After running the Tulsa Run (9.3 mi)on 10/31, I knew my feet wouldn't be able to take the abuse that a 1/2 marathon would cause. I had never run this far barefoot before (but when did that stop a barefoot runner). I didn't run the week after because I felt I needed to let my feet heal up some.
The weekend after the Tulsa Run, I had a Boy Scout training weekend. So no running that weekend. Well, still have two weeks to go, but I need to spend some time working cardio (because I had decided that I was going to have to run it in my VFF Treks). I have some Bikilas too, but they fit tighter and hurt my feet after a couple of miles.
One time the next week I get on the old Nordic Trak and "ski" for an hour. Then I get the email from Frank in Kansas that he & Karl (BRS Kansas members) are coming to Tulsa for a Pub Run. It's just a 4 mile run, with a whole lotta beer thrown in for good measure. Well, can't very well let barefooters from Kansas run in my town without me, can I?
I sign up and we run it barefoot. Dang, those streets downtown have some rough asphalt! Well, not going for a long run today. But I rationalize it with the fact that I ran it in 31 minutes and some change. I'm feeling pretty good that I just ran 4 sub-8 minute miles. Or maybe it was the beer that made me feel good. hmmmmm....
That was on Saturday. Sunday morning my feet are feeling a little tender and stiff. I know, (I says to myself),I think if I go for a trail run, it will flex my feet and help them loosen up. 'Cause my half marathon is next Sunday.I get to the trail @ Turkey Mountain, this is where the aliens must have taken over, and think "I think my feet would flex even more if I ran the trail barefoot". Well, hell yes they will flex more! They will also bruise and scrape more!!
Now, here's a little tipfrom oleMike. If you are runningahalf marathon in a week, DONOT go out for a 5 mile trail run to "flex & loosen up" your feet!
Okay, it's Monday morning. I have run a total of 0 miles in each of the last three weeks.And if you count my races and trail run I have totalled a little over 18 miles in a three week period. And I haven't run over 10 miles at one timein 7 months...and only one 10 mile run...andthat was two months ago. Except I did have that 9 miler a couple of weeks ago. Okay, got thatgoingfor me...
I decide that I'll run the 1/2marathon in my Treks, and wear Injinji socks. This way I will have "maximum" padding for a bf runner.
I get to the race about 40minutes beforethe start, find mycorral and wait for allthe start.
I'm in corral"B",in which the fastest pacers are for a 2:00:00 pace. Hmmmm...wonder if I can hang with them. Now, where thehell did that thought even come from (must be that alien abduction thingagain).A guy next to me asks how I like the VFFs. I tell him "great".We talk some about minimal running,mid/forefoot strike, etc.until race is about to start.
The race starts OK. I'm hanging with the 2 hour pace guy, thinking, hey! maybe??? About a mile in, I catch up to a lady wearing pink & orange VFFs. We exchange pleasantries. You know, "nice shoes, yeah, you too", that kind of stuff. I see another pair of VFFs in front of us, but that chick is cruising. I don't see her the rest of the run. By now, I'm actually in front of the 2 hour pace group, feeling OK, but not Kenyan. You know what I'm talkin' about. You've been there.
The pink VFF lady & I pass each other a few times, and I remembered that I brought some BRS business cards with me, to hand out after the race. But what if I don't see her after the race. So out come the cards, I give her one and tell her some about the BRS. I tell her that I'm trying to move to allbarefoot, and that I ran the Tulsa Run barefoot. She says "I saw you running that, I passed you and said "nice shoes". (See my Tulsa Run post where Iponder what she was talking about). Well, I remembered that, while thinking "what are the freakin' odds that this would happen"? She was running the full marathon, but said her husband was running the 1/2 in VFFs. Note: I saw10 other people in VFFS. There were 8000 people in the three races today, and I saw more VFFs than I have ever seen. Cool!
She pulls away, and I just run along, nothing special. Pace starts to slow down. the 2 hour pace guy passes me, but I dont' feel like staying with them. Walk through a couple of water stops. See a couple of VFFs pass me. Catch up to them and and hand out another business card. Think to myself, "well, if I'm not going to have a great run, at least I can promote the BRS". Why not, right?
Try to keep knees bent, cadence up...I'm getting closeto Mile 10, and the skin between my toes is uncomfortable. I guess I'm jamming my toes into the VFFs. Happens in the Bikilas also, but usually after just a couple of miles. But since I have never run this far in VFFs, I'm kind of in uncharted waters.
When I got to the Mile 10 marker, I said "what the hell, I'm going to take these freakin' things off my feet, 'cause they hurt!" So I stepped off the road, removed the VFFs and started running barefoot. I could sense, right away, that my feet felt soft, so I jumped off the road onto the grass beside the roadway.
Damn, this felt GOOD! I had a spring in my step. Even thought about whistling! I would have to step back on the road whenever I approached a group of spectators (I'm not sure what they were doing on my running surface), but then I would jump back on the grass as soon as I could. I thought this might help dry my feet and get them ready for when the grass ran out.
If you think people look at you funny when you run in VFFs "or" when you run barefoot, you ought to see the looks you get when you are running barefoot "carrying" a pair of VFFs. Now, that's a head turner! Especially since my timing chip was on my shoe! There was a turn at mile 11 and I had to dip down to get my shoe close to the ground. ;-)
Now, I'm just padding along, enjoying the hell out of this run, when the 2:05 pace runner passes me. I think, why not, only have 1 1/2 to 2 miles left, let's see what happens. So I pick up my pace, pass another VFF wearer ( I did talk to him, but I was breathing much to hard to deal with the business card at this point). ;-)
I finished in 2:03:16. 10 miles in VFFs, 3.1 barefoot.
I ducked down at the finish too, to be sure my chip would be read. Everybody else is running across with their hands in the air, I'm crossing the finish line waving my shoe around just above ground level. Maybe they thought I dropped something?
There was a guy walking around in the finish area, doing a running commentary that was being broadcast over the PA system. He saw that I was barefoot and came over to ask me about it. He asked me how the course was for a barefooter. I told him some of the roads were pretty textured, but all in all not a bad course. Actually, it is rough as hell, but I didn't want to discourage any bf wannabees. ;-)
So, it's happened...my feet have voted. They don't want footwear anymore...and winter is just around the corner...gotta be that alien abduction...
The weekend after the Tulsa Run, I had a Boy Scout training weekend. So no running that weekend. Well, still have two weeks to go, but I need to spend some time working cardio (because I had decided that I was going to have to run it in my VFF Treks). I have some Bikilas too, but they fit tighter and hurt my feet after a couple of miles.
One time the next week I get on the old Nordic Trak and "ski" for an hour. Then I get the email from Frank in Kansas that he & Karl (BRS Kansas members) are coming to Tulsa for a Pub Run. It's just a 4 mile run, with a whole lotta beer thrown in for good measure. Well, can't very well let barefooters from Kansas run in my town without me, can I?
I sign up and we run it barefoot. Dang, those streets downtown have some rough asphalt! Well, not going for a long run today. But I rationalize it with the fact that I ran it in 31 minutes and some change. I'm feeling pretty good that I just ran 4 sub-8 minute miles. Or maybe it was the beer that made me feel good. hmmmmm....
That was on Saturday. Sunday morning my feet are feeling a little tender and stiff. I know, (I says to myself),I think if I go for a trail run, it will flex my feet and help them loosen up. 'Cause my half marathon is next Sunday.I get to the trail @ Turkey Mountain, this is where the aliens must have taken over, and think "I think my feet would flex even more if I ran the trail barefoot". Well, hell yes they will flex more! They will also bruise and scrape more!!
Now, here's a little tipfrom oleMike. If you are runningahalf marathon in a week, DONOT go out for a 5 mile trail run to "flex & loosen up" your feet!
Okay, it's Monday morning. I have run a total of 0 miles in each of the last three weeks.And if you count my races and trail run I have totalled a little over 18 miles in a three week period. And I haven't run over 10 miles at one timein 7 months...and only one 10 mile run...andthat was two months ago. Except I did have that 9 miler a couple of weeks ago. Okay, got thatgoingfor me...
I decide that I'll run the 1/2marathon in my Treks, and wear Injinji socks. This way I will have "maximum" padding for a bf runner.
I get to the race about 40minutes beforethe start, find mycorral and wait for allthe start.I'm in corral"B",in which the fastest pacers are for a 2:00:00 pace. Hmmmm...wonder if I can hang with them. Now, where thehell did that thought even come from (must be that alien abduction thingagain).A guy next to me asks how I like the VFFs. I tell him "great".We talk some about minimal running,mid/forefoot strike, etc.until race is about to start.
The race starts OK. I'm hanging with the 2 hour pace guy, thinking, hey! maybe??? About a mile in, I catch up to a lady wearing pink & orange VFFs. We exchange pleasantries. You know, "nice shoes, yeah, you too", that kind of stuff. I see another pair of VFFs in front of us, but that chick is cruising. I don't see her the rest of the run. By now, I'm actually in front of the 2 hour pace group, feeling OK, but not Kenyan. You know what I'm talkin' about. You've been there.
The pink VFF lady & I pass each other a few times, and I remembered that I brought some BRS business cards with me, to hand out after the race. But what if I don't see her after the race. So out come the cards, I give her one and tell her some about the BRS. I tell her that I'm trying to move to allbarefoot, and that I ran the Tulsa Run barefoot. She says "I saw you running that, I passed you and said "nice shoes". (See my Tulsa Run post where Iponder what she was talking about). Well, I remembered that, while thinking "what are the freakin' odds that this would happen"? She was running the full marathon, but said her husband was running the 1/2 in VFFs. Note: I saw10 other people in VFFS. There were 8000 people in the three races today, and I saw more VFFs than I have ever seen. Cool!
She pulls away, and I just run along, nothing special. Pace starts to slow down. the 2 hour pace guy passes me, but I dont' feel like staying with them. Walk through a couple of water stops. See a couple of VFFs pass me. Catch up to them and and hand out another business card. Think to myself, "well, if I'm not going to have a great run, at least I can promote the BRS". Why not, right?
Try to keep knees bent, cadence up...I'm getting closeto Mile 10, and the skin between my toes is uncomfortable. I guess I'm jamming my toes into the VFFs. Happens in the Bikilas also, but usually after just a couple of miles. But since I have never run this far in VFFs, I'm kind of in uncharted waters.
When I got to the Mile 10 marker, I said "what the hell, I'm going to take these freakin' things off my feet, 'cause they hurt!" So I stepped off the road, removed the VFFs and started running barefoot. I could sense, right away, that my feet felt soft, so I jumped off the road onto the grass beside the roadway.
Damn, this felt GOOD! I had a spring in my step. Even thought about whistling! I would have to step back on the road whenever I approached a group of spectators (I'm not sure what they were doing on my running surface), but then I would jump back on the grass as soon as I could. I thought this might help dry my feet and get them ready for when the grass ran out.
If you think people look at you funny when you run in VFFs "or" when you run barefoot, you ought to see the looks you get when you are running barefoot "carrying" a pair of VFFs. Now, that's a head turner! Especially since my timing chip was on my shoe! There was a turn at mile 11 and I had to dip down to get my shoe close to the ground. ;-)
Now, I'm just padding along, enjoying the hell out of this run, when the 2:05 pace runner passes me. I think, why not, only have 1 1/2 to 2 miles left, let's see what happens. So I pick up my pace, pass another VFF wearer ( I did talk to him, but I was breathing much to hard to deal with the business card at this point). ;-)
I finished in 2:03:16. 10 miles in VFFs, 3.1 barefoot.
I ducked down at the finish too, to be sure my chip would be read. Everybody else is running across with their hands in the air, I'm crossing the finish line waving my shoe around just above ground level. Maybe they thought I dropped something?
There was a guy walking around in the finish area, doing a running commentary that was being broadcast over the PA system. He saw that I was barefoot and came over to ask me about it. He asked me how the course was for a barefooter. I told him some of the roads were pretty textured, but all in all not a bad course. Actually, it is rough as hell, but I didn't want to discourage any bf wannabees. ;-)
So, it's happened...my feet have voted. They don't want footwear anymore...and winter is just around the corner...gotta be that alien abduction...
