With the pasage of Labour day and the winding down of summer that it entails I have been looking back at my first 3 months of BF/Minimalist running. I have to say, while there is a lot yet to come, that I'm pretty happy about how well this has gone... so far.
I have managed to get back to regular running near the distance that was my norm at a pace that is approaching my former shod speed. This may be counter to the philosophy or running for the sheer joy of it expounded by many in the BF community but for me it works. I really am enjoying running again and have managed to do so without injury, again so far.
My desire or 'need' to run with intensity relates to the limited time I have to devote to my physical pursuits. Since I am a 'tad' time challenged it is important to me that I get the max benefit from the time I inves, borrow, or steal from my daily schedule for workouts. When time permits, which is rare, I do enjoy lower intensity workouts but in the past this was mostly long weekend bike rides.
I have to say that this transition to minimalist running has widened my focus to include low intensity, smelling the roses type running which of course aids me in going back to running for the sheer joy of it. Clearly the trick will be balancing my desire to get the most out of my wourkout time while not losing sight of the fun factor and of course smelling the roses, alergies not wihtstanding.
As for the numbers I started with short run / walk / jogs back in June and have progressed to regular brisk 5K runs. After putting in some true BF distance I then began running in huaraches. For me this is when things really started to click. The huaraches provided the right mix of road feel and protection, for me, that really aided the effort to run regularly. This lead to more regular runs or increasing distance and even one short 1 mile race. I even managed a 10K trail run, something I had not done in many years, albiet at a MUCH slower pace than I used to run that distance.
My distance progression was: June - 5 runs - 13.5K
July - 10 runs - 38 K
Aug - 10 runs - 55K
Sept - 4 runs - 20K (to date)
So I feel I am at the point where my minimalist running adventure really begins. That is to say that I feel that I am over the initial hurdles of ditching my running shoes and getting back to regular, injury free, enjoyable running. Of course my transition is far from over. My body is still adapting, I'm still refining my FF stride, and there is much yet to learn. Running in huraches in the Canadian winter comes to mind...
Now of course the interesting thing will be to see where the adventure takes me next.
Happy trails eh.
Jenn
I have managed to get back to regular running near the distance that was my norm at a pace that is approaching my former shod speed. This may be counter to the philosophy or running for the sheer joy of it expounded by many in the BF community but for me it works. I really am enjoying running again and have managed to do so without injury, again so far.
My desire or 'need' to run with intensity relates to the limited time I have to devote to my physical pursuits. Since I am a 'tad' time challenged it is important to me that I get the max benefit from the time I inves, borrow, or steal from my daily schedule for workouts. When time permits, which is rare, I do enjoy lower intensity workouts but in the past this was mostly long weekend bike rides.
I have to say that this transition to minimalist running has widened my focus to include low intensity, smelling the roses type running which of course aids me in going back to running for the sheer joy of it. Clearly the trick will be balancing my desire to get the most out of my wourkout time while not losing sight of the fun factor and of course smelling the roses, alergies not wihtstanding.
As for the numbers I started with short run / walk / jogs back in June and have progressed to regular brisk 5K runs. After putting in some true BF distance I then began running in huaraches. For me this is when things really started to click. The huaraches provided the right mix of road feel and protection, for me, that really aided the effort to run regularly. This lead to more regular runs or increasing distance and even one short 1 mile race. I even managed a 10K trail run, something I had not done in many years, albiet at a MUCH slower pace than I used to run that distance.
My distance progression was: June - 5 runs - 13.5K
July - 10 runs - 38 K
Aug - 10 runs - 55K
Sept - 4 runs - 20K (to date)
So I feel I am at the point where my minimalist running adventure really begins. That is to say that I feel that I am over the initial hurdles of ditching my running shoes and getting back to regular, injury free, enjoyable running. Of course my transition is far from over. My body is still adapting, I'm still refining my FF stride, and there is much yet to learn. Running in huraches in the Canadian winter comes to mind...
Now of course the interesting thing will be to see where the adventure takes me next.
Happy trails eh.
Jenn
