Posture posture

I still need to pay attention to the run posture. Go high cadence, lighter and quieter landing.
Focusing on going light evening when sprinting.

5k

Running in Adizero pro for 5k. High cadence. 30'04" too slow.

Nice weather

Cycling in Haw Ridge

9/24/10 Haw Ridge 18:30 to 19:45

I have not been to Haw Ridge for a while. It was Friday afternoon. The trail was dry and nice. I fell once but got up right away. The sunset time was 19:31, I rode out the last half mile in the dark.

First run in the fall

9/20 HTML to H trail run

Training for August 2010 Trip

5/22 The neighborhood run, outbound 28min, inbound 29 min, Montrail shoe pinched the right pinky. 5.8 miles?

5/23 rope ascent by the "good morning" route, bouldering in Lily Boulder Field

5/26 slow run, 3.2 miles, focusing on posture, wearing Adizero pro. Very sensitive shoes

5/30 Tempo run short lab loop, too slow (27'30")

6/2 Speed intervals and improving posture. Focusing on pushing from the hip and light and fast landing. No sore on lower calf. Sore on upper calf and quads

6/14: 3-mile run

6/16: SWSA7+over HFIR run 43' (starting from 4515 building)

6/18: Dragon boat paddling, back muscles

6/20: 45-min run in UT arboretum wearing KSO, high heat index, Dragon boat practice for 2 hours!

6/23: SWSA7+over HFIR run 46'

6/26: Dragon Boat Race. We ranked fifth in 64 teams.

6/29: 3 mile run in KSO, too slow though

First Time Barefoot Running 4/4/10

After reading many instructions and benefits about barefoot running, I tried it on a treadmill the first time. It was a Friday evening in the gym at work.

Keep the upper body straight and relaxed. Keep the cadence at 180 spm. Relax.

It felt great! There were two blisters on my left foot. The upper calf muscles were sore (close to the knee bend).

Running naturally

Running posture apparently is important. Recently, Daniel Lieberman of Harvard published a paper on how the foot posture affects the impact force during running.

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

I do not think we have to run barefoot all the time like our ancestors did. Rather, while running, we shall really adapt a running posture like our ancestors, ie, running naturally. Wearing shoes changed our running posture for worse, Lieberman's study showed that, and thankfully, his study also told us how we can run naturally. After adopting the natural way for a month, today I ran on Point Trail, one of my favorite. About half way in, checking my stopwatch, I was surprised to find out that I had a faster time! It was about 19 minutes one way, compared with 20'49" before. Wow!

03/14/2010: ~19'00" PB

11/01/2009: 20'49"

五毛党 the Party of Fifty Cents

Fifty cents in the US is a rap group. Well, the Party of Fifty Cents in China was born with the heavy internet censorship. Apparently, there are hired hands in China, posting pro-government comments on people's blogs and websites. Each "valid" entry is paid fifty cents of RMB, equivalent to about 7 cents US.

Then I was told by my friend in China, about hired fans. For example, if you are competing at the Chinese version of the Idol, you can hire a fan. A fan screaming "I love you" is paid 100 Yuan. A fan screaming with tears streaming down is paid 300 Yuan. Isn't it fascinating? Last October in Shanghai Airport, I witnessed hundreds of girls rushing in with one of the Super Junior. The skinny kid with dark masks was protected by several bouncers. How many of them were true fans without pay?

Obama's Accent and Palin's Face

Obama's mother is White, the wholesome White girl from midwest. His birth father is an African from Kenya. From socializing with my friends from Africa, I gathered that it is likely the father had an African accent. The parents divorced when he was three years old. He lived with his mother and maternal side of the family during his childhood in Hawaii. He then went to Columbia and Harvard. Most of the people hang out in these places would not speak with a Black accent. Now I am wondering when and where he got his current accent.

Accent and speech pattern tell a lot about a person. Obama ought not have this African American accent while growing up. Did he acquire his accent during the time in Chicago when he became politically ambitious? Margret Thatcher took an elocution lesson to rid her not-so-posh Linclonshire accent. I enjoy analyzing politician's speech, noticing how they use words and phrase to attract certain audience.

Talking about giving speeches, Palin struck me by being catering towards the dumb. Larry commented on how much popular Palin would be if she had a face of Madeleine Albright or Janet Reno. It is a disgrace that in this politically correct society of ours, disqualified women are sometimes being plucked up to the position and get away from scrutiny by being pretty and cute.

Backcountry Ski in NC

It snowed again in the southeast. I drove to Cherohala Skyway and checked out the possibilities of backcountry ski there. I found a gated forest road after Mile Six post on the NC side. The crusty jeep road led to a bald at 5,000ft. The snow was even more crusty there, about half inch thick and I could walk on it without breaking through the crust. I made a few runs and practiced kick-turns both sides. I returned to my car at twilight.

A Week in Northest

On the Boxing day of 2009, I went to visit my friends in Ottawa. The next day, I drove to New Hampshire via Quebec and Vermont. I spent three days ice climbing and two days learning ski. A good way to start a new decade. Happy 2010!

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