Stinky Shoes

Ashland Dave talked about stinky shoes in his podcast of 26 September 2009 -- it was somewhere in the first 15 minutes of the podcast:

Running in the Center of the Universe

Stinky shoes are a real problem for me. I am a profuse sweater, so my shoes are always pretty soggy when I finish a run. They are relegated to a place on the porch when I finish running. They do all right until...

...until I run in the rain. For some reason, that seems to push them over the edge. Even though I take out the insoles and stuff the shoes with newspaper to get them to dry, getting them soaked that way seems to bring out the smell and make it permanent. I can wash them and, while it helps, they still stink. I've tried to spray them with Fabreeze and that works until I run again.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Until I find a solution, though, Shoes, you stay outside!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Runner-Friendly or Unfriendly?

While I'm sure there's more to the story than this particular take on it, Portsmouth, NH doesn't sound like a runner-friendly place to run RW Daily: Portsmouth to Runner: Drop Dead!

As I read the story, I was reminded of how fortunate I was to have lived in the Far West End of Richmond, VA for 4.5 years. Not only are there a lot of friendly runners there, it's definitely a runner-friendly place -- wide streets and courteous drivers. I only recall two aggressive drivers and they had probably just had a bad day. I did have to dodge a couple of school buses. Nothing like Portsmouth, NH.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Exercise Prepares Our Bodies for Stressful Situations, Study Indicates - Mind Hacks - Lifehacker

Interesting. We runners knew this, naturally. After a long run, we're so stress-free that nothing fazes us except having to move out of the recliner.

Of course, one logical conclusion from this study would be that running only makes you calmer when you get dunked in cold water -- if, that is, you're a running rat.

Exercise Prepares Our Bodies for Stressful Situations, Study Indicates - Mind Hacks - Lifehacker

I'm taking a few days off from running -- 8-10 days. I have some fairly minor aches and pains and just don't have the want to that I've had. This will be the first planned break in 6.5 years.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Key Factors in My Running

I took off this morning intending to do 5.5+ miles. For some reason, I just couldn't do it and ended up cutting it short a bit. Lately, more often than not, my runs have just been hard. I think I have to face the facts.

OK, yes, I'm running at altitude (5500'+) and every run is hilly (there's just no flat run here). But, I'm also running more slowly than I did at sea level -- 8:00-8:30 at sea level, 8:30-9:05 at altitude -- so I shouldn't feel completely wiped out. Also, I'm bored with my routes -- without driving somewhere else in town (which I'm loathe to do), my options are limited. I'm used to the 300+ routes/variations I had access to in Richmond.

But, I think there are two factors that are probably more important than those -- weight and base mileage. Basically, I'm 12 pounds +/- heavier than when I was running my best. So, I just need to get rid of it. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, my mileage has slipped. Rather than running 30-35 miles per week (or even more when getting ready for a race), I'm running 15-20 miles per week. That means a 5 mile run is 25-33% of my weekly mileage now but was only 14-17% 6-12 months ago.

So, I think I have some work to do.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

RW Daily: One Gift You Don't Want to Unwrap

For all of you runners who have wondered what to give your family and friends for Christmas, check out this Runner's World article. Somehow, I don't think my family or friends would have much appreciation for my race picture on a mug.

RW Daily: One Gift You Don't Want to Unwrap

I did 5.6 miles in the mud this morning at a slow pace of 8:54 mpm. One water puddle covered the whole road! And these are paved roads (in Nairobi)!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

For the West End (Richmond) Runners

This post is dedicated to my friends and running pals who ran the Suntrust Richmond Marathon and the McDonalds Half Marathon yesterday. You are my heroes -- I saw some good times in the results. Maybe these thoughts from Meb will resonate with you:



(Stolen from Half Fast who stole it from Running is Funny who stole it from ...?)

The words for the week are: rest, recover, refuel. Then enjoy running.

I got in my longest run to date in Kenya -- headed out after our worship service for a slow (relative, I know) 6.38 miles in 58:21. With the altitude and the hills, I figure that ain't too bad.

Run well, y'all,
Bob A

Our "Home" City, 2005-2009

This is a shout out to my homies in Richmond -- John Rolfe 10K Training Team, John Rolfe Patrick Henry Half Marathon Training Team, Posse running group -- many of whom are running either the Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, or 8K next weekend. Good luck -- you all are so ready for this. (Don't worry -- that's the end of my attempts at urban language.)

From May 2008 until July 2009, we lived in Richmond, VA. While we would have preferred to have been overseas, Richmond was a good place to live and a great place to run. This video gives an overview of some of the reasons for that (we didn't do all that's rapped about in the video) -- and it's a fun look at the city.



Run well, y'all,
Bob