Andrew Schrauben

Another week of running is quickly going by. Monday we ran through fresh slush which was just like running on sand - not slippery but it saps your energy. Tuesday I ran up a hill over and over until I felt bad - it sucked because I was tired to begin with, it was very cold, my toes were numb, and it was getting dark and it was hard to see when going fast back down the hill. At least Haven came with me and she loved the fast running part! I also got to try my screw shoes, but they don't give much advantage on soft snow. Screw shoes?



Thanks to Matt Carpenter for the idea, I installed some sheet metal screws into one of my old pair of shoes, giving me a "studded" shoe for traction. Matt calls it the screw shoe. (Note: If you haven't heard of Matt Carpenter, go check out his site. Lots of good information and he has an enjoyable writing style. Oh, he's a world-class runner, too!)

Screw shoes do their best on ice, which is what we had here Wednesday. They really work! I ran across smooth swaths of ice and eventually didn't worry about falling on my butt. For me half the benefit is simply the concept of making and wearing screw shoes - it's fun to figure out exactly where to put each screw and see how they work.

Despite screw shoes, I elected not to run outside today because I wanted to do some speed work. It wasn't the ice that dissuaded me so much as the lumpy, frozen slush on the sidewalks - I don't want to worry about rough terrain. Instead I wore my normal shoes on the treadmill and enjoyed the speed. Boy, do I ever love running fast! I just wish I could do it for more than two minutes at a time. There's something almost calming about stretching out my legs for a long, fast stride and suddenly the ground feels so soft and my feet so light. And then my lungs implode, so I slow down and wonder when I can run fast again.