k r i s a n d r o

It’s been 16 months since I first shared shared my experience in Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) and since I just passed the 1,000km mark 2 weeks ago in these strange looking minimalist shoes (I refuse to call them “barefoot shoes”. You are either barefoot or in various kinds of footwear.), I’d like to share again on my journey thus far.

The two ailments I had in regular shoes prior to switching to VFFs were plantar fasciitis and knee aches/pains. Knee aches have been non-existent so far. As for plantar fasciitis, the only times when I will feel slight pain is when I haven’t been running for a period and I MIGHT feel a little pull under the left foot during the 1st to 2nd run. So I can safely say that I am rid of these two problems for good every since switching to VFFs

Besides the period of time last year when I went got top of the foot pain (suspected tendinitis), probably from switching to VFFs much too soon without a transition plan, I was completely free of any injuries. Apart from a good, progressive training plan, the most important thing for any runner is to be injury free. An injury can set you back for weeks, months & even years of progress in fitness and being free from that ensures that you can constantly improve even if you are just inching forward.

I wish I had found some way to measure my feet before switching to Vibram Five Fingers; especially the bridge of my feet because I can almost swear that the arches of my feet have risen slightly over time and they feel more muscular as well. I remember being identified by a “shoe specialist” that I am leaning towards being flat footed and I have not encountered any problems from “the lack of arch support”.

I have 3 pairs of Vibram Five Fingers now. One pair of Classics that I use to walk in on an almost daily basis and 2 pairs of Bikila that I rotate for runs. Note that I don’t rotate them because of cushioning; I rotate em so that they have time to be dry from sweat and wet weather.

How long do these thin shoes last? I run mostly on cement and tarmac and manage to clock 600km in my VFFs KSO. I could have continued to run in them but I don’t want holes in my socks when a section of my socks started showing through the bottom of my KSO. I read of others like this dude who clocked over 1,200km in a pair and still going strong!

I really don’t see myself running in anything else but minimalist shoes and will recommend it to anyone. But along my journey, I have also came to a bigger understanding that the saying of “If it ain’t broke, do not fix it!” applies to shoes as well. If you never had a problem running in shoes or even landing on your heels, I’d say that you are a lucky man/woman.

Else, if you are willing to forgo the concept of cushioning and structured shoes or have been getting injured, I will highly recommend you to give minimalist shoes a try and run like how we humans are engineered to. Remember to transition slowly!

Here’s a screen-shot of a recent barefooting article by My Paper where I gave a short blurb on running with minimalist shoes.

Lawrence Lin, the dude in the pic, plans to run the Sundown 2011 100km BAREFOOTED. I salute the man!

Link to article (Page A16)

Feel free to contact me to discuss about VFFs or running! I always love to make another friend who enjoys this misunderstood sport. I can be reached via my contact form, on Twitter and through Facebook.

I will start chronicling my training data and methods here from race to race. One reason for this is to serve as a running diary and the other is for anyone who might be interested to know how I train. I am only an amateur long distance runner and I definitely will not say this is the right way to train but I collect a lot of data and I am seeing good results from my training.

*Warning* This will be an extremely boring post for most, so do not read beyond this line if you are not interesting in running data.

Training period: 26 Jan 2011 – 28 May (Sundown 2011, 21.1 km)

• Distance ran (Excluding racing distance): 473.25 km
• No. of runs: 59
• Highest Weekly Mileage: 48.55 km
• Average running distance: 8.02 km
• Time spent: 46 hrs 47 mins 31 secs
• Max. distance ran: 20 km
• Avg. speed: 10.1 km/h
• Avg. heart rate: 157 bpm
• Avg. cadence: 166 – 174 steps/min.
• Calories burned: 32,233 kcal
• Weight change: 67.8 kg (9 Feb) – 64.5 kg (28 May)
• Lowest measured weight: 63.2 kg (29 May)
• Resting heart rate change: 63 bpm (30 Jan) – 56 bpm (12 May)
• Lowest measured resting heart rate: 52 bpm (24 Mar)

Race Details:

• Race Name: Sundown 2011
• Distance: 21.1km
• Time: 2 hr 02 min 13 sec
• Avg. Pace: 5:48 min/km
• Avg. Cadence: 164 steps/min

Training details:

I train mostly in heart rate zones. The zones are defined by assuming through calculation that my Maximum Heart Rate (HR^max) is 192 bpm and my Resting Heart Rate (HR^rest) is measured once every 3-5 days. I measure my HR^rest 1st thing in the morning before I get out of bed and it’s at least 24 hrs after the previous run.

These are my heart rate training zones with a HR^rest of 56 bpm:

The bulk of my training is of Long Slow Distances (LSDs) and the rest are Tempo Runs, Short Intervals & Long Intervals. I chose to adopt a 10-day training cycle instead of the more common 7-day cycle because I didn’t want to run 4-6 days straight with just 1 or 2 days of rest. The 10-day cycle also allowed me more flexibility in the event that I had to skip a session or two and was still able to keep to the important scheduled Long Run.

This is one real example of my 10-day cycle:

• Day 1: Warm-Up Jog – 1.5 km, Short Intervals – 800 m x 6
• Day 2: LSD – 8.8 km
• Day 3: Rest
• Day 4: Warm-Up Jog – 1.5 km, Long Intervals – 2.7 km x 2
• Day 5: LSD – 8.8 km
• Day 6: Rest
• Day 7: Warm-Up Jog – 1 km, Tempo Run – 6.6 km
• Day 8: LSD – 8.7 km
• Day 9: LSD (Longest Run) – 20 km
• Day 10: Rest
• Total distance (including jogging laps during intervals): 71.79 km

Types of Runs:

LSDs: These are ran in Zone 3. I will divide the distance as equally as I can into 11 parts (Zone 2.7 to Zone 3.7) and slowly allow my heart’s bpm to rise as I jog the distance. Barring sections on routes with down and/or up-slopes, my speed will naturally increase as the effort of my heart increases which results in a overall negative split.

Tempo Runs: These are ran in Zone 4. I will divide the distance as equally as I can into 12 parts (Zone 3.7 to Zone 4.8) and slowly allow my heart’s bpm to rise as I run the distance. As with LSDs, the overall timing of each run is a negative split.

Short & Long Intervals: After reading about efficiency of interval training distances by Arthur Lydiard, I mainly do distances of short intervals (800 m) and long intervals (1.5 km & above). I run as fast as I can (entering Zone 5) with the last session’s timing as a guide for each lap. Upon hitting the end of a lap, I will slow jog until my heart rate hits Zone 2.9 before I start my next lap.

Race Comparison:

(Click to enlarge)

Race to race comparison will show a very skewed improvement this time because the races are so far apart (almost 2 years).

Fitness comparison:

As my LSDs are done with the same effort (heart rate zones), I shall compare LSDs of similar distances over a time period.

As you can see, there is marked improvement in speed even with a decrease in effort (avg. heart rate).

Summary:

Seeing that I manage to finally complete a training period and run a good race, I’ll be adopting the same concept in my build-up to Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon (21.1km). However, my planned mileages are in preparation for my 1st full marathon in Dec for Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

Feel free to ask me or discuss about my training plans and running. I can be easily contacted via email through my contact page, on Twitter or through Facebook.

The folks of LG has once again sent over a monitor for my grimy hands to play with and this time, it’s the E60 series.

I was hoping that it will be a monitor with an even larger screen estate because the previous one they sent to me was the LG W2486 and has a 24″ widescreen; which I had eventually purchased and it has been my primary monitor with a dual monitor set-up at home.

The slight disappointment with the smaller screen estate of the LG E2360 was quickly overwhelmed when I unboxed it and realized it was so thin and light compared to the now bulky looking LG W2486!

Fresh out of the box.

E2360 on the left. W2486 on the right.

Just look how thin LG makes their monitors in just a year apart.

Buttons on the underside of the E2360. I much prefer the touch sensitive "buttons" of the W2486.

Ports on the E2360.

It is definitely not weightless but it is definitely EXTREMELY light for it's size.

I quickly moved my old Samsung monitor to the shelves; demoted the 24″ LG W2486 as my secondary monitor and assigned the sleek looking LG E2360 as my primary monitor. Pardon my messy desk but I have to show how it barely accommodates the 2 huge LG widescreen monitors.

Yes.... I need to clear my desk....

First impressions upon using the LG E2360? Colours were impressive and the contrast of images and video on the screen were even better than the already impressive LG W2486. The other specifications are impressive too!

LG E2360 LED LCD Monitor Specifications:

• Screen Size: 23″
• Panel Type: TN
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Brightness (cd/m2): 250
• Contrast Ratio (DFC): 5,000,000:1
• Response Time (GTG): 5 ms (Typical)
• Viewing Angle: 170º
• Display Colors: 16.7 M
• Panel Surface: Anti-Glare, 3H

The recommended retail price of the monitor is S$298.

I will be holding on it for a little while more and I’ll share more about the LG E2360 later!

[Disclosure]: The LG E60 monitor is on loan to me for reviews with the option to purchase it at a small discount should I choose to.