Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Coaching Session and Refuel with Eggnog

Haven't blogged in the past little bit. Doesn't mean that nothing has been going on, on the contrary it seems like too much has been going on. That's life with 7 kids I guess. :) Finally found some time to write up about our coaching session with Toegirl Tina. We met up with her on November 25th at the Spray Lakes Sawmills Family Sports Centre in Cochrane. We met with her for a 1 on 2 coaching session. Tina is a VIVOBAREFOOT certified coach, training under Lee Saxby. I know barefoot coaching certification is a touchy thing in the barefoot running world but we certainly see the value in it. You don't need a coach to learn good form, however doing it yourself can take a long time. We feel that having a coach can help jumpstart better form and reduce the chance of injuries. Take it as you will.

Tina videoed our form, gave us pointers on what we were doing wrong and exercises to work on correcting how we are running. I went into the session thinking that there would be tons wrong with my form and that I would have lots to work on. Turns out I was doing pretty good already. My posture was good and my cadence was about 180 bpm. I was overstriding just a little and landing a little on the outside of my feet. The biggest surprise that I had was that I was using my Hip flexors instead of my hamstrings when I run. As Tina explained, the hip flexors are small muscles in the front of your leg whereas the hamstrings are large muscles that stretch across the back of your legs. I was driving my legs up using the hip flexors. Using the larger hamstrings would be better with less chance of stressing the muscles out.

All in all the coaching session was great. I felt that I learned lots and it was cool for Robbie and I to get to sit and talk with Tina about all sorts of things. Our 1 hour session stretched to 3 hours just because we got to talking.

Anyways on to today's run. I usually have my runs on Thursday but as I have a work Christmas party tomorrow I decided to run today instead. It wasn't too cold out but it had just snowed a couple of centimeters. It was a little slushy and there was enough snow that my shoe of choice was my Deep See Beach Walkers. They did the trick. 5 miles through lots of snow, a couple of very slushy spots and my feet stayed warm and dry. I know that with my Vibrams my feet would have easily gotten wet and cold, and the same would have happened with the Neos although they would last a little longer. I could stand in a puddle of water with the water shoes on and I would stay dry. Plus the soles are super flexible and let all of the sensation through. I still want to see the difference between the water shoes and the Neo Trails. Soon I will get a pair of Neo Trails and then I will definitely put them through the paces.

I have heard lots about the Refuel with Chocolate Milk promotion going on. I very much enjoy having chocolate milk after a long run. However in this season I vote that we change it to Refuel with Eggnog. Probably my favorite drink ever. If only it was calorie free and available all year round. I remember when I was younger my mom found an eggnog drink mix from Costco. I was in heaven when we had that as it extended my eggnog drinking season for a much longer time. I'm sure that Eggnog probably doesn't have the right ratios of carb/protein/fat like chocolate milk (or regular milk) has but I don't care. Any excuse to drink eggnog is good with me.

6 comments:

  1. That's so cute the way you love eggnog! I'm sure it isn't as bad as you think, esp used sparingly as running recovery drink. I don't see how it's much different than chocolate milk...maybe go with eggnog lite? I love it too, and am glad it's only available for a short time. Where did you get your deep sea beach walkers? I really need to get something together for slushy/snowy runs, as my vibrams are not working, my pace gloves are too small to wear socks in, and my nike frees, well they're just too damn padded...I don't know if I should buy the vivobarefoot neos like you're trying, and am reading your opinions to help me decide. I'd like to try the beach walkers first, but am worried about my foot slipping around in them esp with socks? What kind of socks do you wear in them? Love your blog!!

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  2. Anytime I have Eggnog these days, it is Lite Eggnog. We got the Deep Sea Beach Walkers from a store called Atmosphere. It has a couple of locations around the city. They are continuing to work great. My feet get instantly cold in my Vibrams so I know what you mean. As for the Neo Trails, Barefoot Neil, also another Calgary runner (his page is at becauseallthecoolkidsaredoingit.blogspot.com ), has them and he has been using them outside in the snow. He loves them. Keeps his feet warm and dry. It's funny because he has the Neo Trails, loves them, and wants the casual Neos. I have the casual Neos, love them and want the Neo Trails. They are great shoes.
    When I wear the beach walkers I use a sock liner, and then big wool socks over top. I don't really notice any slipping around, and I even got a larger size of shoe just to compensate for the extra socks. Or at least if my feet are slipping around, it's not bugging me at all. :)

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  3. Ok thanks for the info about the water shoes, I will head down and get a pair asap. I did a 10k in minus 20 with my Vibram Komodo Sports, and my feet were fine. Cold at first, but warmed up after 20 mins or so. I doubt they would be warm enough when it's below minus 20, so I'm glad to have an alternative. I'm reading reviews on Stem shoes, they're supposed to have the widest toe box, and best ground feel, some kind of fancy rubber, I'll post the link to the review when I find it again. So hard to decide on shoes that we can't try on first... And don't have the money to throw away on pair after pair... The NEO trails sound good too, I'll have to call around and see if any stores are carrying them yet. You never know, one day they'll wake up. Even the Running Room aka the shrine to massive cushioned runners is carrying the Nike Frees now...

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  4. Speaking of the running room, they have been very accepting of my alternative footwear, and I'm signed up to pace the next half marathon clinic that starts in January. The goal race is the Scotia half in may, and that will be my next half as well. I hope to have my footwear issues worked out by then, (finding something to keep me warm and dry in winter/wet with no heel) Glenmore Running Room seems to have a more progressive culture than other locations from what I've heard from others. Did you ever get a chance to check out the Stem footwear? and I finally figured out how to post here with my google account, I'm the same poster as above.

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  5. I did check out the Stem shoes and I love them. I'm trying to see if I can get Riva's Eco Store to carry them. Here's hoping. :)

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  6. I love the Stem footwear, seriously there are so many sweet shoes out there for minimalist runner. I would really like a pair of Ultra Eve's they are so nice looking and the toe box is supposed to be very generous. I will have to see if I can get a pair somehow.

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