Weekly roundup

I didn't manage my long run this week (supposed to be 7 miles), but I did do a good 6 mile tempo run, well above target pace, and a 3.5 mile run in bare feet, followed by a PB at the park run this morning of around 26.40 minutes (waiting for the official time to come in).

I'm beginning to notice that my speed is picking up again.  I knew that learning to run in minimalist footwear or bare feet would mean a significant loss of speed for a fair amount of time, and I'd sort of forgotten that I actually can run at a decent speed (decent to me, if not to anyone else!).  But it was only really today that I've hit (and possibly even improved upon) my old targets.  My form has changed significantly - it's been a long time since I've suffered with those awful shin splints I used to get on every single run, and even my joints and muscles don't seem to suffer in the same way.  In the past, I've put this down to the slower speeds, and more gentle footfall.  Now I can see that my new form (which feels completely natural to me now) is starting to reap benefits, and with the pace picking up, I'm feeling better than ever.

Happy days :)

Speed

Today I did a tempo run in my Merrells.  I uploaded the workout to my Garmin before I left, so it was all programmed in:  1 mile warm up, 4 miles at 9.33 min/mile, 1 mile cool down.

My Garmin shows me an average pace for the entire run.  I always run slowly at the start as it seems to take a while for my joints and feet to warm up, so by the end of the first mile, the average pace was showing around 10.20 min/mile.  When the Garmin beeped to warn me to get ready for the middle 4 tempo miles, I checked my watch, still slower than 10 min/mile, so I sped up.  The Garmin quickly beeped to say I was in the 9.33 min/mile zone, and then shortly after beeped again to tell me to slow down.

This seemed odd, as I didn't feel I was going much faster than at the end of my warm up mile.  I didn't trust my watch.  I felt I wasn't pushing hard enough, so I ignored the irritating beeps until they gave up on me, and I just kept running at a comfortably fast pace.

When I got home, my watch told me that I had done the middle 4 at 9.14 min/mile!  This is significantly faster than the target pace, and makes me wonder if my form is beginning to show signs of speeding up without too much effort.  So far in my barefoot/minimalist running story I have found it difficult to run anywhere near as fast as I could have in trainers.  That (and the lack of structured training) have kept my pace pretty slow, though speed is not really of concern to me.

It was interesting to run today and feel like I could probably go faster than that, and maintain it, at least for a 10k if no more.  I did enjoy reading an article about adding speed to your barefoot running from Barefoot Beginner which came up on my Twitter feed a few days ago, and I even had a go at copying the video drill.  I thought about that whilst I was running, trying to replicate pulling up my feet from the hamstrings and keeping my ankle in line with my knee.  Maybe that has something to do with it.

Fartleks

Over the past few months I've been working hard to build my form, improve my muscles and bone density, and generally develop my barefoot and minimalist running skills.  But as is the peril of many runners across the globe, there's always that need to do a little bit more - to improve on what's already there.

So now I want to start improving my speed.  I suppose I feel that if I don't push this aspect, I'll never improve my distance or my overall stamina, because I'm a great believer in the notion that if I'm concentrating on one particular element of my running, a lot of other elements improve without me noticing.  So far, I've concentrated on technique and I'm hoping that if I now concentrate on speed, the technique stuff will just fall into place without me thinking about it.

Today I went out - just for a short 2 miles as time was limited - and did some Fartlek work - running slowly followed by bursts of speed.  I wore my Garmin, and hit the lap button at every changeover, but I didn't set a goal pace, I just ran hard for 150 - 250 metres, then ran slow until I'd got my breath back for the next burst.

When I first took up running (shod), I followed pretty much the same pattern. Once I felt I'd got to grips with getting out the house and running for 3 miles or so without dying, I started to build in a variety of sessions - Fartleks, hill work, speed work and tempo runs.  It was only at that point that my running really improved.  Switching to barefoot and minimalist running took me back to those early running days, and now I've grasped the basics, I feel the need to do a bit more.

How did I get on?  Overall, I hit an average pace of 8.56 minute miles.  This is great because it means I should be able to hit my previous shod distance PBs with a bit of training.  In the short speedier bursts I managed to hit speeds of 8.05 minute miles - 8.30 minute miles.  Granted, these were really short distances, but the fact that my legs will move this quickly is great - it's something I've wondered about as my cadence has increased dramatically and I wasn't sure I'd be able to move my legs fast enough to get the speed.

What I need to do now is increase the speedy sections to up to 0.5 miles, so I think perhaps it's time to plug some training plans into my Garmin and push myself properly.  Doing this completely barefoot will need to wait until warmer days, I think winter training will be minimalist, with barefoot easy runs thrown in for good measure, and barefoot training will be a Spring challenge.

A lot going on

Well I've certainly made up for a poor start to the running week.  On Friday I went for my longest run for ages, wearing my Vibram TrekSports.  I did around 4 miles in them and they felt amazingly comfortable. I haven't worn these since February, and what I really noticed was that the soles are way thicker than my Classics.  I added 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end for good measure.  I think I'll be wearing these quite a lot in the colder weather.

Yesterday (Saturday) I dropped my son at his gymnastics class and got chatting to a fellow runner.  I told him I've been running almost exclusively barefoot or minimalist for some time, and he made my day by asking "Doesn't it hurt?" and "What if you step on dog poo?".  No-one has blatantly asked me these classic questions yet, so it made me chuckle.  When I got home, I tried my new Vivobarefoot Evo's for 0.8 miles, which I found really comfortable - just a slight bit of rubbing on the left big toe, but I think these will make a great substitute when barefoot's not an option, or for days when I'm keen to keep a low profile and look 'normal'!

Shortly after I had taken off my Evos off to run the last half mile barefoot, I was stopped by a passing driver who wanted directions.  I wondered if he wished he hadn't stopped me when he spotted my bare feet and shoes in hand, but to his credit he did not flinch or waver from his train of thought once.  To my own credit, I also did not flinch or look embarrased, but gave him clear directions to his destination and padded off.

Today (Sunday) I've run just over a mile without any footwear.  The weather is getting colder, and I thought it would be interesting to see how my feet fared on the cold pavement.  Air temperature just under 8 degrees Celcius, and the pavements were noticeably warmer on the sunny side of the road, but my feet coped admirably and have suffered no ill effects.  I did notice that the ground seemed more gravelly and ouchy today - I'm not sure if that was the cold or the fact that we've had lots of rain...

My OH graciously agreed to accompany me on this run, forfeiting his own pace to match my slower one, and I was very grateful for his company when a bus pulled up and offloaded it's passengers just as we ran past.  Pity there weren't any trees to hug I guess!

I braved the main road

Very brave today (and to be honest, I've annoyed myself with my fear of public barefoot running).  I ran to the end of our estate, and then along the main road.  This is significant progress, as so far, I've only run around the houses on our estate, or along a very quiet country lane.  I didn't take any shoes (even though I felt they'd be added security and I could put them on if I felt too conspicious).

I've checked with all my family that they aren't embarrassed (a bit tongue in cheek on my part - I'd probably do it anyway, but it's lovely to have their support).  My friends just think I'm a bit wacky.  I don't suppose it really matters what anyone else thinks.

My feet felt fantastic, the ground felt lovely, and when I got back there was not one single ache or blister.  This is the way forward I think.  0.88 miles and rising.

Back from our hols

I've had over two weeks off running because I've been living it up in Florida.  Plenty of walking in flip flops or bare feet (in the water parks), and a couple of days in VFF Classics, so my feet felt like they'd had a great workout every day and I was confident that they'd feel strong on my first run back.

I ran just under two miles in my Classics - pretty slowly as I had my son in tow, but as expected, my feet felt great.  None of the twinges of my stress fracture were present, and I loved my final 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end.  Great to be running again.

The following day I did a four mile run in my trainers.  This certainly felt like hard work - whether because of the break from running, or because I've only been wearing very light shoes for two weeks, or because I'd had a short run the day before, I cannot say.  The following day, my thighs and calves were all very achey, and I really noticed the hip pain which I suffer from, which I've not had for the two weeks off running, nor had it returned on my VFFs run.

Today I've been for a two mile run in Classics, followed by 0.3 miles barefoot.  Much nicer than trainers, and I averaged around 9.40 min miles which is by far the fastest I've gone in minimalist footwear.

I'm thinking of signing up for the September 10k, and wonder whether I should go for a fast time (52 mins or so) in trainers, or whether to just go for any time, but in my Classics....  Decisions, decisions...

A little bit more

Today I ran the same route as last Friday - a 3.5 mile circular route through the lanes of a nearby village.

I set off in Classics.  The road was very gritty and muddy after all the rain we've had, with little rivers of water flowing here and there.  Once my feet were warmed up, the cool puddles felt lovely seeping through my VFFs.

A little earlier than last week I took off my Classics.  My pace slowed, but my soles again felt strong and there was no discomfort from the grit on the roads. I enjoyed listening to the quiet 'slap, slap' of my feet on the wet tarmac.

As the route progressed, the tarmac got rougher, though less covered in debris, and gradually the soles of my feet began to notice the sharpness of the surface.  Not that it was painful - I just became aware that I was starting to feel it.

So I pressed the lap button on my Garmin, and saw that I'd done 0.8 miles in bare feet.  My furthest to date.  No scratches, bruises or other untoward ailments.  I put on my Classics and continued home.

Last night I looked at my feet and they seem to be filling out.  I've always had very shallow feet, with bony toes where you can easily see the metatarsals stretching out along the top of my foot.  Now they seem more solid.  At the joints of the second and third toes to the main part of my foot (ie the base of the toe), the flesh is fuller and more muscly looking - this is where my stress fracture occurred, and I think the strength is now building from the training I'm doing.  There is definitely more flesh under these two joints on the base of my feet.  It amazes me how our bodies can change with practise and repetition.  We are lucky beings indeed!

Mid run barefooting

I departed from my usual route today and ran a 3.5 miles circuit through some country lanes in my VFF Classics.

Where I ran today - Image from Google

Just over a mile in, I took my Classics off, and ran barefoot.  This was a challenge because I'm used to the fairly well kept, smooth pavements around our housing estate.  This road was old, crumbly, gritty and dirty - a typical unkempt country lane.  It felt great though, my feet have definitely toughened up, and the gritty stones didn't bother me at all.  In fact, I think I had more discomfort from rogue stones when I was wearing the Classics.

Narrow lanes - Image from Google

Quite a few vehicles passed me when I got into the village area, including a work van which had to pull in to allow a bus to get through.  Both occupants were clearly discussing why on earth I might be standing there (letting the vehicles pass as it was very narrow) in bare feet, holding a weird looking pair of shoes with toe pockets.  They looked very confused!