

Now the other one which has the iPOD snugled in is a better choice. It's comfort level is superb and the clear window to which I can view and interact with my Nano is a big plus point. The only drawback to this design is that where the Nike+ Sensor interfaces with the Nano. Its kinda exposed to the body and when you run your gonna sweat .. which in some ways may not be good for the sensor. Thats the only comment I have about the arm band beside that I really happy with this arm band ! ;)

Running Journal RunDate 02122008

It's time again to run, a bit under the weather today due to the travelling yesterday plus KL's unforgiving weather. Was running a fever but what the heck let see what I can do, read about Paula Chasing win at the NYC marathon (i.e. Running Stats Above), truly admirable and looking a splits and pace ... only one word comes to mind .. absolutely outstanding !

Anyways back to me .. I was running a mild fever but still the show must go on. Drove to BG(i.e. Botanical Garden). Its was about 6:45am I think, got ready and started my run, decided to go for about 5km today as its the start of the week, I would slowly ramp over the week. The one thing I felt which was not so good today is that my running shoes were kinda tight. I adjusted this because I wanted to make sure that the sensor was strapped on neatly to get accurate readings.

NOTE TO SELF: Loosen it up, feet are aching now ! Another thing was I bought the Nike Arm Band to hold Nano so that I would need to strap a waist bag on while running, kinda super cumbersome and uncomfortable especially on long runs. I got two versions one was actually for cell phones storage that I cross used to hold the Nano, the other was the arm strap designed for Nano. This was a useful tool have a view that you could look at the display and kept the unit dry.

I finished my run, not bad for a sick guy. Off I went till tomorrow, as I had errands to run this morning ! :))