Cross Training

If it's Thursday, it must be cross training.  Most marathon programs recommend cross training:  swimming, biking, weight training, even walking.  The choice is easy for me.  Other than thrice-weekly push-ups, planks for my abs, and some balance exercises, I do not like strength training.  Biking is okay occasionally, but not as a regular regimen.  Playing in the water is great, but grinding out laps with face submerged is not.  Maybe if you like sensory deprivation, but otherwise, no.

That leaves walking--or better yet hiking.  So, when the schedule calls for cross training, I lace up my ASICS GT-2160 trail shoes and head out for 5-8 miles.  Since I run four days and cross train three days, that usually means that if it's Monday, Thursday, or Saturday, I'm walking.  

As it turned out, today is another unusually warm early-January day: 31 degrees when I ventured out with 48  promised for later today.  The average high for this date in Bettendorf, Iowa, is 31.  It's been dry for several days so I headed over to the local park for a hike along the cross-country trail.  Total mileage there, thru the park, and back home was five miles.  Nice!  I've been pinching myself these past few weeks just to ensure that I'm not dreaming and I'm going to wake up and it'll be Dec. 1. 

Tomorrow's forecast is for sunny and a high temp of 50.  Just about perfect for my long run of 15 miles. 

Speaking of shoes (See ASICS GT-2160 above) . . . Shoes are the biggest expense in running.  I average 200 miles per month or 2400 miles per year.  I try to get at least 400 miles out of a pair of running/walking/hiking shoes.  That means about 6 pairs of shoes a year.  At an average price of $90, that equals $540.  But, that's a small price to pay if the shoes keep you injury-free.  Unfortunately, the only way to know which shoes work for you is to try them out.  (I'm a frugal guy, so even if a shoe doesn't really work for me, I try to wear it out.  Usually by walking in it and later using it for yard work.  Then, I steer clear of the brand, not just the particular shoe.)

Runners can find advice about shoes in lots of places.  Your local running store is a good source for individualized help.  Training books, like Jeff Galloway's Marathon: You Can Do It usually offer general advice about shoe selection.  Runner's World magazine probably does more extensive testing of running shoes than anyone.  If I'm considering a particular shoe, I always check out their website: http://www.runnersworld.com/

I've been running for decades and have tried out most brands and winnowed my choices down to a handful.  For walking and hiking, I wear the ASICS GT-2160.  For training, I like the road version of the GT-2160.  For racing on the road, I use  the Saucony Kinvara 2, and for racing on trails, I wear the Saucony Peregrine, the Kinvara's off-road cousin. 

This past November at the Amica Seattle Marathon, I bought a pair of the new Brooks PureFlow trainers.  I haven't worn them yet, but I'm anxious to try them out.  My son bought a pair at the same time (the day before the race), took them out of the box the next morning, and ran 26.2 miles in them with no issues.

Also on my radar is the next iteration of the Kinvara: the Kinvara 3.  I've read that it's coming out in 2012 but I haven't seen anything more specific.  I'm betting that it's out before the iPad3.