“Why do I get emotional during one particular yoga pose?” That’s fascinating. I haven’t experienced that in particular – I don’t do much yoga – but I’ve had something similar running. On a handful of occasions at the end of a race or a particulary draining workout, I’ve just found myself on the verge of tears. Being wrung out makes me cry, I guess.

CoachPRS has recorded an excellent video about forefoot versus heel striking, especially with regards to overpronators. (*cough* SNOOK! *cough*) He shows exactly how the movements and strikes differ, and how the forefoot striking can benefit you.

The second episode of the Geek Girl Runner podcast is now available! Thanks to everyone who listened to the first episode and gave feedback. This episode features: housekeeping, my training update; emails, comments, and shoutouts; and a discussion of forefoot running and my Newtons.

Show links:
Opera in the Domain
Sydney Fruit Bats
David Ianni – runner in Germany
Newton Running Blog
Running Podcasts
“Biomechanics of Foot Strikes…” study by Prof. Lieberman
BBC story on forefoot running
NPR study on forefoot running

Thanks as usual to Nick Arthur for the use of his song “Little Donut Party”. Please give me some feedback and let me know what you think!

It was a weird week. It’s been hot and humid, and I’m still having trouble keeping my heart rate down. On Sunday, my HR was all over the place and I actually found myself getting irrationally angry about it. In retrospect it was actually kind of funny. (Gritting my teeth in anger doesn’t do much to calm down the ol’ HR!) I’m having a bit of shoe trouble though. I looked down at my Newtons the other day and realised that the outer lugs on each foot have worn completely down on the front! I got them at the end of August, and my total mileage in that time is just over 200 miles (325km). Is that normal? On one hand it’s clear proof that I’m landing in the right spot (as are the calluses on the balls of my feet). But on the other hand, these are pretty expensive shoes, and I can’t afford multiple pairs per year. I tweeted about it to @sirisaac but they didn’t respond. I’m guessing it’s partly because I actually have racers, as opposed to trainers. (The racers had a big discount when I bought.) Can anybody comment on the longetivity of their Newtons?

Anyway, the weekly totals…

Jan 22: 5.56km
Jan 24: 7.13km
Jan 26: 5.61km
Jan 28: 5.44km
Total this week: 23.74km (14.8mi) – same as last week!
Total in 2010: 92.4km (57.75mi)

I’ve got quite a cushion built-up in my quest to run 1000kms in 2010. I haven’t missed a run yet in January!

Running Barefood or in Minimal Footwear. “This website has been developed to provide an evidence-based resource for those interested in barefoot or minimal footwear running.” This is an extremely good introduction to running with a forefoot strike, and it’s got a lot of cool little videos showing exactly what your feet and legs are doing when you land on your heel, midfoot, and forefoot.

Thanks to everybody who’s listened or sent feedback so far. In case you missed it, the RSS feed for the show and blog is here. I’ve been approved for the iTunes Music Store and you can now subscribe to the show (and leave reviews!) here. For those of you who prefer to listen without subscribing, I’ll be putting up an inline player today.

The inaugural episode of my new Geek Girl Runner podcast is now available! I’ve been thinking about doing a podcast for a few weeks now, so I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go. This episode features: introduction to me and the show; training update; and review of RunKeeper.

Show links:
Phedippidations
Running with the Pack
Brandon’s Marathon
Sydney Half-Marathon
RunKeeper

Special thanks go to Nick Arthur for the use of his song “Little Donut Party”. Please give me some feedback and let me know what you think!

As you might have noticed, my “secret project” didn’t quite materialise just yet. It’s a running podcast! I’ve got all the pieces in place though, and I’m hoping to upload the first episode tonight. It’s called Geek Girl Runner, and the plan is to record a new episode every two weeks. In the meantime, training continues. I had an especially hard workout at Spudds yesterday, so my run this morning was crapola. Still, I haven’t missed a run yet this year…

Jan 15: 5.09km
Jan 17: 8km
Jan 19: 5.54km
Jan 21: 5.16km
Total this week: 23.8km (14.8mi)
Total in 2010: 68.7km (43mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km this year, I should be at 57.5km right now. So I’m about 10km ahead of schedule! That’s good; I like to have a cushion.

Jeff Galloway has a great article about getting started with running without aches and pains. If you’ve been inspired to hit the roads this New Year, you should check it out.

Onwards and upwards. I’m meeting my goal of running four times a week, and this week I managed an itsy bit farther. We’ve had a run of hot weather, and it’s really hard to maintain pace and stay within my aerobic heart rate zone on hot and humid days. I also had my first circuit training session of the year at Spudds yesterday. (I was definitely feeling it on my run this morning.) Let’s look at the weekly totals:

Jan 8: 5.3km
Jan 10: 6.56km
Jan 12: 5.4km
Jan 14: 5.5km
Total this week: 22.6km (14mi)
Total in 2010: 44.9km (27.8mi)

I’m working on a new running-related secret project… which I’ll hopefully unveil this weekend. Stay tuned!