After reading [Fix Your Feet] and a number of articles on barefoot running and foot muscle imbalances I decided to try it. A few days ago I started running on the wet sand at low/rising tide to build up some mileage without shoes to see how things went.
So far the result have been exceptional, and without the GPS I would not beleive them. Within the first 100 yards of my first run I noticed a number of things I was doing wrong in my form and stride and could correct them immediately - things I could not feel when running with shoes on. And once I corrected them, I shot off. It didn't feel faster, it just felt right. When I looked at my pace on the GPS more than a mile later I almost stopped to make sure I wasn't seeing a pace from a bike ride.
I had immediately dropped over 2 minutes from my mile pace, held it over 4 miles, and did it (and better) the next day. That's a bit of a change. My mile pace went from a fairly consistent (and disappointing) 9:50 to 10:30 mile down to 7:40 the first run without shoes, and the next day between 7:20 and 7:35. I was also able to sprint for 1/2 mile the second day at a 6:33 pace, easily the fastest I've ever run.
I think I'm going to stick to running without shoes. [ 6/09/2004 05:01:07 PM ] [ ]
Monday, June 07, 2004
After Hours
Friday night I finally managed to get out and see [Bobbi] spin live. I had originally thought that the thing was over at 3am, but before I was leaving at 10 I realized it started at 3. So fast forward a few hours and at 3:30 I'm coming off the 10 at the Western overpass and all traffic is stopped by a CHP convoy. They're moving sewer pipes on flatbeds that are at least 30 feet in diameter, large enough that they have to go around stoplights, etc. to avoid knocking things over. For 20 minutes I sat there, and the pipes and cops headed exactly where I was going. It took me another half hour to go all the way around and get ahead of the convoy and up Western to Melrose. It was great to finally see Bobbi in her element, she's good and really enjoys what she's doing now. When she finished up I said hello to her - I haven't seen her in person in some time - and she was absolutely floored that I came out to see her spin.
I drove home as the sun started to creep up, stopping to get a soda in Hollywood to stay awake. I had to fight my way through a crowd of very desperate female capitalists to get to the window to order. By the time I actually got into bed it was 7am, which made Saturday kinda a wash as a training day. When I woke up around 3 though, the new [Pig] album was at my door, which made my day. [ 6/07/2004 02:39:04 PM ] [ ]
