Yesterday the town of Nyon posted about the Wake Up and Run event that is taking place tomorrow so I felt like signing up until I saw that it costs 38 CHF, and then I changed my mind, temporarily. Eventually I thought “This is in Nyon so it’s local, so I could meet local people”. I also thought “well, if it includes breakfast and a t-shirt then it could be worthwhile after all.
For a while now I have been wearing a Casio and an apple watch or a Garmin and an Apple watch, or a Casio and a Garmin watch or a xiaomi smart band and a casio or a xiaomi smart band and… it goes on.
The reason for which I’m flying between so many devices is two fold. I have too many devices. There was a time when I went climbing, hiking, cycling, diving, swimming, on via ferrata and more and I was happy with just one watch.
On Cloudneo are shoes that you rent, rather than own. They are designed for running but you can also use them for walking. They are designed for dry, warm weather, rather than wet. They are designed to last from three months to six months depending on how quickly you wear them out. They are brilliantly white when new, but within two or three runs they lose their luminescence.
These shoes are designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the shoes we wear. They are made from beans, rather than petroleum based products. Once you’re done with a pair you send it back to the manufacturer, so that they are grounded back down and turned into a new pair of shoes. In theory you never own them. In practice they are just extremely easy to recycle.
It’s good to vary between walking, cycling and running. I even threw in skateboarding but I am not confident at that sport yet. The beauty of walking, cycling and running is that these are sports that you can do straight from home, without getting into a car, and without having to put up with other drivers. The one drawback is that dangerous drivers endanger you on every outing, but that’s another topic.
Yesterday I went for an after lunch run. It was the seventh of Septembre and despite this I felt myself getting warm. The air temperature is currently around 29°c in September, when it should be declining to 20°c or less. It’s warm, and almost uncomfortable. I don’t know whether it’s because I was running, rather than walking or cycling, or because the humidity is higher. In either case we have had summer temperatures for months now, and the weather never changes. It’s always warm and sunny.
For the second time in a few days I ran over five kilometres in the Trail Glove 7 shoes without my knees or other parts of my body suffering. With other shoes I would have stopped after two kilometres but for some reason I can run further with Trail Glove 7
At the moment I am running 5k but one or two weeks elapse between runs so my body has time to recover and adapt to running. My knees are under less stress as a result.
I have been putting the 80/20 running rule into practice. The principal is simple. Instead of running to your max you run at a comfortable pace for most of your running instead. Instead of pushing yourself to be fast, you push yourself to have endurance. You train at a pace that is 80 percent or less of your maximum, to perform better when you race.
The concept is rational. You could train to your max but by doing so you tire yourself emotionally, physically and mentally. Instead of improving you hit a wall. The 80 percent rule builds on the idea that by training consistently at a lower intensity 80 percent of the time you build stamina and endurance.
What is the last thing you learned?
I am currently learning to run five kilometres again. I’m one week away from completing the training program. This isn’t learning in the conventional sense of the word. It’s about fitness and endurance. About pacing and stamina.
I have run five k in half an hour in the past. I managed to run 10k and more. I stopped because my knees disliked my running. Now I am running again. In less than eight days I will have completed the challenge and I will be able to move on to something else. I ran 5.6km two days ago. The next runs are one or two short runs, and a 5k run.
Today I went for a run earlier than usual and had to deal with mischievous shoelaces. They decided to come undone at least three times during the first three kilometres before I finally got them to behave.
I went for a run earlier than usual because rain is forecast for this afternoon and if I go after lunch then I get rained on. I prefer not to run in the rain, if I can avoid it.
I like cycling, hiking and climbing rather than running but I read an article that makes me think that cycling and running are incompatible. In one sport the leg becomes a spring and as you run it becomes fine tuned to reflect the energy back into forward motion whereas in cycling torque is key.
Why Do Cyclists Have Bigger Legs explores the physiological difference between running and cycling. Specifically a runner wants muscles that are springy and provice forward motion whereas as cyclist wants to provide torque and downwards force to propel the bike forwards. Apparently trail running and cycling are better friends because both require more strength and power to “raise” the body.