Barefoot and Racing

[JosephTree]

I am put in mind of what I

I am put in mind of what I read in BTR, quoted from Caballo Blanco:" First go for easy, then smoooth. By the time you get those down, faster will happen by itself." It's the form that matters so much.

Having said that, I'll probably be carrying my Biks to put on for the rough stretch of my upcoming HM. I have no PR to think about, having never run an HM (except on my way to the end of a whole M a long time ago.) I just want to have a lovely, fast enough run and not get injured on the damn crushed stone.

I'm celebrating 10 months of running at all and I'm looking forward to getting away from my Biks more and more as my feet get reacquainted with the ground. I'm terrifically appreciative of what they let me accomplish this winter and they will be used again when I need them.

 

[migangelo]

Joseph, Good luck to you.

Joseph,



Good luck to you. Have some fun so put those on if you need them. Will you be carrying them or strapping them to your arm? I found that wasy to do with Biks. Just wrap it around your wrist with the sole facing out. It's been a while since ive done it so i think it's best to do it so the toe lines up with your thumb.



Mike

 

[Barfuß Chelsea]

Great thread!I think I'm

Great thread!

I think I'm with dirtdeamon on this one. I love the competition! The last couple years of running shod, I was always in the top 5% of female finishers, and I definitely don't want that to change long-term. I've got my sights set on a sub-3h marathon...

However... Switching to BF after my last marathon last fall has and continues to be an amazing experience, but not completely without frustration. I was determined that I was going to run a HM this spring and started speed training much sooner than I should have. Much of it was done in VFFs, partly due to bad weather, and partly because my skin couldn't handle it otherwise. BAD decision. After a forced two week break to let a tweaked and sore ankle recover, I've finally made my peace with the fact that this just isn't going to be the year of PRs. Insted, I'm going to try to just have fun and finish my first BF marathon this coming fall. No speedwork. Just distance. If I have my form down well enough by this time next year, maybe then I'll start to think about speedwork.

The reason I switched to BF, though, was to be able to run fast and far--injury free!--for the years to come, and if VFFs or hurraches or whatever help me to do that just a little bit better, I'm not against them. In the beginning, though, there's really nothing like your own skin to tell you how to run healthier, and only non-injured runners can be fast!



@Joseph: You're going to put your Biks on in the middle of a race? I love mine for sure, but I wouldn't be able to get them on fast enough in a race to be able to be happy with my time in the end. I'd maybe go for something a little more slip-on/off friendly...but maybe that's just me. I agree with Mike about how to carry them on longer runs, though. Handy-dandy little velcro straps, they are! Anyway, good luck and have fun!

 

[JosephTree]

Mike & Chelsea, Yes - I think

Mike & Chelsea, Yes - I think I would stop in the middle of the race to put them on / take them off. I'm not that fast and I don't worry about the time too much, Besides, I could just time the transition and deduct that from my gross clock time to get my real running time. On the other hand, I could well imagine myself awash in pre race adrenalin and just putting the Biks on at the start and running the whole race with them. We'll see.

...and Chelsea: I wish I could fgiure out how to smarten up my keyboard to do neat characters like the "ss" you use at the end of "Barfuss." I also try to write in Hungarian now and then and it just doesn't work without the diacriticals. I am a hopeless technidiot.