Langelinie photographed by Oliver Burger
Insanely beautiful run today. The fog was so thick I could only see a few meters out from the pier. I heard a tanker sailing by, but I could barely make out the shape of it, I just saw something huge and dark. The old fort from the looked like something out of The Seven Samurais. Also I think I have a new favourite route. Map here.
Followed by a trip to the pool of course.
銭湯.
I’ve noticed that when I run streets it makes cool shapes on my Runkeeper map. At runningalphabet.com people write letters with their running routes. I’m definitely going to make something, though I’m not sure what I want to draw yet.
I felt like crap today, but I managed to keep a consistent tempo anyway. I have been doing a lot of manual work these last days, guess I’m just a bit tired. Or maybe I just ate too many Swedish cinnamon rolls (see below).
Tried to pass another jogger for a while but he kept running off on a shortcut every 2 minutes. Caught up with him at a traffic light, but it didn’t feel like I won my little mindgame. Nice trip anyway, form was decent. Details @Runkeeper.
Buns of steel
Running Activity 2.88 km | RunKeeper.
My old standard running route from the olden days. No fun to run early in the morning.
The way to the top
Running Activity 3.69 km | RunKeeper.
One of my old favourites, from 15 years back. Lots of elevation!
This view made a big dent in my average speed.
Trails like this are like medicine for the ankles
"H&M Trail"
My own Sherwood Forest.
Running Activity 6.80 km | RunKeeper.
I’m trying to find my effective max pulse. The highest I got until now is 178. The Neos performed well. Fastest km was 4:12 min.
Nice run in the forest. I got lost (as usual) and I got to run in some pretty rugged terrain. It was incredibly fun but incredibly hard. Hope I get to do that more in the future. The EVOs performed well, but I did feel I’d want more of a shoe, especially on the upper, the EVOs are like mosquito nets.
My old H&M sneakers have a similar last to the Vivobarefoot Neos.
When I started reading about barefoot running on the web I ran in a few different pairs of very cheap sneakers from the supermarket or H&M. I have always preferred shoes that are flat and not too tight, so it turned out I had a lot of “minimal running shoes” in my closet. I would advice anyone wanting to try minimal running to run a bit in normal sneakers before buying minimal running shoes. Preferably they should be “lowtops” (with a low heel cap), and a bit wider than Chuck Taylors (just for reference).
Four reasons to buy real minimal running shoes later on:
In other words all the things that make running shoes different from other shoes: Durability, traction, weight, breathability. What cheap sneakers do well, on the other hand, is NOT supporting your foot too much, and NOT having a padded heel. In terms of biomechanics they are far better than ordinary running shoes, if you want to run natural-style, that is.
My old sneaker easily passes the ball-test.
Vivobarefoot Neo
The right fit.
I think I’m in love with a shoe. This is the best fit I’ve ever had in a shoe. I originally bought the EVO (the previous model), because it is a little bit lighter. Some barefoot running bloggers complained the Neo was too heavy. For my taste, that’s not the case. The Neo actually feels lighter than the Evo, probably because it hugs my foot like a racing flat. It feels snugger around the midfoot, but with even more room in the toe box. It also feels a bit more like an ordinary shoe. I really like them a lot.
Different kinds of mesh.
Be aware there is a newer model of the Neo with a lighter, watertight (but less breathable) upper. The material is called “hydrophobic” on their website. Actually the new Neo is supposedly even lighter than the original Evo. I am thinking of getting it as trail shoe. It does not look as awesome as the Neo Trail, but I think it works better for road, and is therefore more versatile. But then again winters are long here in Denmark; The Neo trail might be good for running in snow and ice. And then there’s also the Breatho Trail, due in spring. God, I’ve become a shopaholic.
The black lining is soft and breathable. The yellow "suede" around the heel is for increased durability.
Vey breathable mesh.
Garmin Forerunner 305. Works with Ubuntu and Runkeeper!
Running Activity 6.61 km | RunKeeper.
5th km was 4:40.
6th km was barefoot on gravel, cobble stone, and tarmac.
Felt nice to put the shoes back on. They felt incredibly soft and comfy after pounding the gravel barefoot for 5 minutes.
Suddenly realized all my running clothes are black. Even my shoes are black. I need to get a white top, ideally with reflectors… Suddenly made my wonder: Why on earth are running clothes mostly sold in black? They’re too hot in the summer, and can’t be seen in the winter. Seems like a bad idea. Come to think of it they have a nice yellow jacket at my local shop…
Running Activity 2.38 km | RunKeeper
A bit of speedwork today. I peaked at around 3 min/km, average was 4:47. I set my Garmin Forerunner to autolap, so it beeps after every 1 km. First km was 4:13 minutes today. I’ll probably keep recording my 2.5 km runs.
I ran 2.5 km in a bit over 8 minutes when I was 14, so I have some catching up to do.
Finally went and pestered my local running shop to try the Minimus Road shoe. I figured I’d use it as a casual shoe which I could occasionally run in. I love the look of the shoe, but it was pretty clear as soon as I put it on: This shoe is not for me. They felt clunky even walking around with, like having a rope under the midfoot. I was sort of disappointed, probably because this was the first minimal, or “reduced” running shoe I read about on the web.
I have never understood why most running shoes have “arch support” also on the outside of the foot, opposite side of the actual arch. At least I don’t have an arch there, I would like a good groove along the outside of the foot, all the way from the heel to the ball of the foot, with no bumps or “support”. But don’t take it from me, I have weird hobbit feet. Just know that the Minimus is not exactly minimal: It has some kind of “midfoot support”, probably to encourage landing midfoot.
I look forward to trying the new zero-drop version next spring, hopefully it’s a better fit for me.
Untitled by etyrmi at Garmin Connect – Details.
Just got my garmin Forerunner 305 to work with Ubuntu 10.04. I hooked it up with connect.garmin.com via the Linux Garmin Communicator Plugin. I had to manually copy the .so file from /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins to home/USERNAME/.mozilla/plugins to get Firefox to find it. (See Debian installation details.) And it works like a charm. I have an idea it would be better to connect to Runkeeper, but for now this seems easier.
My test walk was on a man-made trail, exactly 1750 meters long, and the GPS shows 1.75km, so not too shabby. Judging from the map it was off a couple of times, though the end result was pretty accurate. Please note that I walked the distance, even I don’t run that slow…
EDIT: Worked with runkeeper too. Think I’ll use that in the future.
