Hi Barefolks!
I had a killer run yesterday evening and I thought I'd share.
Just my standard 7k run, but I've been struggling a bit of late, just not feeling like I'm 'in the zone' and it's been a bit grim going. So I took a week off from running and this was my second run back after rest. Interestingly I did some barefoot trail walking on some pretty seriously wicked gravel during my rest week and although it was sometimes painfully slow going, I think it had a big effect on my foot toughness. That and being able to be barefoot completely for 2 weeks (vacation)...I am really getting to dislike shoes.
Anyway, yesterday I ditched my cadence click track and just ran with music, also no HRM or cadence meter, both of which I stopped using a few weeks ago. Typically I have been running a max 5:30/km pace with difficulty and by the end of the run my feet are feeling tender on most of the worse surfaces (I have some generally crappy surfaces to run on, maybe 20% of my run is on smooth asphalt).
Well, this time I felt great. In the zone, a left and a right foot instead of 2 left feet, and good even strike force on each foot. I forgot about the technicalities of my running and was able to just run and feel like I was moving the way I wanted to. For the first time in at least two months I felt I was pushing my cardiovascular system instead of babying my feet. I felt like a runner instead of a barefoot runner if you know what I mean.
Get to the end of the run and behold, 5:20/km and feeling pretty damn good
. I have been sort of stuck for what feels like forever and finally I can see the horizon coming closer.
I think adaptation maybe comes in fits and starts, kind of like losing weight, where you'll plateau for a while and just need to hang in there. Moral of the story...keep at it! Change is gonna come.
I had a killer run yesterday evening and I thought I'd share.
Just my standard 7k run, but I've been struggling a bit of late, just not feeling like I'm 'in the zone' and it's been a bit grim going. So I took a week off from running and this was my second run back after rest. Interestingly I did some barefoot trail walking on some pretty seriously wicked gravel during my rest week and although it was sometimes painfully slow going, I think it had a big effect on my foot toughness. That and being able to be barefoot completely for 2 weeks (vacation)...I am really getting to dislike shoes.
Anyway, yesterday I ditched my cadence click track and just ran with music, also no HRM or cadence meter, both of which I stopped using a few weeks ago. Typically I have been running a max 5:30/km pace with difficulty and by the end of the run my feet are feeling tender on most of the worse surfaces (I have some generally crappy surfaces to run on, maybe 20% of my run is on smooth asphalt).
Well, this time I felt great. In the zone, a left and a right foot instead of 2 left feet, and good even strike force on each foot. I forgot about the technicalities of my running and was able to just run and feel like I was moving the way I wanted to. For the first time in at least two months I felt I was pushing my cardiovascular system instead of babying my feet. I felt like a runner instead of a barefoot runner if you know what I mean.
Get to the end of the run and behold, 5:20/km and feeling pretty damn good
. I have been sort of stuck for what feels like forever and finally I can see the horizon coming closer.I think adaptation maybe comes in fits and starts, kind of like losing weight, where you'll plateau for a while and just need to hang in there. Moral of the story...keep at it! Change is gonna come
.
