No More Holding Back....Speed

Barefoot Larry

Barefoot Larry

Barefooters
Apr 5, 2010
242
1
18
60
Ocean, NC
#1
Hi, I have been holding back for almost two years, but my feet are strong now. I have been practicing maintaining a 7:30 m/m pace for several miles. Until now, I have been holding back. Everything seems to be working, feet aren't raw from change of speed. I will make an attempt to run a 8K at this pace in October. Nates simple breathing advice has also helped.

How many people are practicing barefoot speed work? How is it going for you?
 
#2
I made the same decision a

I made the same decision a couple months ago, It's worked out well for me. I've run a 5k at 6:58 pace and a 1/2 marathon at 7:57 pace since. Going for
 
#4
I didn't have any breathing

I didn't have any breathing issues. I'm a mouth breather, I never seem to get enough oxygen breathing through my nose.
 
#5
Ramzev is being modest - he

Ramzev is being modest - he ran the last section of that half marathon on the worst surface for barefoot running I have ever see anywhere. Another barefoot runner at that race told me he had to walk it and that, likewise, it was the worse he had seen. I think Ram had to go fast so as not to actually ever touch the ground, but that street has reduced me to tears (it's closed to traffic every weekend for running and cycling in the summer so I have had experience).
 
#6
Hey Larry,You have a good

Hey Larry,

You have a good running base now for sure, try going to this running site and put a your best race time and it will give you some pacing info for your faster training paces. http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

I just do barefoot aerobic running till I get closer to a race... then say 6 - 8 weeks out from the race I do 10 - 20 % of my barefoot miles at tempo paces similar to what the McMillan calculater suggests... works well for me. I don't do any faster speed work than that except the races themselves.

The barefoot part can take extra time to get your soles used to the speed for sure...it takes better form to go faster so its good training anyways but you need a good running base first.
 
#7
Ram is an animal!

Ram is an animal! :cool:

******

"Speed" is a relative concept. I will place it in quotes here... lest I offend others with my shockingly slow numbers.

I've been BF training at a very pedestrian pace of 14-16 min/mi for a quite a while now. While this has done wonders for conditioning my feet and aerobic base... in terms of performance this pace has left me wanting more. Enter "speed" work.

At this point in my journey a sub 10 min/mi pace is grueling and 8 min/mi is an outright sprint... okay maybe not a sprint but it is near my upper limit. So of late I have been mixing in "speed" training in an attempt to get closer to where I want to be performance wise. Like Ram... I have been doing fartleks and paced intervals.

Is it working? I don't know the jury is still out. But, my feet are holding up remarkably well. So at least there's that.

Good luck with your efforts. Let us know how it goes.

S. Pimp.
 
#8
Nice!!   After 8 months of

Nice!! After 8 months of barefoot running I finally have moved into the areas of the 7:00pace.

I ran a 20k race on labor day barfoot, with an average pace of 7:33. It is easy to hold back when running barefoot, I notice you just have to take chances and let it fly, it's the only way you will learn.
 
#9
I believe theres some merit

I believe theres some merit to runing faster than you think you can from time to time. That way normal "fast" running won't seem so bad when you decide to do it. For example, I did one interval session of 800 meter repeats a few months back and while I don't think it gave me that much in terms of pure fitness it did give me the confidence to push my pace more than I had been before. I normally don't do intervals, only tempo runs, for speed purposes.
 
#10
 I utilize speed work for a

I utilize speed work for a couple reasons. One, obviously, is to get faster, the other is to push myself to the point of being uncomfortable so in a race situation I have a good idea how far I can push myself.
 
#11
One thing about speed and

One thing about speed and being barefoot is getting the experience to know that hurt does not equal injury. I have done speedy runs (speedy for me) and felt like I was tearing up my feet something awful. Then when I got home I found there was nothing - no bruising, no blisters, no debris, no hurt at all.
 
#13
Yeah, let it rip! Just be

Yeah, let it rip! Just be careful if it gets into cold weather and your feet go numb. Speed + no feedback can be bad. Or it was for me anyway! I've actually gotten a lot slower doing barefoot running, but it feels so nice I don't mind. Used to do 7:00 miles, now I'll do 9:30 to 11:00 minute miles. The one time I recently tried speedwork on a running track, I got a little blister, so I rarely do speedwork anymore. Plus the cherry pits are still murder here in Ohio, so any speedwork is getting interrupted every minute or so.

That being said, the adrenaline at the races lately propelled me to do a 5K and a 10K full-bare with 7:30 pace, so it didn't mess me up that much, really. 30 seconds off my shod pace is a very small price to pay for injury-free running.
 
#15
 I'm glad you are having

I'm glad you are having success with the breath work I told you about...everyone else, might just have to wait until I actually write an article about it LOL ;-D....or, probably, I could be coerced to sharing it in forum :-D Like I told you, I forget that this stuff isn't common knowledge, as it's a huge part of my daily life!
 
#16
 Speed work was the cause of

Speed work was the cause of my first barefoot running injury. I've used speed work my entire running career and done a lot of it barefoot but that one day and that last one hundred meter sprint was just too much and my heel split. it's essentially a heel spur but it was caused by pulling forces from my arch on the heel while trying to slow me down after a good day of sprinting.

I am all for speed work but in the barefoot world you better make sure you have built up to it. It sounds like everyone here has done a great job of doing that which as a coach really makes me happy. I was more than trained for the work I was doing, it was just a freak thing that happens sometimes.

Keep up the good work everyone. I love hearing about all your successes.
 
#17
I, for one am not ready for

I, for one am not ready for "speed" yet. I realized that after my most recent Achilles Ache incident which I am pretty sure resulted from taking too much new hill work into a run. I didn't get injured, but I am listening to the "instrument." I'm only into my 5th month of running of any kind after a 23 year hiatus. Hurrying the process will be the surest way I can imagine to screw things up. These legs are 53, not 23 anymore. The running is the joyful thing, not the speed. Amen.
 
#18
I agree it seems speed is the

I agree it seems speed is the most difficult hurdle to overcome when BFR, I have been @ a 10:30Min Mile pace for almost 3 months and I cannot break the 10Min Mile pace..its seems that if I start to push it I can feel it in my lower calves, knees or some kind of pain in my feet and its different every time I run. Maybe my stress level increases when increasing my speed, which I then tense up; but I always hear that we are supposed to relax, relax and relax. It's kind of like swinging at a golf ball, I can hit it straight if all my muscles are relaxed, but it will only go for 125 yards, but when I put some power into my swing I will slice it, hook it and not farther than 150yards. This is a result of over using my muscles incorrectly, in which I could never get it right and gave up on golf. I believe that my muscles can handle the increase in speed, also I feel that BFR is 80% mental and 20% physical work.
 
#19
I feel like achieving speed

I feel like achieving speed to a certain point was easier bare or in water shoes - the increased efficiency got me to a certain base speed alot faster with a lot less trouble and training than before. But getting back to my big-time PR speeds I feel like is a tough hurdle because of the injury potential. I have done some speed sessions just recently after running BF/M since January and while there is always room for improvement I feel like my biomechanics are about as efficient as I am going to get them for now. I am looking for other ways besides form to increase efficiency so I would be interested in the breathing stuff and also anything anyone else has for increasing cardiovascular efficiency.
 
#20
 It's coming Jschwab ....but

It's coming Jschwab :)....but I'm talking the weekend off of healthy living and thinking...well, mostly, except for lurking around online LOL...
 
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