Blog entries by jldeleon
It is August! Two years ago this month I ditched my VFFs, and got it right, by starting running barefoot! So it is now time for my 2nd year barefoot running anniversary MANIFESTO!!! Muah-ha-haaa!!!
My ego believed the following…I am a BAREFOOT runner – which means, I am either 100%...
So I was diagnosed with mononucleosis about a week ago. For those of you unfamiliar with this virus, it causes a litany of symptoms -the highlights of which are low, low, low energy, an enlarged spleen, and an average recovery time of SIX weeks. And yes, it is contagious, and although only...
By exhibit A (aka as Jen)
A year ago, before I signed up for the 2012 Warrior Dash, I had already read Mike’s Warrior Dash race report from 2011. He obviously had a TON of fun doing it. He looked freaking GIDDY in his photos. I thought to myself, here is a guy who is having fun and who...
Lessons from today's run: #1. Don't run when you get less than 8 hours of sleep. Okay, maybe 6 hours. But definitely NOT 3. #2. Don't put off fixing your laces. Actually fix them BEFORE the race. #3. Don't run in your Branca sandals for the FIRST TIME at a race. #4. Don't leave the starting line...
*Consider “Oregon” your warning word. J
By Exhibit A (aka Jen)
This run was to be a 20-mile “run” in the Multnomah Falls region, along the Columbia Gorge.
I am fairly certain we all knew that, since the route had a 4,000 ft. elevation gain, it would be more of a run/hike/walk/crawl/roll. I...
This race was on a route I was very familiar with, which was both fortunate and unfortunate. I knew the first part was the arch bruising type rocks. Though I “have” ran it barefoot on a couple of occasions, it was not pleasant at all. So for this race I decided I would wear huaraches over that...
It's been one year since I have been running barefoot. Though I actually started running 3 months prior to this anniversary, this is my REAL anniversary because this is when I learned the true joy of my bare feet touching the earth.
I want to talk about the people who inspired me along this...
So I have this new favorite trail. I like the incline/decline pattern of it better than my previous favorite trail. And the section I run is 7 miles round-trip, which is perfect for where I'm at mileage-wise. So my husband dropped me off at this trail last week cuz he needed our (shared) car...
The funnest part of all races is always the costume. This race was a 5k/10k trail race on Wildwood trail. I signed up for the 10k and it was supposed to be my first 10k. I had ran the course 3 times prior, during the last 6 weeks, so I was familiar with how evil it was. The first section was...
I ran the 5k in this. I only over-exerted myself at about the beginning of mile 3. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. The bottom of my diaphragm was spasming, which I have never had happen before (if anything spasms it’s the top of my diaphragm). Other than those 3 painful...
WTH? So while I'm running today, I kept hearing this slap/pop sound periodically coming from my...chest. I kept looking around trying to figure out what was causing that sound. I was not wearing ANY equipment, so I was totally perplexed. The sound was pretty loud and it sounded like those little...
I have been trying to find a good running trail closer to home. Yesterday I found a VERY desolate trail fairly close. By desolate, I mean pools of water with algae forming on the top, leaves and berry brambles covering the ground, trees across the trail -and lots of deer tracks!!! It was a...
A couple months ago I made a conscious effort to stop running on my forefoot and start running on my midfoot. This was a little tricky to figure out how to do and make sure not to heel strike at the same time -particularly on trails. The primary reason I did it was to increase my speed, and it...
I have found it is far less traumatizing for me to refrain from looking directly down into the big slippery mud I am about to run through and instead look across it to where I WANT to be. As long as it's not "too" big, I find this is a much more effective way to go through them, without...
So my weekly mileage has taken a distinct upturn -thanks to trail runs. This is the way I like to increase my mileage -more or less by accident. My legs are rarely sore after running, though the last trail run I did, they were unusually sore. It was only about a mile longer than the last ones we...
I have refused to buy a GPS because I did NOT want to get caught up in speed. But, over the last week, I timed a couple of my runs and got SUCKED in...
Today I learned that running with efficient, correct form, will do more for your speed than trying to runfast. It sounds contrary, but it is...
Just ordered a clip on metronome to wear during running because...I ran 3 miles at 8.6 m/m the other day by counting seconds the long way the entire time I run because I figured out I run at least 3 steps per second, which meant I was running a minimum 180 cadence. I have never ran 3 miles...
So I ran on Leif Erikson today and I LIVED! I ran in my VFFs, 4.5 miles, in one hour -thanks to a lot of flatness. I ran on the end farthest away from NW Portland, off of Germantown Rd. I can DEFINITELY see why people would not be fond of running barefoot on it. It's not he sharpness of the...
I was just chuckling at my last entry.So in the summer I had gone on several trail runs, but I was barely eeking out a mile on pavement at the time, so they were fairly torturous runs.
The last trail run I had gone on in the summer, it had just rained for the first time after a long dry spell...
Congratulations! Yes, it really is an awesome feeling when your form finally all comes together. You described it PERFECTLY -it doesn'tfeel like running and it DOES feel like flying! I LOVE "running" now!!!