Winter Challenge - 2012
- Thread starter Barefoot YOW
- Start date
I feel honoured that you would consider calling me that. But I really don't deserve something like that. I am doing what I love to do, and having a little fun at the same time. 
Actually, it was The North Face that first nominated you thusly, but I think the title could be expanded institutionally to include, at the very least, BRS as well, given your Death Race rollicks and Borean bravado. Now if you could just put me in charge of the visa section, I hear there's a tidy sum to be made off of shoddedschaden refugees seeking asylum in Barelandia.I feel honoured that you would consider calling me that. But I really don't deserve something like that. I am doing what I love to do, and having a little fun at the same time.
Friday afternoon.
35 F; 28 F / - 2.2 C windchill.
5.9 miles / 9.5 km. total; 5.1 miles / 8.2 km running.
I used the same route I ran on Wednesday. Most of the slush was gone, but dry patches were still few and far between. I mostly ran on a mixture of wet asphalt, compacted snow, and ice. There was a little more wind today, and so it felt just as cold or perhaps colder than Wednesday, even without the slush, and I kept my walking breaks brief. Most of the walking was done bringing my daughter back from kindergarten on the way back. I really should've put on the Moc3s at that point, but I thought my feet had warmed up sufficiently while inside the school getting her stuff and putting on her winter wraps. Now the end of my right 'index' toe is a bit painful. That's the same toe that gave me trouble last winter. I hope I haven't overdone it. It was well into spring, I think, before the slight pain had disappeared completely. I started to feel it on Thursday, so I guess I got a little frost nip on Wednesday's slush run, and then aggravated it a bit with yesterday's moisture. Today we're supposed to get sleet, so I may finally buckle and don footwear for Sunday's run. Yesterday definitely felt like I was at the limit of my tolerances. Moisture kills! I could feel my mets stiffening up at one point. Hopefully there'll be drier conditions soon. I wasn't uncomfortable at any point, but I'm a bit anxious about harming my feet.
Side note: The concerned looks on the faces of the parents at my daughter's school were priceless. I'm a really normal-looking guy, with no visible counter-cultural fashion accessories like earrings or tats or interesting hair. I came in wearing nondescript sweatpants & a hoodie, but I don't know if my middle-aged normality offset the weirdness of coming in to pick up my daughter barefoot, or if the mismatch/incongruity make the scene all the weirder. On the walk home I put my daughter up on my shoulders so we could go quicker. I didn't want to walk bare at her pace. When I explained this to her, she asked why I didn't just put on my shoes. Shoes? Ridiculous! Wait a minute, that actually makes sense .
35 F; 28 F / - 2.2 C windchill.
5.9 miles / 9.5 km. total; 5.1 miles / 8.2 km running.
I used the same route I ran on Wednesday. Most of the slush was gone, but dry patches were still few and far between. I mostly ran on a mixture of wet asphalt, compacted snow, and ice. There was a little more wind today, and so it felt just as cold or perhaps colder than Wednesday, even without the slush, and I kept my walking breaks brief. Most of the walking was done bringing my daughter back from kindergarten on the way back. I really should've put on the Moc3s at that point, but I thought my feet had warmed up sufficiently while inside the school getting her stuff and putting on her winter wraps. Now the end of my right 'index' toe is a bit painful. That's the same toe that gave me trouble last winter. I hope I haven't overdone it. It was well into spring, I think, before the slight pain had disappeared completely. I started to feel it on Thursday, so I guess I got a little frost nip on Wednesday's slush run, and then aggravated it a bit with yesterday's moisture. Today we're supposed to get sleet, so I may finally buckle and don footwear for Sunday's run. Yesterday definitely felt like I was at the limit of my tolerances. Moisture kills! I could feel my mets stiffening up at one point. Hopefully there'll be drier conditions soon. I wasn't uncomfortable at any point, but I'm a bit anxious about harming my feet.
Side note: The concerned looks on the faces of the parents at my daughter's school were priceless. I'm a really normal-looking guy, with no visible counter-cultural fashion accessories like earrings or tats or interesting hair. I came in wearing nondescript sweatpants & a hoodie, but I don't know if my middle-aged normality offset the weirdness of coming in to pick up my daughter barefoot, or if the mismatch/incongruity make the scene all the weirder. On the walk home I put my daughter up on my shoulders so we could go quicker. I didn't want to walk bare at her pace. When I explained this to her, she asked why I didn't just put on my shoes. Shoes? Ridiculous! Wait a minute, that actually makes sense
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Lee, be careful of frost bite in wetness. I noticed after my run on Thursday that I had 1 small blisters on my 2nd toe on both feet. Both those little blisters were in the same spot, weird. My neighbor who was a little shocked that I would still be running barefoot in those extremes just muttered to himself as he was off to get in a warm house that "I was probably like those fire walkers and just got used to it". Little did he know that I was at the limits of my endurance as those little blisters are telling me. I did not get any during my -24C run due to it being dry, on Thursday it was snowing enough where the snow melted on my feet and made them wet. As our barefoot "ambassador" would say "wetness sucks the warmth right out of you feet".
Thanks Dutchie, for the counsel. Did you notice any pain where the blisters formed while you were running? Or did you only notice those afterwards, after your feet had warmed up? I'm still trying to get a good read on when I've exceed my tolerances. Perhaps it's when I feel my foot stiffening up? Or perhaps it's when the feet tingle somewhat painfully when you come back inside? I've never been in any real pain while running, except perhaps for 50-200 feet when going through particularly wet slush. But as soon as I'm out of it, the pain dissipates, and all I feel is a light to medium numbness, not much different that working with one's hands outside in the winter. I'm not even in any real discomfort most of the time.Lee, be careful of frost bite in wetness. I noticed after my run on Thursday that I had 1 small blisters on my 2nd toe on both feet. Both those little blisters were in the same spot, weird. My neighbor who was a little shocked that I would still be running barefoot in those extremes just muttered to himself as he was off to get in a warm house that "I was probably like those fire walkers and just got used to it". Little did he know that I was at the limits of my endurance as those little blisters are telling me. I did not get any during my -24C run due to it being dry, on Thursday it was snowing enough where the snow melted on my feet and made them wet. As our barefoot "ambassador" would say "wetness sucks the warmth right out of you feet".
The slight pain at the tip of my right index toe is gone now, after a whole afternoon of shopping. I think that numbed me in different ways. I don't know what I will do in tomorrow's moisture--it's been raining all day and now it's turning into sleet--but I realize I've been served warning. I think I may know what too-wet-too-cold feels like now, and will slip on the Moc3s if I start to feel like I did on yesterday's run again. Wednesday's run felt a little above my limits, but Friday's run felt a little below. If I could, I would run a bit slower and eliminate the brief walking breaks, but I'm determined to stay close to 9mm pace, for all the other benefits that brings me--better form, no ITBS, better workout--even if it means donning the shoes during the breaks.
It's a funny mentality we have, isn't it? Your neighbors should trade notes with mine.
BTW: I've been eying a few 5k and 10k winter races since you talked me into signing up for the half in August. There's one on X-mas Day, one on New Year's Day, and one at the end of January, down on our race's Shepard Road. They're all races for which you can register on the day of or on the day before, so I can see what the forecast is before committing. It would be fun to do one barefoot if the temps are reasonable.
Sunday afternoon.
5.8 mi/ 9.3 km running. 6.6 mi total, walking bits shod.
21 F / -6 C,
9 F / -13 C windchill.
It drizzled all day Saturday, melting a fair share of our snow, then sleeted Saturday night. Sunday the day's high of 34 F occurred a little after dawn. Looking at the forecast I saw the temps were supposed to drop throughout the day, so I considered running first thing, but wanted to get some work done. That was a mistake. Around 1pm the salt trucks came through and seasoned the streets. Running up our street later in the afternoon, towards the Fairgrounds, I stuck to the sidewalks, which were a mixture of icy, dry, crunchy, and salty patches. When it got really salty, like by the nursing home, I would bounce out onto the street and deal with its lesser salinity and greater post-slush crunchiness. On one section by the University of Minnesota campus, however, both the sidewalk and street were very well seasoned, and so I donned my Moc3 back-ups for the first time of the season. Wow, a lot easier to run shod, I must say. But so unsatisfying, just like using protection in certain other areas of recreation.
Once I had the Moc3s on, my feet warmed up quickly, got toasty even (amazing what 2mm of rubber can do for you), and so after I got to the State Fairgrounds, just beyond campus, to do my 1.7-mile loops, I toyed with the idea of leaving them on. It was pretty damn cold. But the streets and sidewalks inside the fairgrounds were either dry or glare ice, with no wetness anywhere, very little hard, crunchy snow, and best of all, no salt. I ended up putting on the Moc3s for my walking and brief stretching breaks. But the truth be told, these breaks were just as much warm-up-the-feet breaks as recovery ones, and I sometimes walked a bit more than I needed to to recover.
More than halfway through the first loop, I figured I mis' well exit the fairgrounds and just run fartleks, because it was kind of a hassle putting on the shoes and taking them off, kind of demotivating to have to brace my feet for the cold at the end of each break, and I was getting tired trying to keep my balance on the glare ice sections. I had to adopt a higher cadence and sunk my hips down a bit and felt a bit duck-like on my landings. But once I got out to the main road that serves as the border between St. Paul and the first-tier suburbs, I got on a sidewalk that was pure ice, like a skating rink. So I turned around and went back into the Fairgrounds. At least with the glare ice there's often a little of the rough asphalt texture poking through to offer the feet some purchase upon landing. Today I can feel my balance muscles got a good workout.
5.8 mi/ 9.3 km running. 6.6 mi total, walking bits shod.
21 F / -6 C,
9 F / -13 C windchill.
It drizzled all day Saturday, melting a fair share of our snow, then sleeted Saturday night. Sunday the day's high of 34 F occurred a little after dawn. Looking at the forecast I saw the temps were supposed to drop throughout the day, so I considered running first thing, but wanted to get some work done. That was a mistake. Around 1pm the salt trucks came through and seasoned the streets. Running up our street later in the afternoon, towards the Fairgrounds, I stuck to the sidewalks, which were a mixture of icy, dry, crunchy, and salty patches. When it got really salty, like by the nursing home, I would bounce out onto the street and deal with its lesser salinity and greater post-slush crunchiness. On one section by the University of Minnesota campus, however, both the sidewalk and street were very well seasoned, and so I donned my Moc3 back-ups for the first time of the season. Wow, a lot easier to run shod, I must say. But so unsatisfying, just like using protection in certain other areas of recreation.
Once I had the Moc3s on, my feet warmed up quickly, got toasty even (amazing what 2mm of rubber can do for you), and so after I got to the State Fairgrounds, just beyond campus, to do my 1.7-mile loops, I toyed with the idea of leaving them on. It was pretty damn cold. But the streets and sidewalks inside the fairgrounds were either dry or glare ice, with no wetness anywhere, very little hard, crunchy snow, and best of all, no salt. I ended up putting on the Moc3s for my walking and brief stretching breaks. But the truth be told, these breaks were just as much warm-up-the-feet breaks as recovery ones, and I sometimes walked a bit more than I needed to to recover.
More than halfway through the first loop, I figured I mis' well exit the fairgrounds and just run fartleks, because it was kind of a hassle putting on the shoes and taking them off, kind of demotivating to have to brace my feet for the cold at the end of each break, and I was getting tired trying to keep my balance on the glare ice sections. I had to adopt a higher cadence and sunk my hips down a bit and felt a bit duck-like on my landings. But once I got out to the main road that serves as the border between St. Paul and the first-tier suburbs, I got on a sidewalk that was pure ice, like a skating rink. So I turned around and went back into the Fairgrounds. At least with the glare ice there's often a little of the rough asphalt texture poking through to offer the feet some purchase upon landing. Today I can feel my balance muscles got a good workout.
You know there is nothing like slick conditions to enforce form....start heel striking or pushing off even the slightest and you will either be sitting on the ground or doing headstands in a hurry.
Week 11 Update:
rickwhitelaw cracks 300 km so far
The Winterpeg lads are playing in the cold:
rickwhitelaw cracks 300 km so far
The Winterpeg lads are playing in the cold:
- Barefooting Bob runs at -31C (-24F)
- dutchie runs at -24C (-11F)
Funny, I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess now I know what it's like to run like a typical barefoot runner. I had pretty much given up on analyzing form, and was just adopting the idiot's approach of trying to run fast enough so that my form became good on its own. If I have to run on ice again, I'll be sure to consciously note what it's like not to push off.
Still, it did occur to me on yesterday's icy run that if my cadence got any higher, my short, choppy steps might approximate those of B&A.
Don't look now my Canadian friends, but an American is beating you in sub-freezing mileage. And I spotted you a whole month while I was rehabbing an MCL injury, and I don't even run that far. I know I won't be able to hold the lead, but I gotta enjoy my day in the sun windchill while I can .
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Nice numbers Bare Lee, but don't provoke them too much or they are going to pour it on when their weather breaks.
Well, they are going to pour it on anyway, so in your face Canadians. Currently getting beat by two Americans (I know it won't last long, I'm shut down right now).
Well, they are going to pour it on anyway, so in your face Canadians. Currently getting beat by two Americans (I know it won't last long, I'm shut down right now).
Just some friendly heckling. We all know who the cold experts are, your coldest runs are untouchable.
Snow happened last night. Forecast was for 1-2 inches and we got eight. Going to go pull the cross country skis out of the garage. Or, I should go plow the roads. No, the roads can wait.
Snow happened last night. Forecast was for 1-2 inches and we got eight. Going to go pull the cross country skis out of the garage. Or, I should go plow the roads. No, the roads can wait.
Yah, I didn't even really spot you October, because to make the winter challenge temps, I would've had to have gone out first thing in the morning. Our highs all through October were in the 40s and 50s, if memory serves. Anyway, as Rick confirmed, I was just provoking you guys, hoping you'd go out and run too far in ridiculously cold temps just to show me up, and then contract frostbite and take yourselves out of this year's challenge. It was my only chance, but now out of human decency and barefoot brotherhood, I feel it's best to disclose my evil plot lest the chain-yanking intent of my earlier post be taken seriously.We were getting winter runs in before it started, I think for us in Winterpeg the winter challenge should start in September. Just think Bob, between the two of us we would already be in Texas. Well, maybe with some help from YOW.
Enjoy it while you can. Running in min shoes suck. We have way too much crap on the roads now, there is now way any off that will wash away before spring. If it gets warm enough I will get out around the block in my area where it is only sand on the roads. With that said and done we are getting to the cold time for us here and the temperatures are supposed to get colder for the next while. Highs of -15C to 20C.
Yes running in min shoes does suck, I ran a 20 miler yesterday that would of been definitely san shoe (it was a balmy -2 with a slight windchill), but with the stupid road and path conditions around here (bit of melting and build up of lose snow) I had to resort to my shoes. Couldn't even use my mukluks would of been soaked through. So at the end of my run in nicely damp shoes, my feet looked like a couple of soaked prunes. I was very sad in deed.
Oh well, onwards and upwards I always say,
. I was very sad in deed.Oh well, onwards and upwards I always say,
Yah, I'm already getting tired of running loops in the fairgrounds, but it beats navigating half-shoveled sidewalks, salt, and crunchy post-slush snow. I'm about 30 seconds per mile slower on that stuff. Once it's becomes so cold that I have to run in my Moc3s, I'll have more route options. We don't have anything colder than -10 C highs forecast for the rest of this month, so I'll continue to try to pad my sub-freezing barefoot lead. I wish I could just do long and slow base-building runs in this stuff, but I'm afraid of incurring more ITBS, so gotta keep the pace up a bit, and for that it's best to find relatively smooth, dry surfaces.
Hey for a layer of smart wool between my base layer and my fleece jacket, what do you think of this?: http://www.rei.com/product/836246/smartwool-hanging-lake-rollneck-sweater-mens
Looks good but a little pricy, do you have access to Helly Hansen gear down there or Ice Breaker. Both companies have something similar and is more cost effective. The Ice Breaker shirt also has a 'non-stink' component to it.
