I had my first chance to run in some “real” winter weather this afternoon. The temperature was right around freezing, with light snow, but (fortunately) not much wind. I waited until a little after 2:00pm to head out, as I figured that’s when the road conditions would be the best. I wore my Xero Terraflex shoes with wool socks and Correct Toes. While they’re not the perfect shoes for wet conditions, they’re the best I’ve got right now, and they worked pretty well today. My socks ended up a little bit damp, but my feet never got cold. Had I worn my Vibram V-Runs, my feet would have been soaked through and freezing. The run itself went well. My energy and form were good, and I ran 7 miles, at a relaxed pace, owing to the non-ideal conditions. There were a few slick spots, but for the most part, I had good traction and did not slip. With conditions expected to worsen tonight, I’m glad I was able to get out today.

Today is the first “normal” work day of 2024, and I left the house at 8:45am and ran 7.75 miles along one of my typical weekday morning routes. The temperature was in the upper 30s with a stiff NW breeze. I had two pieces of egg bake and coffee at 6:30 and a protein/spinach smoothie at 8:20. I wore my usual Vibram V-Runs, Tuli heel cups, wool toe socks, calf compression sleeves, New Balance running pants, Under Armour long sleeve athletic shirt, Patagonia running jacket, headband, and light gloves. Atypically, I didn’t take any of this gear off during the run — usually, I end up removing at least the gloves. Must have been the chilly breeze. Several things of note:

• I spent a few minutes foam rolling my problem right hamstring prior to the run, something I haven’t been very good about doing.
• I ran with Strutz metatarsal pads.
• I made a slight biomechanical adjustment (see below).

Recently, my heels have been telling me that something is off with my gait. I’ve been dealing with a bursitis-like issue on the left side, but there’s some soreness on the right side as well. I have a theory that I’m not flexing my ankles enough, which is causing me to heel strike. Today, I made a concerted effort to keep my ankles loose, letting the forefoot drop when I lift the foot, so that I land more on the forefoot and the arch absorbs most of the impact. I found that when I did this, it seemed easier to engage the hip and glute muscles to help support the running motion, both my right heel and right hamstring were happier, and I felt more stable, particularly when running downhill. I wore the Strutz pads mainly for my left foot, and had no discomfort on that side at all, nor were the pads all that obtrusive, although I’ll say that my goal eventually is to not need either the pads or the heel cups. We will see how things go. While this wasn’t my fastest time ever, it was a really good run, I had plenty of energy, and I was able to maintain a high average cadence of 183 steps/minute.

I had a really tough run today. I ran my intended distance of 10K, but was really struggling towards the end. It was the worst I’ve felt at the end of a run since November, when I was sick. I hope I’m not getting sick again, but my gut tells me that wasn’t the issue. I rolled out of bed at 6:30, and instead of my usual breakfast of egg bake, I started off with coffee and waited until around 8:00 to drink a protein shake. I started my run at 9:40, and ran until 11:00. It could be that I was dehydrated, could be I was low on electrolytes, or it could have been something else entirely. I don’t know. One thing of note was that instead of my usual Vibram V-Runs or Xero Terraflex shoes, I ran in Altra Escalantes. I’ve been battling some sensitivity in the outer area of my left heel that I suspect may be bursitis, and cushioning the area relieves the symptoms. The Altras have a lot of cushioning compared to my usual running shoes, and they’re very comfortable around-the-house shoes, but I didn’t really like running in them. Coming from ultra-minimalist shoes, I had a hard time getting used to all of the Altras’ extra cushioning in the forefoot area. It seemed like the cushioning was absorbing kinetic energy, to the point where I was struggling to maintain a fast cadence. The best analogy I can think of is that compared to my V-Runs, it felt like I was running through sand. After a while, I also felt like I was starting to let the shoes absorb impact instead of my leg and core muscles, and I could feel it in my knees after I finished. All of that said, this isn’t really a fair assessment, as I clearly was not 100% physically. The run might have gone much better if I had been. So, I really can’t write off the Altras as an option just yet. I’ll probably give them another chance at some point, but where the bursitis issue is concerned, I’m not sure they’re going to be an improvement over using minimalist shoes with heel cups. If anything, I may try adding metatarsal pads, as I’ve noticed that they seem to help a little bit more than just the heel cups alone.

Rain in today’s forecast inspired me to get out early (for wintertime) today, as it was not raining when I woke up around 6. I got out the door at 7:30am, and although it was a little bit foggy/misty, overall, it was great running weather. The temperature was hovering around 44°-45°F, and I decided to pass on wearing a jacket. Instead, I wore a long-sleeve synthetic Under Armour athletic shirt over a short-sleeve wool t-shirt. Rounding out my wardrobe were my New Balance running pants, Vibram V-runs, and a fleece headband. I gambled and didn’t wear a windbreaker or rain jacket, and Mother Nature cooperated nicely. Due to the fog, I also ran with my flashing visibility vest, which I mainly use for bike commuting. The run started out a little cold, but I was quite comfortable once I warmed up, and I ran 9 miles at a pace of 10:20. As with last Saturday’s run, I was able to set a pace that was comfortable throughout the entire 94-minute run, avoiding pushing too hard at the beginning, and I was able to finish strong. It was a great run overall. I hope to do it again on Thursday morning.