Running Notes by HJL

I logged 20 miles on the treadmill at the gym yesterday, which will be my last long run before Big Sur at the end of the month. I did the whole run at 9:00 pace, with a water/bathroom/gel break at each hour. I think I’m going to plan for a little slower than that on the course, though. I did 16+ at 9:30-10:00 pace a couple of weeks ago during vacation in Maui where it was scenic, but around 80 degrees by the time I finished. Wasn’t planning on putting in 20 miles yesterday, but it was raining a little which got me to run in the gym instead of outside, then I figured I’d just run for 3 hours instead of 2+. I also started on the treadmill at about the same time as Waterworld started playing. It’s a relatively long movie which I’ve seen in bits and pieces, never had sufficient interest to rent it but interested enough to keep it tuned in instead of my usual treadmill fare of SpongeBob on the video screen while I listen to my own music on headphones.

I didn’t prep as thoroughly for yesterday’s run as I might have otherwise, as I didn’t originally plan to go that far. I discovered a few sunburned spots that got chafed at 3 hours that have been ok at 2 hours running time. I also didn’t trim back my toenails beforehand, so I have some blistering around one of them, which may end up falling off. No carb loading, so I ended up a little tired and hungry all day yesterday and today. On the plus side, no cramping, no joint or muscle problems, no blistering except around the slightly long toenail. The Hurricane 9’s have been OK during the long runs on this training cycle, although I would like just a little more forefoot cushioning / support. I guess I still like the Hurricane 5’s better, if only they still made them.

I’m still having problems getting my the Timex HRM strap working lately. It doesn’t give sane readings on the new Bodylink watch I got to replace the old one, and I get bogus data in the data recorder as well. So no nice charts and graphs. I may try doing one more round of changing all the batteries before I completely give up on it. It hasn’t really been useful since I ran Big Sur last year, I didn’t even bother bringing it on vacation to Hawaii. Using the old fashioned method of counting heartbeats, I ended the 3 hour run at about HR 164.

I finally got around to rotating in a new set of running shoes. I’ve been running with a few pairs of shoes that I’ve had since last spring, partly because I didn’t log many runs in the latter part of the year. I skipped from the Hurricane 7’s to the Hurricane 9’s because the 8’s seemed too narrow again (like the 6’s which I also skipped). For the past few years it seems like every other update to the Hurricanes has been too narrow. I tried the 8’s and they were way too narrow for me in normal width, I probably could have gone with the extra wide version but they didn’t have them in stock at the time.

I’m still using the Hurricane 7’s and GT-2110’s from last year for short runs, but they’ve both got well over 500 miles on them, and for me that rules them out for longer runs. I start getting a variety of foot and leg problems, mostly plantar fasciaitis, if I log a lot of mileage in worn out shoes. So far I’ve put in a couple of 10 mile runs without any problems. The Hurricane 9’s seem to be a little lighter than the 5’s or 7’s, which is good if your form is pretty clean, but I feel like it might not provide quite as much support if you’re on the edge of an injury. I haven’t had any problems on this training cycle yet, but I haven’t pushed my mileage up very far yet either.

I’ve tried them out on a couple of short (3-5) mile runs, and I think they’ll work out as replacements for the Hurricane 5’s I’ve been running in. The fit is similar, and the main difference I’ve noticed is that the Hurricane 7’s feel slightly cushier than the Hurricane 5’s. They don’t seem to be squishy or heavy by comparison, though.

Went to MetroSports today for their 1-day, 20% off sale to pick up replacements for my current shoes. The place was packed — apparently runners aren’t as focused on the Super Bowl and related festivities as much as some. I ended up with a pair of Saucony Hurricane 7’s and ASICS GT-2110’s.

I’ve been running in Hurricane 5’s and GT-2100s for a while. The Hurricane 5’s have worked well for me and I didn’t like the feel of the Hurricane 6 (too narrow or something) when I tried them on a couple of years ago, so I didn’t go with the update back then. Fortunately, the older shoes are still available on the internet (Road Runner Sports, etc), even though they’re sort of discontinued.

The Hurricane 7 has been out for a while and is about to be replaced with the Hurricane 8, so the 7’s are already being discounted. I’m not too concerned with getting the latest and greatest version of the shoe, but I’m not sure how long the 5’s will continue to be available. The 7’s seem to fit better than the 6’s, so I’m giving them a try. I’d like to find a current production version that works for me.

The GT-2110 is nearly indistinguishable from the GT-2100. Trying it on at the store, I can’t really tell the difference, so it appears to be essentially the same shoe.

The Hurricane 5’s were the shoes I selected when I first started running a few years ago. I wanted something with adequate support and cushioning to help avoid injury as I increased mileage. At the time I was 30+ pounds heavier and had much worse running mechanics, so I wanted fairly robust shoes. As my running has improved, I’ve gotten lighter and my mechanics have become more efficient and I don’t land as hard, so the shoes have lasted longer.

I started running in the GT-2100’s about a year ago, to see if a slightly lighter shoe would work for my improved running form. I like them, but have found that I start getting achy joints if I run exclusively with them after more than a couple hundred miles of wear.

Since starting running, I now own the most shoes I have ever had in my entire life. I typically get something like 300-500 miles out of each pair, after which they’re only used cautiously for shorter runs or retired for use for daily walking around. I ran one pair of Hurricane 5’s up to around 700 miles, but I think that precipitated a minor injury so I didn’t try it again. Shoes are cheap compared with medical treatment.

I find it a little strange to have so many pairs of running shoes which appear to be in good shape but which are too worn out for me to run in safely. I’ve been experimenting with aftermarket insoles such as SofSole and SuperFeet, but they’re a little heavy. They do seem to extend the useful life of the shoes once the midsoles are starting to wear out, though.

At the moment I’m still evaluating how things are going, but assuming things stay on track for Big Sur, I’d probably like to run in shoes with more than 100 and less than 200 miles on them. Last year I ran in the GT-2100’s, the year before in the Hurricane 5’s. Lighter is better, except I may end up going a lot slower this year if I can’t breathe very well, in which case having more support under my feet for the longer duration would be a good thing.

1/22/2006 through 1/28/2006 totals: 33.50 miles, longest 9.59 miles.
Year to date: 113.89 miles

Some improvement in breathing, continuing to increase mileage and single run distance.

I’m probably going to need replacements for the current set of shoes in rotation before too long. They’re still OK on the treadmill, but I’d rather have a fresh set of midsoles before starting higher road mileage. I’ve mostly been running in GT2100’s and Hurricane 5’s for a while.

I like the GT2100’s being a little lighter, but have also noticed that if I run exclusively in them I tend to start having small nagging joint aches after a few months. I’ve gotten more consistently about rotating them with the slightly heavier Hurricane 5’s. I’ve been happy with them since I started running a few years ago, and have gone through something like 8 pairs now.