Shlap her in neutral and think about d'fingers...

January 2011 - Happy new year! Indeed, merry everyone...

A new year, new beginnings. Christmas was peaceful, the running consistent. It was the first time in 16 years that I did not take part in the annual charity run from Limerick City to Lisnagry. I missed the hot whiskey. Instead I opted for a quiet run in Cratloe Woods, where I landed in a ditch and cut myself in some briars, Christmas day off to a flier.

At least the running was steady, more so than it had been for a while. Maybe it was the allure of the country roads of home, or a lack of distractions to stop me from going, albeit I did bring the Wii home and am now addicted to Goldeneye and have hooked my brother-in-law on Call of Duty, much to my sister's annoyance. 



So I have been running in neutral shoes ever since my physio suggested that "you can have too much cushioning". This is the same physio who dry needled my shins to remove the pain, as in the picture below, which was nice.



Dry-Needling My Shins

The move away from Asics, the trusted kings of the road, with their Duomax supports was difficult. It has, though, proved to be fruitful as there is not as much pain in the shins as usual - although it is not clear as to whether this is the result of the brand switch or a switch from cushioned to neutral. Right now though, I am trusting Saucony until I have reason not to. Many thanks to AOD for helping with the big move!


Then there's the Five Fingers...Vibram's answer to running like a Neanderthal. These are rubber and neoprene and are essentially gloves for your feet, but apparently force you to run how humans are meant to - barefoot. They strengthen your arches and should eventually negate the need for orthotics...we'll see says I. They are the same Five Fingers that injured Elmer of the sub-3-hour blog. I reckon they might be worth a look to see if the arches will be forced to comply with my commands, something they haven't done since I have been 18.

Vibram's Five Fingers

So into January and after a slow start, things are picking up and the mileage is increasing, slowly. There's no plan in place except run when I feel like it. MDS entries are usually in February, so I'm keeping an eye on their website for the 2013 race. The more I think about it, the less daunting it seems, easy to say sitting at home in 4 degrees and wearing gloves while running.

Had a great run in UCC's Farm a couple of weekends ago, I had forgotten what a great spot it was for a jaunt, a shame it's on the wrong side of the city, I'll have to stick to "the Pike" in Glanmire, the perfectly sculpted half mile running trail on the GAA pitches. With d'fingers it'll be down to Redbarn near Youghal for some low tide beach running, on the assumption, that is, that I buy them.

The running season is coming, there's a great stretch in the evenings...