The First Vibram Week

The past week has been very different from the weeks before. Probably the nice weather is a point but also the shoes do very much for my motivation:
In contrast to the passed few weeks without Vibrams I am very motivated to run now. Vibrams rock my world! Actually, I would like to run daily. Unfortunately, this simply not possible as my muscles first need to get used to (almost) barefoot running.

But after all, I am a little bit proud really. I improved this week from eight minutes to over a whole hour (73mins) of running. And I didn't even have to rest long in between the runs as others had to because of not being able to walk at all. ;) Altough, I confess that I planned a day's rest in between the runs. Therefore, I really had no bad muscle pains (which was astonishing to boyfriend#1).

That also proves the whole point of not overtraining. You can achieve so much more with starting slowly and carefully and not just starting with a normal 10km track.

On the other hand I really like adore to run the marathon in Vibrams because I am much more motivated to improve running barefoot than in 'normal' running shoes. Moreover, I didn't experience any joint pain until now which I often did in usual running shoes (especially on long runs). My biggest hope actually is exactly not to have them ever again as barefoot running spares your joints much better than the cusioning effect of common running shoes.

On monday and tuesday I'll go for long(er) runs (about 20km) with running friend#2. I suppose I'll have to do at least one in common shoes. This way, I can actually observe the difference between the shoes very closely. I'm very curious already.

Vibrams: Start Small

Boyfriend#1 started the whole Vibram thing as men tend to do. He read about them on a apparently really up-to-date blog and showed me the article right away. It was this very informative one.
I was actually very interested, too but not in the mood to spend a lot of money (which I do not possess) for shoes (which I may never use). But it all made very much sense indeed.
Then boyfriend#1 is apparently richer than I am (though I am not quite convinced yet) and not as stingy he got to try them out first. The day they got deliverd he wore them in his apartment and felt fine. The next day he said he wanted to try them running and worked a little circuit of 10km. He went to bed happy though with a slight muscle pain in his calves.
He couldn't get up the morning after. And the morning after, and the morning after. I laughed my head of but he really had severe problems to get even to the loo. I confess that I pittied him a bit. Who could have known...
Well, at least now I know. He highly recommended to start with only 5km for a maximum. I started with 8mins (two kilometres maximum). Then I did 12mins the day after. Today I made the whole of 16mins. Maybe I get crazy with 30mins tomorrow. But we'll see. I really don't want to end up in such a pain. I'll have that after the marathon anyway.
On the other hand it would be so much fun to run the marathon in Vibrams. But I guess that is a bit short notice as we only have a month's training left. Therefore, the marathon in Vibrams will mean so much pain that I won't be able to work for a whole week. Who will pay for all the food I usually consume after this long a distance??
Would have really been so much fun to watch people's faces. Probably, I wouldn't have even noticed the first 20km. On the other hand, I can do that in a couple of months still. :)

Running Rat Became Entertainer

You can see her shows almost daily in a small park in a German town called Leipzig. Most people there believe her obviously to be hilarious. You can see it in their faces as she runs by with her stoic face looking at her watch from time to time. 

But why is she so funny? She is wearing ordinary running clothes: black running pants, a white cap, sometimes a pink shirt which may be out of the ordinary to one or the other - but in general... 

But wait! What's that on her feet?? You have never seen that before!

They are called Vibrams and are believed to be the new trend in sports and health. I (and most peope around me) admitt that they do look, well, let's call it special. A runner wearing them looks even more special to grandmas and grandpas in the park and to the average uneducated park runner. 

Just a couple of minutes ago people stared at me as if I was from a different galaxy. 

However, it is kind of fun to watch people's reactions. I could hardly  refrain from laughing as I watched their faces. 

Not even one of the runners held his hand up to greet me as it is usual around here. They all stared at my feet and probably had severe thoughts about me having escaped the nuthouse.

Therefore, I am still quite relieved that I only run a couple of minutes a day to get used to these shoes. Why you should better start small I'll tell you very soon. 

Passing Exams and Marathon?!

Oh my, I am really registered at this marathon in April and actually do neither feel fit nor motivated. Maybe you know exam times when you do not even have time for a single day to relax (or to train). I feel quite burnt out, don't want to study anymore (at least not daily). I would prefer anything to English literature, essay writing and translations.

But I will make this exam! And do you know why? Because I want it. I made an affirmation. And I have a strong motivator: I want to start my first real job finally, have my own place to live and save for fabulous trips around the world (though that kind of collides with my wish for a dog). There you have it. If you look for me, I am studying.
On Wednesday everything is over (at least for a couple of weeks) then training starts again!! And I'll make the marathon as well.


pic by drexel.edu

HIT it!

Do you know these desperate times? Times when you have no idea how to handle your life? Times when you don't have time for friends or a relationship, not to speak of hobbies? I just have a time like that. It is awful. I study most of my day and have to work the rest of it to earn at least a little bit of money.
And the Leipzig Marathon is comming up! Only 47 days to train but no time at all. And I want to improve my time of course. I need to run the 42,2 km under four hours this time. I'll lose my self-esteem otherwise.


So, thanks to boyfriend#1 here is the solution for all this: HIT. Of course you can use hit also as a running training. I'll try for the next two weaks at least. Of course you'll never make a marathon with skipping the long runs altogether. But with HIT you can save a lot of time and improve your performance. See also here.


Then, let's try it. I'll keep you updated on this.