nice view from this plateau

So I’ve been running in the cross country shoes almost exclusively the last couple weeks - a few 9s and some 3s. I do like them a lot.

They remind me of kung fu shoes. You know those little black slipper-like shoes. They (both) are super light and svelte.

Now when I run I think a lot about that movie “Remo Williams” where there’s some sort of ex- military/cop/CIA guy (or something of some sort – haven’t actually seen the movie since the eighties) that gets super trained by a little martial arts master – you know, the usual one finger push-ups, running around in kung fu shoes, eating a spoonful of food per day, avoiding bullets, etc.

I can’t help but wonder, though, if I’m doing serious damage to my body. It’s strange, how different running feels now. My legs seem to really crave it but my mind has yet to be convinced of this new strategy.

The biggest stress so far has been placed on my calves. They’re just not used to that extra stretch down to the bottom of their range of motion. I’m not concerned about them though. The calves can handle a solid beating. They’re already adjusting to a level where I’m not noticing them with every step.

Of course, now that the calves are paining-down, I’m noticing some of the other things like knees. My knees feel funny. They don’t exactly hurt. They feel like they did when I first rode fixed gear. And, actually, that’s really the perfect analogy to this new form of running. Fixed gear to freewheel. Traditional running shoes to track flats/barefoot. Seemingly identical but so very different.

I think my funny knees are partly due to a combo of running and riding. I’ve been riding quite a bit. Even without Brown (sigh) my weekly average is way up from past years. And this higher mileage combined with slightly different running style is bound to throw a wrench into things.

At some point I should probably take a rest week, but I’m not quite ready for it yet. I really like hanging out on this higher plateau. I can see a lot more places I could go.

Pacific High by Tim Palmer was a really good book. Now I’m just finishing In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan – super good, too. It seems like every book I read now goes into the good books section to the right. Still waiting to borrow Born to Run – it’s super popular at the Library.