FiveFingers 7/7/09: Debut Run

I got the FiveFingers about a week ago: http://www.productwiki.com/vibram-fivefingers-classic/
Background: For those of you who don't know, i have a bit of a reputation for going barefoot around the office as much as possible. I have problems outdoors on gravel (OW) or asphalt (HOT). As a raft guide I was barefoot just about 24/7. it never really occurred to me to train barefoot, even though I'd much prefer it. So, when I heard of running in these I thought "Eureka!"
Test One
I put them on, but left the tag on, just in case. Putting them on is tricky -- you have to spread your toes out and coax them into each little toe-hole. If you have manky, knobby, knuckly toes and a freakishly long middle toe, this takes a little time. I found that if I slipped my finger in over the top of each toe and pushed down on the knuckle to flatten the toe out, it squished in nice and tight and comfy. Except, of course, the pinky toe of my right foot which has a mind of its own. Walking around in them, just around the house and yard, rocks. so comfy but without the usual hazards and annoyances. Test one: pass.
Test Two
Today I ran 3 miles then did 4 x 100 "strides" (kinda like 100m sprints) on asphalt. The better bet would've been to do the strides on grass, but I wanted a flast (flat/fast) surface. Again with the wiggling, knuckle-flattening, wedging... and of course the rebellious pinky toe that I'm naming Elvis for its flagrant wiggling and non-conformist ways. (Plus, it's kind of a sexy toe.
Stride 1 -- uh, yeah, i was chicken. It was nothing like a stride or a sprint. More of a trepidatious twinkle-toe-trot ala Fred Flintstones at the bowling alley. Also, the little twinge of tendonitis in the top of my right foot began acting up a bit, but it was bearable. The cool thing is that I could spread my toes and stretch my foot to remedy the problem (unlike with my running shoes).
Stride 2 -- better, something more closely resembling commitment, and the shoes are feeling fine. Absolutely NO heat from the asphalt (but I bet over a long distance you'd get toasty feet).
Stride 3 -- I wanted to go fast, but the only way I could do it comfortably was to modify my stride.... which is exactly the effect i wanted from the shoes. You just can't heel-strike with them for long, and certainly not fast. And to land mid-foot requires good posture, shoulders back, abs engaged, it was feeling good. I was mashing my toes into my shoes though, mostly just Elvis. I wiggled the fabric around to fix it.
Stride 4 -- still not perfect form. However, instead of looking straight down at the road in front of me in fear of little rocks that normally would hurt, I began looking further ahead... and then things really started lining up as I lifted my head.
I walked back to the office in them and it was all good. Still some practice needed in them for running, but that was expected and even desired. I bought some socks for them, I'll let you know how that goes when i use them. So far i've been going commando in the shoes. So, for walking around I LOVE them. For running, I'm going to continue adding them in bigger doses as my feet and legs strengthen. I'm pretty sure I'll be buying a few more pair over the next few months. do you think they make them in a dress shoe???

Barefootin' It -- What it is.

I've started "Barefooting". In this case, I'm referring to running with no support, as close to barefoot as possible. It's not purely barefoot running though, I use these: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_classic_f.cfm
Vibram FiveFingers. There are other similar shoes available, but this is where I started.
I won't bore you with a lot of the history behind my decision to run barefoot. I've heard that I won the genetic lottery to train for 16 weeks with no base, and run a marathon with out a single injury to interrupt my training. So, it's not that I'm out to "fix" anything ailing me.
What follows are some notes about my experiences.

Week Off from training

I've drawn up a new training plan, 22 weeks of training, for the Las Vegas R n' R. Not sure how I feel about training for 22 weeks. That's pretty freakin' huge.
This week I'm pretty much chilling.

Bucket List Item, completed.

Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon was a blast. Lots of good vibes from the 25,000 runners, the volunteers, and the onlookers. Everyone was so supportive. People would run up next to me and chat a bit, encourage me in my first marathon attempt, and it was just so nice. The volunteers, cheer teams, and bands were also really fun and helpful and encouraging. Shoot, I wish our training runs were like that. :)
We had fabulous weather also.
I'm just excited that after about a zillion false-starts at training for a marathon, I finally completed all of the training and did the "victory lap" in Seattle. Pretty big job to tackle, and so worth it. So, I'm doing it again.
You learn so much about yourself when undertaking these types of endeavours and I feel like there is more for me to learn, so I'm training again, beginning next week.
Also, purchased these hot little numbers http://www.rei.com/product/753390 in order to begin adding barefoot training to my routine, in hopes of running "barefoot" (basically in these or a type of huarache). More on the Barefoot thing later.
For now, just recovering -- drinking lots of water, chilling, basking in the afterglow. :)

Our short runs used to be our long runs

That last post was in March, when running 8 miles for my "long runs" was painful and required a nap afterwards.
We do those on our lunch break now, no problem. 8 miles, add some hills, a bit of this, a bit of that, done. Our long runs are now in the 15+ mile range. This weekend I'm doing 19.5 miles. yeah.
bought new shoes. Oh my god. running has completely changed my sensitivity levels for my feet. it's incredible. Before, i was only aware of one thing that was a bother -- my pinkie toe is sensitive to stitching. Yesterday I put on a pair of shoes and instantly recognized that the shape and size of the heel cup is completely life-changing. So, with that said, I'm stoked about these new shoes. The niggling heel pain that I felt before I think will be remedies with these. It always started when I'd start running, until I warmed up. I'd imagine this will also help with some other issues -- little tweaky pains in my knees and tendonitis across the tops of my feet. No worries.
So, anyway, we are also naming our little team "sole mates". Because, melyssa is the perfect training partner for me, and we get along so well that it's like we're meant for each other... and sole = shoe sole. Get it? we are witty. yes we are.

Just More Running

I officially have 3 8-mile-long runs under my belt. Is it 3 or 4? I think three. Anyhoooo....
Last week I faithfully completed every single day of training. It was a great feeling of accomplishment. Hoping to get 100 miles in this month. If I hadn't been sick the first week, I'd be on easy street. As it stands now, I'm exactly on track if I don't miss a single day of training between now and the end of the month. yikes.
This week we are ramping up a bit. I have a 10 mile long-run on Saturday, which is also the same day as a race. So, I'll do 2 miles to warm up, then 5 miles of racing, and then 3 miles of running.
Today we experimented with a Jeff Galloway-style run. 6 miles. We did short periods of walking. With each running section our time increased dramatically. We started out at about a 10 minute mile pace. By the last 1.5 mile section we were running an 8:30 and it was painless. Fantastic! We still averaged a 10 minute pace overall, but this was much more fun and interesting. We are thinking of revising our training to incorporate this type of running more.
Strides are still my way favorite day of running. oh weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! Just stepping out and ripping (in as much as I "rip") down the road.... so fun.

Well now, it's certainly been awhile

Running 5 miles on weekdays and 8 mile long runs on the weekend. We do hills on Tuesdays and intervals on Thursdays. Starting 3/9 we are ramping up our training. owwwwwww!!!
I ordered a garmin 305. Hot. can't wait to get that. Meanwhile I just follow my training partner Melyssa around and run. wee. !