Road to Nowhere

I sweat in all of my shoes, a LOT....and I don't think it has anything to do with the shoes or feet! Count your blessings sir.

Joel H wrote:I sweat in all of my shoes, a LOT....and I don't think it has anything to do with the shoes or feet! Count your blessings sir.

Except that my feet don't get sweaty in OTHER shoes, Joel. These might not be as well-ventilated as I'd like.

Or, I'm used to running when it's 40 degrees instead of 60.

Walk: About 2 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy, nice! 65 degrees. Gear: Work clothes.

It was too nice to hunker down in front of the computer after lunch, so I went out for a walk through downtown Vancouver, down to the Columbia River and across the Vancouver Land Bridge into the Fort Vancouver National Site.

It was a good walk. I need to work the kinks out, and I think it helped.

Interesting about the hot feet thing. Can you tell just by looking at them that the new ones are made from a different material or constructed differently so that they are don't ventilate as well?

KathyK wrote:Interesting about the hot feet thing. Can you tell just by looking at them that the new ones are made from a different material or constructed differently so that they are don't ventilate as well?

It's the construction, Kathy. They have a tightly woven, smooth fabric bootie overlain with a thin, pliable, plastic-type material that breathes not at all.




Here's a closer view


It's all quite seamless, which is nice, and it has stylish little air holes... but maybe not quite enough for my feet. We'll see. Maybe they'd work better sockless...

Low HR Run: 30 minutes (2.06 miles) on the treadmill

Temp: 68 inside, and a bit muggy. (97% humidity outside). Gear: Free 3.0 v4s, shorts, T.

My heart rate was (oddly) elevated before I even started this run (in the 70-75 range rather than around 60), so I wasn't surprised when I had to slow the treadmill down about 14 minutes in to keep my HR in the proper range.

It was just as well. I need to teach my body how to run slow in these Free 3.0 v4s. My body seems to treat them as some weird place between "normal" shoes (Free 5.0) and barefoot. At the moment, it feels like it has the disadvantages of both with the benefit of neither. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Average HR for entire run: 123

Disadvantages of both and the benefits of neither, huh? Wonder if you may be going shoe shopping again in the near future.

KathyK wrote:Disadvantages of both and the benefits of neither, huh? Wonder if you may be going shoe shopping again in the near future.

That's a possibility, though I need to give these shoes a try and see what happens. It could just be that my body feels awkward as it begins to adapt to the new foot strike this type of shoe encourages. (Or I could still be sore from all my chores last week. ) I need to give it a little more time.

Why? Well, I've found during wear testing sessions that I'm incredibly picky about new shoe models. Sometimes, I end up adapting to the shoes (or the shoes break in; it's hard to tell sometimes) so much that I don't want to send them back to Nike. (Other times, when they actually cause pain, I've cancelled the test and said I couldn't wear them.)

That said, I think getting these new 3.0s will not supplant my plans to get a pair of custom made Luna sandals for truly minimalist runs one of these days.

I keep forgetting you have "weird" feet but get reminded every once in a while with a mental pic of that x-ray of your feet and remember that you are a great shoe tester for us more "normal" looking feeted people....(is feeted even a word?)

So have you finally broken 70 up there yet?

Joel H wrote:I keep forgetting you have "weird" feet but get reminded every once in a while with a mental pic of that x-ray of your feet and remember that you are a great shoe tester for us more "normal" looking feeted people....(is feeted even a word?)

So have you finally broken 70 up there yet?

Hey, Joel! Yes, we finally broke 70 degrees. But it was only last Sunday! Today, it's supposed to hit 57.

I'm not sure about "feeted" but "footed" might not blow up the spell checker!

And my feet are definitely not off the rack. They measure about 9 to 9.5 in overall length. But if you measure the arch length, it's more like a 10 or 10.5. And because of the way my toes want to splay out, I sometimes end up in an 11 (like in the Free 3.0 v4s I'm wearing right now). The cool this is, the shoe analysts know all this and don't seem to mind. Maybe it's good to have an outlier in the group, just to make sure the weirdos out there are well-served.

Low HR Run: 60 minutes (4.8 miles)

Weather: Sun, clouds, rain, wind. 50-53 degrees, gusts to 19 mph. Gear: Free 3.0 v4s (sockless), shorts, long-sleeved T, windbreaker, hat. Fuel: Carried water.

Today's run went a lot better than Monday's. I was consistently faster at the same heart rate -- more than a minute faster in the first mile after my warm up than on Monday -- which was an encouraging sign. My legs actually began to feel fatigued on the return trip, which was an odd sensation. I'm working new muscle patterns as I adapt to these 3.0s, and I can tell!

One shoe tidbit. These new Free insoles have been driving me crazy; they feel slippery when I wear socks. I've experienced this problem during testing, and going sockless has helped. So I gave it a shot this morning and - wow. It totally woke up the soles of my feet, in a good way. The run itself felt more natural. I'll take that as a good sign.

Average HR for entire run: 132

Oh man, I wish we only hit 70 last Sunday...but I digress! Also, thank you for not posting the x-ray again!! Sounds like a very good run sir, making progress!

Joel H wrote:Oh man, I wish we only hit 70 last Sunday...but I digress! Also, thank you for not posting the x-ray again!! Sounds like a very good run sir, making progress!

You're welcome on the X-ray, Joel. I think I have managed to convince everybody here that I'm a genetic freak without having to gild the lilly, as they say.

It was nice to see things work more normally today, though I am surprisingly sore this evening. It's as if I'm establishing new motor pathways all the way up my kinetic chain, which might explain why, in some ways, it feels a little like it did when I first started running so many years ago. Crazy. Good, I think -- but crazy.

Speaking of crazy....



Barefoot Run: 2.12 miles on dry asphalt

Weather: Partly cloudy, cool. 45 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, running pants, T, pullover. Fuel: None

Even though I've been sore from the past two days of running in my new Free 3.0s, I was restless this morning and decided to do a couple of miles in the neighborhood barefoot. I even decided to hook up the heart rate monitor and see just how my body reacts to running barefoot.

It was an eye-opening experience. I didn't do a walking warm up like I usually do, but my heart rate rose steadily and topped out right about at my target heart rate of 138. It felt relaxed and natural to run at that intensity. And, when I hit the first mile, I saw that I was running about as fast as I normally do while wearing shoes. I started to relax into it a bit after a mile, so I decided to keep going and see what happened after a second mile. The second mile's average HR was a little higher than I prefer, but it was also five seconds FASTER than the first. Really? Hm.

I was tempted to keep going, but the soles of my feet were starting to feel a little abraded, so it was probably enough.

Performance aside, I have to admit that I enjoy this barefoot thing. It's fun to fool around with a completely different thing. There's absolutely no pressure to achieve anything (other than maybe to keep going farther the more I do it). It feels more like playing than "training" - even with a HR monitor strapped on!

Oh, and I should add one more thing: My legs aren't sore anymore.

Average HR for the whole time (without a walking warm up or cool down) was 136.

Would you think you'd need to get a shoe specially made for your freak of nature feet, so your feet and legs think they're running barefoot?

ounce wrote:Would you think you'd need to get a shoe specially made for your freak of nature feet, so your feet and legs think they're running barefoot?

Or, maybe I just need to go au naturel and be done with it! Well, from the ankles down, anyway.

Funny you mention customized footwear. I have a foot outline sitting next to me on my desk, ready to send in so Barefoot Ted and his monkeys at Luna Sandals can whip me up a pair of custom running sandals (no extra charge for custom made, which is nice). I'm just waiting for them to get their 8 mm Vibram Leadville Pacer trail sandal material back in stock before I pull the trigger, though I'm getting impatient and might try a different model.

Something I forgot to mention earlier. One of the reasons I decided to go barefoot today was that I wore some skin off the top of my big toe joint yesterday when I wore my 3.0 v4s sockless on a run. I couldn't wear shoes!

Low HR Run: 85 minutes (6.45 miles)

Weather: Fabulous. Sunny and cool. 41 degrees. Gear: Free 3.0 v4s, shorts, long-sleeved T, windbreaker. Fuel: Coffee and oatmeal/chia before. Carried water.

I wish I could transport this morning's weather to Boston tomorrow, where it's supposed to be dangerously hot for the Boston marathon. It was sunny and cool as my training partner and I hooked up for the first time in a month or more.

We took the trail down into the Salmon Creek Greenway, and were going to run farther -- until his knee began to act up and we turned around and started back, throwing in some walking when it grabbed on him. I'm still adapting to the 3.0s (and I had to wear Band Aids over my big toe joint to keep from rubbing off more skin), so I didn't mind taking it extra easy, though I started to tighten up while walking. Interesting that running felt easier.

Average HR for the entire run: 127

Nice running lately, Mark. And yes, please stop taking all the "good" weather.

Nice job on your runs lately Mark.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Nice running lately, Mark. And yes, please stop taking all the "good" weather.

Thanks, Mike! I'm trying to develop a good routine, but it's been a little trickier than I'd expected. It's easier when you have the regimentation of a training cycle. Not necessarily better, mind you, just easier.

And congrats on baking in Boston.

This was the year I'd once thought I'd be running in Boston. Kind of a good thing I gave up on that, because the heat would have done me in. I can run when it's hot, but not without some time to acclimatize myself.

Joel H wrote:Nice job on your runs lately Mark.

Thanks, Joel. I'm having fun mixing it up a little and experimenting with new things.

So... where's that new blog of yours?

Mark B wrote:

Joel H wrote:Nice job on your runs lately Mark.

Thanks, Joel. I'm having fun mixing it up a little and experimenting with new things.

So... where's that new blog of yours?

The boss (aka wife) was on a girl's weekend this past weekend so I haven't been able to sit down with her and finalize my fall plans. I am hoping that happens sometime this week. Then a new blog will be coming, trust me I want to nail down my plans as well...so I can get you and Kathy off my back too...

Good! I hope to see your blog soon, Joel.

Speaking of impatience... I just changed my plans for running sandals and got a thinner version of the type I was considering.

Just put in the custom-made order, complete with foot tracings that'll probably have them going, "Huh? Is he serious?"

It's the Catamount by Luna Sandals, with 1/2-inch elasticized leather laces.



I'll use them for running as well as casual wear, when I can get away with it.

Now all I have to do is wait for them to make them.

Mark B wrote:Good! I hope to see your blog soon, Joel.

Speaking of impatience... I just changed my plans for running sandals and got a thinner version of the type I was considering.

Just put in the custom-made order, complete with foot tracings that'll probably have them going, "Huh? Is he serious?"

It's the Catamount by Luna Sandals, with 1/2-inch elasticized leather laces.



I'll use them for running as well as casual wear, when I can get away with it.

Now all I have to do is wait for them to make them.

Maybe they'll think you contacted Loony Sandals by mistake.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Good! I hope to see your blog soon, Joel.

Speaking of impatience... I just changed my plans for running sandals and got a thinner version of the type I was considering.

Just put in the custom-made order, complete with foot tracings that'll probably have them going, "Huh? Is he serious?"

It's the Catamount by Luna Sandals, with 1/2-inch elasticized leather laces.



I'll use them for running as well as casual wear, when I can get away with it.

Now all I have to do is wait for them to make them.

Maybe they'll think you contacted Loony Sandals by mistake.

Ha! Well, they do call themselves "Lunar Monkeys" - so my simian foot might actually fit right in!

Barefoot Run: 3.09 miles on dry asphalt

Weather: Partly cloudy, mild and breezy. 58 degrees, gusts to 14 mph. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T.

I was thinking about making this a full rest day, but I got restless after seeing all my friends to so well in Boston. And I got excited after ordering a pair of running sandals. So I headed out the door for a bit more proprioceptive/barefoot running.

As usual, it took a couple of laps on the asphalt for my body to start to relax into the run. I haven't run farther than just over two miles barefoot, but I decided to go a little farther this time and ended up doing just over 3 miles. My soles seem to have handed the extra distance without trouble, which shows my feet are toughening up a bit.

I wore the HR monitor to keep me from getting carried away. I didn't exactly maintain perfect HR discipline on this run, but in time, I hope my body will adapt and effort and result will get better aligned.