A post about Teresa's running

Teresa had been seeing a physio about a niggle in her ankle that came on whilst running ages ago, no cause just started. She was in conventional very supportive running shoes. My theory is that because she almost always wears very flat shoes, sandals, flip flops (almost zero drop) and never wears heels, I think the wedge sole of the running shoes has caused the problem. For a good many years she hasn't been able to run more than 25minutes without some sort of discomfort afterwards. Yet when she first started running she could do 8-9miles. I think that like with my own plantar fascitis problem the problem built over the years of running in 'running shoes'.
So skip forward to the present day. We have just bought her a pair of Intuition zero-drop running shoes by Altra from naturalrunningstore.com/ and although they are not minimalist (they have a thick sole) they aren't cushioned and are zero-drop, with a wide toe box. They are a transition running shoe and they come with 2 footbeds one has a little support and the other no support.

What Teresa like about these are they very light, attractive (she chose these blue ones) and unlike my runamocs they look like regular running shoes.

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Another post about running

My new triathlon shoes

Inov8 Bare xlite 150 zero drop racing shoes

Bought from naturalrunningstore.com/. The lightest, most minimalist shoe in the Road range. Quick lace and perfect for race day. The 3D Air Mesh upper is tongue less and stretchy to ensure a secure, comfortable fit.

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The video Sealord didn't want you to see.

Share this to stop Sealord using destructive fishing practices

Take one random floating object, attach a radio beacon so you can find it again, drop it in the ocean and return later with a giant net and scoop up everything in sight. That's how much of the world's tuna is caught - inlcuding the tuna sold by Sealord in NZ - using fish aggregating devices (FADs) with purse seine nets and it's a recipe for disaster. This footage was given to Greenpeace by someone inside the tuna fishing industry who'd had enough of the destruction.

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New swim PB

This is the reason my garden post was so brief... I just swam a new pb. 11.24min. But what makes it better is that it was in really rough conditions. The longest stretch was into a very strong wind and waves and the rest it was side on wind and waves some of the roughest I've experienced on the pond. I've also had a tiring day : ran 20min at 5.30am , walked the children up the hill to school, I then walked back up to coach the 2 cricket teams (beginner grade that play Friday afternoons) and then back up the hill to pick Emily up from school. I would have normally had the car for cricket and then gone to swim at the pond but Teresa needed the car to transport children to the same pond for optimist yachting, so I had to go at 5.30pm and I wasn't feeling to good.

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Quick garden post

I need to take some photos of the new garden detailing the changes we've made and what we have growing in the way of fruit. We have planted for this summer and are growing successfully:garlic, tomatoes, beans, peas, courgettes, celeriac, beetroot, pumpkin, radishes. Herbs:basil, rocket,oregano,majoram, rosemary and mint which is taking its time. The soil in the old hoses garden wasn't very good, it was very hard and we didn't do a lot to improve the soil by double digging but are new garden we have raised beds existing and one I built we put in our own organic compost, horse manure ,organic sheep pellets , I even dug in left over fish carcasses and on top of all this we bought some very nice top soil.

I do plan to take some photos now I can face working at the computer but I can only do an hour and half 2 hours max.

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This mornings run...

It was good to be running...even in galeforce winds and rain. I love running in tough conditions especially when I have denied running for a long time. This was my thoughts after starting to run after my arthritis had left me almost crippled. Not doing it makes you appreciate it more.

I ran(jogged concentrating on technique) for about 52min around the base of Napier Hill, along the coast line to Ahuriri and then home, I thought it was going to take me an hour. Not sure of distance, I'm goiing to measure it later but it is approx 10km because there is an organised 10km race that goes round the hill. This isn't bad considering that until the last 2 months I hadn't run for 18months. The barefoot running has definitely made me want to run..I was up at 4.30am ready to be out the door for 5am. This was my second run of the week.

I was thinking about the similarities of being a improved swimmer and the aids I am using to correct my stroke. Would there ever be a time (apart from the pond) could I ever swim without them. I concluded that as a person recovering from a poor swimming technique addiction is like being a recovering addict of anything - I will always be recovering and can not let up on technique work ever. NOTE: I know other addictions are way more serious and health threatening and not to be taken lightly.

I had planned to blog about our garden which I haven't done for yonks but I had running on my mind.

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Straight from Chris McDougall's blog

Lost Secret of Perfect Running (or, Ever Wonder Why Running Shoes Always Get Great Reviews?) by Christopher on November 2, 2011

This Sunday, I have a story in the New York Times Magazine which reveals the secret of perfect running. It’s a drill from the 1800s called “The 100 Up,” and after months of experimentation, I’m convinced it’s foolproof.
Check out the story here.

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Swimming update

It has been a while since I've treally had anything to write about on the training front. Because in reality the training is boring. It is about the next pedal stroke or progress in barefoot ruuning or the same old technique work in swimming - nothing really changes. But the summer racing season is upon me. I had identified last summer that because I wasn't racing(adjusting to barefoot running) I just trained through without the stimulus and break from routine provided and I raced best when I rest a lot. So I introduced my timetrials in all 3 disciplines every second week to imitate racing a lot.

This week was my first timetrial around the course in Pandora's pond (I do 700m and exclude the 50m beach start). I was as nervous as before a major race - fear of not swimming well. I had swum 12.17min on the exact same day as last year just a month after stasrting back open water swimming and just exclusively technique work all autumn, winter , etc. After months of swimming hard intervals between the bouys in the pond my final timetrial last year (I only did 2) my time was 11.20min and it felt comfortable. This week I did in 11.13min and it felt easy. So I'm gradually going to go harder and harder. In training I am still working on my fitness and I'm doing an overdistance swim (1000m non-stop) and then I will start doing harder intervals. I just want to see how fast I can get I'm hoping for 10min this summer. 10min for 700m. I'm dreaming of 9min the following year.

After that result I feel completely relaxed , I can still say my weird way of re-teaching my body to swim is working and at times I don't see a limit to what I can achieve then sometimes the little voice in my head says improvement can't go on forever. But most of the time my dream of being 1st out of the water is alive and still is the most important target for me

I'm adding a running target I want to beat my running pb of 1.16.xx min set for the half-marathon in 1994 when training for Ironman Lanzarote and this time doing it in minimalist running shoes.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.