Thursday, January 29, 2009

Hunters and Gatherers

Had a very enjoyable eight mile run on the beach this afternoon. What was good is that I was tempted to do more, but decided against it for the sake of trying not to do too much. But I always consider it a good sign when you're willing to push yourself. The mileage will come, but one must be patient.

I've noticed that since I've had my PF, the discomfort has manifested itself in different ways. Each phase is unique with different characteristics. I don't know why this is or what it means, but lately it's mostly been feeling very tight, especially after the run. Stretching it out and massaging helps though. This phase is manageable so far, but still painful. I can take some discomfort though so long as I can run.

I was musing during my run how some of those other, worse phases of the PF in the past might not have boded so well back in the hunter-gatherer days. Not being able to get away as fast and hobbling around would probably have left me as prey to a saber-tooth tiger and the multi-generation baton relay of my DNA-sequence would end right there. We're pretty lucky to be able to run with little fear of attacks from large animals and enemy tribes these days, at least in most areas. With that in mind, my PF ain't jack and I'm aiming to make my caveman ancestors proud!

Ran 8.0 miles @ 8:37/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 156/166
Beaches with mostly packed sand.
Very flat.
Lower 30s, sunny.
Long pants, fleece jacket, short sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves (removed halfway through).

5 comments:

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Good Job Jamie...have you tried that heel insert yet...called Heal that Pain, google it. I think I mentioned this to you before but it works almost instantly and is getting more popular in the ultra world. I ran JJ100 in them and my buddy Tom ran Badwater in them....

anyways enjoy that Beach :-) !!!

Love2Run said...

You go Jack! Keep plugging away like you are and it'll all come together. Maybe winter will be behind us soon too!

Garry said...

Hopefully you're over the worst of this PF and you can return to your training. You sure have been a gamer though throughout this whole thing. Good on you!

Thomas said...

Ah, but if you were a Hunter-Gatherer you would have run on soft trails all your life and your feet would be immensely strong from the barefoot running. I don't think you would ever have developed PF.

Andrew said...

Sounds like the last micro-brew before bed. Very glad to hear about a good run!