And Thus Concludes Week 2 Of Marathon Training...

Week 2 of Marathon Training was not great, but it finished well. The week started off poorly, with me under the weather. Saturday night and Sunday I could not run because I was under the weather, while Monday morning I got a light run in. The rest of the week I did not run because of a busy schedule, late nights, and an under the weather running partner.

Friday, long run day, was looking particularly daunting. After a low-intensity week, we had 24km scheduled for Friday. The route, a nice, albeit difficult, route, would be along Highway 383. Going out is a nice run, with a largely downhill trend. the way back would prove more difficult - with a largely uphill run, and a fairly strong headwind, the final 12km would prove to be difficult.

I started out the run thinking I might cut it a bit short. I did not feel I needed to run 24km so soon into the season, and it would depend on how the run was going. I would have been happy with a 21-22km run as well, with an absolute minimum of 18-19km.

We started out as a group of 4, until the main running group would pass us. At about 7.5km 2 guys peeled off, as they were looking to run only 15km. We continued on, and shortly after the main group passed us by. The run out was great, as I felt strong and confident. The run was smooth, and I ran it at a fairly fast pace.

That fast pace was probably a mistake, as I was a bit winded and unprepared for the 2nd half of the run. Turning around meant long uphill climbs, though not steep climbs. I have always been poor with hill running, and I dropped back from my running partner, and slowly but surely lost a lot of ground. Eventually I thought maybe I should stop running and let him come pick me up with the car when he finishes, but I kept trudging on telling myself just a little bit more. i felt ok, just tired from the hills.

Eventually I made it back to the end, concluding a 24km run after being totally unprepared for it.

And thus concludes Week 2 of Marathon Training

The Benefit Of Running With A Partner

After a late night and big meal last night, I was not sure I would get up in time for an early run this morning. Running this morning would also be a test of my calf and the muscle pain I experienced on Friday. The pain was almost completely gone, but there is still a lingering touch of pain, at a very dull level. I also expected my running partner to sleep in, or I was at least hoping he would, but when I sent him a text message in the morning he quickly replied, so running was remaining on the morning agenda.

That is actually a very good example of the primary benefit of running with a running partner over running alone. Had I planned to run alone, I would definitely have stayed in bed. Knowing I had someone else out there expecting me to show up, even though he would have understood, knowing that I would have looked a bit lazy to him, that encouraged me to dress up and go running. On a day like today, at 5:45 am after a long and tiring night, that is the only thing that got me out on the road.

We ran 6km down to the Junction of Roads 10 and 375 and then back. The air was slightly warmer and more humid than it has been normally at that time in the morning. I felt the pain slightly, but it did not really hurt and was not at all disabling. Even after the run and after having rested and cooled down, at the point when the pain normally gets worse, it remained only a slight dull discomfort. Hopefully that means I am really past it.

It was a good run. I would still have liked to run tonight with the group, but that is not going to happen due to a conflict. I am still under-mileage for the marathon training, though it is still very early in the season. Our coach gets into high gear very quickly, but as long as I stick with it even in lower gear I should be able to pick up the pace a bit later.

First Long Run Of The Marathon Season Ends Not Well

This past Friday was the first long run of the marathon season. The run was scheduled to be 22km, but since I have not run more than 15km all off-season, and even that only a few times, I decided to alter the route slightly. My altered route would total 19km, and depending on how I was feeling at the end I would possibly extend it a bit. I call it a long run, because it is my longest since my last marathon. However, my coach does not call it a long run - he says long runs are only called long runs if they are of a distance of more than a half-marathon (21.1km). Anything less is only a medium-long run at best.

I met with a couple other guys who were going to run part of it and then turn around, as they were not going to be running more than 14km. We were running the Lamed Hey route from RBS, being starting in RBS across Road 10 to the 375. Up 375 to Elah Junction. Across 38 to Bet Shemesh, and up to RBS. The run includes two major hills, one being the hill of Zechariya and the second being the Tzeelim hill up to RBS.

After my running partners broke off a bit after Tzomet Aderet, I continued the rest of the way on my own. We were getting a good run. I have not run with a watch in a long time, but now that marathon season is back I decided it was time to start monitoring my speed and distance more accurately again. A few quick glances at my watch let me know that were were running at a pretty fast pace. It is not unusual as that stretch of road is at a slight downhill angle and it is easy to not pay attention and run much faster than normal without realizing.

After they broke off and I continued on towards Elah Junction, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left calf. It felt almost like a small bruise, but I am pretty sure it was a slight muscle pull. Nothing specific caused it - I didn't misstep suddenly or trip or anything that i noticed. The pain just suddenly appeared. I stopped and stretched it out a bit, and then kept going. it still hurt, but I had to get home, so my only option was to keep going.

The only thing I could think of that caused it was perhaps running too fast, It is a classic mistake at the beginning of the season. Thankfully, it was not bad. I was able to continue on, slowing down a bit. i made it up the entire Zechariya hill respectably.

Only when climbing the Tzeelim hill did I have to stop and walk a bit as the pain increased with the hill. I got to the top and finished the run at 19km and did not extend it. Obviously the pain increased over the day, but then over Shabbos it began decreasing. i still feel it slightly, but it mostly gone. I expect by tomorrow I should be running again.

Besides for the pain, the timing worked out after I turned at the Elah Junction that I saw a beautiful view of the mountains just after sunrise with the sun over the Elah valley and the mountainous backdrop. It was stunning and the air was beautiful and cool. The run was beautiful, albeit slightly marred by the slight muscle pain. If everything goes well, it looks like it should be a great season.

The Double-Morning Run That Didn't Happen

Today's run was going to be unusual. Due to a convergence of events, I was planning to run two separate runs this morning. I was going to run at 5 am with one running partner, and then at 6:15 am with a second. When the possibility of this happening came up I decided to go for it. i figured marathon training season just began - the whole idea of running, and training for, a marathon is going beyond your abilities. Running the marathon itself is crazy, so when you train you sometimes have to do crazy runs as well.

Anyways, it did not work out because my first running partner overslept, so waking up at 4:30 am turned out to be a waste of time.. I still ran a great run at 6:15 am, logging 7km in the nice cool morning air.

I am going to soon start ramping up my mileage...

Runner's Guide To Israel: Burma Road and Nachshon Nature Reserve

This morning was the last run of the off-season. Friday off-season runs are almost always trails, often trails that the group has never before run. The group scheduled a casual 14km run on Burma Road.

1. When the group says "casual" or "easy" or anything of the sort, I know I am in trouble. i always expect it to really be a slower pace than they usually run, but it never is. With me being much slower than almost everyone else, I often get left in their dust.
2. I have run Burma Road before, and know it is a beautiful run, and doable in my Vibram barefoot shoes.

So, I decided to join the group for this last trail run of the off-season. And it was really nice.

The group really did run a semi-casual pace, and they stopped at frequent enough stops to let the laggers like me catch up.

And, it was only partially Burma Road. We started off on Burma Road, and then hooked into the Nachal Nachshon Nature Reserve. Burma Road was as beautiful and pleasant as always, but the Nachshon Nature Reserve was really stunning. We ran through vineyards, crossed a soft-dirt field that had just been freshly turned, along a field of grass, and sheer beauty of nature and the Land of Israel. We also ran by a couple people who were using the vast empty space to fly a remote controlled airplane. They had the plane about 150 or 200 meters up in the air.

The run started northward, turned east and then we ran parallel to Highway 1 for a bit. Then we looped around back to Burma Road and back to Al Derech Burma store to shower and daven.

Marathon Training Season Cometh

This morning I ran my third run of the week, with another 6.5km run. The early morning runs are great in the still-cool air and mostly empty roads.

With marathon training season about to begin, the runs are going to have to start earlier in the morning and go longer distances. Runs of 6.5 to 8 km are not going to cut it starting next week. The training is great, but the change in schedule is going to be tough, getting up so much earlier, and then running distances that will take me until my day actually has to start with kids going to school and work.

Looking at it now, I could easily see how I could talk myself out of doing it, saying I don't have the time or whatnot. good thing I just registered in early registration for the 2012 Israel Marathon in Tiberias to be run in January 2012. Now that I paid the money I am committed and have to train.

Runner's Guide To Israel: Beit Natif

I have fallen behind on my writing here. Today i did not run, but I have run four days straight until today.

On Friday we had a small group running out shooting for about 14km. The main group was going to be running a 22km run through the Dolev Nature Reserve to Bar Giyora. Just last week I had gone on a jeep tour of the nature reserve and I saw that it would be impossible for me to run these trails. The trails in Dolve Nature Reserve are very rocky and difficult, besides for the difficulty of the long mountain climb, the steepness and the general terrain.

So our small group ran out to Kibbutz Lamed Hey. From there we went in to the entrance of the kibbutz and followed the path around the back. That took us in to the Beit Natif Nature Reserve. Beit Natif is a mountain range outside of Bet Shemesh with beautiful trails and terrain. Parts were rocky, parts were soft, and overall it was beautiful.

We started off running through a vineyard. Much of the run through Beit Natif was uphill, as we were climbing from the very bottom, from the kibbutz, and crossing over the top to get back to Bet Shemesh. After the vineyard, we hooked onto a trail that was part of the Shvil Yisrael trail - the cross-country Israel trail. We ran along that for a bit, until it continued too far south, while we had to be turning eastward at that point. We followed some other trails up, eventually forcing us to stop running. We knew which way we had to go, but we did not necessarily know which trail would take us there. We basically hiked for a bit climbing from trail to trail until we found the main trail that took us back to the top of Beit Natif.

Along the way we found a well, an ancient olive press, an ancient cell phone tower, and more. The path then took us down past the area where the new nighborhood of Bet Shemesh is being built, just below tel Yarmout. and that brought us back to RBS.

the total run, not including the hiking, was probably about 16km, though that is an estimate. None of us were wearing a GPS watch.

Back to 7km

It has been a while since I have written anythign here, but it has also been a while since I went running. Due to smoe personal scheduling issues right now, in addition to the heat and general laziness that is always difficult to overcome, I ended up not running for the past 9 days. Besides for that, I have been eating like a pig and could feel myself going to waste...

But I went for a great 7km run this morning with one of my running buddies, and that is a start to getting back on the road properly. It was tough. The run was hard, the hills I normally take just fine were difficult. But I was back out there and it felt great.

Running Early

A run is a great way to start the day.

This morning we went for a basic 6.5km run. Saw a bunch of other runners out. It felt like it is going to get hot pretty early, so it was good we went for an early, instead of late, run today.

And Sometimes Barefoot Means Barefoot

We put a small group together, four runners, and ran about 15km this morning.We ran out to the Junction of Aderet and then back. Running back we detoured by Eziyona Junction and ran on a path through the fields. The end of the path is pretty rocky, but not horrible. The run was mostly uneventful.

When we got back to the top of RBS and split ways, I stopped to remove some pebbles and thorns from my Vibram Bikilas. While I had my Vibrams off, I decided to run the last kilometer completely barefoot. So I did. and it was not bad. if I do it a few times, my feet might get used to the feeling of the surface. I must say that it felt great to put the Bikilas back on for the last 300 meters...

Running Through Elul Into The Tanakh

This morning's early run was great. We ran 7km, and got out early, starting my run at 5:23am.

When starting out, while running up Kishon/Yarqon, it was still dark and the sky was just starting to show some light. The crickets were cricketing in full force, there were no cars on the roads, and it felt like running in Elul. What does "felt like running in Elul" mean? When marathon training season starts, at the beginning of September, usually in Elul, we revert to doing most morning runs very early. Early, as in, when the crickets are still chirping, the sky is still mostly dark, the cars are far and few apart... and during the run, if running in the neighborhood, you can even hear the distant shofar being blown. Today we had all of that except for the shofar, and it made me feel like Elul had arrived, and I was almost waiting to hear the shofar.

My running partner is participating now in a Tanakh conference. During the run he described to me some of the interesting lectures he had heard yesterday, and we discussed various issues from Tanakh and politics and social justice. It was a great run as it was stimulating for the body, stimulating of the mind and stimulating in a spiritual sense. Our runs are just about always stimulating for the body and for the mind, as we discuss all sorts of issues, the extra stimulation of the spiritual senses was an added benefit today.

6KM Not Enough

My right ankle has been sore, feeling like I twisted it at some point, though I don't remember actually doing so. Because of that I was not able to run a for a few days. Now it is feeling much better, albeit not 100%, and I am running again.

I ran the other night with a friend and a fellow visiting who is an experienced Comrades runner. Comrades is an ultra-marathon run in South Africa that is a 90km run. This fellow ran for 11 hours! Talk about making you feel insignificant! I can't even imagine that, though it reminds me of the days when I could not imagine running 42km..

This morning I ran a nice 6km run. The early morning air was still cool, and the atmosphere was pleasant. We had a great run at a good pace.

By the end I felt like 6km was not enough. My body still wanted more.

NB Minimus: Hot Coals (video)

NB Minimus: Hot Coals

This video promotes barefoot running, specifically using New Balance Minimus barefoot running shoes.

NB Minimus is like barefoot, only better. Watch as our barefoot buddy takes NB Minimus for a spin and discovers the advantages of running minimusly.

All You Wanted To Know About Top of Foot Pain

I was recently asked about my experience with TOFP, or Top Of Foot Pain. It seems to be a common ailment barefoot runners suffer from.

Being that I personally do not, and have not, suffered from TOFP, I had to do some research to discover what it was, what caused TOPF and how to avoid it and get rid of it.

After researching Top Of Foot Pain, I wrote my article on it on my Run Barefoot Marathon website. All you wanted to know about Top Of Foot Pain; what is TOFP, how to get rid of TOFP and how to avoid getting ToFP.

Serious Trail Barefoot Running

This past Friday we went out on the trails of Park Brittania. I have run through Park Brittania many times before, but always on the main paths, not the trails. This run was going to be a mostly trail run, anywhere from 13km to 16km.

The trails in Park Brittania, I quickly found out, are very hard trail, extremely rocky. Making the rugged terrain even more difficult is the constant fluctuating between ups and downs - we were going uphill, then downhill, then back up, then down, etc. you get the point. So it was not just the difficulty of the rocks and the feet, but the concentration of running on the rocks to avoid pain and injury along with the frequency of changing style from ups to downs and back.

Far more difficult than running barefoot on rocks is running barefoot on rocks when running uphill, constantly looking for good footing. And even more difficult than that is running on rocks downhill, as you try to avoid going too fast, as you are sure to misstep and hurt yourself on a stray rock.

I must say, this run was a lot of work. I was wiped out by about 12km, but had to keep going. It was a great run, until I tired from the over-concentration. After that it was mostly a struggle.

The other runners were amazed that I was able to do it at all, considering how rcky it was. My feet are mostly ok with it now, considering that I have run numerous trails and my feet are fairly well-conditioned for it by now. I still have to be careful, and my heel came out a little bit sore from some obvious missteps, but overall it was pretty good and mostly painless.

Running trails in Vibrams FiveFingers is very doable. It takes some effort, and a lot of practice building up the foot. Start out on soft trails, and move up carefully to more difficult trails. Your feet will adjust their abilities.