No Rain in New Jersey Hurts

On Tuesday I wanted to run nice and barefoot at Greenbrook Park. I ran right out of my front door and down the street, doing the very comfortable road half mile to the park. (Note that during the first half of last year I had to run that same half mile with shoes on, then I took them off at the park. Then I progressed to just starting the run barefoot, but had to run on the grass next to the street as much as possible for it to be comfortable.) I got to the park and hit the grass. And it hurt. The dirt under the grass is hard and uneven. It was much more comfortable to run on the road. After putting up with the pain for a few minutes, I turned around and ran home for some XC shoes.

Yesterday I tried again. The ground is even harder, if that is possible. But I was prepared. I carried my XC shoes while I ran on the street, then put them on for hte bulk of the workout in the park.

It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. New Jersey really needs rain. I need it to soften up the ground. My coworker told me that we had zero inches of rain in March in NJ. I looked it up at the National Weather Service. Here is the current map -

Map thanks to National Weather Service

As you can see, we are down 3 inches from the normal in Somerset and Middlesex counties. That is a lot. I am looking forward for a great day of rainy weather on Saturday. Let it rain and make lots of soft mud of the hard cracked earth!

Warmth Returns and The Cop Doesn't Like It

Warm 70 degree day today. Last Thursday I did 4.5 miles barefoot. Skied the weekend - glorious warm sunny blue sky day on spring snow. Today I did 5.5 barefoot. When I picked my son up from indoor soccer practice at the high school, the cop on duty at the door stopped me, asking, "Where are your shoes?" I told them they were in my car. He asked me to go get them becuase, "You're really not supposed to be walking around the building without shoes." He thanked me when I safely wearing flip-flops.

I'll get you my pretty! ...... and your little dog too!

I'll get you my pretty! ...... and your little dog too!: "

What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed? -Michelangelo"

Running Barefoot Improved My Skiing!

Living and Running barefoot and wearing ski boots are about as opposite as one can get as far as footwear is concerned, but I am convinced running barefoot has improved my skiing.

From December 15 through the beginning of April, I ski a lot, relatively, for a guy who lives in New Jersey. Thirteen days so far this season. Last I season, I skied 27 days - this year my goal is 30. It isn't the total of an instructor, patroller, racer or Salt Lake native - but it is something. Anyway, This winter I have had a breakthrough in skiing moguls (AKA bumps), followed by an epiphany (er, or something). In the past I skied them fine on gentle terrain, but on steeper terrain had only limited success. I would take a few turns, then had to stop and think about it, or would get my weight too far back and then onto my uphill ski and lose my balance. But this season, with more barefoot mileage behind me than ever, I have skied them with aplomb and grace and speed, and without hesitation. Here is the epiphany: In order to ski steep bumps well, you have to push your ski tips down into the troughs between the bumps, keep your weight well forward, respond to the feedback your feet feed you - all at the same time that you are looking for the next five turns, and keep both knees bent and RELAXED. RELAX, RELAX, RELAX - sound familiar?... Running barefoot moves your weight distribution to your midfoot or forefoot, makes you run with more bend in your knees, teaches your body to absorb shock, develops your eccentric contraction strength in your calves and quads, and increases the feedback and reaction time between your feet and your brain. All of the things that are a result of running barefoot "right" are what is necessary to ski well in the bumps!

Twenty Minutes Barefoot @ 32 Degrees F

The snow is still here, but running barefoot is fine if the pavement is dry! I repeated a few dry streets around my home last evening. Toes were just fine. Could have gone farther if I was more used to barefoot pavement running and wanted to keep repeating the same streets. Put shoes on for another 20 minutes.

Again, I am realizing that things are possible that I previously never would have imagined.

The Snow is Here

It has snowed two nights so far. The first was the night before Thanksgiving. I raced on Thanksgiving in shoes, so I wasn't really thinking about barefooting that day. The snow only stuck on the grass. I did leave the house and drive to the race barefoot, and I did spend as much of the day shoeless as possible. But there was no running on that snow day. The second snow as last weekend, on Saturday night. I didn't run on Sunday because I went skiing. So Monday rolled around yesterday and I had gone to work and come home barefoot on the cold ground and in the car barefoot with no problem, so I set off from my house barefoot for the first part of my run, as I have been doing (see previous post). There were sections of wet pavement and dry pavement. I had some frozen toes after a couple of minutes. It was because of the wet pavement. Where there were longer sections of dry road, my feet warmed up. But there were not enough of those kinds of sections. A couple of times cars forced me into some slush on the side of the road. Surprisingly, the few steps in the slush was not as bad as the wet sections of pavement. I made it a mile, taking the shortest loop back to my house to put shoes on, in about 8:40. By then my toes were quite frozen. It took a couple of miles running in shoes for them to warm up completely.

I am discovering that going barefoot is more than just an exercise in running better, it is an exercise about changing the power of your mind to overcome all the things that society has programmed into it that may not necessarily be true. I was thinking of joining a gym this winter to take advantage of the treadmills, and was hoping to find one that would have no problem with running on their equipment barefoot. But trying to get through it despite the weather outside is more of this exercise in mental power.