Barefoot racing results
I had an exciting sprint triathlon on Thursday. i finished in 1'20", number 37 out of 52, but it could have been faster. The 300 yard swim went really well. I was done in 6:42. But I had troubles on the 12 mile bike ride. I rode the only recumbent of the race. On lap 2 I threw my chain, but that was a quick fix. However, on lap 6, as I was climbing a gentle rise my left calf cramped up solid as a rock. I pulled over and massaged it out somewhat and resumed riding at a tentative pace. I finished the last mile and a half and stretched it out even more before running. The cramp didn't return on the run. It was a little tender, but I ran the 3 miles just under 27 minutes. I only stepped on one pointy rock too.
Friday I rested and ate extra brown rice at dinner.
Saturday morning my legs didn't want to flex at all, which was a problem since I had an 11.6 mile race. I finished that in 1'51", number 217 out of 319. There was one other barefoot runner, Rick, who's been doing it for 10 years. I ended up with a 9:37 minute per mile average, but at the 1 mile split I was under 8 minutes, and at the 5 mile mark I was just under 45 minutes. My calves loosened up well before the race, but at mile 9 my right calf was getting really tight. I did get one blister behind my big toe and split skin behind two of my toes. Only a couple sharp rocks out there. I take a lot of comfort that I came in 2nd in the barefoot division. If the humidity was less and the sun cooler, I think all of us would have turned out better times. It's not ideal racing weather. Many kind people set up water stations and turned hoses and sprinklers on us. The evil hill at mile 8 however, was devoid of shade or water. By then I was more often on the sidewalk or grass than asphalt. The race begins and ends at Ocean Beach, so I took a nice chilly dip afterwards. This free race also included soda, raw clams on the half shell, potato chips, bananas and clam chowder. It was all delightful and refreshing.
Only 2 and a half months until my first (barefoot) marathon.
Friday I rested and ate extra brown rice at dinner.
Saturday morning my legs didn't want to flex at all, which was a problem since I had an 11.6 mile race. I finished that in 1'51", number 217 out of 319. There was one other barefoot runner, Rick, who's been doing it for 10 years. I ended up with a 9:37 minute per mile average, but at the 1 mile split I was under 8 minutes, and at the 5 mile mark I was just under 45 minutes. My calves loosened up well before the race, but at mile 9 my right calf was getting really tight. I did get one blister behind my big toe and split skin behind two of my toes. Only a couple sharp rocks out there. I take a lot of comfort that I came in 2nd in the barefoot division. If the humidity was less and the sun cooler, I think all of us would have turned out better times. It's not ideal racing weather. Many kind people set up water stations and turned hoses and sprinklers on us. The evil hill at mile 8 however, was devoid of shade or water. By then I was more often on the sidewalk or grass than asphalt. The race begins and ends at Ocean Beach, so I took a nice chilly dip afterwards. This free race also included soda, raw clams on the half shell, potato chips, bananas and clam chowder. It was all delightful and refreshing.
Only 2 and a half months until my first (barefoot) marathon.
Comments