Mileage Reporting Week 16 of 2015

Bare Lee

Barefooters
Jul 25, 2011
6,103
6,617
113
Saint Paul
Well, thought I'd take this opportunity to start this week's thread. It's been a while.

3.6 miles Sunday afternoon, down by the river, around 70F, wonderful, with walking breaks, although the running fitness continues to improve steadily.

Today my soles are ecstatically tingly from the combination of a nice gravel walk on Saturday and yesterday's run. I managed to keep my plantar callus intact throughout the winter, despite minimal running, but nothing beats gravel for a full massage.
 
9 mile run at 5:30 on Sunday. I started off and it was dark but it became light 1/2 way through.
I am still seeing lots of rabbits. At mile 8 I spotted a large opossum.
I really enjoyed this run!
 
Monday morning I went 5.1 mile barefoot around the lake while listening to a conference call. I stubbed my big left toe eleven days ago and wound up with a sizeable bruise around the nail so I had take it easy and this was the second five miler I've done since the injury. Otherwise, I've stuck to walking barefoot. There is still some pain on the left side of the toe that is dependent on where pressure is applied but it seems to be getting better.
 
7 miles today, bf, 10 min pace.
I know we talk a lot about overcoming physical challenges but for me running helps me overcome the mental ones, it can get quite a mess in my noggin' sometimes and running helps me untangle things and focus on the good stuff.:)


My first 2 miles home each evening are on crowded streets in Manhattan so all I can think about is moving forward and avoiding people - any cares of the day are well out of mind by the time I start my run in the park!

I call it "Zen and the art of mid-town running" as I truly have to be in the moment. :)
 
Short (but reasonably quick I think) 2.25km before work this morning.
My shod running partner commented on the difference in our running style today- my stride apparently being noticeably shorter, with a much higher cadence.
Always knew that what was what I was trying to achieve, but it's obviously difficult to observe on your own!...:)
 
Monday I hopped on the bike since I had a somewhat intense speed workout on foot the day before. It was a beautiful day but very windy. 15-30mph winds... on a bike that's just about a deal killer but I went for it. Did about 11 miles just around the house, including gravel road and some small hills. 43 minutes including a few quick stops to catch breath and water. Even though the headwind was almost a wall at times, the tailwind was nice! First time ever I had 3 miles on the open road (not bike path) that I averaged over 20mph.

Tuesday I had to work, but just a training day and got out a bit sooner than usual. There is a nearby bike path there, and I got 7.7mi in on bare feet. Just a very casual run but some nice sights as it meandered through varied woods and streams.

Wednesday same deal, got out of training a bit early. Got the bike out of the truck this time though and went a bit further down the path. 20.0 miles exactly in 1:23. Got to explore some new areas. I love this trail, its twisty and small ups and downs. If there aren't to many people you can really zip around the corners with the pedals almost scraping the pavement. All the road crossings have bridges/tunnels so no interruption. Unfortunately its 1hr away from me so rarely get to enjoy it. My bike paths are all straight shot flat rail trails, and all road crossings are at grade and require either stopping or slowing down until you can see if anything is coming.

Thursday I hoped to get a speed workout in, but just wasn't feeling it. It was late and I had been sitting at work all day. And it was threatening rain. But I wanted to stretch the legs out so I just hopped on the bike about 7:30 pm and went down the road and back, 5.5mi.

Today I should get out of training a bit early, and its wonderful out, so hope to get a speed workout in before I pick up my son.

Half marathon Sunday (Earth Day Challenge). Not going to 'race' it but run with Yvonne. My goal is to somewhat race Cap City half in 2 more weeks so this is just going to be my long run for this week and I continue one with my training.
 
Friday did a bit of a speed workout after getting out of training early. 2x 2-mile fast pace, with my usually couple mile warmup and cooldown with a bit of walking in there too. 8.8mi

Saturday woke up early, didn't want to run or do anything intense today since I have the 13.1 mile long run tomorrow and legs need to recover from the previous day still. But wanted to do something to stretch em out so went out on the bike for an easy paced 10.25 miles (14.2mph) at sunrise. Will spend much of the rest of the day working in the upstairs which I have gutted to the roof trusses, doing some framing and repair from an apparent chimney fire years ago (previous owner). :rolleyes: You never find anything good when you tear down 100 yr old plaster walls.
 
My legs and ankles continue to get better with less stiffness and fatigue. But if it isn't one thing, it's another. Since everything is connected one way or another, it seems the top of my right foot was overly stressed during yesterday's run. The outer top of my foot got pretty tight during the course of the day. Maybe it doesn't help to have a sedentary job in front of a computer after a morning run. I tried to get up periodically to get printouts, soda, lunch, talk to colleagues, etc. Luckily, there is no pain. I just walk with a slight limp that doesn't loosen up much. Going barefoot this morning to the gym and shopping at farmers market felt okay though I continue to limp slightly. I am hoping this is still part of my conditioning that will go away so I can run on Monday morning.

One of my neighbors is interested in going on a morning run with me one of these days.
 
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My legs and ankles continue to get better with less stiffness and fatigue. But if it isn't one thing, it's another. Since everything is connected one way or another, it seems the top of my right foot was overly stressed during yesterday's run. The outer top of my foot got pretty tight during the course of the day. Maybe it doesn't help to have a sedentary job in front of a computer after a morning run. I tried to get up periodically to get printouts, soda, lunch, talk to colleagues, etc. Luckily, there is no pain. I just walk with a slight limp that doesn't loosen up much. Going barefoot this morning to the gym and shopping at farmers market felt okay though I continue to limp slightly. I am hoping this is still part of my conditioning that will go away so I can run on Monday morning.

One of my neighbors is interested in going on a morning run with me one of these days.
Is this the first time you've experienced top of the foot pain? It (TOFP) seems pretty common for people in the transition to barefoot, as I recall often a result of doing a little too much too quick. Not sure if we have a good writeup or anything on it. I got it a little after the first few months, as I started getting into longer distances. I also transitioned to VFFs my first winter and as I recall the issue seemed to worsen with them a bit. I can relate to the sedentary job. It can be difficult for me to get up and move around, but I generally try to every so often and try to use the stairs all the time. Not sure if you have any where you are, I am in the middle of a high rise so stairs are abundant. I rarely ever use the bathrooms on my floor for example, always go up at least 4 flights to use the bathroom.
 
Sunday: run/walk in sandals w kids to the park. About 4.5 total, maybe 5.
Monday: morning 6 mi run. The first time I felt a little better since the virus. Weights in the evening.
Tuesday: walking, maybe a few miles?
Wed: short hike, then gym
Th: Walk to and from work (around 5 mi total), weights later
Fri: Evening hike w the kids.
Sat: a few weights, a short run, lots of driving around the cities, maybe another walk or run before an evening event. The springtime weather is too incredible to stay inside.

The luna sandals are finally starting to "wear in." I've been wearing them nearly every day, for every activity except weights.They seem to mold to my feet and be very silent compared with other sandals. The heel strap still sits too low and will slip around unless it's warm. When I walk on flat ground, the strap sometimes rubs a bit on the topof my foot. They are great for hiking.
Otherwise, I'm pleased.
 
I did a little bit better this week. I found that running at lunch time is actually not that bad. Only problem is limited time. But I still managed 3 runs (Tue-Thu) for a total of 20km.

Add the 16km I did today and makes it 36km/22.3mi. A picture of the scenery on my daily run in the city can be found on my FB page (https://www.facebook.com/spiderweb62). I can't get enough of this :cool:
 
Is this the first time you've experienced top of the foot pain? It (TOFP) seems pretty common for people in the transition to barefoot, as I recall often a result of doing a little too much too quick. Not sure if we have a good writeup or anything on it. I got it a little after the first few months, as I started getting into longer distances. I also transitioned to VFFs my first winter and as I recall the issue seemed to worsen with them a bit. I can relate to the sedentary job. It can be difficult for me to get up and move around, but I generally try to every so often and try to use the stairs all the time. Not sure if you have any where you are, I am in the middle of a high rise so stairs are abundant. I rarely ever use the bathrooms on my floor for example, always go up at least 4 flights to use the bathroom.

Thanks for the reassuring words, Tristan! Luckily, pain might be too strong a word but the discomfort is enough to make me limp slightly if I am wearing shoes. Walking barefoot makes it better. If I weren't so lazy and averse to the cold, a cold soak or ice pack would probably help. On the other hand (or foot), my left big toe still has a pain when I press the top of the toe, presumably a result of stubbing it 10 days ago. The toe is still a little dis-colored from bruising. Hopefully, I didn't break anything.

The stairs in my building are accessible one way only. You must go all the way up or down once you enter the stairwell. Back in the day, I did use the stairs occasionally. There are few enough tenants on each floor of my building that they noticed if people from other floors used their bathrooms. LOL. Good idea though.
 
Excellent run in the forest yesterday. Lovely dry and warm paths. Didn't break any records as kept stopping to play with the camera and remote control ;)

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Managed to pick up a bramble in my foot which I didn't notice until later in the evening. Pulled it out no problem and haven't died yet :)

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[EDIT - BTW, I do have other tee-shirts :) ]