myfootprint

Barefoot Running Blog

My actual footprint --->

February 4, 2012 (Saturday) [10.0 miles]

It's been five days since I ran last, out with a cold. Since the San Dieguito Half is coming up next week, I only needed to run 10 this weekend. The time off didn't help much. At around mile 7, my right leg started to hurt around my knee area. I tried changing my stride, landing, and cadence, but it just didn't seem to go away. As a last measure, I started running as upright and high as I could, reducing the bending of the knees. It worked! Have I been bending my knees too much all this time?

January 30, 2012 (Monday) [3.2 miles]

I normally see rabbits on trails runs, but this morning (before sunrise), I saw one in the middle of the street. My flashlight initially caught sight of it, and as I got closer, the rabbit hopped away from me. Turns out 'away' meant right on the path where I was running to. We continued this tag routine for about a quarter mile, before the rabbit just gave up and let me pass it, probably from exhaustion.

January 28, 2012 (Saturday) [14.6 miles]

Today's run was an experiment in nutrition. I started with my PowerBar breakfast, and consumed two energy gels at mile 5 and 10. Although my muscles were sore at the end, I was able to maintain good form and a consistent 12 minute per mile pace. Going a long distance in just 6 days from a Half Marathon race is pretty good. I was trying all week to figure out how to make the slight pain on my right ankle on the tendon go away. I was foam roller different areas, and I think I finally found the spot. It's interesting that the ankle had a little pain this morning before my run, but no pain during, or immediately after. I think when the muscle starts to tighten, it causes the tendon to hurt. Time to get ready for the next race. Wait, I'm already ready.

January 25, 2012 (Wednesday) [3.0 miles]

The track workout had less of a turn out this evening. I couldn't find anyone who races in Carlsbad last weekend, so I guess they are still recovering. I actually felt pretty good having a few days of rest. Because of the Torrey Pines Golf Tournament this week, I had to park pretty far away, and took the opportunity to run in my Brancas (similar to Invisible Shoes) sandals for a little bit on the way to the track. Very noisy, and you can't really feel the ground. Not sure if I want to run long this weekend, or go back on the trails.


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History

I first began running barefoot when I was doing a swim-run event with the TriClub of San Diego, and accidentally brought two right running shoes. I knew the only way to complete the run was to go barefoot, as some of the other club members do. The soft sand beach run actually felt good, and the lack of shoes made my feet feel very light. I have been doing the swim-run events barefoot since (about four years).

I often see club members running barefoot on the street, which seemed rather brutal on the feet, but then some people say the same about running barefoot on the sand. After reading several articles about barefoot running, I decide that 2010 is the year of the bare feet. One of my main purposes is to avoid injury. I haven't been about to run weekly for a whole year in over twenty years. No major injuries, but just minor pain in joints that takes the fun out of running and forces me to rest to recover. Another reason is to try to minimize the calluses on the ball of my foot (3rd metatarsal bone) and my big toe. A properly aligned foot should have pressure evenly distributed, and running barefoot will help strengthen the muscles of the foot. My first goal was to do the run portion of a Sprint Triathlon running barefoot which I completed in July 2010.

Running Background

I wasn't much of an athlete when growing up. I played some tennis in high school, and always enjoyed riding my bicycle around the neighborhood. In October 1987, I decided to run a marathon on a dare. I had been riding my bicycle for two years, completing several century (100 miles) rides. I figured I was in good shape, and even though I never did any distance running in the past, running 26.2 miles seemed easier than riding a bicycle for 8 hours.

My first "run" in October 1987 was for 4 miles in tennis shoes at a 10 minute/mile pace. My 2nd run the next day was for 6 miles. In January of 1988, I bought some running shoes, and began my training for the Long Beach Marathon on May 1, 1988. In March and April, I was logging about 100 miles a month. I completed (barely) the Marathon in 4:42:59 (the first half was under 2 hours) and didn't run again until the next month.

I never did run another Marathon again, but did many Half Marathons with the faster being 1:49:31 in April 1989. Most of my running was during short triathlons, but I did do a 10K in August 1991 @ 46:20. My fastest one mile time-trail was on October 24, 1991 at 5:55. By 1994, due to family commitments, my exercise was reduced to bicycle commuting. It wasn't until 2005 when I decided to get back into triathlons that I started running again. In 2007 I was able to complete several training runs at a half marathon distance. Injuries (usually right knee soreness) never allowed me to run longer distances every week, and often I would have to rest for several months before running again. I torn my right calf in June 2005 (but didn't know it at the time), and torn left calf in March 2007.