Finally got down to it, and rather than wait for my new tech gear (bought on clearance online for a fraction of the price, ka-ching!) I just threw on a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt and headed outdoors to do my day one. Decided to do my warm-up walk by doing an inspection of my planned route. It measures out on Google Maps to be pretty close to 500 meters.
Out here in the Vegas Valley, xeriscape is all the rage, so we have 1/2" pinkish rock for yard landscaping on almost every lot in sight, humorously referred to as "martian landscaping". Problem with it is a slight breeze will blow it off the yard and onto the sidewalk where it then gets run over by cars driving into their driveways where it fractures into sharp gravel basically. Lots of that, so I wind up resolving to kick what I can back into the yards as I pass each time. So far no other debris. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I am carrying my smartwool classics. About two thirds of the way along the route I get a bit self conscious as I am getting weird stares, which could be a lot of things. 1. I'm walking 2. I am barefoot while carrying shoes 3. Almost everyone in my neighborhood is a stranger. Thus I could be deemed a potential threat if not for the fact I am walking barefoot with shoes in my hands. Then again maybe they figure I'm ready for the men in white coats for those two reasons. Anyhoo, I put my shoes on and finished my route inspection... all the way to the sidewalk across the street from my house where I see something that makes me just shake my head. Glass. Lots of "safety" glass. Tinted. Someone broke a car side window and left the shards all over the sidewalk right at the start/finish line. Looks like it's in the street, too. Great! :~ Looks like I wear my Vibrams today until I can get out a broom and dust pan, and "police the area" (Yikes! that phrase still brings back memories of picking up cigarette butts.. yuck!). I see parents take their kids along that stretch of sidewalk in flip flops and that glass isn't going to pick itself up.
I got the C25k app for my droid, and it just isn't doing well sitting in my pocket. My pocket has already stopped the timer once already and activated another function of the program after that. I realize I have to hold onto it, but it works flawlessly that way. A beep to run, a beep to walk. I set my cadence of 180 bpm by singing popeye the sailor man. I know, a laugh riot. I played a metronome of 180 bpm and used a feature on the prog that stressed various beats. By stressing the third beat I recognized the rhythm. I really need to find a better song, but haven't gotten around to it, but the cadence is darn close at any rate and it helps immensely.
I feel for the signs of improper foot placement and I modify and continue on. Mostly by making sure I bend my knees more to prevent landing on my toes. I got a couple of almost twinges from my big toes to warn me to shape up or walk home. A couple of heel strikes on the first run which I solved by picking up my cadence and fixing my posture. I am going to have to check out the walking path in the neighborhood to see how long it is and how clean it is. I know I could do this barefoot, and I will eventually.
I thought about knocking off after run 7 of 8, but I sucked it up to make that last run and turn around for home. Headed straight into the garage and my cooldown was walking back out to sweep up glass shards. I got 99% of it, but you never do get all of it. I trash it and pick a glass shard out of the sole of my right shoe. Nothing life threatening and it wouldn't have done much had I stepped on it. I think/hope anyway. Vibram rubber took one for the team. Yay!
I did the first 2 weeks of the C25K program about 3 years ago, and it was far more difficult and sllllooooooowwww that first time in running shoes than this time running almost barefoot. I was in better shape and weighed less back then if you can believe it.
I was doing 2 cycles per circuit around the block. I made 4 laps around the block running/walking with an extra 2 just walking before the run thanks to my app pausing the first time around, so I covered ~3000 meters today and I feel pretty darn good. Not too bad for a couch potato. I think I'm going to like barefooting a LOT.
Out here in the Vegas Valley, xeriscape is all the rage, so we have 1/2" pinkish rock for yard landscaping on almost every lot in sight, humorously referred to as "martian landscaping". Problem with it is a slight breeze will blow it off the yard and onto the sidewalk where it then gets run over by cars driving into their driveways where it fractures into sharp gravel basically. Lots of that, so I wind up resolving to kick what I can back into the yards as I pass each time. So far no other debris. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I am carrying my smartwool classics. About two thirds of the way along the route I get a bit self conscious as I am getting weird stares, which could be a lot of things. 1. I'm walking 2. I am barefoot while carrying shoes 3. Almost everyone in my neighborhood is a stranger. Thus I could be deemed a potential threat if not for the fact I am walking barefoot with shoes in my hands. Then again maybe they figure I'm ready for the men in white coats for those two reasons. Anyhoo, I put my shoes on and finished my route inspection... all the way to the sidewalk across the street from my house where I see something that makes me just shake my head. Glass. Lots of "safety" glass. Tinted. Someone broke a car side window and left the shards all over the sidewalk right at the start/finish line. Looks like it's in the street, too. Great! :~ Looks like I wear my Vibrams today until I can get out a broom and dust pan, and "police the area" (Yikes! that phrase still brings back memories of picking up cigarette butts.. yuck!). I see parents take their kids along that stretch of sidewalk in flip flops and that glass isn't going to pick itself up.
I got the C25k app for my droid, and it just isn't doing well sitting in my pocket. My pocket has already stopped the timer once already and activated another function of the program after that. I realize I have to hold onto it, but it works flawlessly that way. A beep to run, a beep to walk. I set my cadence of 180 bpm by singing popeye the sailor man. I know, a laugh riot. I played a metronome of 180 bpm and used a feature on the prog that stressed various beats. By stressing the third beat I recognized the rhythm. I really need to find a better song, but haven't gotten around to it, but the cadence is darn close at any rate and it helps immensely.
I feel for the signs of improper foot placement and I modify and continue on. Mostly by making sure I bend my knees more to prevent landing on my toes. I got a couple of almost twinges from my big toes to warn me to shape up or walk home. A couple of heel strikes on the first run which I solved by picking up my cadence and fixing my posture. I am going to have to check out the walking path in the neighborhood to see how long it is and how clean it is. I know I could do this barefoot, and I will eventually.
I thought about knocking off after run 7 of 8, but I sucked it up to make that last run and turn around for home. Headed straight into the garage and my cooldown was walking back out to sweep up glass shards. I got 99% of it, but you never do get all of it. I trash it and pick a glass shard out of the sole of my right shoe. Nothing life threatening and it wouldn't have done much had I stepped on it. I think/hope anyway. Vibram rubber took one for the team. Yay!
I did the first 2 weeks of the C25K program about 3 years ago, and it was far more difficult and sllllooooooowwww that first time in running shoes than this time running almost barefoot. I was in better shape and weighed less back then if you can believe it.
I was doing 2 cycles per circuit around the block. I made 4 laps around the block running/walking with an extra 2 just walking before the run thanks to my app pausing the first time around, so I covered ~3000 meters today and I feel pretty darn good. Not too bad for a couch potato. I think I'm going to like barefooting a LOT.
