Go slow to go fast.

Easy run around my neighborhood.  

I tried to change my form while running in my running shoes.  I tried to not land on my heals the entire run.  By the end my calves were really sore. But I was able to run farther than I had in months with no knee pain.  That was motivating. 

Gorgeous weather.  I ran 3 miles at 7:40 pace barefoot on a smooth asphault trail by the Jordan River in Draper Utah.  We were staying with my parents Friday night.

It felt really good.  I'm trying to keep the mileage low right now to allow my leg and foot muscles to adjust to the new form.  My calves were pretty tight, but it felt good to get out there. 

Ran 4 miles at 8:35 pace in Vibram FiveFingers on a really rocky trail in the dog park by my house.

It felt really good.  It was like a 30 minute foot massage, plus a beautiful, sunny, fall afternoon run, what a great deal.  

I had a couple sore spots in the tendons in my feet afterward, but zero knee pain.

3.6 miles around the pond by our house at 7:45 pace.

My calves were a little tight at first but warmed up and felt good until the hill coming home at the end.

The left side of my left foot was a little tender, and the tendon/muscle under my right ball felt a couple tender twinges.  But both feet felt better than I expected them to.

It felt great to be out moving on a sunny 55 degree morning.  I'm getting kind of impatient with the small mileage, I would really like to go out for 10 miles.  But I'm going to keep holding off on longer mileage until I feel like my legs and muscles are fully accustomed to running without shoes. 

Today was the most enjoyable run I can remember in a looong time. And ironically it was on an indoor track at the gym without an ipod which I used to despise. My body just felt really good. My legs and feet have pretty much recovered from the shock of changing my running form, and so running just felt absolutlely great today.

I ran 6 miles barefoot at about 150-155 heart rate in 45-46 minutes.

A little blister on my left big toe started to grow around mile 3, by mile 4.8 it was annoying so I put on my FiveFingers and it didn't hurt anymore.

I didn't feel any knee pain at all. In fact, my knees and lower back are feeling great, better than I can remember them feeling in a long time. Its very obvious that changing my running form has significantly reduced the negative impact on my knees and back.

And on another note, while I was prancing merrily around the track for 6 miles, Nan was killing it in Longmont at the Turkey Trot 10K. She won (no huge surprise) the female race in 36:10 I believe. Nice job Nan!

Today felt like a huge breakthrough for me.  Here was the result:

The roads were icy and snowy and it was 18 degrees outside so I did 6 miles of running around a 1/13th of a mile Gym indoor rubber track at about 7:35 pace.  It was so enjoyable I didn't want to stop.  Again I didn't have an ipod.  I was just really happy to be running and working on my form.  And it made WORLDS of difference today.  I was very, very pleasantly surprised.

Last night I read up on barefoot running tactics from Barefoot Ken Bob at runningbarefoot.org.  So today I was really looking forward to trying to apply his advice (since he ran 4 marathons in may of this year without getting injured I can assume he is doing something right.)  I can't believe what a difference it made in how it felt to run. 

I thought I felt great on Saturday when I ran six miles, and I did.  But later on Saturday the left upper outside of my calf and my lower lateral quad were kind of tight and sore.  I didn't feel pain when I was running to really speak of, but I felt I definitely needed a day off on Sunday to let that recover.

But today I felt REALLY great.  The major change that I made was with my cadence.  That was the missing piece that I didn't understand before last night, and it makes a HUGE difference I found out.  Ken Bob recommends running at a minimum of 180 steps per minute or preferably more.  If you care to know why, which I think is very helpful and legitimate information after trying it today, read his blog.  In any case, I did it today.  I periodically calculated my cadence by counting my steps for 6 seconds and multiplying it by 10 (much easier than initially when I tried to count to 180 in a minute while running...don't even bother trying that, believe me it sucks).  Every time I counted I was going between 200-220 steps per minute.

I played around with running faster speeds and slower speeds, raising my heart rate to the 170's for a quarter mile and timing it (doing around 6 min/mile pace), then scaling back to a heart rate of mid to low 150's and cruising at a 7:30-7:45 pace.

Regardless of how fast I was going, or how high my heart rate was, I was surprised to note that my cadence stayed pretty much the same.  When I was going slower, I kept my cadence high, and I just wasn't leaned forward into it as much.  When I went at 6 min. pace my cadence was the same but I was just falling into it more.  

I let my whole body relax and I focused on that, and it felt great.  For the first time I think I've ever done, I let my hips relax and focused on allowed them to freely rotate forward and backward with my legs, instead of staying rigid while my lower legs did all the work.  I kept my upper body upright over my hips and thought about keeping my butt under me and leaned forward from the ankles with my hips forward.

The time flew by, and I when it had been 45 minutes I was tempted to keep going so I could keep playing around with it.  But I also felt I should be moderate with my mileage as I work into a new form.

The thing that was the greatest though about the faster cadence and improved form, is that my legs never seemed to feel tired at all.  My calves and feet felt relaxed, like they were hardly working and all, as compared to when I first started barefooting my calves were screaming at me the whole time.  I realize now that was due to 2 things.  1 - the muscles needed to adjust, but 2 (and more importantly) I was doing it wrong.  I was still taking big strides with a low cadence and that forced my calves and feet to do way more work than they really need to be doing.  I could feel a very stark contrast today in the six miles I did compared to Saturday.  My calves and feet feel very fresh and almost unused as compared to Saturday afterward.  My inner/upper thighs and my upper hamstrings I'm noticing got more of a workout today with the adjusted form, but they don't feel painful. 

And this goes without saying at this point, but the left knee pain that basically debilitated me 3 weeks ago from even running 1 mile, is non-existent now.

Now here's the bad news...there was 1 minor set-back that happened today.  The Gym Manager Nazi.  At about 30 minutes into my run I noticed the Gym manager 'Todd' walking around the track very casually looking down at the gym below appearing to be inspecting how things were going.  Conveniently (or cowardly, whichever) about 3-4 minutes later one of the trainers Jerry came up and stopped me, informing me that I was not allowed to run barefoot at the gym.   I was really happy until then, because I thought it was completely ridiculous, and I kind of challenged him on it for a minute or two until I realized he had been sent by Todd.  So I went down and nicely approached Todd about how he might be able to "help me out".  He sadly said there was "nothing he can do"  and "its corporate policy" and I think I heard a "blah blah blah" in there a few times...and a "you can try those 'aqua socks'" which I thought was kind of funny but didn't laugh out loud.  But I politely thanked him for trying and went back and apologized to Jerry for challenging him (I'm pretty sure I wasn't overly nice to him initially).  Then, although I wasn't stoked that I couldn't run barefoot anymore because I was really enjoying it, I was stoked that I had brought my FiveFingers.  And I was happy to be able to slip them on and continue to run.  I was really glad I had them with me.

But I was also really glad I had about 5 miles to test out running fully barefoot because I think it really helped me improve my form immensely.

I wonder why I didn't ever try to learn "how" to run before now?  I just kept getting injured, all the time, and I don't remember ever thinking to ask anyone "how" to run properly so that I could stop getting injured. I just looked to better shoes to solve my problems.  Until I actually had given up and written off running for some day in the future when something miraculous would happen and my body could all-of-a-sudden run far without getting hurt.  Nan kept saying I should run a marathon with her (because we had always talked about doing it since we met, and I wanted to), but I just felt defeated and lacking hope that I ever would really.  But not anymore...I feel very grateful for this new found knowledge of how to run, because now I believe I can run a marathon with Nan next year, and do it without getting injured and love it.

Ran 4 miles.  Time: 34:20  Pace: 8:35/mile.  Heart rate was between 145-155

I would like to have run outside today, but Nan went to an early training group run so I took the kids to the Gym.  I  did the first 2 miles on the treadmill to see how I liked that.  I didn't like it much.  My upper/inner thighs and my hamstrings were kind of tight, still recovering from being woken up from a long hibernation yesterday when I adjusted my running form to include them in the fun.  I don't care for treadmill running that much, its better than nothing, but I prefer moving around. So I got off and stretched.  Then I went up to the track and ran 2 more miles and enjoyed it.  My upper legs were still feeling it so I decided to stop there, but everything else felt great.  No pressure from the Gym manager today since I was wearing FiveFingers 

I'm going to swim tomorrow instead of running, to let my upper legs recover. 

I didn't run today.  I lifted weights at the gym.  2 sets of 25 with pretty light weight on about 15 different positions.  I like the way endurance style lifting 2 days/week has made me feel over the past year.  My body is a lot more toned and I feel strong, but not bulky.  I look at the rock star heavy lifters in the gym with upper bodies 3 times my width and calves 1/3 the width of mine, and I keep watching to see if they will tip over if they lean wrong.  Its funny how different we all are.  They probably look at me lifting my 80 pound bench press and just fear for my life if I were to ever get in a fight.  Fortunately I don't have to be strong if I can run fast right?

I also swam for about 20 minutes.  Lifting and swimming feels really great to do a couple times a week. 

Very enjoyable run today.

My legs felt great after a day of rest so I strapped on the FiveFingers and headed out.  It was 34 degrees and sunny and I was really comfortable in a long sleeve shirt, beany, light gloves, shorts, and FiveFingers.  I wondered if my feet would be cold, but they were never cold at all even though I was running over ice patches and ice hardened dirt trail most of the time.  I was happy about that.  Here are the stats:

10 Miles - 1:23:30

8:21/mile average

153 bpm average heart rate

 I took it easy and had an enjoyable run.  By about mile 8 my hamstrings and groin were getting pretty tired and it was uphill for 2 miles so my pace slowed down.  The first 6 miles were 8 min/mile.  The last 4 probably averaged closer to 9 min. I think my form got a little more sloppy at the end because my upper legs were tired.  When I stopped I noticed I had some minor pain in my left foot between my two littlest toes like I felt last week.  My calves and feet otherwise felt great during and after and I'm pretty happy about that.  Its a huge contrast to 2 weeks ago when my calves were in severe pain.  I think after another rest day and doing some lower mileage on Saturday, my hamstrings and groin will probably be getting up to speed with the rest of my body.  Since this is the first week I have really started to put them to work its probably going to be a few more days before they get with the program completely.  I'm glad my calves are fully on board with the new regime now.

Today's workout felt good.  I've got a looong way to go to get my fitness level and pace to where I would like it to be, but it feels great to run and get my heart rate up.

Ran 5 miles. Lifted for 30 minutes. Swam for about 10 minutes.

My gym membership at Bally Fitness is pretty nice, they have free childcare so while Nan is at her Saturday morning workouts for 4 hours, I can take the kids to the gym and not go stir-crazy sitting around the house.  When I got done after 2 hours today my 1 year old Ali was sprawled out asleep in the middle of the day care with 15 kids running around, she looked like she had passed out or something...it was kind of funny looking.

Here were my splits for my run workout on the track:

Warmup for 2 miles

Mile 1 - 7:59  - HR: 150 bpm

Mile 2 - 7:35 - HR: 158 bpm 

 Stretched, drank water, and walked for a few minutes.  My Hamstrings were feeling loosened up by this point.

Mile 3 - 7:40 - HR: 1:55

400 Meter: 1:15 - HR: 154 bpm (Went out way faster than I wanted to, 5:00 min/mile pace, my heart rate spiked and I ran 3/4 of a mile really slow to recover.  I meant to do 6 min/mile repeats at 400 meters)

400 Meter: 2:13 - HR: 163 bpm

400 Meter: 2:06 - HR: 151 bpm

400 Meter: 2:06 - HR: 155 bpm

Mile 4 - 7:09 - HR: 172 bpm

400 Meter: 1:25 - HR: 173 bpm (5:50/mile pace, a lot more comfortable the 5min/mile)

400 Meter: 2:11 - HR: 169 bpm

400 Meter: 1:26 - HR: 174 bpm (5:52 pace)

400 Meter: 2:07 - HR: 172 bpm

Walked for a couple minutes to rest 

Mile 5 - 7:02 - HR 172 bpm

800 Meter: 2:58 - HR: 172 bpm (5:56 pace)

800 Meter: 4:04 - HR: 172 bpm  

Total time: 38:04 - Avg Pace total: 7:36 - avg HR 162 bpm - max HR 186 bpm

I decided to do some 1 mile threshold repeats this morning on the Dry Creek Trail by my house because I wanted to get a feel for what kind of pace I might be able to do a Turkey Day 5K in.  I felt kind of tired and weak today though, I couldn't ever push my heart rate over 175.   I was going to do 3, but I only did 2 because it was wiping me out.  I guess it was just one of those days.  I would like to do the 5K in under 19 minutes, but after today I think beating my last time of 20:33 in August may pushing it for me.  We'll see I guess.

Here are my splits for the run:

8:27, 8:28, 6:34 uphill, 1/4 mile slow (10:03 pace), 6:29 downhill, 1/4 mile slow, sat down to rest and stretch, 9:55, 10:27.

Time: 55:15 - 8:31/mile - 145 bpm avg heart rate. 

I could tell it was going to be kind of a slow run when I was only going 8:30 downhill on my warmup.  I think I came down with something last night because my head hurt and I couldn't fall asleep until about 12:30.

Ran 2 miles slow outside, lifted weights, and swam for 15 minutes.  Not much eventful to write about really. My left quad is tight from pushing too hard on Monday and Saturday, so I'm taking tomorrow off running, I think I'll bike instead...its been a month or so since I did that.  Depending on how I feel I may do a 5K on Thursday for fun.  I'm fighting a cold off right now though, which is why I felt sluggish yesterday and is kind of annoying.  I'm just pounding Emergen-C and water and hopefully it will pass quickly.

What an amazingly gorgeous day for a run. I took the day off yesterday because I wanted to save my legs up for a longer run today.  Fortunately my cold was basically gone by today, I think drinking 4 Emergen-C's and a couple Airbornes per day along with a lot of water helped a lot.

This morning we got up early, packed up the kids, and went to Ft. Collins so Nan could do a fast 4 mile race with a competitive field.  She ran really fast, 5:32/mile avg I believe.

We got home at 12:30 and I threw on just my shorts and fiveFingers and headed out. I also brought a hip pack with water and 3 gu packs. Our friends house where we were going for dinner is about 13 miles away if you take the Big Dry Creek Trail which is a great trail.  It almost goes from our doorstep to theirs which is pretty cool I found out.  I decided to run to their house. The longest run I have done before today was 12 miles about 8 years ago and I remember it completely wiped me out because I didn't take any fuel and wasn't prepared. As I headed out today I felt great from the start at about 8 min/mile (slightly downhill). So I just kept that pace the whole time until the last two slightly uphill miles wich I averaged about 9 min/miles.

Total running time: approx. 1:47 - stopped for about 4-5 minutes total at a couple different points to drink water and stretch a bit.  I ate the 3 gu packs at mile 3, 7, and 11 and my energy was great the whole run.

It was sunny and in the 60's, could not have asked for a more beautiful day. I felt great the whole run and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I would have liked to go even farther but everyone was waiting on me to take some pictures.

I really love running now that I know how to do it better. It feels great.

Change your knowledge and beliefs to change your experience.

About two weeks ago I tried to run barefoot on a dirt path around the pond by my house.  I went about twenty feet and stopped because it was too painful on my feet.

 I've since read about people who are perfectly comfortable running barefoot on dirt trails, and even in the snow, without pain or freezing their feet.  Before reading about other people's experiences my belief was that if it was cold outside my feet would surely freeze running barefoot.  And I had experienced for myself the pain of running barefoot on a dirt path, so I KNEW that was painful.

Then I read accounts from people who enjoy running outside barefoot in all conditions, and it caused me to question my beliefs.  Then I remembered that the last time I tried running barefoot on the dirt was before I learned how to run light with a quicker cadence and less pushing off my feet.  So I began to open my mind to the possibility that maybe I was wrong or was missing something.

I went out to try out some new beliefs this morning, and I can report that I have successfully installed a new version of beliefs that I like better than the old version.  I just returned from a 5.61 mile barefoot run around my neighborhood.  Over half of it was on gravel/dirt trails, the other half was streets or sidewalks.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and I was perfectly comfortable running over the dirt and the concrete.  At first I was really surprised when I took my first few steps on a dirt path and off the cement.  I kept wondering when it would start to hurt.  Then I was back on the sidewalk again.  Ok I thought, that was just a fluke.  That must have been a softer than normal, no rock, dirt trail.  Then came the bigger test, a 1 mile stretch of hard pack dirt and gravel trail through the golf course.  As I got on the gravel I noticed my steps become a little lighter, my arms swing a little higher, but no pain.  I ran on, in a sense of wonder, at the fact that I was running barefoot on a rocky path and it was actually enjoyable.  I passed a guy who gave me a strange look as I smiled and waved at him.

After about a mile I was back in the neighborhood.  Soon I was running on another dirt trail, this time I was really looking forward to it because I found it more fun to run on the dirt than on the road.  This trail went up a hill and I was running through some wet spots, some ice patches, some snow patches.  It didn't ever feel uncomfortable on my feet.

 Then at about mile 4 I was at the pond where I initially didn't want to run more than 20 feet on the dirt path a couple weeks ago.  I jumped on the path and it felt just the same as all the other paths I had been running on, no problem at all.   There were many walkers whose conversations seemed to reach uncomfortable silent lulls as I passed and they stared.  WEIRD!  Why did it hurt so bad two weeks ago?  I haven't been running barefoot outside at all since then.  My only logical explanation is that my form is much different than it was two weeks ago, much lighter, quicker, and more smooth.  In any case, my belief about running barefoot is much different today.

But, it wasn't ALL fun and games it turns out.  As I crossed the dam of the pond, the trail was a lot more dry and hard, with significantly larger marble sized gravel very thinly spread.  It was impossible to dodge the rocks, and no matter how quick my steps were, the steps were pretty painful for a couple hundred yards.  I walked for a few feet, and ran quite a bit slower through this section.  Then it was back to normal trail and it felt fine again. 

During the run I decided that this loop is going to be my barefoot benchmark loop.  I was running a pretty slow pace, I averaged 9:13/mile.  I'm interested to compare how I feel in the future weeks/months and how my 'comfortable barefoot pace' changes.  My finishing assessment today is that I didn't get any blisters and in general my feet feel fantastic.  The skin feels slightly tender on the pads of my forefeet, but it doesn't hurt to walk on.

I feel great that I have broken through the barefoot mental barrier, I'm going to start doing more and more running barefoot.  It was very enjoyable.

Ran the same loop today in FiveFingers as I did barefoot on Saturday to see the difference in feel and mostly pace at the same exertion.  But I ended up exerting more, I guess because it is easier at this point for me to push a harder pace with the FiveFingers than barefoot.

I did the 5.61 mile loop today in 44:00 (7:51/mile) - avg HR: 154 bpm.  Then I added 2 more miles at the end because I felt like going for an hour.  

On Saturday I did it barefoot in 51:46 (9:13/mile) - avg HR: 140 bpm.  Obviously based on my heart rate I was taking it a lot easier on Saturday.  But today didn't feel hard, I kept it at a pretty comfortable pace.  HR in the mid 160's is a multiple hour endurance race pace for me, so mid to low 150's is a really comfortable pace.