· Date: Thursday July 18, 2019
· Where: St. Joseph, Michigan to Kalamazoo, Michigan
· Total Distance Covered: 57 miles
· Running Partner: Abby
This morning, we woke up at four-thirty in the morning and we were ready within an hour to start running. Because of the time change, it felt like we had woken up at three-thirty in the morning, and Rizwan and I were not happy. We were only running six miles each today and had woken up so early we had beat the sunrise. This meant we had to wait about forty-five minutes for the sun to come up and begin running. Rizwan and I didn’t know why we had gotten up so early just to sit around, and especially on a day with such small mileage. Previously, when we had smaller mileage days, we had slept in a couple of hours. It just didn’t make sense. Since we were in the first van today which had to start running from the church we had slept in last night, we had to wait in the parking lot. Rizwan and I tried to get some rest, but the van was loud and playing music. We couldn’t understand why no one else was bothered we had woken up hours earlier than necessary and they were enjoying it!
Once we finally got started running, I figured today would be another perfect day to add on mileage to make up from the time I was sick. I ran with Abby and I also ran with a few others in between the miles that Abby and I ran together. I was so happy to slowly be checking off the mileage I had missed. It wasn’t the same as running it when I was supposed to, but psychologically, I needed to make it up.
I ran six miles with Abby, and we had great conversations about what we both want to do after college and why we want to do it. Abby is from Arizona and goes to school in California. Her slang and interests reminded me a lot of my brother Kevin who also lives on the west coast. Abby started running specifically for the 4K for Cancer and it seemed every day she got a new personal best in either her mile time or her three-mile time. It was incredible. Although today she didn’t get a personal best, we were still running at a pretty good pace considering that it felt like we were swimming in water because of the humidity. Since Abby was the only one on the team from the West Coast, she laughed at all of us as we stared in amazement at the scenery in Nevada and Utah. The dry, arid, and desert-like climates out west that we had never seen before, was what she grew up in. Now, the roles were reversed. Today on our run, Abby was amazed at the density of the trees and the woods that we were running by.
I remember her saying, “I can’t even see through that line of trees! It just goes to darkness in there.”
The entire team thought the humidity was terrible to run in but Abby, who had never been in humidity like this before, especially was not having fun. We were soaked through by the time we had run only two miles. But I enjoyed these miles more than I had for the past few days. We needed to do no shuttling for the first time in a while, and there was hardly anyone around. The roads went through farmland, woods, and residential areas with little traffic. The repetitive motion of running brought about the peacefulness that had been frequently interrupted in the busier miles of the past few days. I had missed it so much and I was so glad to have it back.
As we completed our miles for the day, the host van told us that they couldn’t obtain any food donations for lunch. We found we were only a few miles from a Qdoba, which is extremely similar to Chipotle or Moe’s. Everyone on the team was talking about how much better Qdoba was though and I couldn’t understand why. I thought the debate about which Mexican chain restaurant was the best only ever included Chipotle or Moe’s. Because there were no Qdoba restaurants in Connecticut, I had never been to one and maybe that is why I had never heard of them. TO put it straight for everyone who has ever debated between these restaurants, Qdoba is so much better. For one, their spices are better. Two, it’s cheaper. If you ask for extra beans, extra meat, extra vegetables, extra chips, or even extra guacamole, there is no additional charge. This makes the serving sizes massive! Even after running over ten miles, I had trouble finishing my meal. I will forever choose Qdoba over Chipotle and Moe’s. Qdoba needs to come to Connecticut!
Somehow, Rob had coordinated with an indoor rock-climbing gym called Climb Kalamazoo, a free rock-climbing session. The gym had heard about the 4K for Cancer and wanted to treat us to some free time where we could rock climb and boulder. Only about half of Team Boston decided to go, but those of us who did had an incredible time together. We were taught how to use the ropes to belay someone, how to harness ourselves in, and how to ensure we all climbed safely. Before leaving San Francisco, I had visited Kevin in San Diego and we had done some rock climbing. So, everything Kevin had taught me flooded back in. I was so excited. We all had competitions to see who could do some routes the fastest and who could climb the highest on some of the bouldering routes. It was hard work and my arms were not used to it at all. Some of the bouldering areas had us with our backs parallel to the ground, and my grip strength was very poor. I couldn’t do a lot of the bouldering routes, but I still had so much fun. Rock climbing and bouldering are something that I want to get into once I graduate from school and get settled with my life. It’s such a great challenge and the few times I have gone, I always have fun!
After the rock-climbing gym, Evan, Rob, and I went next door to a running store. Nike had just released a new shoe called the Nike Vaporfly Next%. This was an updated version of the Nike Vaporfly 4% which supposedly helps to decrease a marathon time by four percent. Among the running community, these shoes are a controversy because of the carbon fiber plate in the bottom, the dramatic drop in the heel to the toe, and foam that gives runners an extra bounce and returns their energy when stepped on. These shoes have offered a competitive advantage to the elites sponsored by Nike leaving behind other sponsors and their runners. Since their release in 2016, countless world records have been made, broken, and broken again. People sometimes call the use of the shoe mechanical doping because it helps the runner beyond the runner’s physical capability. The name “Cheaterfly” is another name for these shoes that has caught on. Eventually, the Olympic committee and the International Athletic Association Federation would create new rules surrounding the use of these shoes. Other companies would also come out with their version of shoes with carbon fiber plates. Hoka One One and Brooks are the most notable as of late. It seemed you either loved these shoes or you hated them. Usually, those who loved them were the ones who were sponsored by Nike since there was no denying the advantage they gave.
Regardless, Evan, Rob, and I were beyond excited to be able to try them on. The Vaporfly Next% were almost four hundred dollars at the time they were released and when we tried them on the shoes hadn’t even been in the store for a week. The workers in the store wouldn’t even let us walk in them for fear of compressing the foam before the shoe’s actual buyer purchased them. We were only allowed to stand up in them briefly to feel the difference in structure compared to our own running shoes. If the shoe was worn by one person and they walked around in them, the foam would mold to their feet and stay that way. If the shoe remained in a box for too long, unused, the foam would compress. The shoes could only handle about one hundred miles of running before needing to be replaced too. It baffled us how someone who was not sponsored could have the money to spend on this shoe. Even now, a year after its release, these shoes are typically two-hundred and fifty dollars, but they fly off the shelves and are often out of stock.
The whole Vaporfly versus Cheaterfly movement reminds me of what happened with Speedo swimsuits in the late 2000s. From my understanding, Speedo had designed new swimsuits which were extra slick, compressed the body into the ideal swimmer’s shape, and offered extra buoyancy. Having been released around the time of the Olympics, the Olympic committee was faced with approving these suits for competition. Eventually, only about half of the suits would be approved and the swimming world records would fall repeatedly over the next few years. These records now, have remained much the same, and have improved much less dramatically. Critics said that the suits were mechanical doping for swimmers and offered unfair advantages that were beyond human capability. However, the design behind these suits remains popular today and many athletes use them. I think Vaporflys will be similar. Eventually, everyone will be competing with shoes of similar design, and the world records will stop being broken. Just like how the swimming world records were repeatedly broken for a few years and then plateaued as everyone started to compete with similar swimsuit designs, I think the same will happen with our running records. In short, I think right now, the term Cheaterfly suits these shoes well. But eventually, every professional runner will be “cheating” so the name Cheaterfly will gradually lose popularity as the competitive advantage disappears. Evan, Rob, Tyler, and I could talk for hours about the Cheaterfly versus Vaporfly debate!
As we went back to the host tonight, we were at the Kalamazoo YMCA. We put our stuff down in the gym where we were sleeping and then went swimming in the Y’s pools. After we showered, we had dinner and relaxed. I found a quiet spot to work on my blog and stumbled on a framed newspaper clipping and silk swimsuit. The article showed a man who often swam at this YMCA named James Christy. In the 1932 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 1500-meter swim event. It was cool to think that an Olympian had once trained in these pools!
Comments