And Brenden can steal!
Running Barefoot?
Some friends of ours gave us their old treadmill, which gave me another running option when daylight or weather prevents me from running outside. It also provides another possibility that I’ve been curious about – barefoot running.
There are two main schools of thought among runners regarding footwear:
- Buy traditional running shoes to cushion your feet and correct any foot problems such as overpronation.
- Run either barefoot or with very thin shoes to let your feet and legs adapt naturally, just like every other running animal does.
Obviously, option 1 is by far the most common among runners. Whether that’s by necessity or due to expert marketing, I can’t say. But option 2 is rapidly gaining ground, thanks largely to two factors.
One is a bestselling book called Born to Run, which tells the story of a remote Indian tribe in Mexico made of experts in ultra-long distance running (50 miles or more). I haven’t read the book yet, but I do have a birthday coming up. =) It argues, among other things, that while humans aren’t built to be the fastest animals on earth, we are blessed with a remarkable capacity for endurance. Some African tribes catch animals such as antelope by outrunning them – not in a sprint, but by outlasting them after 3-5 hours of running. Some of the best distance runners in international competition come from Africa, where barefoot running is more common.
The other reason is the exploding popularity of yet another weird shoe, the Vibram Five Fingers minimalist running shoe. It’s essentially a glove for your feet, protecting them from rocks and debris while providing the benefits of true barefoot running. A couple of my friends swear by them. Actually, I’m not aware of anyone who bought a pair and regrets it. I am curious, but I’m also mindful that VFFs and barefoot running are the complete opposite approach to my current one (expensive running shoes with even more expensive custom orthotics).
Barefoot running, they say, forces you to use proper form. Why? Because if your form is bad (heavy heel-striking, lots of up-and-down bouncing, lead foot landing too far ahead, etc.), your feet complain very quickly. With cushy shoes like most of us wear, your bad form can hide in all the foam so that you don’t feel the problem or even know you have one.
I gave it a try tonight. My initial plan was a barefoot 5k on the treadmill. Very quickly I realized that my shoe-pampered feet weren’t nearly tough enough for 3.1 miles of landing on a rough surface. I put my shoes back on after one mile. However, except for the foot tenderness, barefoot running actually felt pretty good. It definitely gives you much more feedback on your form, letting you feel which parts of your feet absorb the most impact.
Have any of you tried it, or do you know anyone who has? What are your thoughts?
Haiku Tuesday 1 – Intro
Today, and on every Tuesday while I feel like continuing the tradition, I shall write a haiku. I call this feature Haiku Tuesday, for it is Tuesday, and I am writing a haiku.
Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that English speakers have modified slightly. English haiku generally have three lines. Lines one and three have five syllables each. Line two has seven syllables. The plural of haiku is haiku. Just go with it.
Today’s haiku theme is introduction:
Writing in the night
Before I send the flight plans
Crews go where I say
Now it’s your turn. Please write your own haiku about yourself and post it here.
Props to my friend Christine Milliner for reminding me of the joys of haiku.
2010 Water is Basic 5k
The 2010 Water is Basic 5k is less than two months away. Jenny, Brenden, and I participated last year and had a great time. The location has moved to a popular running spot called in Dallas called Katy Trail, near Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. The race is scheduled for Saturday morning, October 9, at 8:00am.
Water is Basic drills clean water wells in Sudan. A $3000 well can supply clean water to 1000-2000 Sudanese for 20 years or more. Run by Sudanese with financial support from U.S. partners, WIB meets physical needs in the name of Jesus. So far it has drilled over 150 wells. We hope to drill several more with the money we raise from this year’s race.
We hope that many of you will join us!
A Larger Plane for SWA?
Mockup of the 737-800 in SWA livery from Airliners.net. Note the slightly longer fuselage and additional overwing exit.
DISCLAIMER: Although I work for Southwest, I have no inside information about this project, only speculation, and any opinions I post here are solely my own and do not in any way represent those of Southwest Airlines, its Board of Directors, Employees, or Stockholders.
Today Southwest Airlines announced that it was considering the additional of a new 737 model, the larger 737-800. I have thought for years that such a move might be wise, so I’m thrilled to hear that we are moving forward. Since we announced it, I am 99 percent sure we’ll end up buying some, although I think (and hope!) there’s a chance we’ll get the even larger 737-900ER.
The -800 offers us two main advantages:
- About 38 more seats compared to the -300 and -700 that make up the vast majority of our fleet (175 vs. 137)
- Lower operating costs per seat-mile
If you’ve flown us recently, there’s a good chance you noticed that our planes are extremely full. Our network planners have done a great job of eliminating or rescheduling unprofitable routes to fill up our planes and make us more money. On some routes, especially the long ones, every flight on every day is almost completely full. We could easily add 20-30 people simply by making the seats available for sale.
Also, we now operate at two airports (Orange County and LaGuardia) that are slot-controlled, meaning we only have the right to operate a limited number of flights per day. We want to get slots at Reagan National as well but haven’t succeeded yet. A larger aircraft would allow us to carry more people with the available slots. At some other airports, we don’t have as many gates as we would like, which limits the number of flights we can operate. The -800 would provide a similar benefit in those situations.
Adding the -800 would add a bit of complexity, such as an extra flight attendant and fewer options for swapping aircraft, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. I am very excited about this possibility and hope to see a 737-800 in SWA colors in 2012.
Visit the Airliners.net discussion in case you want to read more.
August 2010 Rants and Raves
It’s been a while, so I’m bringing back an old favorite: rants and raves.
RAVE: IBC’s Back to School event. One of the main reasons I love my church (and keep going despite the fairly long drive) is its relentless focus on helping people in need both abroad and here in DFW. On Saturday, IBC plans to invite single parent families to get free backpacks, haircuts, medical and dental care, clothing, and ice cream sundaes.
RANT: Corn. OK, not corn in general, but the little bits of kernel that get stuck in your teeth when you’re nowhere near a toothbrush or floss, leaving you tortured by a splinter-like irritation with no good way to remove it.
RAVE: Blog category clouds. Check out the sidebar under Topics. I just added a plugin that lists the categories for my posts in different sizes based on their frequency. The most common topics are biggest. Sure, I’m a nerd, but I thought it added a nice touch.
RANT: “Voice-recognition” phone systems. They save the company money by annoying the heck out of their helpless customers. You know the ones I’m talking about:
Phone: “Are you calling about auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance?”
Me: “Auto”
Phone: “I heard you say, ‘Homeowner’s’. If this is correct, say ‘Yes’.”
Me: “I HATE YOU!!!!”
Phone: “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. Are you calling about auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance?”
RAVE: The secondhand market. I can think of few better ways to save money and save the earth than the secondhand market, which includes garage sales, Craigslist, Goodwill, Kid to Kid, and GameStop. Much of the stuff we use only benefits us for a limited time. Kids’ clothing and equipment, video games, exercise equipment, computers, furniture, and other items are often quite expensive to buy new but readily available and much cheaper to buy used. We found a fantastic swingset for the boys on Craigslist for perhaps a quarter of its retail cost. Mad Bomber just gave us a treadmill they no longer used. We’re about to sell Jonathan’s outgrown car seat. It’s fantastic!