Sleepy Five

I did get up and out the door this morning, but I think my sleep deficit is taking it's toll. I have a few aches and pains that have sprung up today, which came as a surprise. There was a point at work today, where I could hardly keep my eyes open as I was trying to get a task done.

But on the positive side, I did feel great by the end of this morning's run. I'm not sure if it's endorphins or something else, but I enjoy the daily fix.

Four Days

Fours colors
Originally uploaded by Tambako the Jaguar

4 days in a row now. This is starting to feel more and more like a streak.

The good thing is that this feels like something that is working well with my body. My 5K recovery continues to go well. The remaining soreness is very minor. I think the tough thing for me to do now is to keep my effort down. I don't want to push a run at this point.

Given the time I'm getting up to run, I'm barely awake when I start off. It's interesting to see how I wake up as I run.

I'm not a big believer in stretching or warming up before a run. Instead, I like to start off gradually and ease into a run. It just feels like the right way for me to get a run started.

3 Day Streak

False ego
Originally uploaded by photoprofiler

No, not joggling, but running. This morning's run felt pretty good. The flow was there.

Still sore from Sunday's 5K, but a mild sort of sore. Not much in terms of stair issues this time. I can see that this 5K took a lot less out of me than past 5K's. I think at this rate, I could easily run another 5K on Sunday, but I won't.

I've now got 2 years of barefoot running in. It seems like the only real way for me to run. I'm not sure I could run in shoes if I had to.

And after a couple years of doing this, I feel like I've learned how to do it to some degree. And I definitely no longer question whether or not I can do this. It seemed for a long time, I really wondered if barefoot was really right for me, even despite the fact that my knees felt so much better.

Run like a 4 year old

I ran a 5K yesterday. It was an okay race, slow, but enjoyable. A few people wanted to talk to me about barefoot running during the race. Given the slowness of my pace, I had no trouble engaging in conversation. By the last mile, the crowd had thinned a great deal, and I was able to run at a decent clip.

The real fun came after the race, running with my son in the Youth Mile. He had a blast, and his joy was infectious. At 4 years old, he hasn't yet learned that running isn't supposed to be fun. I found myself finding a way to run at his pace, which was pretty cool. It reminded me of something I read recently that the two mistakes most runners make is that they don't run their slow runs slow enough or their fast runs fast enough.

So this morning, I ran a nice recovery run very, very slowly, with lots of walking mixed in. I think I may have finally figured this one out. Slow, slow, slow. I would like to see how well I can continue this kind of slow, relaxed pace in the days to come.

Also, I think I might be on another streak. Sure it is only 2 days in a row, but I just have a feeling about this. I think if I keep my pace and effort low, I can run daily. At least I hope so.

Negative splits

I'm still really enjoying Born to Run. It's kind of like several books in one.

Walking

After my upcoming 5K, I'm going to try to do a lot more walking. My foot continues to bother me on and off, and maybe more walking would help. At least it's worth trying.

I had a pretty good walk last night after I got home from work. The only downside of walking is that people tend to look at me a little funny. I think somehow running barefoot is more socially acceptable than walking barefoot.

Running for fun

running leopard
Originally uploaded by denalidog

I had a pretty decent run this morning. A short run at the crack of dawn. The temp was in the upper 70's, and it was quite humid. Summer is definitely here.

I'm now about 2/3 into Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. I can say without a doubt that it's one of the best books I've read in years. One thing that keeps hitting me is that the runners he describes in the book love running, and they have a ton of fun on the run. I was thinking about this as I was running this morning. I was focusing on feeling the joy of running, without thinking about anything beyond that.

Born to Run works on at least a few different levels. It's an engaging story, with a large cast of colorful characters. But it's also a thought provoking investigation into the meaning of running and how this relates to our evolution as a species. And there is a description of what when wrong when the running became a commercial venture.

But there is something working in my mind at the moment, which is something that breaks the conventional rules about running. It seems that there are examples where people ramp up their running distances, and don't even come close to following the 10 percent rule. Basically, they go from no miles, or few miles to a ton of miles is short order. I wonder why this is.

Thoughts on Born to Run

I'm trying to organize my thoughts about Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I think this will take some time. I wanted to take a quick stab at it and come back to this later as some of this sinks in.

It's probably one of the best books I've read in years. I might even rank it up near Ishmael in terms of enjoyment and impact.

Here are some of my thoughts and impressions:

• It combines many elements -- Castaneda, Quinn, running, story telling, culture, evolution, flow, deliberate practice. In fact, the only area of interest that I've had in the last couple of decades that isn't somehow included in this book is juggling. It's not that McDougall is writing this book with me in mind, but because of some of the profound truths contained within it, it's easy for me to experience this book through the prism of my own experience.
• Despite the fact that the Tarahumara run in shoes, they are very minimalist and not that far from barefoot.
• McDougall gives a good history of the modern shoe fiasco.
• The Tarahumara might very well be classified as a Leaver Culture.
• The section on human evolution further enhances McDougall's main thesis.
• If I haven't said it already, the thesis is something like this -- Humans were born to run. It's part of our evolutionary makeup. However, for various reasons, we've mostly lost contact with this part of our being.
• A huge element to becoming a good runner is becoming a joyful runner. Without connecting to the joy of running, excellence is impossible.
• The ultra community is on to something.
• I think if I focus more on the fun and joy of running, all other goals related to running will take care of themselves.
• The book works on several levels. The story is compelling. The characters are fascinating. The ideas about shoes, evolution, Tarahumara culture, ultra running, and running in general are food for thought.
• Even with this book being as popular as it is, I doubt barefoot running will take off in a big way.

Duct Tape to the rescue again

Duct Tape Diana
Originally uploaded by Mark-B

For yesterday's run, I duct taped my right big toe, and the results were great. No fear that I would re-injure it, and I was able to run without any issues. I went kind of hard the last 3 miles of the run and am feeling it today. It's the first time in quite awhile that I've felt sore the day after a run.

I'm about 30 pages into Born to Run and enjoying it a great deal. I will probably have more thoughts on this later as I get further along.

It seems like Summer hit all at once this year. I could really feel the humidity yesterday morning. It seemed like the first run of the year that was truly a Summer run. I try not to fight the heat, but just go along with it.

Sat morn tidbits

I'm feeling the wrath of the little guy. I made a small mistake, which he is very unforgiving of. I'll wait this out, and I'm sure he will come back around.

I'm planning on trying duct tape on my big toe for tomorrow's run. I think with a bandaid on the tip, and duct tape wrapped around, that I will be able to protect it enough for a run. I'm still surprised that this little thing turned out to be such a big thing. At least it didn't get infected.

It seems like my running has had a few setbacks the last few months, but at least I'm still running, and I believe I haven't lost a whole lot in terms of conditioning.

We survived the latest deluge with only minimal basement seepage and a small pond in our backyard. But no real flood this time. After last summer's flood, we're a lot more wary of.

My juggling is still at a plateau, but not a good plateau. I'm competent, but not nearly good enough to be a decent joggler at this point.

Maybe shoes aren't so bad

I admit that I can't jump like this barefoot.

afternoon toe update

My toe was starting to trob by late afternoon, and I was a little concerned about how it would look when I finally got home and took off my shoes and socks. After doing so, and removing the two bandanges I had put on my toe, the results are pretty good. It looks much, much better than it did 10 days ago when the injury first occured. It's stinging a little after putting on some liquid bandage, but not too bad, and definitely no signs of infection.

My toe will live to run another day.

Barefoot runner injures toe and tries to blame shoes

Shoes I'm wearing like they're the last pair of shoes on earth.
Originally uploaded by queenrobot

One step was all that it took. My good run turned bad. I scraped my previously injured toe and scraped my 10 day old scab right off from it. So once again, my toe was a bloody mess. I cut my run short so that I would have time to clean up the wound.

But I'm blaming a bad pair of shoes on this. What? You heard me. It's the shoes' fault!!! A week and a half ago I had to wear a pair of dress shoes for an extended period. It was the following morning that I ininitially ended up with the bloody toe. From what I could see and tell, I believe that a blister had formed on tip of my toe from the shoes, and that with the run, I managed to scrape it open.

In the past I've scraped my toe in such a way, without any noticeable damage, but I think this time, the shoes had primed me for a more major injury.

I guess there is no way for me to know this for sure.

Let me just say, that this won't keep me from running. Nope.

But I am pi$$ed that I had to cut a run short this morning. I think in the end, it will be fine. It was just an unplanned easy run.

Nolan Ryan challenges conventional thinking on pitch counts - Joe Posnanski - SI.com

This reminds me a bit of the conventional wisdom about shoes.

Even with low pitch counts, modern pitchers seem to be injured at a rate that is pretty high. It would be interesting to see if there are any actual numbers on injury rates.

Maybe pitchers should try pitching barefoot, instead of messing with their pitch count.

Nolan Ryan challenges conventional thinking on pitch counts - Joe Posnanski - SI.com

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breaking the pattern

Broken Pattern
Originally uploaded by Lee Coursey

After 7 straight runs of following the every third day pattern, I'm considering breaking the pattern and running Sunday instead of Monday, and then maybe running again Thursday to balance things out.  The problem with running Monday is that I need to go into work especially early, which means that I would have to run very, very early, which I'm not thrilled about.

My feet and legs feel good, but I don't really want to push my luck too much here.

I think the other alternative would be to run Tuesday instead.

I might just see how I'm feeling tomorrow morning.

Steady, upward progress

RecentRuns
Originally uploaded by Zataod

I had another pretty good run this morning. Both my feet seem to be feeling better, and the toe is good as well. This morning couldn't have been more perfect, except for the lack of light before the sun finally got it's ass out of bed 35 minutes after I left the house. The temp was a hair above 50, with little or no wind.

I found that I got stronger as the run went on, which always feels like a good sign.

I'm realizing now that my foot issue (achy toes) was really a good thing. I had to take a short break from running (7 days off), then come back slower, with more recovery days between runs. I'm now to the point where my overall monthly distance is where it was before, but I'm doing the miles spread out in a different way. No more Sunday long runs, but my regular runs are now longer than before, and I've been able to increase the distance in a methodical way.

I think part of this is liking the asthetic of the bar graph that comes up went I enter in my runs online. I think that running every 3rd day is giving me more recovery time, but also forcing me to get more out of my runs. At some point soon, though, the upwards progress will level off. The thing standing in the way right now is time. I'm at about the limit of how early I want to get up on the morning. I can squeeze out another 10 minutes or so, but I'm not going to do much more than that. I figure then I'll just find ways to get more out the runs in other ways.

Winners get all the credit

I find the following grade report on the NBA Finals game 4 to be puzzling. Basically, the two teams played nearly equally well, resulting in a game tied at the end of regulation. Yet, the Lakers players got pretty good grades from this reporter, and the Magic players were panned. This is the reverse of the grading from Game 3, which the Magic one (also a close game).

The way I see it, these teams are nearly evenly matched, but a play here or there is what ends up swinging the games.

Stan Van Gundy fails as Magic coach in crucial Game 4 of Finals - NBA - SI.com

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By the way, I'm a big Phil Jackson fan.

Ad for barefoot running

I never thought I would see an ad advocating barefoot running until I saw this last night:

Exhaustive workout, just through watching

I was tired and sore just by watching this video. I aspire to something like this, but I'm far, far away from realizing this vision.

Foggy morning run

Foggy Mist B&W
Originally uploaded by katstan

I got out this morning to find a foggy, misty, dark morning awaiting. Even though I was out only 25 minutes before the sun rose, it was quite dark to start. I was a little concerned about my toe, but that turned out to be fine. However, after my run, my left foot was pretty sore where I had bruised it a few runs ago. I'm starting to wonder what is going on with that foot. I'm not sure if this is something that will require extra rest to resolve.

I felt pretty sluggish this morning. I think it was the combination of fog and mist that made for tougher running. It seems that most of my runs have been on the cool side, but this one was more on the warm side of things.

I did find that my foot felt better this afternoon during a lunchtime walk. Somehow the walk helped me relax my foot, and it seem looser. I'll keep trying to make sure that I get a lot of walking in and see how that is.

Except for trips out of town, I've been very consistent about getting up with my watch alarm the last couple months. It seemed like it was a lot tougher for me to get up consistently last year, which ended up affecting my running, resulting in a less consistent schedule. I think the key to getting up for me is to do it as a matter of habit, without any kind of thinking or deliberation. This morning was one where the fact that it's an ingrained habit really paid off.

Toe injury

When I finished my Saturday run, I noticed that the big toe on my right foot was all bloody. This was a big surprise. I noticed scraping the tip of it during the run, but I didn't think that it was a big deal. It almost looked like a deep blister that had popped. It's still a bit of a mystery what happened and why, but it seems to be doing well, and I'll just chalk it up to experience.

Running half full

Pessimism vs. optimism (365/111)
Originally uploaded by JenniPenni

I had a pretty good run this morning. My feet felt reasonably good. I'm happy to be gradually bumping up my distance by 1/2 mile every run.

During the run I was thinking a bit about the differences between pessimistic and optimistic running, and came up with some of the following:

pessimistic running: My feet are week and need all the protection they can get.
optimistic running: My feet are strong and do best with little or no interference.

pessimistic running: Running is boring and I need distractions like TV or an iPod to make running more enjoyable.
optimistic running: Running is inherently enjoyable, and I seek to experience it in its pure form.

pessimistic running: Running is hard on my joints.
optimistic running: Running makes my body feel better.

pessimistic running: I have to push myself to run more.
optimistic running: I have to hold myself back from running too much.

pessimistic running: I can only run if the weather is right.
optimistic running: I can run in any kind of weather. I enjoy the various kinds of weather nature provides.

pessimistic running: Running is an unnatural act.
optimistic running: I was born to run.

pessimistic running: My body will eventually break down from running.
optimistic running: My body gets stronger with running.

pessimistic running: I need special clothes to run.
optimistic running: I run in whatever seems to work.

pessimistic running: I need expensive shoes to run.
optimistic running: If I run in shoes (Winter), $5 aquasocks work better than anything else I've found.

pessimistic running: I'm too old to run.
optimistic running: My running gets better as I age.

Only slightly bruised foot

Cat Paws
Originally uploaded by TraderZed

I walked yesterday evening, taking advantage of a great interval between periods of rain. My left foot was still a little sore from the rock the previous day. I would definitely rank this as the worst rock experience I've had as a barefooter. In nearly 2 years, this isn't so bad. I'm still learning the art of navigating the earth with my feet.

I think Daniel Quinn probably gets this, but I'm still amazed at how universal the thoughts about shoes are. Basically, the thought is that they are necessary for protecting our somehow poorly designed feet which can't cope with the natural or unnatural world we live in. Ironically, I find the more natural surfaces a lot more challenging for running than the artificial surfaces I normally run on.

I may have said this before, but I'll say it again. I don't run for any reason other than the enjoyment of running. Running without shoes only adds to the enjoyment. I think if someone is running for other reasons, it's tough to keep running up as a long term venture.

Later.

2 feet in a pod

bitchy peas in a pod
Originally uploaded by coltpixy

Both my feet are doing well today. The bruise on my left foot turned out to be minor, and my right foot continues to have happy toes.

So onward I march...

Feet switching roles

Aurora Borealis in Singapore. Turning Night into Day
Originally uploaded by Ragstatic

Good news and bad news on today's run.

My right foot showed no signs of achy toes. It felt the best it has in at least a few weeks.

However, my left foot landed on a substantial rock in the middle of my forefoot, and it's now a little painful. I think it's bruised, but probably nothing serious. It's the first time I've nailed a rock in quite some time.

I was thinking during the run that one of the benefits of running every 3rd day is that it doesn't feel like enough running. Like going on a diet, it only makes me hungrier for running when I do run. I think this could keep my running very fresh. Given my past experiences with running every 3rd day, I believe it's a pattern that works well with my body.

Later.

Tree of Heaven growing strong

Ghetto Palm (Ailanthus altissima) AKA "The Tree Of Heaven"
Originally uploaded by spike55151

My favorite weed tree is doing well this year. I noticed a couple years ago that we had the good fortune of a Tree of Heaven (Ghetto Palm) in our side yard. It's already over 8 feet tall and appears to be quite healthy.

I've been thinking of trying to move it to a better location near our garage, but don't want to risk killing it from the transplantation.

Somehow, I have a strong affinity to weeds of all sorts. They are much more interesting than their more domestic cousins.

Superstruct Saturday

LONDON EYE
Originally uploaded by M. ALbeloushi

The little guy and I are building a ferris wheel with Superstructs, but he's currently furious with me because I did something wrong when I was showing him how to take movies with his camera. I'm not totally sure what I did wrong, though.

He's very much into taking pictures today. At one point he told me to say "cheese" and proceeded to take pictures of my mid section.

I got another decent walk in this morning. I've been concentrating a lot on how my feet land. I'm not sure I've gotten my barefoot walking form down, but I think it's improving. I believe it's much more of a whole foot landing, rather than the heel landing that is typical of walking in shoes. My foot seemed to feel better today, so I take that as a good sign.

I keep noticing that Born to Run continues to sell well on Amazon and is also #24 on the New York Times bestseller list. I'm still surprised by this. I've got to order a copy so I can actually read it myself.

Friday feet go for a stroll

five
Originally uploaded by ohmanvanessa

After dropping the little guy off at school (only a very short half day today), I went for a 1/2 hour barefoot walk. I found my toes were a little achy at the beginning of the walk, and that didn't change during the course of the walk. I thought they might get better as the walk went on, but they didn't. Fortunately, they didn't get worse, either.

I find in general that people are a little more suspicious of barefoot walkers than they are of barefoot runners. Maybe people already are suspect of runners, so with or without shoes doesn't matter much. But why would someone walk without shoes?

Yet, I still haven't seen anyone walking a shod dog. The dogs always seem to forget to put on their shoes before going out for a stroll.

Barefoot skills

This dude has magic in his feet.

I'm in awe!

Happy foot Thursday

Running cat
Originally uploaded by sakyo

I had another good run this morning, and my foot feels better after this run than it did after the previous run. It was cool, but a bit humid this morning. I realized during the run that this is the time of year when bodyglide should be mandatory before every run. I'll put it in a place where I'll see it next time.

I did a bunch of pushup sets last night. I've been liking to do sets of 13. I can't recall how many sets I did last night, but it was more than I have been doing.

Not much progress on the juggling front. I'm still practicing, but not a ton, and I'm kind of at a plateau right now.