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

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. ;)

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!

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.