My next race accoutrements

[RunningPirate]

Don't blame you for backing off. Even when I was in better trim, there were some surfaces that could make me yell cuss words, much to the chagrin of the nearby Sunday School, but that's another story for another day. I do like my Invisible/Xero shoes in these cases - if I could only avoid getting a hot spot on the top of my foot where the knot rubs, I'd be set...

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Thom, have a great race whatever you decide. I won't complicate your decision with recommendations, besides if the race is today, you will be running while I type this.

As for tolerance, I'm 2+ years barefoot running and still improving on the rough. Most likely a combination of physical and mental conditioning and hopefully better form. So, keep at it and some day, we may be giving veteran advice.

 

[DNEchris]

I wonder, DNEchris, if NY is similar to Taipei in that regard. Running the streets and asphalt paths of Taipei was smooth!

So there I was pootling around Central Park this morning when a guy runs past me, silently, in huaraches. I caught up and we started chatting, turns out he lives in Taipei! He said he'd never felt so much as a pebble underfoot while running barefoot in Da'an park so I guess the roads there are even smoother than NYC!

He said he'd just run the Tokyo Marathon barefoot and was signed up for one in Borneo soon. Looking at his pace this morning I would guess he'd complete the events in just under 3 hours!

 

[ThomDavid]

Better an injured ego than injured feet. You could, of course, still paint your toe nails if you wanted...

Oh just fuck it.

I carried shoes on my very first barefoot race in case I needed to put them on (I didn't). Nothing says that I can't start off this race in minshoes and TAKE THE DAMNED THINGS OFF at some point after that gnarly hill. I've a feeling I'm going to want to do that in the later stage of the race anyway. So, I've amended my amended plan. The hill starts at around mile 5.5. So, I take it in my minshoes, judge the condition of the downhill, and somewhere around mile marker 7, I take them off. At most, I'll lose a minute or two in the doing, but I'm not expecting any PRs out of this race anyway. Then when the race is over, I can proudly don my IBRD shirt and promote the day to the assembled crowd in my own unobtrusive fancy California guy way. I promise not to take credit for running the entire race unshod if asked. Scout's honor. And since I actually was a Scout, that promise counts.

So, in honor of ChasingShadows indisputably helpful suggestion, I give you (my attempt at matching BRS colors still needs a bit of work, as does my painting technique) :



In this case, it's better to be half a weenie than a full footlong.

 

[happysongbird]

So there I was pootling around Central Park this morning when a guy runs past me, silently, in huaraches. I caught up and we started chatting, turns out he lives in Taipei! He said he'd never felt so much as a pebble underfoot while running barefoot in Da'an park so I guess the roads there are even smoother than NYC!

He said he'd just run the Tokyo Marathon barefoot and was signed up for one in Borneo soon. Looking at his pace this morning I would guess he'd complete the events in just under 3 hours!

How fun to meet up like that!

 

[Larry]

View attachment 1979

That's a superb set of Morton's Toes you're packing there Thom. I'm going to pull that photo out and show it to my wife next time she starts giving me grief about my "Mutant toes".

Oh, and good luck with the run if you haven't already done it!

 

[ThomDavid]

That's a superb set of Morton's Toes you're packing there Thom. I'm going to pull that photo out and show it to my wife next time she starts giving me grief about my "Mutant toes".

Oh, and good luck with the run if you haven't already done it!

Yep, those toes have been the bane of my running life, shod and otherwise, for many years.

And yep, I finished the run, once again differently than how I planned and then re-planned it. The short version is I never took the minshoes off. The good news is that on a particularly difficult course, I was able to PR. My last shod half-mary in August 2012 came in at 2:19:59. My first bf half-mary in January came in at 2:15:07. This one, in Vivobarefoot Ultras, clocked in at 2:08:39. That sub-2-hour race is still eluding, but I'm not giving up on it. At mile 11 I was pacing well enough that I thought I could maybe do it, but my nemesis the calf cramps took hold once again and I had to actually walk several times at the end. Overall, while I'm disappointed that I didn't do at least a portion bf, I'm pleased with the results.

And on the bus ride back to the car, I talked to the girl next to me about bf running, who said she might give it a try. In fact, she told me that they're making a movie from "Born to Run." How come I didn't know that and she did?

 

[skedaddle]

Congrats on the PR Thom, are you taking in enough water on your run, could be the cause of your cramping.

 

[ThomDavid]

Congrats on the PR Thom, are you taking in enough water on your run, could be the cause of your cramping.

Thanks, skedaddle, and no, you're most likely right. I always think I'm hydrated enough, based on the (lack of) color and frequency of my urine but this always seems to happen after about mile 7 (but, strangely, only in races. Never had it happen on a long run, even well-past 7 miles). I haven't found a sports drink that I can really tolerate and I don't use much salt, so I'm probably running low on electrolytes. This is the thing I have to focus on for the next race in August, because it will be hot hot hot, and I hate hot-weather running. I'm also determined to do that race barefoot, since I ran the same race last year as my last shod race, and I kinda want to see what a difference no shoes will make under most likely similar conditions.