Runmutting is going smashingly… Or as smashing as one can consider running to work. Honestly, I’m having a really great time doing it, even those mornings when my buddy Joe (first name, Cuppo) isn’t as motivating as I would like him to be. It only takes a jaunt down the first handful of neighborhood blocks in a brisk winter breeze (sounds lovely doesn’t it) to get the blood pumping and eyes wide awake. Then it’s a dose of miles over railroad tracks, through the parks, over more railroad tracks, under the highway and down the final stretch of street that takes me to my work where I strip down, empty my coffee thermos (into myself) and heat up some water for my pre-prepared oatmeal mixture (oats, banana slices, peanut butter, cinnamon, almonds, raisins, etc.) breakfast. Oh…and at some point I put clothes back on. It’s a decent start to these winter mornings.
There is one hurdle in this running routine however, the weight. Certainly not the weight on my body (still holding strong in the low 140′s!), but rather the weight on my back. I have this awesome Osprey Talon 22 grimace colored backpack that fits everything I need (clothes, shoes, breakfast, lunch, wallet, keys, phone, book, kittens, etc.) and with room to spare, but unfortunately, that degree of weight creates a bouncing sensation that no hip straps paired with shoulder straps is going to tame. I tighten the hip straps only to have the top of my bag swing across my neck. I tighten the shoulder straps to prevent the swinging, but then the hip straps come up to my belly and the process starts over again. At lighter weights I can minimize any movement and really kick into a more natural stride and speed, but it’s not easy. Hence the title of this post.
There is no way I can keep runmutting with this morning annoyance, especially without the tolerance lifting magic of my friend Joe, and so my brain has been schemeing. Pulling on my other commuting preference, biking, I’ve decided to fashion a run trailer, something akin to a hands-free rickshaw, a…wait for it….Rickroll if you will.
I’m serious. It’s a thought that simply won’t go away, spurned by the frustration I experience every morning on my run to work and fueled by the mental clarity I have on my run back home. The trailer will meld together the commuting accessories of cycling, rickshaws, backpacking and maybe some cross country skiing. It’s all there in my head and it looks and works beeeeautifully. I can almost feel the hip belt securely hugging my protruding pelvic bones, the trailer casually rolling behind me, snuggly cuddling all my necessities for the day and my legs and arms swinging freely as if I’m out for an easy 10′er. It’s a beautiful thing, it really is. But first I have to cobble together all the bits and pieces to start on my prototype, which will necessitate a trip to the disneyland-like hardware stores where I should be able to find everything I need, short of welding equipment. And soon enough, I’ll be cruising to work dragging the fruits of my labor and probably some real fruit too.
It’s an idea that WILL happen, if not because the motivation is there, then because the necessity certainly is. You know there will be photos as this comes together.
Mark my words. Runmutting will be the new black. I’m just ahead of the curve (or so I like to tell myself).
Keep running. Go Vegan.
Excellent idea on the Rickroll! Though I cannot runmute currently as my drive (on the rare occasion that I cannot telecommute) is 40mi one way from Mooresville to Fishers, I may need a Rickroll soon as I am in the hiring process for a FAA job at Indpls Intn’l that is 9-10mi from my home. Thus if I get the job, runmuting will become a real possibility for me at least once or twice a week. They also have a locker room and showers at work too which would be nice. I think you really are onto something, if only a micro-niche market. I have a 2 seater Burly trailer for the kids when we ride bikes, perhaps I could transform my Burly into my own jumbo sized Rickroll?
Thanks! I hope you get the job at the airport…especially if your commute is cut down so drastically. I secured some more supplies for the Rickroll yesterday and will be talking with a welder soon. In the meantime, here is a DIY child puller, ski thingy from Alaska. It might be good inspiration for your Burly trailer. I don’t intend to pull human cargo, so mine will be scaled down much more…like the B.O.B. trailers.
http://movingtoak.blogspot.com/2011/12/pulks-on-cheap-2.html
I have a Detour bicycle pannier backpack that has some mesh sides which I ran with a few times. It slows you down, but it is soo comfortable! Pretty lightweight. I don’t see it on the Detour website, but you could call them. It works fantastically as a grocery bag when commuting by bicycle. I ran a couple of times with it on about 1.5 years ago, and prefer to run without the pack so it isn’t perfect, but I can’t think of anything that would be much better. Another option is to pack a week’s worth of clothes and drive to work (or have a colleague pick them up and deliver them) once a week.
Good luck with it! I hope you don’t have to build yourself a small trailer just for the few things you have. You might also try adding a water bottle holster (see if you can find one that fits the thermos, and/or find a more slender thermos; and/or a ‘fanny pack’ that you can put your wallet and a couple snacks in, reducing the weight in the front). You could even carry two fruits with your hands for added weight on the arms, depending on your temperatures. Good luck with the veganrunning. Nice to see someone with a blog like this.
Thanks for the info MJ! Personally, I’m looking forward to building/running with the trailer. I think it will work best for my situation and will be fun to create. I certainly do plan on adding a water bottle holster, actually a coffee thermos holster! I hope to meet with the welder next week and then I’ll update the progress.
I think a trailer would help your running more than carrying it on your back. With it on your back, once you take it off, you find yourself effortlessly bounding upwards but not really any faster forwards. (Speaking from personal experience.) But on a trailer all the resistance you’re fighting is against forward motion. I’d expect it might help improve one’s running.
I know some strength training exercises involve pulling sleds of weights, and although this setup won’t be super heavy, I can’t imagine it would hurt! The real benefit is being able to run effortlessly and therefore at speed instead of intentionally slowing down so as not to bounce the pack around my back. I’m a bit closer to having a working prototype, so progress should be updated soon.
Cannot wait to see what you’ve got. I saw a runmutter this evening wearing a very cumbersome looking pack. He looked like an accomplished runner but the pack looked very uncomfortable and was bouncing a ton. This trailer idea seems much more comfy.
The trailer will be night and day compared to the pack. I could even see something like this working for non-technical, non-rugged trails for run/backpacking/camping outings. That would be a neat vacation! Anyways, I’m just using it to get to work.