Friday, April 15th . . . tempo time . . .

55 minute run (5 min. barefoot warm-up) with last 2.5 miles at 10k pace on trails. I'm always amazed at the ability of the human body to recover. 2 days ago I could barely run a 9:00 minute per mile pace, and today I'm back to the 6:00 minute per mile pace range. As always, the key is allowing your body to recovery when it needs to recover so the slow running provides several benefits as it allows the body to recover and allows you to maintain fitness but avoid the cardinal sin of pushing hard on days you need to recover.

HHH

Thursday, April 14th . . . easy Evo run

60 min. easy run in the Evo's with a 10 min. barefoot warm-up. I feel much better than yesterday. The soreness in the left Achilles is gone. Not sure what type of run I will do tomorrow but I'm sure my body will tell me.

HHH

Wednesday, April 13th . . . shake out recovery strides . . .

At the advice of my wife, I elected to do some barefoot recovery strides as part of the recovery process from yesterday's track session which was the first time I did the entire session barefoot at race pace. My calves were pretty sore this morning, as expected. I also had some tenderness in my left Achilles and I'd have to say that's not a surprise either considering how much barefoot running I did at race pace and my left foot is not as strong as my right foot due to a long past history of left ankle injuries during my high school and collegiate basketball days.

Anyway, I did 8x200 easy strides barefoot on the roads with long recoveries in-between including walking uphill. I feel much better right now but I'll be on red zone alert for the next 72 hours. If I didn't enter the "too much too soon" world, I was close so I will be a bit cautious over the next 2-3 days and very closely listen to my body. I'm not sure what type of running I will do over the next couple days but I listen to my body and let it tell me what if wants and what it should do.

HHH

Tuesday, April 12th . . . a lot of barefootin'

I'm not sure what tomorrow holds for me. I just finished my first track workout of 100% barefoot at race pace and faster.

5 sets of 400x200x200 with 400 recovery in-between. And I did it barefoot, averaging 72 seconds for the 400's. I feel good right now but I'm nervous as to how I will feel tomorrow morning, but we'll see.

My body absolutely refused to run in shoes. I tried to put my MWU3's on and my body said "no." I tried to put on my Evo's and my body again said "no." It clearly told me it wanted no shoes and the only way it was going to allow me to run was barefoot.

I know one thing . . . tomorrow is a rest day :). I do a lot of barefoot running but not this much at race pace . . . easy runs yet but not race pace. I'm over-joyed that my feet held up and I feel good right now . . . but tomorrow will reveal the truth.

Harry

Further support for barefoot or (nearly) barefoot

Now that I'm back on the track with my training group, I started to think about the fact the best and fastest runners in the world tend to start on the track (800 meters to 10k). Then I thought about track spikes and how light and minimal they are. Then I started to read about track spikes, the history, design, function, etc. and here are a few things I found:

- "track spikes are ultra-lightweight to resemble barefoot running without any restrictions for full range of motion stride."

- " . . . running in track spikes are more akin to running barefoot which helps you achieve your best running form."

- "track spikes are so light that it's almost like running barefoot"

I've found numerous articles that reference "barefoot" when talking about track spikes and connect form and technique of running barefoot to track spikes. So, if this is the case, and it's always been the case that track spikes are light and minimal, and if the design of the spike is for performance, form, technique and speed, and that is akin to barefoot, then that further supports barefoot.

There further connections between spikes and flexibility and foot mobility so again, further support for barefoot. And, this isn't new and this has been the case for many years. Just look at the spikes from the 50's/60's and not too much has changed looking forward to today. However, look at regular running shoes and we see how they've changed over the past 40-50 years. So, why the change? Because the track is associated with elite gifted runners, when in fact, perhaps one of the many reasons they are elite and gifted is because of the minimal barefoot-like footwear they use for practice, training and racing.

Something to think about. Go down the line of the great track runners many of whom later moved to the half and full marathon and they all wore track spikes for a long time and perhaps that wasn't a difficult transition from barefoot since it may be the closest to barefoot.

Harry

Monday, April 11th . . . total recovery run

45 min. total recovery run. I was tired and sore so that means either I rest or make sure it's a total recovery run. I ran very slowly and just worked on form, technique and turn-over. Many folks forget that you should still have a good turn-over, even when running slowly and a recovery run is a great opportunity to work on form.

I've run 3 consecutive days in the Evo's and absent a message from my body to do otherwise, I'll continue to run in the Evo's and add more barefoot running as it gets warmer outside. I still hold out hope that I can use the TP Vivo footwear 100%. They have an Ultra that will be released pretty soon as it's under 4oz. and that could be my racing shoe. Additionally, they are working on a trail shoe and if that works for me, then I can go 100% minimalist. In the meantime, the Nike XC is working for now but I hope that's a temporary solution.

HHH

Saturday, April 9th . . . Evo time . . .

60 minute easy run with a few surges in the Evo's . . . started with a 10 min. barefoot warm-up. I'm slowly working the Evo's back into my rotation and I don't rule out the possibility that the Evo will return as my go-to shoe and replace the Nike XC, in which case I'd use the Nike XC for long runs and when my feet are tired. I can't forget all my current PR's (5k and 10k) were achieved in the Evo, not the Nike.

HHH

Friday, April 8th . . . easy run

Easy 55 min. trail run. I'm working to increase my cadence by 5-10%. So why am I messing with my stride if nothing is wrong? Because you can always improve form, technique and efficiency.

HHH

Thursday, April 7th . . . progressive tempo

45 min. run consisting of a 20 min. barefoot warm-up on the treadmill, 25 min. progressive tempo run on the road in the MWU3's, with a 5 min. barefoot warm down on the treadmill. After doing barefoot 400 meter intervals on Tuesday, I opted for the MWU3's to gain more ground feel as I knew that would slightly shorten my stride which was my goal. I've been working the MWU3's back into my rotation with the Nike XC's because I can get spoiled and a little sloppy in the Nike XC's. It's also getting warmer out so I can increase my barefoot mileage.

I'm a big believer in trying to carry over as much of your barefoot running form to shoes . . . at least as much as possible. I use to think Bekele was the gold standard for running form until I saw Tirunesh Dibaba who is the world record holder in the 5k and 10k . . . she ran and raced barefoot until 17 years of age . . . check her out . . . her form is pretty flawless . . . this is why barefoot running is so helpful, in my opinion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd1QvXJS9m4.

HHH

Wednesday, April 6th . . . rest day

I always take a rest day after track workouts. It's something I've learned about my body. I need a full day to recovery for speed work on the track. It could be an age thing or a me thing but whatever it is, it's a rule I follow.

HHH

Tuesday, April 5th . . . tracking barefoot

8x400 meter intervals at the track with 4x400 barefoot. It verified, of course, what I already know which is that it's impossible to run in shoes the exact way you run barefoot. The goal is to try to run as close to barefoot as you can in shoes but you can not carry over 100% barefoot form to shoes . . . maybe 90% but not 100%.

I did my first 4x400 in Nike XC's then switched to barefoot and immediately my body re-alignment, posture was straighter, stride shortened and I was slightly more fluid . . . running barefoot is just so awesome!!!

HHH

Monday, April 4th . . . easy as it goes . . .

Easy 40 min. run over lightly snow dusted trails + no human in sight = a lovely run.

HHH

Sunday, April 3rd . . . body says take a day off . . .

Woke up this morning planning on a long run and my body told me to take the day off. After 2 days of 70-80 minute runs at 7,000 - 9,000 ft. in the windy mountains, including interval work, I guess I was more fatigued than I thought. I could have run today but my body communicated to me through my leg muscles that I was still healing. This is the type of body understanding it took me 3 years to acquire.

I've made major changes in my approach to running this year including ditching the Garmin, watch and any other technology. I "run by feel" and let my body be the technology to communicate to me. I also don't look at running on a weekly schedule anymore as I look at a 30 day running cycle and I have an idea as to how many interval, tempo and long runs I'd like to do in that time period but at the end of the day, I always listen to my body first. I don't have a set workout for a specific day as I get up each morning and my body tells me what it wants to do.

HHH

Saturday, April 2nd . . . easy run at 7,000-9,000 ft.

Great 70 min. mountain trail run . . . nothing like it . . . it's the reason I run.

HHH

Friday, April 1st . . . mountain fartlek's

70 min. fartlek mountain trail run at 7,500 feet, including 600, 1200, 800 and 800 meter surges between 5:45 - 6:20 pace. It's amazing how much harder it is run at higher elevations. I train daily at 5,500 ft. but I could feel the difference of running at 7,500 ft., not to mention the mountain winds, however, running in the mountains is inspiring and leaves me in awe of nature.

For the first time in several weeks, I decided to use my Garmin to track my surges which was completely unnecessary. At this point, there's no reason for me to use the Garmin other than to map out routes in new places I'm not familiar with but otherwise, watches are useless to me as I can not only feel the paces, but I'm getting pretty good and feeling the distances. I pretty much knew how long and how fast I was running without looking at the Garmin. I didn't look at the Garmin at all during my 70 min. run and I guessed the distances and pace of my surges and I was within :05 - :10 sec. per mile and within 5% of the distance . . . so the Garmin will go back in the closet!!!

HHH