Minimalist Running Shoes, Triathlete Carmen

Minimalist Running Shoes
First of all, an update on my "minimalist" running shoe transition.  Be sure to not under estimate this one.  You could be in for a tough time if you don't prepare yourself for the impact of this transition.  Overall, I am very happy that I made the change.  I ran 4.6 miles during a lunch break today (beautiful sunny fall MN day!!!).  No problems, and really made good time for such a long (to me) run.

Some problems I have encountered during the transition include:

• Sore feet and ankles
• Needed a new cadence (used metronome and head phones at 180 beats per minute)
• Both calf muscles pulled in subsequent hill intervals, with accompanying tightness in achilles.
• Tightness in my hips - which I think is related to the transition
• Some soreness in the low back, which has since gone away.

As I said, I think it's been a good move.  I am still interested in continuing with form improvements, and would like any suggestions you can send my way.  Has anyone heard of POSE?

Triathlete Carmen
Met a person at a recent business conference and she turned me on to the novice side of doing Triathlons.  Thanks to Carmen for her enthusiasm and her great writing skills.  She gave me lots to think about regarding training the three sports, how to do "bricks", and how to practice transitions in prep for race day.

As a runner myself, I really like this prespective the Carmen passed on to me in a recent email:

Hi Stu - My Tri work is going pretty well.  I'm not as intense in my training as some people seem to be, but the races in July and August really pushed me to a new level.  I now finish a hill without realizing what I just did!  I was hoping to get in longer bike rides this fall, but found I was more interested in swimming - go figure. I'd have to say, it really is doing all 3 three on a regular basis that has increased my fitness level and enjoyment.  I can get tired of running 4-5 times a week, but not so much if I'm only going out 2 times with a swim and bike or two in between.  Everything seems to stay more fresh.

I may post on this topic again, as Carmen also went on to give me lots of advice on how to keep developing and improving toward my own first Triathlon. 

Thanks again to all of you for reading my blog, and a special thanks to Carmen for being such an inspiration to all of us. 

Stu