Mileage reporting 51st week of 2014

Yvonne and I did a 12.25mi (short) long run today, first time either of us over 10mi in a while, for me its my first >10mi longrun since straining the achilles in October. Just a little tight but felt nice to run, averaged out right at a casual 10min/mi. About 24mi total then, also the most I've done since October :(. But at least I'm getting my groove back on.

Was about 35F out, a slight breeze on the return. Interesting thing is the bridges on the bike trail remained a little colder and there was still a dusting of snow on them from where the shadow of the railing was cast. I mean exactly... where the railing was just 3 horizontal boards, the snow was also in 3 long stripes down the trail. being the shortest day of the year the sun must have traveled fairly straight across the sky low to where it cast a consistent shadow on the trail.
 
Hello everyone...I missed you haha.

Been to busy balancing running and working and family life to visit the forums :-/

Running is going well...I get in about 2 hours everyday of the week except an occasional day off.

On the weekends I do a long run of between 18 and 22 miles, and a second run of about 3 hours....all at a very slow Mafatone heart rate pace of about 12:30 mm and 127 heart rate.

I recently started doing a lunchtime treadmill run to mimic some hills, I go for about 30 minutes on a 15 degree incline at about 155 heart rate.

In ran 22 miles yesterday and 22 miles again today...needed the miles in my muscle memory for the 50 miler in January.

Over the Christmas 4 day weekend I want to run two marathons back to back as my final hard-ish weekend before the Ultra on January 10th.

I say Hard-ish, because at Mafatone pace it's not that hard to cover distance lol. Just slow.

Rick sorry for taking so long to answer your questions from several weeks ago...I actually typed a long response but the battery died on my phone and I lost it :-/

All running except the recent treadmill runs are skin to ground...though occassionally I will throw on some sandles if I am running through an area where they are doing road construction. (I keep my xero shoes with me in my pack).

I have not had any injuries or significant pain...though I was running with my Correct Toes on for every run, and if I took them off I would get a little niggle in the sesamoids in the ball of my foot...my toes seem to have spaced themselves apart better now though, cause I don't get that little niggle if I run without the Correct Toes anymore.

I don't walk much, as it's actually more tiring for me than a light trot over distances.

When I walk it's usually only for about 20 to 30 yards just to move the muscles in a different way occasionally...I have gotten pretty good at keeping a 182 bpm foot cadence whether I am doing 10 mm pace or a 14 mm pace...When I need to rest I just shorten the stride but keep the same cadence.

It works better for me, I think I am probably an awkward walker, but I can keep a 182 bpm cadence smoothly and lightly for a long time....that cadence is kinda hypnotic or trancelike for me in a way. Seems like walking long distances without shoes is not how we are designed...walking is for short distances becuase of the heel striking, but to cover distance skin-to-ground it seems like a nice paced run or trot is more efficient and comfortable....at least for me...if I walk for any great distance it's much more comfortable with a heel padded shoe, but running or trotting is much more comfortable with no shoes at all.

My pace is very slow, that, the lack of shoes, and staying focussed on running 'light' seems to have kept me out of trouble so far.

From a Barefoot perspective, it seems like my feet have gotten to the point where distance is not an issue for them, or at least there are other weaker links in the chain than my feet with regard to distance anyway.


My feet get sore on the really long runs, but it's foot weary kind of soreness, a kind of ache in the bones that I think is normal for such distances...the soles of my feet don't seem to be an issue anymore....before, with enough distance, they would start to get very sensitive, even hot, but not so much anymore...though as temps drop here the cold ground in the morning can be a bit sensitive in the beggining of the run.

Rough patches of road actually feel good now, like a foot message :)
 
Yesterday - a measly 3km along the beach, testing out the ankle that I rolled again playing basketball last Wednesday. It's OK, but I'm sure the reduced range of motion will cause my achilles/bursitis/pump bump thing to flare up again. The plan is to run 2 or 3 fun runs after Christmas including a 10k on the 27th, so we'll see how it holds up.

The perils of being a middle aged man trying desperately to keep playing a sport he is no longer suited for. :)
 
Two 'measly' runs for me too this week -2.4km & 2.5km.
I'm still transitioning/learning/etc... Had a few niggles along the way since starting out at the end of August, but nothing major. Nevertheless am really pleased with progress so far, even though it is fairly modest next to some of the distances being logged.

Also pleased to have been able to stick to completely barefoot -not had to resort to the Vivo's yet at all. :)

...oh, merry Christmas to everyone too by the way....
 
Rick sorry for taking so long to answer your questions from several weeks ago...I actually typed a long response but the battery died on my phone and I lost it :-/

No problem Steve. Your progression has been quite impressive and honestly, I am a little envious. I think you have set yourself up well for a successful Ultra.

Wednesday - a 6 mile shod recovery run. Feeling a little tired and sore, I shut the running down for the rest of the week.
 
It's been on the mild side for a few days so I've been able to get a few barefoot runs the last few days here, a 1/2 mile here and a mile there type thing. Temperatures of -1C and very little snow made this possible. My daughter came to the house to go for a run with me this afternoon as I have signed us up for a 5k resolution run on January first. She asked me if I had already gone for a run, I asked why, and she showed me this picture she took on the road near where I live. At least I must have good form as I saw sign of slipping. Nice and clear on a light dusting of snow we had this afternoon. :)

photo(1).JPG
 
Th
No problem Steve. Your progression has been quite impressive and honestly, I am a little envious. I think you have set yourself up well for a successful Ultra.

Wednesday - a 6 mile shod recovery run. Feeling a little tired and sore, I shut the running down for the rest of the week.

Thanks Rick...if my progression is fast then it's because of one thing...In-Joyment...I really try to run joyously...and that mental mindset overcomes all the normal things that come up that slow people down or demotivate them.

A big part of running joyously for me is running without shoes...I have tried running with shoes but the same joy that overcomes limitations is not there with shoes on...also music is big for me.

Sometimes when I am running I just find myself laughing and laughing I'm so happy....usually that happens after the half marathon mark in the run.

Joy is the great empowerment I think. It turns the volume down on the bad stuff and turns the volume up on the good stuff in running.

It's all mental....occasionally I will have a down period and each mile seams like an eternity...but if you just keep going, and force yourself to snap out of it and find joy again, it happens.

My body is really not in that good of condition...I weigh 240 pounds and have over 25% body fat...my resting heart rate is like 80 beats a minute, not the 50 bpm it was in my early 20's....but as slow as I am...I can keep on going and going...because of Joy in running lol

I can't wait to see what happens when I try that 50 miler...I expect some suffering, but man...I expect some fun and joy too.

About 2 miles today...light and easy with the dog.

Will probably go light tommorow, and run a marathon on Christmas Day ;-)
 
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I meet one other woman running barefoot (she was doing her first 1/2 marathon.

That was me! I ran the whole thing barefoot but honestly the highlight of the race was getting to meet, run, and chat with another bare footer. I told everyone about you! And you really took my mind off of what was, for me, a hard part of the race.