Mileage reporting 14th week 2014

Bare Lee

Barefooters
Jul 25, 2011
6,103
6,617
113
Saint Paul
Sunday, 4-8 am, 16 miles, temps were 35-36F, windchill was 24-25F.

I was a little nervous setting out, but I had my back-up Sockwas with me, and within less than a mile my feets had become comfortably numb. That is, they had cooled down but then stabilized at a very slight, easy numbness. After that, the only real probably was my legs. I took lots of walking breaks, as per Dama's MO, since the goal wasn't really running performance, but rather to see how far I could go at sub-zero temps (OK, really sub-zero windchill, since the air temp was above freezing), and to have a little adventure. It was interesting seeing a good chunk of Minneapolis in the dark cold, and then experiencing the sunrise and the warming rays of the sun for the last hour of the run/walk. My calluses still aren't fully reformed, but they seemed to hold up pretty well.

Supposed to get up to 60F today. Yippee!
 
Sunday, 4-8 am, 16 miles, temps were 35-36F, windchill was 24-25F.

I was a little nervous setting out, but I had my back-up Sockwas with me, and within less than a mile my feets had become comfortably numb. That is, they had cooled down but then stabilized at a very slight, easy numbness. After that, the only real probably was my legs. I took lots of walking breaks, as per Dama's MO, since the goal wasn't really running performance, but rather to see how far I could go at sub-zero temps (OK, really sub-zero windchill, since the air temp was above freezing), and to have a little adventure. It was interesting seeing a good chunk of Minneapolis in the dark cold, and then experiencing the sunrise and the warming rays of the sun for the last hour of the run/walk. My calluses still aren't fully reformed, but they seemed to hold up pretty well.

Supposed to get up to 60F today. Yippee!


That is an adventure! Was it your longest so far?
 
Sunday:
4 mi early am socks n sandals (no no bare for me yet brrrr that's for Bare Lee not me no sirree) 19F, beautiful sunrise.
saw one of these (great blue heron) way up close, sitting so still I thought he was a lawn ornament from afar:
great_blue_heron_glamor.jpg


And though I never stop to take pics, I at least tried this time. He took off right as I was getting ready. I was a bit too close I guess. When I returned, he was back in the same spot close to the road, near a little inlet by the lake, but took off at my approach this time.
1.5 mi later in am with kids. They were a little whiny this time so no bribing with extra allowance (yes, I've resorted to such things to get my daughter to run with me).

evening: 45 min swim.
 
monday: late morning romp about the downtown area of my university's little city. Pleasant sidewalks. 50F!!!! Still in sandals, just cuz I'm worried about my tender toes being covered all winter. Soon, though.
No idea on miles, maybe 5 or so, maybe a bit more.
The only thing I"m not too fond of about running in an urban area is stopping for lights. That little runny in placey thing is unsatisfying and disturbs "flow" or somethin. On the upside, it's fun to see shops and buildings, business people and hobos.
I usually never see a soul on a run, so I took the opportunity to say goodmorning to every person I passed. Funny how so many of them were trying to feign that I"m-too-cool-and-urban-to-greet-you city thing.

Goodness, my first run of the year without gloves on.
 
That is an adventure! Was it your longest so far?
I did the same distance last fall, but it was all running, albeit with stretching breaks. This time I walked a fair amount, maybe 5-6 miles total. I've been going through all my dictionary recordings lately, which can be tedious at a desk, but very enjoyable while walking and running.

Later that day . . .

Sunday afternoon: stretching, abdominals, mobility, foot rolling, and a half-hearted attempt at box jumps. Then one-mile walk home in the 50s, and playing with the kids in the street streams and walking around pushing kiddie vehicles. So nice not to have to avoid moisture, the puddles felt good on the feets.

Monday morning: more run/walking, 7.6 miles to Como Lake, at 42F, 35F windchill.

Trying to get to 800 kilometers on the Winter Challenge. Need ten more, this afternoon's temps will be too warm, and tomorrow it may snow!

Second day without coffee . . .
 
15 min run on treadmill with 2 min warmup walk and 4 min cooldown walk afterwards. First run in two weeks ans surprisingly kept it below a Maf max (no I do not follow maf just was trying to keep it easy today) for 3/4 of the run and even when I did pick up the pace near the end I didn't push very hard. I like this treadmill as far as treadmills go, but I still prefer running outdoors.
 
5.33 miles barefoot at an easy pace with my dog. She was limping by the end! My pace kind of dropped off the last mile or so, but I think that was mainly because it was on asphalt (the rest being mostly smooth concrete bikepath/sidewalk). I used my HR monitor for the first time on a BF run. I hadn't used it in ages, but have recently used it on a couple of long trail runs (one of which was 23 miles). My average HR was quite a bit higher today, but I'm not sure if that's because of being barefoot or because I walk quite a bit of the uphills when I'm trail running. Could be either one, I suppose. I FEEL like my HR is higher in the early parts of a barefoot run, until I settle in and relax a bit.
 
11.25 miles. Seemed like the asphalt on this path has broken down some compared to last year. Somewhere in the first third of the run something caused the ball of my foot to slighlty crack. It didn't hurt all the time to keep running, but every so often something would hit it and I felt sharp pain. By the end of the run this upredictable feature had stripped my nerves, I looked at it very closely after washing it and I Its not deep, nor does it look like there is anything stuck in it. So many walkers out today in the 55-60 degree sunshine and I felt like I looked pretty pathetic dealing with the foot. Not a good example today, I fear.
 
sced, only joggers bounce at the light. runners stand there looking pissed off. :cool:

BL, i went one day w/out caffeine. good for you. :watching:

Laura, scrape it for glass. happened to me before and i found a piece of glass hiding inside the cut. :nailbiting:

Nick, i would like your post except for you being on the treadmill. that's just against my religion. :pompus:

uke, i notice it takes a few miles for my hr to settle no matter how slow i start. :shifty:

alcohol sure makes me mouthy. :asshat:damn, it was only one and houououours ago.

m-1.4hr trail run. feeling really good from it. :woot:
 
Ran about 2.5 miles last evening, the warm sun felt glorious and the wind was strong but didn't feel cold. Also, over the weekend I ran about 5.5 miles Saturday morning.

Good sign on last evening's run was that for the first time in a while, my easy pace was about where it should be since I got sick a couple of weeks ago. Might finally be shaking out the last remnants of that virus. I also noticed that yesterday morning I didn't have to blow my sinuses clear and that finally the feeling of where on deep breaths it seemed like I might start coughing, that feeling is almost all gone now. Good.
 
Mon: pm. walked home, to loosen up my legs, then easy pulldowns. I didn't do my deadlifts cuz I wanted to save my legs/glutes for today. I didn't do a very good job on the pulldowns on Saturday, so thought another pissy session might equal one good one. No shoulder presses as my left shoulder feels pretty good now, and I didn't want to make it sore going into my chest and arms workout on Wednesday.

Tues am. 3.1 mi at 21F/2F windchill. Very slow. But then the wind kicked up and forced me to run a bit faster in stretches. Lots of thin icy surfaces in parts. If I can make 6.9 miles this afternoon, I'll reach 800 klicks on the Winter Challenge. Should be doable, because the temps will be in the upper 30s so I should be able to walk if need be. Doesn't look like the forecast precipitation will be a problem.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to switch over to more fartlek running and shorter distances during the week, mostly in the morning. The few faster paced stretches this morning felt good. So hopefully I'll finally be able to implement my am-running/pm-lifting program in full. I pretty sure this will help me get faster and stronger. I can feel it in my bones.

Third day without caffeine. It was calling my name first thing in the morning, after a rare nine hours of sleep. I've removed the espresso maker from my office, so it's home now, but not yet packed away. Die demon, Die! I actually feel pretty good, but pretty drowsy at times.

My heel fissures are pretty nasty and painful right now. About half molted. I've been working them everyday with the pumice, but perhaps I should use the lotion Ahcuah recommended. I've had to adopt a silly forefoot landing to avoid heel striking when I walk. My wife says I walk like an old man, but I prefer to think of myself as a stealth Ninja.
 
Lee, definitely use the Flexitol, it will help a lot with the heel cracks.

I'm someone who has given up smoking and caffeine at different points. I'm not sure which was more immediately worse, nicotine or caffeine deprivation. But for both of them, I'm glad I gave them up.
 
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Lee, definitely use the Flexitol, it will help a lot with the heel cracks.

I'm someone who has given up smoking and caffeine at different points. I'm not sure which was more immediately worse, nicotine or caffeine deprivation. But for both of them, I'm glad I gave them up.
Thanks Scratch, just put some on. That's what's so great about this forum, the sharing of information and the mutual encouragement. Caffeineless-wise, I'm not getting headaches or anything, just miss the buzz. But somatically I feel better. And I think in the long run my concentration will be better. Caffeine can be great for creativity though, but it just can't be a good idea to screw around with one's nervous system on a daily basis. I'm also eliminating the pre-dinner IPA during the week.
 
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The big change that takes place when you eliminate caffeine is that your brain will begin to eliminate the extra adenosine receptors that it put in place to handle the caffeine. They're greedy little buggers and become quite unhappy when they aren't getting their fix of caffeine. But over time the brain will eliminate them. For me, it was the first week that it felt like I almost had a sort of low-grade flu and my head just felt sore and spacey much of the time. But after 3 weeks I felt very much adjusted and back to normal.

I'll allow myself a little jolt of caffeine up to a few times a year now.

Nicotine was great for creativity too. And of course there have been many artists and writers who feel alcohol is good for that. Lots of us human beings love being creative and I'd guess based on how we get addicted to stuff that enhances or seems to enhance creativity, it's a very powerful instinct in human beings that we feel incomplete without.

Now I'm just trying to get my creativity boost from barefoot running. I don't know if it's as immediately powerful or seemingly satisfying as caffeine, nicotine or alcohol, but it's probably healthier.
 
The big change that takes place when you eliminate caffeine is that your brain will begin to eliminate the extra adenosine receptors that it put in place to handle the caffeine. They're greedy little buggers and become quite unhappy when they aren't getting their fix of caffeine. But over time the brain will eliminate them. For me, it was the first week that it felt like I almost had a sort of low-grade flu and my head just felt sore and spacey much of the time. But after 3 weeks I felt very much adjusted and back to normal.

I'll allow myself a little jolt of caffeine up to a few times a year now.

Nicotine was great for creativity too. And of course there have been many artists and writers who feel alcohol is good for that. Lots of us human beings love being creative and I'd guess based on how we get addicted to stuff that enhances or seems to enhance creativity, it's a very powerful instinct in human beings that we feel incomplete without.

Now I'm just trying to get my creativity boost from barefoot running. I don't know if it's as immediately powerful or seemingly satisfying as caffeine, nicotine or alcohol, but it's probably healthier.
Yah, that's how I feel right now--spacey. The funny thing is I didn't start drinking espresso until my 30s, and I've never liked regular coffee that much. Thankfully I was never tempted by cigarettes. I hear that stuff is as addictive as heroine.

Oh sh!t, it's snowing. I hope it melts by this afternoon, or my 800 klicks is out the window.
 
I have cut back on my coffee to two cups again. Maybe in a week or two I'll cut down to just one cup. I am also on the second day of being off my heartburn meds as well as trying to eat clean again. I was getting lots of headaches, usually about an hour after I took my heartburn meds. Turns out headaches are a side effect of the meds. Really looking forward to being off those meds even if I will have to alter how I eat. I'm really getting more and more anti meds and anti CDC. I am starting to notice that a lot of what they base their info off of is not how we humans are naturally, but how we humans are with our own creations (shoes, meds, foods, etc). Oh and did I mention I have in the last 6 months or so I have figured out that I do not handle grains well (well wheat products anyhow). Makes me feel bloated and extremely gasy. The wife is happy on one hand because I am not gasy anymore, but on the other hand she hates it because she loves eating all that stuff that I have cut out. Oh and I read an article the other day and it made me think of Sid because of how he is always posting science articles. Anyways it was pretty interesting but it talked about how humans aren't developed to be able to eat and process wheat. Apparently its the reason we are seeing more and more problems with wheat and grains in humans. I wish I remembered where I read the article because I would link it for you all.
 
Sunday - 32 shod trail miles marking the Zion 100 course for the race this weekend. More marking planned for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday the 100 mile and 100k starts, I'm still feeling bad about dropping out because my knee pain is manageable now. Oh well, thinking about a 100 this fall. Race day I'll be checking sections of the course ahead of the runners and switching over a section of the course for the 50k race that starts on Saturday. Saturday, cleanup begins so it should be a big mileage week, probably a PR mileage week.

Monday - 1 barefoot mile. A nice foot massage and enough to keep my membership here?:)

BL - Nice job on the winter challenge. You sure set the bar high for next year. Dropping coffee and beer in the same week? You are nuts and I feel for your wife and kids.:)
 
BL - Nice job on the winter challenge. You sure set the bar high for next year.
Thanks, this last month I kind of violated my promise not to go out of my way to get in qualifying mileage, but once I saw I could crack 700 clicks, and then 800, the temptation was too great. Next year I really want to avoid going up to the fairgrounds just to get in bare mileage, but it's hard after a week or two running shod not to crave some soulful stimulation. And the last few weeks I've been running long(ish) several times a week. I really need to limit myself to one long run per week. I think it's counterproductive to run long very often. My legs are really starting to stiffen up and get tight.
Dropping coffee and beer in the same week? You are nuts and I feel for your wife and kids.:)
Ha! Actually, don't feel irritable at all, just a little drowsy and spacey, like Scratch says. Physically, I feel great. I'm kind of hoping I can't run this afternoon because I feel really primed for some deadlifts.

The 'just say no to nightly IPA' is still a work in progress, but I'm committed to no caffeine throughout April. And I've noticed coffee in the morning sets up craving for beer in the evening, so hopefully there's some synergy there. I never have more than one or two bottles during the week, so it's not that big a deal, one way or the other. The caffeine is the real addiction. Weekend beer and wine are still in the mix though, and I have a nice get-together planned for Friday night.
Monday - 1 barefoot mile. A nice foot massage and enough to keep my membership here?:).
Mos' definitely. Missed you:watching: .
 
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Laura, scrape it for glass. happened to me before and i found a piece of glass hiding inside the cut. :nailbiting:

Yeah, I soaked it and did some of that. Nothing so far, but I've had a small pebble embed before that took a couple of days to come out, even thought I was trying. It's good to be reminded about it, though. Makes me less likely to stop looking when I should keep on it.
 
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