It's Official...I'm Faster BarefootBy Bruno Runs
I may have run only 1 marathon in shoes of any kind, and I may have only beaten my record by 32 seconds, BUT I am still faster barefoot than I am in shoes. Now that’s not to say I won’t be faster one day in some minimal shoes like my ZEM 360's or Merrell’s, but for now, I have set a new Marathon PR with just my 2 feet and a lot of layers.
On Sunday October 30, 2011, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 3:59:18, my 3rd barefoot and 4th overall. Although I wasn’t planning on going for a PR, I ended up deciding half way through the race that I was indeed able to beat my time if I stuck with my current pace. The morning however did not start out so optimistic.
A few days before this race, it was expected that we would have freezing rain/snow on the day before with overnight temps down in the 20′s. What I thought was going to be a nice easy (relatively) start to my marathon season turned into a quagmire as race day came closer.The wetness and temperature was erecting a big hurdle for me from the beginning and I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach the situation. If I decided to run in ZEM’s, I could be setting myself up for failure as I haven’t yet run more than 6 miles or so in them. Blisters, rubbing, or from issues could have caused a DNF. Conversely, started a race barefoot in sub freezing temps without proper acclimation could numb my feet and make it impossible to continue early in the race.
I plan on running BF often this winter but easing into the low temperatures hasn’t been available because it’s still October. I decided to take my chances barefoot and purchased some leg warmers, and wore them in conjunction with wrist bands around my ankles. I also dressed as warm as possible up top to let my body concentrate on warming my feet.
Pre race and transportation went off without a hitch and I made it to the start with throw away slippers and socks on, hoping that my feet would hold out. As the gun went off and I crossed the starting line, I tossed my protection and set off down the course. The first 2 miles I was completely numb and tried to concentrate on my form, knowing that my feet would not be providing me with any real feedback. The water on the roads kept my feet cold even though the temperature was rising slowly and the sun was out. By mile 3 though, I could feel my senses coming back to my feet and soon the warming sun had dried the full road ahead. My body had pushed through and brought back my sense of form and speed.
The course was as beautiful as ever and I continued to enjoy the run as much as in previous years. Somewhere around mile 10, I realized that I was ahead of my goal pace and was looking at a possible sub 4-hour marathon. My half split time was 1:56 and I was sure today would be a PR day.
But then, the snow and cold came back to haunt me. The first 3-4 miles of cold had caused my left foot to develop 2 small blisters. This is a common place for these to show up when I am not running in perfect form. They haven’t been around for almost a year but when the temperature hailed from the North, my form turned South. I tightened up on my cadence, stride, posture, and breathing and kept pushing towards the finish.
Luckily, I caught the blisters in time, and although they got messy near the end, my training helped me through to the finish unscathed. From mile 21-24, I did gradually slow down due to the small nag of the blister, the faster than expected pace, and the worst kept roads on the course, but when I hit the final 2.2 miles from the Pentagon to Iwo Jima, it was an all out blitz for my PR. I crossed the finish line with 32 seconds to spare and set out looking for a medal and a banana.
One major point that can’t be ignored is that after this marathon, even though I pushed as hard as ever, I feel great and have no sign of injury unlike my shod marathon (stress fracture, ITB in BOTH legs, knee pain). I have soreness of course, but the day after my feet feel quite good and my legs just feel like they’ve done a lot of work. My other 2 barefoot marathons were lower stress and slower paced but today I pushed myself and my legs and feet responded.
As much as I love the Marine Corps, I think I will take next year off and find a different course or 2. If I am going for all 50 states, I need to start thinking further away!
http://hikerockrun.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/its-official-im-faster-barefoot
