Monthly Archives: June 2012

Oh Blister, Where Art Thou?

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l finished a two mile lunchtime run today and to my surprise found an ‘old’ blister. There was no pain, no fluid, just a patch of separated skin.

As far as I can remember, my last barefoot session where my form was off was two weeks ago. I recall a hotspot sensation after the run, but couldn’t find any evidence of a blister, so though I had got away with it. Could today’s blister be something ‘surfacing’ from the hotspot from two weeks ago? The delay being due to the thicker, tougher skin?

Blisters are a great way to let a runner know somethings not quite right, but if it takes two weeks for the blister to appear that’s not so useful. At least I felt the hotspot so knew my form had been off.

I may be way off with my theory, but I am going to pay more attention next time I think I got away with only a hotspot!

A Pain in the….Foot

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The most common questions I get asked when running barefoot is “Doesn’t it hurt?” and “What about getting cut on glass / stepping in dog poo?”

Well, they’re the most ‘sensible’ questions anyway!
I usually just laugh and say no, but more truthful answers would be “sometimes” and “it’s happened once (so far)”

Stones
When starting barefoot running I read that it was best to use rough surfaces, to limit the over exuberance. I misinterpreted this to mean stones and gravel. Without the thickened soles I have now, I soon got bruises and worse still, ended up with two or three small hard lumps under the skin. My best guesses were swelling from the bruising, or worse still, plantar fascia scarring. Either way, I used vitamin E liquid from oral capsules for a few weeks and they disappeared, while I carried on running but on normal roads and pavements.
Also, small sharp stones are a pain (literally) on most runs. But at least it lasts less than a second, and gets easier as time passes. They seem to be more present on pavements by busy fast roads, so I try to run on quiet roads to minimise the possibility.

Dog Poo
My first and only incident was while running along the canal tow path. The tallest grass and weeds had been recently strimmed to prevent the path becoming overgrown. This made a nice soft path along the edge of the stoney track, which I used to its full advantage being barefoot. Little did I know a dog had left a little present hidden beneath the clipped grass. I realised instantly what had happened by the cold gooey sensation, and stopped to rub the worst off on the grass verge and continued my run.

Thorns
Another memorable injury was stepping on a hawthorn clipping (the bane of many mountain biker). My attention was distracted by a man and boy hastily removing a horse from a field using a car and stick (no horse trailer in sight.) My mind suddenly returned to running by the sharp pain in my sole. At first I thought it was a sharp stone stuck on my foot and I continued for a few steps, waiting for it to fall off. But the pain got worse so I stopped to examine the source. That’s when I discovered the 10mm thorn poking into my foot. I removed it, and a little ‘comedy’ spurt of blood shot out, but the pain stopped instantly. I carried on running, expecting to see little red dots following me like breadcrumbs, but the hole must have sealed quicker than an inner tube of ‘slime’

Glass
A recent running injury involved stepping on glass. I do see broken glass occasionally whilst running barefoot, and usually just go around the area or slow down and pick my way through. This time though it was a very small piece (large grain of sugar sized) that half embedded itself into my foot. I should have been paying more attention as I had ran past a skip where a house was being renovated. Thankfully I was able to pull out the glass and carry on, without an actual cut.

Starfish
I got home from a run to find a perfect star shape on my sole. I never thought of a squished starfish as a hazard but there you go!

 

 

 

Tendonitis
Probably the only serious injury I have sustained while running barefoot. This is an over use injury, and to be fair I wouldn’t have got it running only barefoot, as my soles would have blistered way before. Vibrams allowed me to run further than my feet were ready for. It’s happened twice; once when starting out in the vibrams, and once when upping my mileage marathon training. By reducing my weekly running, and going barefoot I was able to carry on running while things healed.

So, barefoot might not be the antidote to running injuries after all!

The Moving the Goal Post – Post

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I have a couple of friends who, after having completed their first marathon have pretty much stopped running. I guess the level of commitment to training meant running became less enjoyable, and a short break easily turns into a long one.

From early on in my own marathon schedule I had decided to start training for a barefoot half marathon as soon as my ‘A’ race was over – something to look forward to while I was on those long, cold and wet Sunday morning runs!

So two days after my marathon I went for an easy 2 mile barefoot run with Fergus (our family dog); the beginning of two to three months of sole conditioning I believed I needed to get up to 13.1 miles.

Three and a half weeks later I go and run the half marathon distance barefoot! I didn’t set out to do this, I just never got round to putting on my vibrams on a long road run. I will say the last two miles took some concentration, and the final half mile required the use of some front lawnage! But no blisters, etc on final inspection, and I my feet felt fine walking Fergus barefoot a couple of days later.

I will need some further conditioning before I enter an official race, as the ground surface will be an unknown factor, and I want to feel more confident in the final miles. But this process has happened a lot quicker than I initially thought, which I’m ‘sort of’ pleased about.

So I’ve had to rethink my running plans for the next couple of months, and the outcome is….to train for a mile – the fastest mile I can run!

A rather enjoyable 3 x 1 mile interval run on Saturday gave me the inspiration to aim for the faster pace.

This should also fit in rather nicely with where I am at the minute:

1. Shorter training sessions – to free up some time.
2. Barefoot warm ups and cool downs – to continue conditioning those feet.
3. Mix up the running – anaerobic runs after all that aerobic stuff.
4. Become faster at the longer runs later in the year.

Also, having looked into local-ish halves during late June to Early August, it seems there’s not many scheduled. The only two suitable races have been cancelled this year, so it looks like September or October will be the earliest half available.

As fortune would have it, Marathon Talk should start the “The Magic Mile” (link from 2011) campaign in a few weeks. I would have liked to have taken part last year, but I was training for my second half marathon, and was also transitioning to vibrams.

I’m really looking forward to trying this and shall be posting my Magic Mile progress over on dailymile.

To Run Or Read?

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I’m not a big reader, but the books I have read over the last couple of years have been about running. I have listed these below but I’m not going to give a review as there are many more professional efforts to be found online than I could write!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running – Haruki Murakami

A strangely captivating read, more about the author’s perspective on running than running itself. With some interesting stories and accounts of races, I finished wanting to read more, with the impression Haruki Murakami would be a very interesting person to meet.

Born to Run: The Rise of Ultra-running and the Super-athlete Tribe – Christopher McDougall

Requires no explanation, other than I hadn’t heard any of the hype before I ordered this book. It wasn’t until I reached the later chapters on running shoes that I became really gripped, as that was soon after I started in vibrams – by sheer coincidence.

The Long Run – Matt Long (Audiobook)

One of my favourites to date, the heart wrenching story is told in parallel between Long’s life before his horrific accident, and his personal and often graphic recovery afterwards. I read an article in Runner’s World, and was in awe at Long’s determination some time before starting the book. The narrator’s accent (Matthew Del Negro) added nicely to the setting.

Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success – Matthew Syed

Recommended via Marathon Talk, this book changed the way I viewed professional sportsmen and women. Rather than natural talent, Syed argues that any skill is the result of ‘chunking’ maneuvers together into pre-programmed blocks. This is achieved with practice; 50,000 hours of meaningful practice, and includes several examples of successful sports people, including himself.

The Complete Book of Barefoot Running – Roy Wallack, Ken Bob Saxton

A fantastic book for anyone starting out barefoot running, with some great tips listed in detail. The book includes the history Ken Bob Saxton’s barefoot journey, and gave me the confidence that going barefoot was a worthwhile venture.

Once a Runner – John L Parker (Audiobook)

A cult classic, and originally printed in limited supply. I have yet to make any headway though.

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It – Neal Bascomb (Audiobook)

Not the easiest read but well worth persevering with. The ending is a full gone conclusion, but this doesn’t detract from the suspense as the four main contenders edge closer and closer to the perfect mile.

Bunion Derby: The 1928 Footrace Across America – Charles B. Kastner

I first heard of the race in a Runner’s World article. Much like life for the competitors though, this book became monotonous as day by day accounts informed of winners and runners failing to finish. Just as characters began to stand out, unfortunately I found it difficult to return to, and have yet to finish. My opinion may change if I can pick this one up again.

Recently Added…

Just a Little Run Around the World – Rosie Swale Pope

From its sad origin, Rosie’s run around the world becomes a tale of strength. Battling nature and weather, the determination Rosie shows is rewarded by kindness and friendship. Soon after reading this, I spent a week in Tenby; hometown and start of the expedition, and I could imagine Rosie’s training runs on the hilly coastline.

The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn’t Stop – Bill Jones

John Tarrant’s relentless battle against the athletics bodies lasted for decades. He was a world-class runner, denied a UK and then worldwide licence for £17 expenses as a teenage boxer. His childhood was unhappy, but shaped his entire adult life with wanting to be accepted – as a runner. His long list of race victories were never acknowledged as the events were gatecrashed and run without a number. Tarrant’s too short life ended just as sadly as it started.

Last Edited 3rd July 2012

Nothing for the weekend, Sir?

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This weekend was a long one due to the Queen’s Jubilee.

Our extra day’s were spent camping in Exmoor National Park with two other families, while their Dad’s completed the Tour of Wessex road bike challenge (329 miles over 3 days)

Camping meant three days of no electricity, no running water and no mobile phone signal. And for me that also included no shaving, no showering, and almost no shoes. Back to nature!

I say almost no shoes, and in reality that meant all my time on the campsite, and on the beach; over half my time away. The kids really enjoyed being barefoot too; paddling in the stream which ran through the campsite, and barefoot racing over the grass.

I was amazed when my youngest daughter asked if she could take off her crocs to walk barefoot over the saltmarsh at Porlock. She then ‘flowed’ over the quarter mile of large stone shingles to the sea, leaving me struggling to keep up. The beach was a great ankle workout!

I only managed to get one 7 mile run in, although I had mapped out several routes. It was rainy and hilly, and very enjoyable, but the whole weekend’s preparation had left me with my lowest weekly mileage for months

This may have been a good thing though, as I’m sure I hadn’t fully recovered from my marathon 2 weeks ago. Last week’s 13 miles was laboured. Today though I ran the same distance and felt strong, on nothing but water and completely barefoot – by far the longest since I started over a year ago.

I hadn’t intended to run this far barefoot, and the last three miles felt tender but fortunately no blisters. This wasn’t supposed to happen until later in the year with a longer conditioning period. I guess I’ll carry on as I am, until a barefoot half marathon race makes it official!