I’m free! Uh, Nike Free that is…

I’ve been talking about buying a pair of Nike Free running shoes for the longest time and I finally did so yesterday. My wife and I spent a couple of hours at the Nike employee store loading up on gear (free pass compliments of a friend who works at Nike) We just happen to live 5 minutes from Nike’s world HQ.

I wasn’t actually planning to buy any running shoes there because I normally run in Asics shoes exclusively. Not that I have anything against Nike shoes or any other brand for that matter, I just really like how the Asics Gel Kayano’s fit my feet. So after picking out a few clothing items in the store, I meandered over to the shoe section just to see what models they had.

I noticed right off that the Nike Free 3.0 shoes cost just over $40, which is a pretty good price compared to what I’ve seen elsewhere. I decided to try on a pair and walk around the store for awhile. Wow – they felt like slippers. No wait, they actually felt more comfortable than my slippers. I’m not surprized since they weigh only about 6.8 oz. I had to have them – so I bought a black/yellow pair.

I’ve been wearing them around the house and they are sweet. I’ve never had a more comfortable pair of shoes. The question is…can I run in them? I’m a little nervous because my feet are not what you would call low maintenance. And yes I am worried that I may injure my foot running in a shoe with little support.

So, my plan is to wear them off/on for a week or two around the house first. Then, I’ll try some long walks around the neighborhood. If all goes well, I’ll try a short run and see how it goes. My ultimately goal is to strengthen the muscles, ligaments & tendons in my feet. However, I think it is advisable to ease into this strategy very slowly.

Wish me luck and I’ll report my observations in a later post.

Transitioning to the lunch-hour run

I’ve been finding it difficult to get my miles lately due to the lack of daylight hours. It’s dark in the morning before work and dark in the evening when I get home. Add some coldness, clouds and rain to that darkness and it can suck the motivation to run right from your very soul.

What to do? Well, how about running on your lunch hour? It may still be cold and rainy – but at least it will be daylight. I’ve always been a “before, or after work” runner, and I’ve also found it somewhat challenging to change into running gear, complete my run, shower and then change back into work clothes in a 1 hour time slot. Not to mention that I’d like to eat some lunch during that time as well.

Yesterday, I went for my first “lunch-hour” run of the season and it went very well. I learned that my office complex does have a small locker room with a single shower stall and a few lockers. So, at least I didn’t have to return to the office hot and sweaty. I’ve listed below some tips that helped me stay within my lunch hour time limit.

1. Pack a duffle bag at home the night before with all the gear that you need, including shoes, clothing, shower stuff, MP3 player, etc.
2. Eat a small carb-rich snack (yoghurt, banana, Clif bar) at your desk about an hour before you run. This will ensure a high energy level during your run and make it easier to last until you can eat lunch later.
3. If you are comfortable doing so, replace pre-run stretching with a 5 minute slow jog. I’ve found it warms my muscles effectively and saves 5-10 minutes.
4. Realize that a shorter-than-normal run can be very satisfying, especially if you do that run more frequently throughout the week. If running your normal distance takes too long, then reduce your distance and speed up the pace a little. It’s all good…
5. Scope out (in advance) the best running course(s) close to where you work. My office just happens to be right next to the NIKE world headquarters, so I ran the bark chip path around NIKE’s campus. I also will try the streets & sidewalks around the business park on my next run.

The point is – I refuse to let the darkness or weather conditions alter my training plan. As a life-long Oregonian I’ve learned to accept the cold, crappy weather. And aside from moving to Arizona, or spending time on a treadmill indoors (ugh) - I don’t see many other options.

Cheers