RunMyMindMap

Early this past May, on the way back from my morning run, I took a detour to NASA or, rather, my version of the NASA "worm." I was passing by the local middle school and decided to use the lines of its tennis courts to run the worm. The area of the tennis courts is too small for the GPS watch accuracy, so the trace was less precise than how I actually ran it.

For comparison, here’s the actual “worm”:

I’m not sure what inspired me to run the worm that morning. Maybe because a few weeks earlier, April 22nd, was the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, and NASA had provided lots of resources to help everyone celebrate #EarthDayAtHome. Maybe because, after several initial weeks of COVID-19 lockdown, during which I stayed within a 3-mile radius of home on the morning runs, I finally ventured beyond and was feeling exhilarated.

As “GPS Art” goes, the worm is pretty basic. I figured perhaps I should start easy. The previous and only other time I’d tried to run a pattern was in San Francisco, where I was attending the AGU Fall 2019 Meeting. The result was not quite up to what I’d expected; a GPS artist I’m not (yet)!

Around the world, however, runners and cyclists (and others) over the past 6-7 years have taken GPS Art to the level of … well, kind of art. Here are some examples: 1, 2, 3. If you search for hashtags like #StravaArt or #GPSArt, you can see many others. The more intricate and fancier patterns need to cover really large areas, with dense street or road networks, to be able to express the details. These patterns are more often done by cyclists, though a sufficiently long run could also afford the opportunity for a runner’s creativity. Some GPS watches have a “pause” function, which allows one to pause the tracking, move to some other location, and then restart the tracking. This function would obviate the need to retrace segments of a pattern or the need for any extraneous segments. To me, however, that would take the challenge—and fun—out of the route planning!

After I ran the NASA worm and posted the result on Facebook, a colleague commented, What about the NASA “meatball”? At first, looking at the tennis courts, I thought that’s probably not doable, even if there were a few more openings in the chain-link fence between the courts. But then I noticed the adjacent roundish field, just beyond the baseball diamond. Hmm, interesting ... would need a couple test runs to set some mental directional markers. Challenge accepted!

The main difference, the qualitative difference, between GPS Art and running the meatball on that field is the latter’s lack of any grid for guidance. GPS Art freestyle! Whereas GPS Art is mostly careful route planning and, then, lots of time and patience to execute the plan, GPS Art freestyle requires a certain spatial skill. One needs to be able to see the mind’s map and continuously maintain an accurate sense of one’s location, using whatever directional and location markers are available. The area used for a freestyle pattern would thus have to be fairly small, like my roundish field. Pre-run planning for freestyle is similar to that for GPS Art (i.e., minimize retracing and extraneous segments), except the route is sketched on a blank sheet of paper, not a street or road map. In lieu of a guiding grid, I looked for markers. For example, there is a house just across the street from the tip of the chevron; so, as I run along the lower half of the chevron, I’d aim for that house. GPS Art would be an artistic subset of MapMyRun, and GPS Art freestyle is kind of the reverse of MapMyRun. RunMyMap (?), as another colleague suggested. But, because “map” in this case is in the mind, I think RunMyMindMap is better.

So, how did I do with the meatball? Here’s my first try, with the meatball distance at about 0.7 mile. Evidently, it’s a somewhat harder problem than the worm. No wonder NASA switched from the meatball to the worm in 1975 (😊).

Though I ran the meatball a few more times, none came out better than my second try. Compared with the first try, the sphere is rounder; the chevron, though its curves are still not quite right, now extends beyond the sphere's border; and the orbital path is more properly elliptical. The letter sizes, though, are still too big (compare the actual NASA “meatball”).

Running the meatball was more challenging—and more fun (!)—than running the worm. I've other patterns in mind to try. Stay tuned!

Rotating through running shoes

The generally recommended mileage for running shoes before replacement ranges from ~500 miles for traditionally cushioned shoes to ~300 miles for minimalist shoes. There is no shortage of magazine articles on replacing running shoes, with pretty much the same content. See, e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the first five results from a Google search on “running shoes replacement.” Here's a recent one from Runner's World. Another article from the New York Times (2013) has a good, balanced discussion—and the only one I have read so far that noted the shoe companies’ perspective: “Most shoemakers, of course, would prefer to see us trade in sooner.” 😀

There are three general areas of discussion in these articles:

1. Indicators of wear related to the runner (e.g., running form affected, pain/injury) and the shoe (e.g., smooth tread, loss of cushion).

2. Factors affecting wear related to the runner (e.g., weight, running mechanics, non-running use, shoe rotation), the shoe (e.g., sole material), and the environment (e.g., weather, running surface and terrain).

3. Tips to minimize wear (e.g., shoe rotation, proper handling, dedicated use to running).

Overall, there is limited research on shoe wear and replacement, including that on shoe mileage and injury.

Being a minimalist runner, though, none of this matters all that much to me. Shoes for me are just to provide some protective barrier against sharp objects and general debris, as well as too hot or too cold surfaces. If a pair of shoes is not literally falling apart, it is good to go. Here are couple footprints from my first pair of Vibram FiveFingers (VFF) on light snow.

The human foot does not need cushioning, naturally. I have been running in minimalist shoes for almost a decade; very seldom have I gotten injured. My transition from cushioned to minimalist shoes was, however, very gradual, over the course of more than a year.

I do rotate through running shoes. The benefits of rotation noted by several of the articles include prolonging the lifespan of shoes and, possibly, reducing the risk of running-related injuries. On the latter, there is also limited research. A study published in 2013 concluded that “multiple shoe use and participation in other sports are strategies potentially leading to a variation of the load applied to the musculoskeletal system.” This variation in loading then possibly results in lowered injury rate.

The following shows the mileages and years for my five currently rotating shoes. I have previously written about how Shoe Goo (or other similar products) can be used to extend the lifespan of running shoes and to get significantly more miles out of a pair of shoes than the generally recommended mileage.

The wear pattern is clear, as shown by where the Goo is applied. The right-side wear is at mid-sole along the edge; the left-side wear (not shown) is mostly at the heel. This differential wear can be seen in the above photo of VFF footprints on snow. But wait, Merrell Vapor Glove? Why is that Shoe Goo’ed, at 35 miles? See my tweet below …

The two Merrell Bare Access pairs have more miles per year, because I more often wear them for long runs. I use the VFFs more for shorter interval and tempo runs.

So, rotation plus Shoe Goo are what allows me to accumulate those high shoe mileages.

Hole in the sole? No problem! Just patch it up, let it dry, and it is ready for the next run—after rotation!

As for the Merrell Vapor Glove, here is my Twitter convo with Merrell, so far. I have not heard back from them since the 19^th …

Treadmill strategies for a pandemic

The following is an extract from a post I did about running on a treadmill during Snowzilla Jonas back in January 2016. Currently, most places are under increasingly tighter restrictions on outdoor activities, including running routes being confined to shorter and shorter radii from home and, possibly eventually, to laps around one's home and, finally, to the treadmill. Perhaps these mental strategies that had helped me get through that 18-mile Jonas run would resonate with other runners. Let me know what gets you through a long run on a treadmill!

[BEGIN EXTRACT]
Starting with the 18 miles in four parts and Miles 5, 10, and 15 being fuel+water breaks, I further broke the run down with water breaks every 2.5 miles and then individual miles of each 5-mile segment, as follow:

Mile 1: Warm-up, getting into the rhythm (even after the first 5-mile segment).
Mile 2: "Historical," especially the second 0.5 mile. The NordicTrack shows distance with three decimals (i.e., 1.xxx). So, 1.620 would be Pilgrims at Plymouth; 1.776 would be Declaration of Independence; 1.860+ would be Civil War, etc. Once the distance gets to 1.900, the historical events get more personal (birth years, high school, college, work, etc.).
Mile 3: Water break at mid-point.
Mile 4: Toughest mile of the five!
Mile 5: Fuel intake starting at ~4.500; first date until ~4.700; second date until ~4.900; third date just before 5.000 then water; fourth date just after resetting the treadmill for the next 5-mile segment (more on this later). At Mile 15 (end of third 5-mile segment), PowerGel starting at ~4.500 and mostly finished just before 5.000 then water; last bit of gel just after resetting the treadmill for the final 5K segment.

Beyond the individual miles, there were the individual tenths of a mile. And, ultimately, there was the present moment and being mindful of it, so that, as I ran, I knew I was running. I knew whether or not I was relaxed; I knew on what part of my soles I was landing; I knew whether or not I was breathing properly. Ultimately, being mindful makes running on a treadmill not that different from running outside.