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Monday, November 21, 2011

Special Announcement

Right now I am almost 90% barefoot every day, whether it is walking or running or any daily activity. But there are times when I must comply with society and wear something on my feet. Such as work dictates I wear something or some stores require it. And in some cases my wife doesn't want to be seen with me in my glorious natural God-given feet. So I opt to wear Invisible Shoes for my preferred method of shoddiness. While at work I only put them on if I have to go from point A to point B. Otherwise I free my feet under my desk. And in the really cold winter months I will put on tapi socks that work well with these sandals. Sometimes my feet can only tolerate so much.

But I also want to let you in on a sale that Invisible Shoes is having. It is their 2nd year anniversary. If you find that you HAVE to wear something on your feet, then make a good choice. Click on the link and help celebrate with them. Go check them out!!!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Tapi Socks

For cold weather I made these Tapi socks(Ninja style) out of some old black ankle sports socks. They work great to wear with my Invisible Shoes(huaraches) or when I am biking to work in sub degree temps.
Here is how I made them: Turn the socks inside out and put them on. With needle and thread, stay stitched a V in the area between the big toe and other toes. Take them off and clip the channel. Serge them(or zig zag stitch) on a serge maching/sewing machine. Turned then right side out and VOILA!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Morning of Panther 5k Run

All went really well this past Saturday at the Panther 5K run. Since it was in my home town, I walked(BF) to GC campus where the event is. Wanted to get myself and my feet warmed up. The temp was in the low 40s and chilly. I dressed warm on the top half and my feet were fine. Registration started at 6:45am-7:45am. I was too anxious and was up at 5:30am. So I got ready and got to campus at 7am. Not too many people there yet. So I registered and got my packet with t-shirt, number panel and picked up the ankle bracelet with the running chip. The odd thing was that they wrote my age on my calf with a marker. HUH??? They said it was so that we could identify our classmates and age group. Ok. But us in the 40 and older group weren't thrilled about this. HAHA. It was a fun topic to talk about. This was new to me since I haven't been in an event like this.
Toes still a little chilly. So I headed over to the student union to warm up and do my stretches while I wait for more to show up. I was looking for my running buddies, but they were here yet. I did run into other people I knew and chatted. Yes, the usual comment of "you running barefoot?!!!" and I do my mantra. This was a college homecoming race, so I got to see some of my class mates. And none of them knew I am a BFer or run BF. So they were shocked and interested.
Finally my running buddies show up 20 min before the race starts and they get their stuff. The 5k run was all around the the town streets(which I have run many times before, so no surprises). The 5k run coordinators had us gather up on the street in front of the campus. My buddies and me gathered up toward the front which was fine with me. The blowhorn started and we headed off. One of my buddies is a really fast runner and has done marathons before. He took off like a light, so let him go. I wasn't sure if the others would stick around. For about a mile I was with some of them, but we eventually took our own pace and separated. Which is fine. I wasn't there for speed, but more for the fun and experience. Only two of my running buddies kept way ahead of me and I didn't try to catch up. I just kep my pace. My feet felt fine and I tried to push it more than I usually do. There wasn't much chatter, altho I tried to initiate some as I passed them or others that tried to pass me. There were quite a few kids taking part in it. It was a family event as well. One boy of about 10 stuck with me for most of the race. It felt good that I got to pass some of those close to my age. Of course I expected that those younger than me and more experienced would pass me. I did take note of those passing me with their age number on their leg. Only two in my age group passed me. I think the others in my age group must have already been ahead of me from the start.
As I neared the end of the race I tried to keep my form, yet push my limits a bit more and concentrate on getting a good speed. I rounded the corner and went down the long path to the finish line. That one 10yo boy and another were on my heels(literally) as we three passed over the finish line. I was slightly a barefoot ahead of them. I ran passed the finish and did a few "high-fives" with my buddies that had already finished. I FELT GREAT!
We checked the stats that were already posted(which was fast posting) and I got 22 overall placement. I got 5th place in my 40-49 age group. My time was 23:43:25(23 min) with a pace of 7:39/min. WOW! I must have been pushing it. I never run that fast(BF) before. I usually do 8:30 or more.

I don't have any pics to show you and hoping the the event coordinators or the college will post pics soon. It was a great experience and I hope to someday do more 5ks, and better yet do half marathons. It will be many of my goals as a BF runner.

Here are some pics I took of me and my running buddies:






Friday, October 14, 2011

Panther 5k Run

Tomorrow morning will be my first official “professionally” organized 5k run while barefoot. It is the Panther 5k and will be at Greenville College and wind through the streets of Gville and end back up on campus. Several of my friends(shod) who I run with on Saturdays and other days of the week have encouraged me to take part in this 5k. Some of them I think want me there being the only BFR they know and is a novelty. OH WELL! I don’t mind that. I go just to have fun. I don’t worry about time. They do and they may pass me by as they work the clock. I hope to take pictures and give a report sometime next week.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Family Fun 5K Run

I finally got my copy of the video my church put on back in April 2011 of the Family Fun 5K Run. It was my first ever group run/race going barefoot. This exerpt I extracted that pertain to my barefoot running.

ENJOY!!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Video of me and my New Invisible Shoes

Here is a video I made up of my review and show how I lace up my new Invisible Shoes.



Now I can enjoy them!!

Running with a Partner

This morning was the first for me to run with a partner. I normally run alone. Not by choice, but never had the chance to find a running partner.....until now. We have lots of people in my community that run(shod, I am the only BFR that I have observed) and most of them run by themselves. Some with partners. I have always wanted to run with someone else. Good motivational time to run, chat about whatever and helps you keep on track. Out there by yourself, you have only you and the wide open space to motivate you. That is nice most of the time. But I am just experiencing what some others go through when running with someone. Trying to keep with their pace, or vice versa, and learning to talk while running. This is a big challenge for me since I have trouble at the moment breathing with this high humidity and heat. But chatting and running at the same time really helped me concentrate on my breathing. Also the benefits of comradery and fellowship with another.
When I met my new found running partner he almost forgot that I run barefoot, until I came to his door. HAHA He had no problem with it and I had no problem with his shod feet. Good thing we both run at the same pace. That is a good factor when choosing a running partner. That you learn to keep a good pace that both of you agree on. In our chatting he told me he tried to run barefoot for about a half mile earlier this summer. He ended up with blisters. Decided it wasn’t his thing. I consoled him and told him that it takes time and a bit of training your body and feet. But I didn’t want to push him into anything that he wasn’t ready for. I did glance down at his running gate and he has good form. Maybe a little too much on his heels, but still bends good at the knees. He has been on the cross country team, soccer and tennis, so knows about form and such. He is a bit longer legged than me, so it was hit and miss for a stretch for us to get in synch. I should mention that this guy is half my age, if that. I worked with him when he was going through high school and is a sophomore in college now. At least our energy levels are the same!!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Interesting encounter

Last night while on one of my runs(I normally run in the morning, less
traffic) I encounter new people on the road. Meaning I encounter new
drivers passing by me, either waving or staring. This one car slowed down
to a stop right in the middle of the road letting other cars pass her and
the driver leaned over to the passenger window motioning to talk to her.
She said in a calm and seriously concerned voice with an expression on her
face that matched, ³I hate to see you run in your barefeet. It scares me.²
I consoled her and started in on my little mini-talk about how I got into
BFR. All the while she kept up her worried look at me saying how scared she
was for me and how she hated to see me running and she wished I was running
on the side of the road in the grass. I told her not to be scared and that
I love it and that I can¹t see any of the junk in the grass. The road is
completely clear for me to see where I run. I even showed her the bottom of
my foot(my good foot, not the one with a slight callus...didn¹t want to
scare her more!) She is a runner also and she said she knows how messed up
her feet got running on the asphalt roads and wanted to encourage me to get
really good ortho shoes. I told her that is why I got into BFR, because
they were hurting my feet, knees and hip. HAH. So as we departed, she
reiterated her concern for my feet. It was a no win situation to talk her
into something but we had a good conversation. She had her 5ish year old
daughter in the back seat just staring at me in amusement. I was probably quite a sight anyways. Dripping wet from sweat, no shirt on. Just my running shorts and cap to keep the sweat off my brow and arm band that holds my cellphone and iPod. I probabaly looked like a naked jaybird running down the streets HAHA.
I can only conjecture that as they continued home that she was giving her daughter a
lecture about not ever wanting to see her daughter out barefoot running
HAHA.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Family Fun 5K Run

Family Fun 5K run on 2011-04-16 | Running Log | MapMyRUN

Have to share with you my first race/run that happened this past Saturday. My first race running barefoot that is!! And I start out small.......not jumping into half or full marathon yet!! It was a 5k run put on by my church and for the community. It was titled “Family Fun 5k Run”. This is its 4th year and I have run this event shod before. But this time since I have started running barefoot, I wanted to do this event as such. I was a bit nervous, because most of the people I know at this church, and even fellow runners in the community don’t know that I run barefoot. Some have seen me, but never let on they know. ;) I was nervous because I wasn’t sure what comments I would get knowing that I would be the only one barefoot(at least in my community).
I am familiar with the route since it hasn’t changed much from previous years. Another reason I was nervous was because most of the country roads that we run on are chip seal and rough gravel. I usually avoid those roads on my running routes. And this 5k route wasn’t any different. So I was mulling it over in my mind what I should do. I came in wearing my huaraches sandals as many people see me wearing them all the time. I could use them for part of the run on those spots that are just too much for my feet to bear. But I don’t like holding them for a long run. I will just bite the bullet and do it and see how it goes. If I couldn’t stand the rough terrain on the roads then I would walk that section. Many thought I was going to run in them. I stated that I was going to go barefoot all the way. That got some gasps and questions of WHY. I explained my reasons for getting into barefoot running. Most thought I was crazy, but still excepted me as I am.
The day of the 5k run was a chilly 43 F degrees with misty rain and no sun....Not anyone’s favorite time for a run in our case. And last weekend was so gorgeous and perfect, I think we expected this weekend to be the same. Don’t know why????? It is Spring. Very unpredictable! This resulted in not a big crowd as in other years.

The start of the race was on the main road that is smooth and I run on this road quite often. So that was easy peasy. Slowly it became clear who the fast runners were and who were there just to run for fun. So the already small crowd started dissipating and we seem to run in little groups or alone. Not much chatter going on! I kept my form/stance and pace as normal and found that I even passed some other runners. I was expecting to be slower than most. I wasn’t doing the race for time.....just for fun. The next turn went on one of the many chip seal roads I avoid. My brain was preparing for it. About a quarter of a mile of running on it and I began to think that really it wasn’t that bad. I could feel everything, but I was more concerned with the big cracks or stones. I was gaining some ground actually and came up on this girl runner who looks to be quite experienced in her form and our cadences matched. She was busy listening to her iPod, so no chatter there. A fun moment was this kid that would run up and pass us and then get easily winded and walk a bit until we passed him. Then he would run past us again and then walk. This would go on for at least a mile or so. I had a good chuckle to myself.
The roads bent and curved on more chip seal roads(which I have run before, only shod) and I was doing ok. The part that really worried me was at the beginning of the last third of the run. It was very large gravel and the weekend before I had tested my feet out on this road(knowing that it was the route the race was to be) and I just could NOT stand to even walk on that section. Didn’t know what I was going to do. I wanted to do this run totally barefoot and since I decided not to take my sandals, no turning back! Could be in part of my pride showing and didn’t want to feel any more like a fool than I was HAHA. So when I got to this section, there was some slope in the ditch with grass and I ran on that for the distance. There were lots of rocks scattered in the grass and I had to take extra care not to hurt myself. The last mile was a breeze and much more to my liking. They made a trail in the pastures leading up to the church and finish line. It was muddy, wet with lots of puddles. OH SUCH GOOEY mess and I enjoyed running on that every minute!! Especially having to endure the chip and seal roads and gravel from the other miles. Felt like butter! The race coordinator stated that if any runners that didn’t want to get their shoes muddy, could run on the road that was marked from previous years. I am thinking to myself.....well then......they should just take their shoes off!!! There were a few shod runners that took the muddy trail into the finish.
My finish time was about 29 minutes. Not that great since I usually do a 23-25 min 5k. But I had some obstacles to overcome. But I must say that my feet held out just fine and they didn’t hurt after the run and no blisters. So I guess my form was good. Now that the race/run was over and I went in to pick up my fun packet, I got to hear more comments and be asked all kinds of questions about how the run went, what it was like to run barefoot for that length, what my feet feel like....yadda yadda yadda. Now I was experiencing a lot of the same comments that I read about from all of you during a race! I even got an interview with the church videographer for the website!!! I did a brief explanation and he pans down to my grassy wet feet as I explain what barefoot running means to me and why I do it. I gave a few people that were really interested the websites to look up. One person in particular was interested because she has had some recurring problems with her knees and hips. So hopefully I will have recruited some more barefoot runners in my area and I won’t feel alone!! Would be great to have a club start! But I will be happy that there is just more people out there enjoying the benefits and to see that there is more to running than just speed and distance.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Patriots Park Trail Run and Meditation

http://www.dailymile.com/routes/609055-running-route-in-greenville-il

This was a rough trail and I won't do it again. So many gravel stretches and the terrain was not forgiving. Good lesson though!! I did have a good meditation time half way through the run.

http://www.dailymile.com/routes/609068-running-route-in-greenville-il

This road run right after the trail run felt like butter on the feet.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

good mornnig run

Beautmont/4th/40/Hena on 2011-03-23 | Running Log | MapMyRUN

After a long hiatus of being busy day and night and being exhausted to where I didn't get up in the mornings for runs, I ended up with the flu. The respirataory influenza type B flu! That is highly contagious and the doctor confined us to our house. Quarantined! So now I am trying to build my stamina back up. I think I might be a bit over zealous and the run turned longer than I should have. But I felt so good and just wanted to keep running. But my "coaches" said that I had enough and they were blistering. Yup, I have blisters. I will never learn. Or I will learn....the hard way. I actually had a tough part of the skin on one foot that was loose. Now there is a blister at that spot. But other than that, my other foot and the rest of the one foot is fine. I probably won't go out tomorrow morning just to let the foot heal. Live and learn!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Muddy Trail Running

I got inspired by a fellow BFR to do some muddy trail running. This past weekend was a good time for it. Not too cold(yet still was cold and so was the ground!) and we have had lots of rain. Good conditions for a muddy trail run. This was a first for me....3 times.

1) first time for trail running, barefoot
2) first time for muddy trail running
3) first time I have run on this trail

I got a bit disoriented while deep in the trail, but luckily my body has a built in compass and I knew generally where north was. So I didn't really get lost. Just took me a few turns to get to where I wanted to go.

I was all excited and really ready to get going on the trail. Felt like a little kid in a candy store!!! But I had to take some steps back and prepare myself. I always do my Qigong breathing exercises along with my usual stretching exercises. Helps me focus and really helps me in my breathing techniques. I have a low lung capacity, which is one reason I do it. Other reason it helps me relax. And since I was surrounded by nature and the sounds, that was double the pleasure!! When you click on my video you can hear the sounds of the cardinals and other birds, and honking of the geese. PEACEFUL!! I was the only one on that trail and that was a plus.

Here is the video of me preparing for my run with Qigong and I take you on my journey(abridged version) through my first muddy trail run

Thursday, February 17, 2011

My "coaches" say.....

MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Regular Run on 02/17/2011

Yes...my coaches(feet) have a lot to say. One thing in particular is they DON'T like chip seal pavement! In my area/town, every other road is chip seal or rough asphalt and is rough on the tootsies. I have to go outside of town and in the country to run barefoot on smooth roads. How "bass-ackwards" is that??!! I didn't intend to run this long but I was feeling adventurous and wanted to do this route. Ended up being 4.5 miles. My feet were complaining the last half mile. Mainly because I was coming into town on rough asphalt. I had to check my coaches to see what they were complaining about. I figured as much. Blood blisters and one had opened up. Well.....time to do some foot therapy to get them healing and back to normal for when I go on my next run. Which probably will be about a week. Don't want to over work them and open up for more problems! So for now I will be walking lightly as every step is tender. OUCHIE! Live and learn. And I do learn well from my coaches. ;)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Meds for Arm and Getting Back to Running

It has been almost two weeks since I have done any run, shod or unshod! The reason......I somehow pulled my trapezius muscle while working choreography with the musical director at the HS. So I was in pain from that muscle all the way down the arm and numb to my finger tips. After a week of trying to rest it and doing home therapy, I gave up and went to the doctor. He gave me 800mg of ibuprofen and muscle relaxers(Flexarol?). So I was doped up for about a week and I didn't think being on muscle relaxers and running was a smart idea! So I was pretty even keal for about a week and I am so happy to be off those meds! Still have the achy arm and sharp pains. Funny.....my arm doesn't hurt me when I run. I guess it has to do with the position of my arm and stance while running. But that is a good thing :)

MapMyRun.com - Training Log for tatmantats

This run went smoothly and no real problems. Still have to condition my feet to accept the chip seal roads from my house to two blocks away until I get on smooth roads. But once I hit the smooth road I was off and running! Only had enough time to do a 2.5 mile run before work. Met up with 3 other runners(shod) and two of them were in front of me toward the last leg of my run. But I caught up with them and past them just as I was cornering over to my house. Feels good to know that I can still run fairly fast barefoot. And I expected to have some signs of blisters on my feet. NADA! My feet were fine and they just were toughened up a bit from the roads. Not callused, just toughened. And that is a good thing. That also indicates that I must have been running correctly. YEAH!! Can't wait for my next run!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Snow Run

This morning we woke up to huge flakes and about 3 inches of fresh snow, on top of what we already had. The snow plows haven't even tried to come through our neighborhood. I just couldn't pass the opportunity to try another totally barefoot run in fresh snow. Last time I did was the middle of December and was my first experience. And it wasn't what I expected and I had to do a lot of nursing my feet. Learned from mistakes and had to learn from my feet.
So this is my second chance and I am a little more prepared. After stretching I ran in place for a few minutes to get the circulation going. Check feet. Still not feeling like they are ready for a cold run in the snow. Toes feel stiff. So did another few minutes of running in place. Me: "Are you ready feet?" Feet: "Let's give it a shot". So we carefully crept out in the snow. Feet: "oh so soft! I like this, but a bit cold." Me: "let's go". Off we started to go around just one block. The snow was nice and I couldn't feel the chip seal pavement below...A PLUS!!! I don't like walking or running on it and I have to go a couple of blocks before I can start running on smooth roads. So this was a treat. Halfway around my feet said "I am stiffening up and really cold! Can we go in now?" Me: "let's finish this block". We rounded the corner and back up to the house. I had a towel waiting to dry off the feet and a bucket of cold water in case the feet needs refreshing. Feet: "I can't bend my toes!" A few wigglings and in the water to wiggle some more. Feet: "AHHH....we are getting there." The feet felt warm after this but the toes still were cold. So I ran in place again.
Me: "You ready to try again around another block?" Feet: "You are joking!"...big pause to think...."Oh, ok". Off we went and the feet seemed a bit more accepting, yet still really cold to the point of stiffness. Back in the house we went to give them a rest and warm up. By this time the feet were warming up both internally and externally. This time neither of us hesitated and we wanted to give a good try and go longer. We both felt warm and good about it. We ended up running five blocks up the hill and back down before heading inside. Feet still complained of stiffness but was enjoying it.
Snow is still coming down and I think we will call this a good run and I hope the plows don't come in our area because we would like to give this snow run another try. So soft and feels good on the feet.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Run like a Deer or Run like an Ostrich

This past Saturday I did another trial run in my huarache sandals. Was trying to be more gentle and not so noisy, yet concentrate on my form. Here is a couple of videos of me working the huaraches



Try this again...



Sometimes I feel like I run like an ostrich. They run in a quirky way, toes first and not striking the heel. Like this video.



I much prefer barefoot running, so took them off for the second half of my run



After my run I took a look at my feet. No blisters this time!! Just dirt and grime from the roads. I must have been running with some decent form. I am proud of my feet for running well and supporting me!!



I still have a lot to learn and to improve on my form, yet still enjoy and experiment barefoot running.

Friday, January 28, 2011

chillin'

I think I will be taking it easy and going back to square one. Not that my last two workouts weren't good...they were! But I need to reassess my form, cadence and concentrate on what my feet are telling me. If the roads stay clear and hopefully the salt has washed away enough, I might do a brisk barefoot walk and then a short run for about 10 minutes and see how things go. I don't want to completely depend on minimalist shoes during this winter season. I need to slowly work into it. Right now I can walk in the snow for a few minutes and then have to come in and warm out. I sure can't wait until warmer weather so I can get back into normal BFR schedule and slowly work up a few minutes here and there and work back to doing a 5K run with ease.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Running in my Huaraches

MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: running in my new huaraches on 01/25/2011

I headed out early this morning in 17 degree F weather with a slight breeze wearing my new huaraches by <A HREF="http://www.Invisibleshoe.com">Invisibleshoe.com</A>.  An interesting sensation.  Yes you can tell you are stepping on rocks and feel the  ridges of the road.  In my area the snowplows have not been good on the roads plus the city doesn't know how to lay down a smooth pavement.  So most of the runs I do in town and country are fairly rough pavement.  Not barefoot friendly.  So when I do barefoot running, I have to stick to the smooth roads and tough it out when I have to cross rough roads to get to the smooth ones.  There isn't any running/biking trails anywhere in our area!  You have to drive 40 min to get to the nearest one.
Aside from that, I think I am going to enjoy these huaraches.  They do make an interesting sound as you run.  Not a flapping sound....maybe a cupping sound.  I know I had them on tight enough.  I suppose I could trim off closer to my foot, but don't want it too small in case my foot wants to slide around.   I tried to correct my gate, but still kept the barefoot running cadence and stance.  I think it took me the first mile of my test run to get used to them and off I was running.  In fact I was just going to do a short 3 mile  test run.  At first my little toes weren't quite warm enough, but it didn't take long for my feet to adapt and what started as a short run turned into a nice 6 mile run!  The wind and freezing temps didn't bother me as I was concentrating on my running stance and focusing on how the huaraches feel on different pavements.  As I was approaching my house, I could have easily kept going.  Yes, I could see me running a half or full marathon in these!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Tying my new Huaraches

I couldn't wait to get the huaraches kit home, so I worked on it during lunch break! Here is a tracing of my big foot



11.5 inches long from heel to big toe. Normal size foot for a man my size, but when you trace it on paper you feel like a sasquatch!


After cutting the Vibram Cherry rubber sole and using the hole punch I laced up the cording.




I had to study and watch the video on Invisibleshoe.com as I was lacing to make sure I was doing it right. They work perfectly and fit great! And since I am a tatter(lacemaker) and am frugal, I didn't want to waste the rest of the cording. So I tatted some double stitches going down to the toes. Makes for great decoration and if I need to retie or relace them again, I am not short the cording.


I know....I need a major pedicure!!!!

I made a video of me making the double stitches. I am going to send this on to Invisibleshoe.com so they have more ideas on how to tie. :-D

Huaraches!

My Huaraches kit from Invisibleshow.com came in the mail over the weekend!!!!


I ordered the hot orange cord to go with it. So many colors to choose. I like orange and orange and black are colors of my alma mater. :-D Now to study and watch the videos on how to make the huaraches and get my workin'!! If you are curious how they are made, here is the how to pages

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Polar Run

Had a good workout yesterday. It was a typical winter run of 15 degrees F, snowy roads(some paved). Since I am still trying to transition to winter barefoot running, I went shod. I can walk around for a few minutes in the snow, but not a full run. And I was desperate for a long run which I haven't had in a few weeks. Unfortunately my Huaraches haven't arrived in the mail yet! I think the constant snow storms from Colorado to Illinois are getting in the way. Grrrr.....I am hoping sometime early next week(tomorrow!) they will be here so I can start my runnings with them.

Sooooo....what shoes should I wear? I have my normal running shoes that I stopped wearing a few months back. Use them for walking and everyday use now ;) I do have a regular pair of flat tennis shoes, but they sometimes pinch my toes. Nope. Not gonna work. Then I wondered how my low profile, no support but looks cool, soccer shoes would do??? They are even more minimalist then my flat tennis shoes. And they fit good. AND they are cleated, aside from some sort of tread that non-cleated soccer shoes have to grip the turf. It think that does the trick! So I warmed up and set out on what I thought would be about a 6 mile run and ended up a 9.39 mile run. Here is the link to my run. I tried to get MapMyRun to post to this blogger, but wasn't an option. POOH!
As with a lot of my runs they are in the mornings before work. I did a later morning(8am) and was ready to go. I am sure this happens to a lot of you, but seems to happen to me a lot. When I run in the mornings, my body isn't completely functioning. I mean the inside body. The rest is awake and ready. But invariably I seem to have to go potty(for lack of a better word) about 2 or more miles into a run. Pee is fine, just run off the side and go. No...it is always #2. So 2 miles into the run I get that bad sensation. Luckily I was close to home. But going back in this condition seems like a long 2 miles back home to do my thing. So I "grin and bear it" and had to stop a few times to take some breaths. I made it back and I called this a pit stop. I wasn't going out for just a 4 mile run. So I headed back out in the cold since I was just warming up.
This time I plotted a route a different way around town. Winter runs are slower for me and I do take it easy. Especially on the lungs. So I was going at a bit of a snails pace(5mph), but running on the snowy roads was great. It did feel squishy and a bit like running on sand barefoot. I have run on sandy beaches before and I LOVE it! And the soccer shoes did a great job of supporting me with no sliding.

So I think the soccer shoes work well for minimalist shoes when I feel that I can't handle a full run in the snow. Can't wait until I get used to the snow. But soon it will be warmer temps and I can put my barefeet on the ground and have some good runs.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Stepping in Snow

We had a beautiful snowfall yesterday and from the evening before. A good 8 inches! So after work I wanted to break my feet into getting used to the snow and cold. I won't be running in it completely this year. Hoping for next year. Anyway....I did a slight workout indoors to get my feet warmed up. Then I commenced outside to stepping in the snow. Just walking around on the ground, feeling the cold snow on the bare feet. It actually felt soft and nice. Of course it then turned cold. So had to go in and dry off and warm up! I did this several times. Sometime I will get to running in the snow and enjoying the run as well without the possibility of frostbite. Just need to acclimate my feet.

I ordered my first Huarache Invisible Shoes a couple of days ago! They will be perfect for transitioning my cold weather runs and barefoot running! They aren't just for running, but serve an everyday use. I hope they come in today!!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Hello Barefoot Running World!!

I am starting this blog just as a record of my experiences as both a runner and more importantly a BAREFOOT runner. I started my journey back in October 2010. It was just the end of nice weather and now it is in full blown winter season. A lot of trial and error and I have done some research online about barefoot running and some do's and don'ts. Most importantly I have to listen to my feet and body. I will post favorite blogs and sites on the sidebar of places I have been. This blog will be a work in progress as I figure out the settings and make it look more pleasing to the eye. "BARE" with me ;)

I will see you out there in barefoot land!!!