The UmBlog

It wasn't even half a mile, but I'm trying to learn from my past couple years of injuries due to going out too hard too soon. As Barefoot KenBob says, it's all about good form and you learn the best form from surfaces that give your body immediate feedback, not the beach or the golf course. So I set out on some macadam and then some concrete sidewalk in the low 40's this morning. The cold helps with the desensitization. The short distance allows me to concentrate on form. I plan to keep it real short this week.

Unlike last time , two years ago, I wore shoes and the 11.5 miles were only 3 minutes faster, 1' 48", 42nd in my age group . I don't think shoes made the big difference. I wear Nike Free 3.0 shoes, which are barely there. There not made for "support" but for flexibility and freedom. I would not have worn shoes if I had decided to start running back in June instead of July. I went out a few times in early July barefoot, but I was going too far too soon. The best way to condition the feet is with patience, 1 mile every other day for a week then adding a mile every week. Instead, I ended up getting too many blisters and too many days off to recover. Eventually, I gave up and put the shoes on with 2 weeks to prepare. I squeezed in a few 4 milers and two 8 mile runs. I asked my wife and another running friend, Kristen, who couldn't run due to sesamoid issues to meet us at the awful 8 mile hill. They said many of the runners appreciated their location. The day wa...

Last year was a bust for my barefoot running. I had some annoying pain running up my arch to my ankle bone that only bothered me when I ran barefoot. So I took the summer off. This winter, I ran a bit in my Nike Free shoes. I even ran a 5K with my wife, shod. The pain was gone in my ankle. When the sun was last out, about 2 months ago, I went on my first BF run and did fine. It was a mile and a half out shod and the return trip unshod. Then the sun disappeared, along with my motivation. I needed a goal, and I decided on the free 12 miler in the blistering heat and humidity of August, which I did two years ago , unshod, and two years before that, shod. When the sun peaked out yesterday, I took off my shoes and went out for an easy 3. The tendon pain was gone. My technique was rusty but adequate. I thought all was fine. Four hours later, I pushed back from my desk and starting walking to my car with a sharp pain on the top of my foot up from the big toe. It feels to me like a fracture or...

"That's gotta hurt." It's the most frequent comment I hear as I'm running barefoot. Today's 5K race was no different. It was a charity run to support the local hospital with a fantastic turnout and really cool, cloudy weather. Forty-eight degrees Fahrenheit is not my ideal running temp without the sun. I wore long sleeve and long legged tights under shorts and a long sleeved shirt and a wind breaker with gloves. I was a little concerned I might overheat but I never did, except for the gloves. When it was time to line up, I slipped my shoes off and got my first foot numbing. As I said before , foot numbing is not a bad thing for a barefooter. It keeps the little things from overshadowing the more important things like form and pace. Form was very important this time because my left ankle is sore. I didn't want to complicate the glass story by mentioning that my ankle was sore too. I rested it Friday by not biking or running. It was not back to normal this...

"Put some shoes on," the contractor yelled out his pickup window as he passed me on the road. It seems that truck drivers are the ones most likely to be irritated at sharing the road with me on my bike or seeing a barefoot runner. I had been busy all day and finally had time to get my three miles in. Last week I ran thrice for two miles each. This week, I'm planning to run thrice for three miles each. I was onto my second mile when Joe Contractor yelled at me. Not even two hundred yards later my left forefoot pad got that sharp pain. I had already found a couple pointy stones on this run but they had all rubbed off quickly, not this one. I stopped and rubbed my foot then resumed. No good. I stopped and sat down and rubbed it better. Still no relief. The third time I sat on a wall and really studied my foot. The location of the pain while I ran was not the location of the offender which was closer to the center of my foot. I'm not sure if it was a thorn or a piece of g...

image source Splash! No puddle would alter my stride now that my shoes were off. Between puddles cherry blossom petals on the ground would collect on my bare soles as I ran then wash off in a puddle. The cycle repeated over and over again as I enjoyed 3 and a half miles of barefoot running in the rain. It was a more blissful contrast than normal as I had kept my feet shod for a 3 mile hill interval workout. The particular hill we train on is a rough macadam, something my feet are not conditioned enough for yet. Getting to the hill required me to run around puddles. Running in wet shoes is very disagreeable to me. Previously, I ran the last mile back to my office with liberated feet. But this week I need to increase my sole conditioning. I needed a few more miles. The rain had held off for the hill workout but as I deposited my shoes in a dry spot, the next wave of showers commenced. If I weren't running, 50 degree Fahrenheit would be uncomfortable on those exposed toes. The mild nu...

Yesterday I went out for my first barefoot run of 2008. I kept it short, just a mile, so I could break my feet in gently. I wore my Nike Free's for a hill interval workout today, but took them off for the last mile of the run back. Last week was also the first week of 2008 that I bicycle commuted every day. This week is looking good as well for cycling.

Can a picky eater slow down weight gain? Well not if the eatings picked are full of fat and sugar. However, this past year, since Lent, I tried a reduced animal protein diet. Specifically, for Lent, I gave up meat. This was something all new for me. I never practiced a Lenten fast before. Yet, I had never been old enough before to see higher cholesterol levels in my physical. I run barefoot and I didn't have my recumbent bike then, see my ice bike story . I didn't give up fish or dairy products (or insects ). So that makes me an icthy-ovo-lacto-ento-vegetarian. In the beginning, I ate rice and beans at dinner almost every night and a whole grain cereal for breakfast such as Ezekiel 4:9 brand with almond or rice milk. I learned how to use my pressure cooker and tried all sorts of spices to provide variety. I also practiced eating when I was hungry, but only small portions at a time. I lost weight. I kept the fast for the most part after Lent, except for the roasted lamb on Ea...

There is a reason beginning barefoot runners need to get off the grass and onto the road, dangerous vegetation. I'm suffering the effects of two such species simultaneously, poison ivy and prickly pear. Poison ivy between the toes is analogous to an athlete's foot fungal infection, itchy and uncomfortable. The microscopic prickly pear spines however take a long time to dissolve into the sole of the foot and result in a reasonable runner taking too many days off for pain free running conditions to return.

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...

12 miles, barefoot, no blisters. doing a sprint triathlon next Thursday and a 12 mile race next Saturday

On my bike ride home Tuesday some rowdy young men hung out the car as they drove up behind me and I suddenly felt a punch on my road side shoulder. But it wasn't a punch. They threw a water balloon at me but it hadn't burst. If it had I would have been happier as it was a hot ride. Instead they only left me with a sore shoulder. Since I knew I needed to forgive those who sinned against me, I gave them a thumbs up for effort. :-) I ran a barefoot marathon this week, but it was over the past five days. This is the most I have ever run in a week, shod or not. I'm only suffering a small blood blister on the forefoot. There are only four more weeks until the local 12 mile race. I have five months until the local marathon though. I'm still biking every day to work. In order to beat the heat I go for my run right after my ride in. I hope that counts for something in the upcoming sprint triathlon at the end of the month. I concluded on this morning's run that since I'm ...

why am i barefoot running? i was born this way :-) that excuse carries so many people's choices that i figured it could carry mine. i first described my choice in 2005 when i hoped to run a marathon and run 50 miles a week. i never hit 50 miles a week. i still want to run a marathon, maybe this year. and i want to run it barefoot. the NYT has an article about low impact marathon training that is encouraging. maybe i don't need to run 50 miles a week. this week i've run a 3 miler, three 4's, and a fast 2. i want to run five 5's a week, a marathon a week, as my baseline, which if i were shod, i probably would be doing now. but i don't want to rush my feet. running barefoot builds foot muscle more than anything and just like an intensive bicep workout everyday would make arms sore, running barefoot 5 days a week make my feet sore, but not calloused or blistered. they are still soft, so i felt if very well when i stepped on a sliver of glass and i stopped right aw...

mapmyrun.com is my new friend. for week 5 of barefoot running, i wanted to start out the week by not missing Monday's run. so i made a 3 mile loop and set off with the dog, who did remarkably well. also, i happily found out that my supposed 3 mile run at work is actually 4 miles. my plan is to do this 4 mile run for 4 days this week. now that it is warming up around here, i'm running right after my bike ride. 5 mile bike commute followed by a run. the muscles are a little different so it's not that insane. also, the road is a little cooler on the feet. i learned this morning that scraping your big toe on tar is far less damaging than scraping it on cement. my other big toe took 2 weeks to heal from a skin raking scrape on a cement sidewalk. speaking of bicycle commuting...i have a future recumbent in mind, the cruzbike . if gas gets up to $4 a gallon i'll have my current bike paid for itself sooner and can justify this next one.

not only do i run barefoot but i also bicycle commute on a recumbent bike . since barefoot running involves a forefoot strike, the balls of my feet tend to be sore. but since my bent bike places my feet forward from my body instead of under it, they bear much less pressure.

i need to up the mileage this week. i went for three or four miles today. i was very slow but i did it. i'll go back to two miles then another 3 miler. i still plan on running 5 days this week. but some will be longer than others. the weekend off did wonders for my feet. i need to pick my feet up more though. now my right big toe is bleeding.

i made a goal for this week to run barefoot every day for 2 miles a day. Monday and Tuesday went well. Wednesday, on the last quarter mile i swept my foot on the ground to rub off something poking into its sole but dragged my big toe on the forward stride. did you know big toe wounds are like head wounds? they bleed alot and are very tender. Wednesday night i wasn't a happy runner, not only did my big toe really hurt but my feet and calves hurt in general. i think they were hurting for the same reason, muscle development. on Thursday i hemmed and hawed. i had many excuses and two band aids on my toe. but my goal was public, to all 11 of you. Guy Muse, the famous M blogger , even commented to encourage me. so i went. the band aid stayed on and the run went really well. i can count on abundant ouchies for the first half mile that disappear within a mile. after a mile and a half my loop is almost done and i usually feel really good. God made endorphins for a reason! today i had a real...

some people use blogs as a form of accountability. i don't but it is good to have a goal, and a little gooder to put it in your blog. i ran every other day last week for 2 miles. those runs took about 20 minutes today it took 15. this week my goal is to run every day for 5 days. just 2 miles. if i succeed, i hope to add miles next week. when i ran shod, i could do 5 a day. i actually ran a nearly-half-marathon a few summers ago. it would be nice to run it barefoot this summer. at some point i'd like to run a marathon, barefoot.

i took off a long weekend. 3 days of no running. went out today and did 2 miles with no foot damage. technique and conditioning are the answer to soft foot vs. rocks and prickly macadam. very little grass running today too, but it sure feels nice.

it looks like a habit may be forming. i used the same short route as yesterday so i can focus on conditioning and technique. conditioning my feet started out a little tender. i was glad for a cloudy cool day to keep the ground cool. no excursions on the grass today. no new blisters. my feet are less happy after the run. my left ankle got a little sore but my feet weren't tender after a few minutes. technique as i tire, i lose my form. what is the form for barefoot running? it's the forefoot strike. the pose method is another name. when i get tired, i need to focus on marching and bringing my knee up higher and falling forward more so that i have to land on the balls of my feet.