My training has been smooth so far after making a full recovery from Pneumonia. Come tomorrow, I would have hit 146km for the past 37 days with about 420km to go before Sundown 2011 on 28th may, 2011.
Looking at my training data, I am very close to the peak of my fitness last year and the road ahead, beyond 240km, is pretty much uncharted waters for me as I have never ran this much before. Although I’ve been reading up on training, the journey of every training cycle is very much a learning process and an ongoing experiment on the limits of the human body. Single human body; my body to be exact.
History (for all of the past 2 years) has proven that I tend to hit a wall of bad health or injury before races but the same history also show that I push my boundaries of fitness each time I tried like the stubborn man I am. So with fingers crossed, I hope that I make it this time for a race and shatter the shameful personal best of 2 hrs 43mins for a 21km run in 2009.
On other news, my trusty pair of Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) KSO have accumulated 568km of mileage so far since I 1st wore them January last year.
Pic taken before I put another 5km in them
The rubber of the “toes” are worn off in quite a few spots where I land and push off during runs and I will have to retire them as soon as my socks show through. As minimalistic as I am, I don’t need holes in my socks. Despite the sadness of the inevitable parting with my very 1st pair of VFFs, the KSO has served me well and seeing that the recommended lifespan of regular shoes are between 500 – 800km, this pair of KSO has lived a pretty good life.
Stay strong my Vibram Five Fingers KSO! With any luck, you’ll live to see yourself break the 600km mark.
Wow! All te best to your runs till the coming marathon! Bf is buying vff soon, esp since usd has dropped to a new low. :p
@Feliza: Thanks! I’ve been “selling” to your bf everytime we meet. I’m surprised that he didn’t get it earlier. HAHAHAHAHAAA
small hole can be patched to prolong your VFF life..try bicycle tyres patch or stick another outsole from your old shoes to it..prolong your VFF lifespan is a way to go green and reduce waste
@insanetaz: I don’t have the skills to patch it up enough to prolong it much. But thanks for the suggestions!
Hi, I’m just wondering where you bought your vibram. The prices in the stores are ridiculously high. Not too sure whether there’s anyone buying them online.
Hi JT, I got them mostly from Novena Velocity. Yes, the prices are high at the retail stores and I’m sure you will get a better pricing online but there’s a sense of comfort seeing the product and examining it before buying it.
I removed the sole padding of my NB shoes which I wear when running on road pavements. However, inside a sports stadium where the track is clean and there are no sharp stones and twigs, I run completely barefoot. Like you, all my pain has disappeared after barefoot running for 2-3 years now. I’ve not seen any of those barefoot shoes but I suspect they are very expensive. I hope to be able to run along the entire East Coast path barefoot one day.
Francis: Good luck in that and I’m sure you can do it very soon!