Road to Nowhere

I'm back from Colorado - I'll write about it and post some photos soon - but first, a run!

Dynamic Testing: 3.1 miles total

Weather: Sunny and hot. 86 degrees. 39% humidity. Gear: Testers, shorts, T. Fuel: A big plate of spicy pad Thai. (urp!)

I was asked to come in today and do some dynamic testing at Nike. It ended up being my hottest - and fastest - run in quite some time. I took the Garmin but not the HR strap, so I had to gauge my effort level by perception, which was skewed by the direct sun and big plate of pad Thai I'd had a couple of hours before.

Even so, I was pleasantly surprised to see my speed at or even below 8/mi for the flat and downhill parts of my route, which had me doing a big lap around the inside of the Nike campus. I slowed on the uphills but never got to the point of sucking wind. I could tell I was flirting with my LT, though, so this qualifies as as a nice FCP run. My average pace for the whole 5K was 8:38. (26:45 total) Not bad for just running.

One weird note, though: After spending a week higher than 6,000 feet - sometimes a LOT higher - the air at lower elevation (190 feet) felt positively thick!

Walk: 2.84 miles

Weather: Sunny, a little warm, a little muggy. 70 degrees, 57% humidity

I had planned to run this morning but changed my mind after noticing I was feeling a little twangy after yesterday's up-tempo affair at Nike. So I opted for active recovery with a lunchtime walk along the Columbia River, trying to get back in the swing of things, post-vacation.

I hit my turnaround point for my shorter walk and decided to stretch it out a bit more. It was a nice day, though a little warm for office clothes.

I am going to keep this sort on words, but long on photos.

I've been back a few days after spending about a week in Colorado. We spent the first several days in Loveland, north of Denver, visiting family. We made a road trip into the heart of the Rocky Mountain National Park, which was awesome, and to Casa Bonita, which was... something else. We also visited friends in Boulder before heading south through Colorado Springs and up Waldo Canyon (of the Waldo Canyon Fire fame) for a couple of days of rockhounding in South Park. Yes, the real South Park. We had a great time reconnecting with family, and the grin on my face got bigger the higher the elevation. We topped out at about 12,200 feet.

I didn't get any time to run - we were pretty busy the whole time - but I did manage to do a little barefoot running practice on new and exciting surfaces...



Like chunky gravel and dirt driveways in Loveland, a rough asphalt path far above the treeline, and rain-mostened rangeland.

After working my way in on the asphalt roads around here, it was surprisingly easy to relax a little bit more and manage (if slowly) to move over gravel and uneven terrain. And running above 12,000 feet was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I could feel the diminished oxygen, but it just slowed me down a little. Conversely, when I came back home and ran here... the air felt positively thick. Weird.

Note: Alita kept rolling her eyes as she was going through the photos. "Oh, of course. He's taken more photos of his feet. Naturally."

Moving right along... here are a few random shots.


Alita and I at her aunt's house in the foothills of the Rockies.


The gang all loaded up in the rental SUV for our journey into the national park. I think this was shortly after I started singing John Denver songs.


A view of what it looks like at 12,000+ feet...


... and a photo of one of the locals.


Speaking of locals, there were a LOT of them at Casa Bonita in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. It was... an experience.


Moving on, we went into the REAL South Park -- a high inland intermountain basin -- for rockhounding. Just as the first significant rains in months began to sweep through the area. You can see one thunderstorm moving in from the left as Alec and his cousin dug for blue barite near Hartsel.


Once that storm moved in, we had to take shelter in the vehicles from rain and lightning. It got pretty wild there before it passed.


The next day, we were looking for blue topaz near Lake George. That's my brother in law next to me, as I wonder what I've gotten myself into. I'm the sort of person who'd rather climb the mountain than burrow into its base, but it was still fun taking photos and hanging out in some very beautiful scenery.


Like this. Nice, huh?

Suffice it to say, a return trip is highly probable.

That is, once I get "Rocky Mountain High" out of my head.

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain High,
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply.
Rocky Mountain High, ....in Colorado....
Rocky Mountain High....

Looks like a nice trip, Mark! I laughed a little at the foot photos, too. You're looking quite trim, too!

Mike MacLellan wrote:Looks like a nice trip, Mark! I laughed a little at the foot photos, too. You're looking quite trim, too!

Hey, Mike! Yes, it was a good trip. The next time we go, we'll be spending more time at altitude, I think. It is so cool up there.

I started taking foot photos almost as a joke (almost), but it became truly comical after a while. "Hold on," I heard Alita tell Alec at one point. "Your father needs to take another picture of his feet." Hey! Quirky is charming, right?

Thanks on the trim comment. I'm getting there. I'd been trying to lose those 25-ish pounds for several years, so I'm glad (thrilled, actually) to have finally hit on a strategy that works for me.

Barefoot Run: 4 miles on asphalt of varying roughness

Weather: Partly cloudy, cool, humid. 58 degrees, 95% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Rice milk and coffee before.

My goal this morning was to figure out what is going to work for me as I shift my running to earlier in the morning. My experiments a couple of weeks ago were unsatisfying, so I needed to mix things up. This morning, instead of getting up and heading out the door in 15 minutes, I took a little more time. I had a little coffee and rice milk, and I stretched. It meant getting up a little earlier, but it took some of the pressure off me and let me decide on the fly how far I wanted to run.

I did the run barefoot, maintaining HR discipline. I did two miles of laps around the block - dodging fireworks debris in some spots - before deciding to try a big loop around the neighborhood that'd take me on to rougher pavement. It slowed me down a lot, but I was able to handle it much better than before. Woot! And when I went back into the neighborhood, the asphalt there felt as smooth as silk. Go figure.

I wrapped up with a couple more laps around the block and stopped at four miles.

No foot abrasion to speak of after the run, either, which is a good thing.

Average HR: 137

Walk: 2.63 miles

Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy. 78 degrees, 7 mph winds.

A lunchtime walk across the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River into Oregon. It was warm, but I was shaded by the bridge structure for much of the walk, and there was a nice breeze off the river. The biggest challenge was avoiding being run over by bicyclists who seem unable to read the "bikes yield to pedestrians" sign. Oh well. Keeps me on my toes.

Barefoot Run: 6.21 miles (66 minutes)

Weather: Overcast, mild, a little muggy. 57 degrees, 90% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Rice milk and coffee.

I've been getting a little tired of running around the block, hamster-style, so I put my barefoot running skills (and the skin of my feet) to the test by heading out on one of my normal running routes. I turned my fairly limited sensory diet of neighborhood asphalt to whatever the roads gave me.

I warmed up with a few laps around the block, then headed out. I used a section of smooth concrete sidewalk on part of the out-and-back route to not overly stimulate my feet before I got to the roads I'd never run barefoot before. I kept the effort level easy and tried to adjust to sections that were sometimes smooth, sometimes rough. It was feeling good, so I kept going, which made this my longest barefoot run ever.

I could feel my body trying to find its most efficient motion (my cadence was about 180, which was good), especially as I started to fatigue a bit. The soles of my feet could tell the difference between the rougher and smoother parts, but they came out unscathed. Woot!

Two other highlights: 1) About a mile away from home, I glanced into a yard and saw a young doe placidly nibbling grass - she seemed entirely unconcerned about me as I padded quietly by; 2) When I got back into my neighborhood and predictable pavement, I decided to see just how fast I could go.

I accelerated, concentrating on making sure my feet were still touching down properly. I started in the 10s and sped up to the 9s to the 8s to the 7s and the 6s before really goosing it on a downhill and hitting a top speed of 5:45/mi in front of my house - barefoot. I revved my HR to 169, and I was panting afterward, but it felt great.

Average HR for entire run: 138

That's awesome. Hope you don't have to stop "on a dime" on the concrete in bare feet, though!

Michael Enright wrote:That's awesome. Hope you don't have to stop "on a dime" on the concrete in bare feet, though!

Yeah... that would be...

Sounds like an excellent run, sir! Congrats on another 1st...however I don't see it being your last barefoot "1st"!

57 degree, barefoot, peace corp, I can see Mark is still very hippie.

Joel H wrote:Sounds like an excellent run, sir! Congrats on another 1st...however I don't see it being your last barefoot "1st"!

Thanks, Joel! And you know what? You're right about more "firsts" to come. That's one of the fun things about this whole barefoot thing - it's like starting running all over again, without all those annoying wind-sucking experiences. Every run is an adventure.

Jerry wrote:57 degree, barefoot, peace corp, I can see Mark is still very hippie.

Hey, what do you expect from somebody who grew up in Eugene?

(And yes, true to form, I am wearing my Luna sandals on casual day at work. My co-workers describe them as "biblical." One, interestingly, said they looked "obscene.")

A few random mumblings for a Sunday...

***

I decided to be lazy this morning and take an extra rest day. My training partner was off delivering his son to a survival(ist?) school off in the mountains of Northern California, and my hammies are a bit sore after my flirtation with speed this week. Besides, it was a rough week (a child entering preadolescence will definitely throw you for a loop if you're unprepared...) and my stress bucket was overflowing. No sense adding to it at this point.

***

One small aspect of the stress was learning late this week that, thanks to my laid-back approach are relearning running this summer, I wasn't running enough miles to qualify a long-term wear testing gig with Nike. I'd have been willing to ramp up the miles, but they had enough higher mileage runners to keep me on the bench this time. Oh well. I suppose this will just encourage me to keep slowly building the barefoot miles.

***

Which raises the question: Exactly how much barefooting is enough? I know from experience that it takes at least three months to learn new motor skills, and I think I've surpassed that time frame now. My feet are getting more resilient, and the distances are getting easier - but I think I haven't quite got that barefoot-style landing hard-wired into my body yet. That points to keeping it going. For how long... I'm not sure...

***

I'm sort of in that unsure place when it comes to my other goal for this year - dropping weight. I've got down into the low 160, which is nice, but I'm not sure just how far I want to take it down. I've gotten as low as the 140s before, but I end up looking like a bobblehead when I do that, and it's hard to buy pants. I'll probably aim for the mid 150s and see how it goes. The biggest trick of this may well end up finding what activity/input level I need to maintain my weight.

Bummer about Nike but I don't think you need one more thing added to your list of changes this year. Also, I couldn't help on the barefoot thing but I am sure you will figure it out at some point.

As for the losing weight, I am in the same boat. I was almost up to 170 back in January and ever since then I have now gotten my weight all the way down to 150. I don't really want to go any lower than that but I eat when I am hungry and I don't when I am not hungry so I am not starving myself. If you figure out how to just maintain the weight let me know because I would love to just maintain the weight too and not have to worry about the wife nagging me to eat. I will do the same for you if I figure it out.

Joel H wrote:Bummer about Nike but I don't think you need one more thing added to your list of changes this year. Also, I couldn't help on the barefoot thing but I am sure you will figure it out at some point.

As for the losing weight, I am in the same boat. I was almost up to 170 back in January and ever since then I have now gotten my weight all the way down to 150. I don't really want to go any lower than that but I eat when I am hungry and I don't when I am not hungry so I am not starving myself. If you figure out how to just maintain the weight let me know because I would love to just maintain the weight too and not have to worry about the wife nagging me to eat. I will do the same for you if I figure it out.

Sounds like a plan, Joel. (And congrats on getting the weight down!)

As far as barefooting goes, I know that Barefoot Ken Bob talks about making sure to do at least 25% of your total miles barefoot if you've transitioned back into some sort of footwear to keep your reflexes sharp and avoid backsliding. That sounds reasonable, once I get to that point.

Re: "best" weight... Healthy diet, healthy running routine, healthy living, lose the scale. Just my 2 cents. If you want something a little more concrete than that, I've heard that the "best" racing weight is whatever weight you can complete a training cycle on without risking injury.

Nice barefoot run, by the way. I might get myself into that one of these days... (deja vu?)

Mike MacLellan wrote:Re: "best" weight... Healthy diet, healthy running routine, healthy living, lose the scale. Just my 2 cents. If you want something a little more concrete than that, I've heard that the "best" racing weight is whatever weight you can complete a training cycle on without risking injury.

Nice barefoot run, by the way. I might get myself into that one of these days... (deja vu?)

Great point on the weight, Mike, though I've found the scale to be a useful tool. It provides the objective analysis that can fuel action. As in, "Holy crap! I've let my weight creep up HOW far?!? Better change strategies, pronto."

Barefoot is fun. But it's only fun, I think, if you make sure to keep it fun. Not sure if that's zen or just confusing.

Barefoot Run: 5.12 miles

Weather: Mostly clear, mild, muggy. 55 degrees, 95% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Coffee and rice milk.

I tried something a little different this morning. Rather than do laps around the block (even if only to warm up), I headed straight out on one of my normal routes. It was a little odd. It made going out barefoot seem almost routine, and by extension, humdrum. I think the soles of my feet might disagree with that, however. There was a good mix of textures, including concrete, asphalt, permeable pavement, scattered gravel, tree droppings, etc.

I used low HR guidelines, and my speed was fine. Part of me (the one with the short attention span) wants me to go faster - especially since I proved to myself I *could* go faster barefoot - but the rational side of me remembers I'm still learning and that I need to be patient.

Visual highlight of the run: crossing paths with two young deer and realizing they were both bucks (they had thumb-sized antler nubs). They were a little more wary, but I didn't completely spook them.

Average HR for the entire run: 137

Nice looking run Mark....and I like your attitude of keeping it fun....keep telling your short attention span side that.

Joel H wrote:Nice looking run Mark....and I like your attitude of keeping it fun....keep telling your short attention span side that.

Thanks, Joel. And the nice thing about the situation is that, short attention span notwithstanding, my feet provide immediate feedback and have a l-o-n-g memory. Even if I haven't shredded the skin, my feet still feel slightly tenderized after longer barefoot runs like this morning. They won't allow me to get carried away.

Heh. Supervised/coached by the soles of my feet. Whodathunkit?

Walk: 2.3 miles

Weather: Sunny, warmish, a little muggy. 72 degrees

A walk down to and along the Columbia River during lunch. My tootsies are tender (yes, I wore shoes) but my legs felt fine.

Mark B wrote:

Heh. Supervised/coached by the soles of my feet. Whodathunkit?

Oh so your feet are supposed to tell you what to do? Oh NOW I get it....I must have been doing this whole running thing wrong all these years...no wonder I am so slow!

Joel H wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Heh. Supervised/coached by the soles of my feet. Whodathunkit?

Oh so your feet are supposed to tell you what to do? Oh NOW I get it....I must have been doing this whole running thing wrong all these years...no wonder I am so slow!

Yeah, Joel. I mean, when ambulating over the ground, why should you ever listen to the only part of your body that actually touches the ground? It's revolutionary! And more than a little kooky.

Walk: 2.93 miles

Weather: Sunny, warm, a little muggy. 76 degrees, 60% humidity

Took off across the downstream side of the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River to Oregon, then decided to loop around the Oregon side of the bridge and return via the upstream side. It added a little distance and offered a different view on the walk.

My feet and legs are feeling good today, so I should be ready for another barefoot excursion tomorrow morning.