Vibram 5 Fingers

What are those is what I though the first time I saw a pair of Vibram Five Finger on a fellow skydiver at the DZ.  I though these looked cool !  I have been intrigued about them ever since ...

These shoes are apparently designed around the idea that wearing normal trainers impede our natural abilities to run and returning to barefoot running is the purest kind of running ... Human babies are born without shoes.  Walking in Vibram Five Fingers promotes the usage of muscles in the foot/leg normally under-utilized.  I chatted a little on-line about these with runners.  There is a school of thoughts that swears by them.  They do take some time to get used to and should be worn for shorter distances when transitioning to them, in the one to three mile range.  I was recommended to use them on short runs less than a mile and on the treadmill first ...

Even as one may think the argument that one is born without shoes makes sense at first, the other school of though is that from the time we learn to walk we use shoes so that our bodies are conditioned to use trainers regardless.  This argument seemed to be reinforced by what seemed to be an increase in running-related injuries in runners wearing Vibram Five Fingers, or even bare-foot runners in general.  The question could be not so much as whether barefoot running causes injuries so much as whether the injuries from running are more prevalent in some individuals as the following article concludes:

"The Barefoot Running Injury Epidemic" from triathlon.competitor.com

I wanted to check some Vibram Five Fingers out at the Seattle Sports Expo.  There weren't any on display, my guess because the expo was geared toward long distance running ...   Still I can not, not be intrigued by the Vibrams.  I think they could make for a nice pair of exercise shoes for the gym.  But at a $100 price tag that makes for an expensive bargain so for now ... I satisfy my curiosity with writing about the Vibram Five Fingers and fantasizing what it is like to wear some ...

Firecracker 5000 July 3rd 2011

I completed the Firecracker 5K Run / Walk event at Midnight July 3rd.  The route took us around the Seattle Center with lots of different angles of the Space Needle ...  Definitely fun!!!   This run has existed in Seattle for many years but this year is the first I heard of it.    The race started from the Seattle Center Memorial stadium, wound around the Seattle Center and terminated where it started.  

The biggest challenge of the night was to find (free) parking.  I witnessed a miracle when after driving around for 20 minutes SGF spotted a free spot off the main street as we were about to call it quits and go to one of the pay parking.  I mean common paying for parking at 11:30 pm?

I geared up and warmed up on the Stadium patch ... Doing strides ...

And running backwards .... 

My mindset for the race was pretty relaxed, run the race at a good pace but not so challenging pace so I targeted 25 minute finish time in my head.  Part of that mindset is that those 5ks are hard, and if you gonna run this distance competitively it takes a lot of wind out of you!  I was discussing just that with Justin from the Run26 store a few days ago.  Although to the uninitiated running is running, after running a few races myself I realize how each race distance requires a different strategy to ensure a successful race.  You don’t run a 5k like you finish a half-marathon.  Our discussion actually focused on how a full marathon is more about pain management whereas you may finish a 5k vomiting because you pushed your body was so hard.  In that context, the 13.1 distance seem best as I enjoy both the distance and the event.  13.1 miles isn’t as challenging physically whereas the 5k is if I am gonna run it in the 22 - 23 minutes range ... And I wouldn’t know about a full marathon as I have yet to run that distance but I can imagine it will be hard as well ... the other side of the pushing the limit spectrum when you run ...  I won’t enjoy the painful 6 miles as much as relish in the achievement of completing the distance under good times ...

The starting line had no waves  ... 

And the course began through a tunnel, so 1500 runners trying to squish through a less than 30 feet wide tunnel for a few hundred feet made for a reeeaaallly slow start for everyone.  I was at the back of the pack which didn’t help.    I got frustrated quickly and as soon as I could I got started working my way up the pack.  Put aside the slow start (it is Seattle afterall, so slowdowns are to be expected LOL) ... it was a fun run.  Not much flat and nice rolling “hills” so I switched over quads and gluts to maintain speed on the ups and take advantage of gravity on the “downs”.  I would lookup and see the Space Needle at different angles at different times but towering over me most of the time ...  

I didn’t slow down throughout the race.  But soon after a mile 1 marker I started feeling pain on my right side which tells me that I was cramping so I worked at regulating my breathing for the next half mile to work through the cramp.  About two third of the way we passed a few bars and people were cheering us ...  I high-fived that dude that was standing in the middle of the course ... he had both hands extended to his left and right, drunk as hell, the high-five bitch giving them up to whoever wanted them ah ah ... When you are out there running your ass off never pass a free high five opportunity !

Now hitting mile 2 marker, I am managing my pace, keeping it fast but sustainable ...  That’s the part I like least about the 5k.  Another thing about this race was I didn’t see any markers along the route so the only indication how much distance remained was my Runkeeper updates ... glad Runkeeper decided to function properly :)  Anyway coming in by the large parking structures I knew we where close to the end yet the end seemed soooo far away ... Then 2 muscular black guys flew by us on the left and I though to myself “ugh “. where do they find that kind of power so far into the race ... That’s about when I noticed this other guy about 20 feet in front of me that was limping on both legs ... First I though wow that guy must be hurt bad until I realized that he wasn’t bending his knees at all, I have to assume due to some issues with his legs, still he was running ... Great race spirit which helped me refocus for the last half mile ...

I could hear the voices in the stadium by now so we were very close to the finish ... I was coming in on the left side of the tunnel ... So focused on not giving up I wasn’t thinking finish strategy at all.  I really should had been coming on the right side (the inside  of the last curve) ... I started sprinting too soon too and ran out of steam about 50 feet out from the finish line.  The last runner I passed in the tunnel caught up to me  ... i saw his foot hitting the finish mat has one tiny little second before mine ...  I finished the Firecracker 5k pretty much like I finished the Rock and Roll Half.  I had a great finish at the Rock and Roll but as i mentioned at the beginning of the post, each distance requires a different strategy so what worked for the rock and Roll didn’t for the Firecracker 5000 ...

In retrospect I started too fast with the purpose of making up time where I think in the end I have lost a few seconds as a result ... I need to remember to position myself for the final sprint on the inside of the route, zigzag less ... Wait a little more for the final sprint so that I maximize that sprinting distance and make a splash at the finish ... Little things that will help me improve my next event I hope :)

Pictures in this post are courtesy SGF, Team SBF ... thank you for your incredible support!  For those who don’t know my girlfriend drove 12 hours straight from Northern California yesterday to be back in Washington on time to accompany me to the race ... You are the best baby <3 ... 

 I am wearing the red Tshirt on the left of this picture at the finish line ...

So note to self ... these couple black guys I though were so bad ass ... they are the two guys a few feet in front of me in this picture ... I caught up to them in the end ! 

Race Stats:

Finishers: 1351

Females: 783

Males: 560

Average time: 31:08

My Stats:

BIB: 254

Overall: 150/1351

Division M30-39: 32/150

Sex: 134/560

Finish: 22:47

Pace: 7:21

Mix can of thoughts ...

It's a beautiful summer afternoon here in the Pacific Northwest ... hanging by myself so I decided to catch up on my blogging.  There isn't enough time in the day to keep this blog up-to-date ... But here I am, I am alone and it gives me something to do this afternoon and I feel happy when I write ... words flow naturally ... like when feet strike the pavement ... The most difficult decision of the day was definitely where to go to write ... Didn't want write from home.  I was taking some notes down about the mud run the other day while waiting for seating at Olive Garden in their bar and I really enjoyed that environment, so I though to myself I should find a cool public place like that to hang at when I want to write ... The catch ?  I need WI-FI hence why I write from the public library tonight.  The library does close in half-hour so I will have to migrate to a different place soon.

I have several topics I want to catch up with .. the Survivor mud run, the Seattle Rock and Roll half ... latest goodies I test ran at the Seattle RnR half.  I set my goal on a full marathon to run in September also.  The memorial runforlise.com in August, the firecracker 5k run a video that Jessica posted about correct striking form ...  That's what comes to mind at this time ...

I see that I am able to attach a location to this post, that's awesome :)  It's also fun discovering all the cool features of the blog ... Like I just closed my Safari window by mistake and I though oh no I lost this great post that you are reading  .... But I can click on "Edit posts" and found this post saved.  I can even edit published posts ...