W7:2 a hot water bottle warmup, a breathing, mindful run, and cat vs skunk

[ktsok]

Beachcomber66 told me they warm up their knees for a run with a hot water bottle. I find myself touched by this - what a nice knee parent they are. I could almost hear my own knees saying “me, me!”

It looked pretty cold out there today. I got ready to run a bit slowly, put the kettle on, made up the hot water bottle and sat back in the armchair with it on my knees… it was so pleasant I was in danger of nodding off.

I decided to start and finish the Garmin when the jog started and ended, to get a better gauge of the averages (pace, cadence, stride length, heart rate, etc). I have been geeking out a bit over barefoot running vs cushioning, thinking about how best to minimise impact. I wear barefoot shoes pretty much all the time, whether for everyday or going up and down mountains. I’m convinced that they have helped with the rehabilitation of my knee. It felt unstable for a long time, and I felt unbalanced, but being able to feel the terrain underfoot and make micro-adjustments really seemed to help. What I’m not yet convinced about is whether abandoning the cushioning provided by my (admittedly old) Asics is a good idea. I’m running on hard surfaces and there’s no knee cushioning, so it doesn’t seem sensible to abandon cushioning elsewhere. Plus - touchwood - the knees seem to be holding up at the moment, so…

The wind had a real bite to it. I spent the first few minutes consciously trying to relax my upper body which was rigid with cold. 10 minutes in, the internal heater kicked in and I started shedding layers.

The thoughts didn’t race today. I kept it slow, and focused on my breathing, a breath in for 4 strides, then out… I tried to land soft, ninja-style. I was able to have brief conversations with a few people I saw. It didn’t feel hard… at all.

Looking at the stats, my average HR was 146. This is 10 lower than my usual average HR - which usually includes the 10 minutes of walking, so the average for just the running part is at least another -10… and my average pace was… very respectable!

Perhaps as compensation for the zen-like non-thinking run, my mind just went down a rabbit hole and I wondered about animal heart rates (see pic). A cat beats in the 120-140 range; a skunk is nearer 170. So I reckon I was more cat than skunk today.

In fact, I had a knock at my door this evening and a significantly younger man who I had spoken to running past asked if I’d like to go the pub as I ‘seemed cool’. I don’t think that would have happened in skunk category.

P.S. My favourite entry on the animal bpm chart was an anaesthetised Rhesus monkey - in the range of 160-330!

Happy running peeps…

[GTFC Graduate]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Absolutely brilliant!!

[Katnap Graduate]

Love the heart bpm chart!

Consider getting a 2nd pair of running shoes. Wear them in rotation. That way you can extend the life of your old pair and break in the new pair.

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[Jell6 Graduate]

Talk about burying the lede...👀🤪

[PaulS83]

Hey! You ARE cool. As a cat apparently.

Did the hot water bottle work? I like the idea of this, but seeing as I'm up and out the door before the sparrows crack, it's not going to happen on a weekday. I may treat them on a weekend though. If they're good.

Max. cushion shoes are great, but don't do much for your form or running efficiency, it's good to have them as part of a rotation of shoes (I'm borderline fetish). Prices at the moment are doing their best to battle this philosophy. If you do fancy a splurge in that direction, I highly recommend ASICS Gel Nimbus 25. It's like walking on marshmallows, except decisively less gloopy in the rain. Or heat.

I love the comparison chart. We need more of this.

[ktsok Graduate in reply to PaulS83]

Do you know, I think the HWB warmup was helpful, and not just to my knees. It was a kind of zone out moment… I had a cup of tea and a couple of games of chess, so was pretty relaxed heading out, which didn’t change for the duration of the run, and my knees didn’t twinge at all…

I think I’ll stick with the current level of cushioning for now. If it ain’t broke…

[PaulS83 in reply to ktsok]

Just to be clear: you turned down marshmallow feet.

[ktsok Graduate in reply to PaulS83]

Crazy huh?

Unless you feel unstable, in which case spongey surfaces are a hazard… I used to casually turn somersaults on the trampoline. I’d be more likely to crumple and chin myself on my knees if I tried to bounce these days.