In the last post I told you that I've found a warm-up to use for all my physical endeavors and that I'd write a post about it. Here it is.
"What?" you ask! "What is extraordinary about this warm-up? It is very simple, kind of mundane and routine, and nothing that doesn't make sense or that one couldn't devise for one's self."
So it would appear.
In fact, in Episode 1 of this same series of videos (the one posted above is the first video in Episode 2), the video creator, Paul Zaichik, himself admits that this routine is simple and does not have the "wow" factor one might be looking for.
But I think there is something special about this routine.
For some people -- and most especially for a person like me -- a routine like this is exactly where they should start when they want to get back into movement after having gotten horribly out of condition and after bones, ligaments, joints, muscles have become stiffer, weaker, smaller and creakier through years of inactivity and disuse.
The movements that Paul Zaichik goes through in these videos are the A-B-Cs of movement. Every skill, every physical endeavor has it's basics -- the fundamentals. Many times in a craze and frenzy to become fit, lean and sleek -- in an eager desire to have athletic accomplishments -- people rush through the basics to get to the "good stuff." The basics are boring, and seem unspectacular.
Yet the basics form the foundation for everything else and if there is a weak link there, injuries are ready and waiting to happen.
Recognizing the shapes and knowing the sounds all the alphabet letters make leads one to being able to make and recognize words, which then later leads to forming sentences and paragraphs, and much later to complicated written and spoken communication that eventually expresses complex and abstract concepts.
What we have here in this video is the alphabet of human movement: joint rotation, flexing, extending, bending, rotating, stretching, etc... Getting familiar and bringing one's self through this simple progression of movements is like a recitation of that alphabet that will set a person up for physical activity above and beyond. It will reveal weak and troubled spots, and at the same time strengthen and correct problems. They are functional movements that will be used in more complex situations later on.
I admire the patience of Paul Zaichik. If you check out some of his other videos, he has a vast knowledge of how movement works, especially in the martial arts, and he himself is a master of movement, skill, power, speed. And yet he is humble enough to sit down and patiently go through a basic movement routine to teach someone how it's done. That's like a great literary academic sitting down to patiently teach kindergartners their ABCs. There is something really humble and special about that.
Using this routine would be a great starting place to lead a person into more advanced physical and athletic pursuits. I got myself involved in more advanced tasks of movement before getting myself through these basic levels of development, but it is not too late to go back and work with the A-B-Cs. Because I love some of the more advanced stuff I'm doing, I'm not going to go completely backward by giving it all up and starting with only this routine to build from the ground up. But I think it makes a great warm-up and adjunct to the other stuff I'm doing, and I have already experienced how much better my other workouts feel after going through this fundamental routine.
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By the way, if you want to hear his in depth explanation for all the movements in the routine, you can watch through all the Episode 1 videos on the Project Elastic Steel channel. I did, and found them very informative.
Also, this guy Paul Zaichik is very capable of also producing the wow factor, so check out some of his other videos on the more advanced stuff if you're looking to be impressed in a more conventional way.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Barefoot Running and Barefoot Kung Fu
Hi, folks!
What a gorgeous day it was for a barefoot run! The joy of barefoot running truly returns with the spring. Even though it was possible to tough it out in the colder snowy weather, there is no doubt that the full joy of it blooms in the spring.
Had planned not to give play-by-play descriptions this season, as I did last year, but so much happens out there, it's hard not to come back and talk about it.
One excitement is that cobblestone sidewalks and asphalt do not feel rough and hurt-y this season! The feet are definitely reverting to a state once known in childhood, when they walked over all the hurt-y things all summer and didn't seem to notice. Don't know why, exactly, but there's a kind of elation in this.
Wisdom From Guy on Bicycle
Today at the finish of my run, a guy rode up to me on a bicycle.
"You should buy those new shoes," he said, definitely with the tone as if he thought he was telling me about something really cool that I would like.
"I've got 'em," I said (not smugly). "You mean the Vibram Five Fingers, right?"
"Yeah," he said, and then he rode his bike back in the direction he had come from.
I got the distinct feeling he made the trip just to tell me that.
**pause**
DOES HE NOT KNOW WHO I AM? I ... I AM BAREFOOT FRESCA! OF COURSE I KNOW ABOUT VIBRAMS. I WRITE A BLOG. I READ BOOKS. I TAKE PICTURES OF MY FEET. I ... I ... I KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!
Lol! This is quite different from the girl who a mere year ago wrote:
The first part, where I just lift my leg -- called "chambering," I think -- is something that I need to do over and over again because a while back I couldn't do that part without falling over. What good is going on to try to kick something if you can't even get that part right? So, some of my Kung Fu practice is very un-glamorously repeating that motion over and over again.
Okay, since it's not a big deal to just stand there barefoot -- didn't move across the ground surface -- I'll post another video where I'm moving around a bit. This one is me practicing the first part of one of my forms -- Long Fist II:
I had worried about pivoting while barefoot, but that doesn't seem to be a problem here, does it? In fact, doing it barefoot has been as great as discovering barefoot running was.
If you liked these videos I can show more. As you can see, it may sound impressive that I'm going through black sash training right now, but I have a long way to go to master this stuff. In fact, I'm not sure exactly why I was invited into the training, but we'll just go with it.
What a gorgeous day it was for a barefoot run! The joy of barefoot running truly returns with the spring. Even though it was possible to tough it out in the colder snowy weather, there is no doubt that the full joy of it blooms in the spring.
Had planned not to give play-by-play descriptions this season, as I did last year, but so much happens out there, it's hard not to come back and talk about it.
One excitement is that cobblestone sidewalks and asphalt do not feel rough and hurt-y this season! The feet are definitely reverting to a state once known in childhood, when they walked over all the hurt-y things all summer and didn't seem to notice. Don't know why, exactly, but there's a kind of elation in this.
Wisdom From Guy on Bicycle
Today at the finish of my run, a guy rode up to me on a bicycle.
"You should buy those new shoes," he said, definitely with the tone as if he thought he was telling me about something really cool that I would like.
"I've got 'em," I said (not smugly). "You mean the Vibram Five Fingers, right?"
"Yeah," he said, and then he rode his bike back in the direction he had come from.
I got the distinct feeling he made the trip just to tell me that.
**pause**
DOES HE NOT KNOW WHO I AM? I ... I AM BAREFOOT FRESCA! OF COURSE I KNOW ABOUT VIBRAMS. I WRITE A BLOG. I READ BOOKS. I TAKE PICTURES OF MY FEET. I ... I ... I KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!
Lol! This is quite different from the girl who a mere year ago wrote:
"I have started a barefoot blog even though the only knowledge I have of barefoot running is what I have read and exists as an appealing theory to me."
"I have started a barefoot blog even though I am an absolute beginner who has only run barefoot about six times."
"I have started a barefoot blog even though I have no idea if I'm going to stick with barefoot running or not?"
Barefoot Fresca: "Beginning the Barefoot Journey"
Okay, enough with that.
In my next post I'm going to tell you about some warm-up exercises I've been using before I go for a run. I was going to tell you about them in this post, but I realized there was a lot I wanted to say about it (don't worry -- not too much), so it would warrant it's own separate topic.
And Now Some Barefoot Kung Fu
I also took some videos of me practicing Kung Fu barefoot outside. I'm not sure about showing you the practice videos because I'm not that good. But they are of interest because it's being done barefoot, so perhaps I will show them to you.
I also took some videos of me practicing Kung Fu barefoot outside. I'm not sure about showing you the practice videos because I'm not that good. But they are of interest because it's being done barefoot, so perhaps I will show them to you.
I'll show you one. It's me practicing a roundhouse kick. First I'll show you a couple of pictures of the surface I'm practicing on:
Here is me practicing some aspects of a roundhouse kick:
The first part, where I just lift my leg -- called "chambering," I think -- is something that I need to do over and over again because a while back I couldn't do that part without falling over. What good is going on to try to kick something if you can't even get that part right? So, some of my Kung Fu practice is very un-glamorously repeating that motion over and over again.
Okay, since it's not a big deal to just stand there barefoot -- didn't move across the ground surface -- I'll post another video where I'm moving around a bit. This one is me practicing the first part of one of my forms -- Long Fist II:
I had worried about pivoting while barefoot, but that doesn't seem to be a problem here, does it? In fact, doing it barefoot has been as great as discovering barefoot running was.
If you liked these videos I can show more. As you can see, it may sound impressive that I'm going through black sash training right now, but I have a long way to go to master this stuff. In fact, I'm not sure exactly why I was invited into the training, but we'll just go with it.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Flying Barefoot
Let's say you are like me, and you allowed yourself to live a sedentary life for many years.
Let's say you are like me and you had once known what it was like to experience activity and a modest amount of fitness, so you knew what you were missing.
Let's say you were like me and you always had the secret dream of becoming a moving, flexible, strong, graceful person again.
Let's say you were like me and after putting off this "secret dream" for many years finally realized that you'd better do it.
So, you lifted yourself up off your couch and started to become physically active again.
Maybe some of you jumped right up and got right into it and after a few months of adjustment were back in the swing of things.
But maybe others of you, for one reason or another, found that it was not as simple as it seemed to transform one's body from a sitting and thinking machine into a moving and doing machine.
The fact is that it takes time and patience to put it all together. There will be ups and downs and injuries and setbacks. There will be periods of progress that seem to go down the drain because of one interruption or another. There will be over-eagerness and lack of realistic goals that precipitates too-much-too-soon burnout. There will be a laziness and lack of motivation and drive that hold one back because one doesn't demand enough of one's self. There will be lack of foresight and an intelligent approach. There will be an approach that is too thought out and too detailed and too intelligent that is impossible to achieve. All kinds of things to go through.
You may find that the freedom of movement you admire when you watch the top athletes on TV does not come easily. That movement and athleticism is multidimensional and that there are way too many body parts,systems, interactions and functions involved.
You start an activity and then you find out that there are limitations that are preventing the fullest expression of that activity. You find out that you might need to improve your strength in other areas that don't even seem related to the activity you've chosen. You might find out that some of your joints and ligaments need to open up and rotate and move in ways that they could not when you started. You might find that your muscles are tight and need some kind of stretch or myofascial release. You might find that your muscles are too weak and you need to supplement with strength training. You might find that moving in only one direction and one way all the time makes you kind of a lopsidedly fit person.
You might find that it's hard to carve out the time, and that every time you try to add a new activity, everything else has to be rearranged.
You might find that you have to give up other stuff you really enjoyed.
You might find that it takes a long time, lots of trial and error.
You might find that missing just one piece of the puzzle may cause trouble and/or injury and prevent you from progressing.
At some point you might realize that this is going to be a lifetime endeavor.
All this sounds much more complicated than just going out for a little jog every night, doesn't it?
The fact of the matter is that merely getting off the couch and going out for a little 20 minute jog every day is going to improve a person's life. That's fine and good, and maybe an old fat lady like me should be content with an improvement like that.
But the way I'm wired, I find out that isn't what I'm really after.
Think what I'm after is the ideal of freedom. To break free of the limitations that hold this poor body back.
Maybe what I'd really like to do is learn how to fly.
It just seems like if I could get all the pieces in to place, wave my arms in just the right way, with enough flexibility and strength, just the right amount of training, and catch the air current just right, maybe I could fly.
To have a dream of moving like that -- flying free -- when one is so earthbound and is aging fast, can seem the height of ridiculousness right? Overweight -- not just by a little, but a lot -- Aging -- turning 50 this summer -- Osteoarthritic -- after she's been sitting for a while she hobbles across the floor in a bent over position until her joints get all oiled up and working again -- Lethargic, Slow to move, Prone to Procrastinate ... And she thinks she's going to fly?
But it seems like running might be a way to experience a moment of flight, because, unlike walking, there is a moment when both feet are off the ground, and you are kind of flying.
Let's say you are like me and you had once known what it was like to experience activity and a modest amount of fitness, so you knew what you were missing.
Let's say you were like me and you always had the secret dream of becoming a moving, flexible, strong, graceful person again.
Let's say you were like me and after putting off this "secret dream" for many years finally realized that you'd better do it.
So, you lifted yourself up off your couch and started to become physically active again.
Maybe some of you jumped right up and got right into it and after a few months of adjustment were back in the swing of things.
But maybe others of you, for one reason or another, found that it was not as simple as it seemed to transform one's body from a sitting and thinking machine into a moving and doing machine.
The fact is that it takes time and patience to put it all together. There will be ups and downs and injuries and setbacks. There will be periods of progress that seem to go down the drain because of one interruption or another. There will be over-eagerness and lack of realistic goals that precipitates too-much-too-soon burnout. There will be a laziness and lack of motivation and drive that hold one back because one doesn't demand enough of one's self. There will be lack of foresight and an intelligent approach. There will be an approach that is too thought out and too detailed and too intelligent that is impossible to achieve. All kinds of things to go through.
You may find that the freedom of movement you admire when you watch the top athletes on TV does not come easily. That movement and athleticism is multidimensional and that there are way too many body parts,systems, interactions and functions involved.
You start an activity and then you find out that there are limitations that are preventing the fullest expression of that activity. You find out that you might need to improve your strength in other areas that don't even seem related to the activity you've chosen. You might find out that some of your joints and ligaments need to open up and rotate and move in ways that they could not when you started. You might find that your muscles are tight and need some kind of stretch or myofascial release. You might find that your muscles are too weak and you need to supplement with strength training. You might find that moving in only one direction and one way all the time makes you kind of a lopsidedly fit person.
You might find that it's hard to carve out the time, and that every time you try to add a new activity, everything else has to be rearranged.
You might find that you have to give up other stuff you really enjoyed.
You might find that it takes a long time, lots of trial and error.
You might find that missing just one piece of the puzzle may cause trouble and/or injury and prevent you from progressing.
At some point you might realize that this is going to be a lifetime endeavor.
All this sounds much more complicated than just going out for a little jog every night, doesn't it?
The fact of the matter is that merely getting off the couch and going out for a little 20 minute jog every day is going to improve a person's life. That's fine and good, and maybe an old fat lady like me should be content with an improvement like that.
But the way I'm wired, I find out that isn't what I'm really after.
Think what I'm after is the ideal of freedom. To break free of the limitations that hold this poor body back.
Maybe what I'd really like to do is learn how to fly.
It just seems like if I could get all the pieces in to place, wave my arms in just the right way, with enough flexibility and strength, just the right amount of training, and catch the air current just right, maybe I could fly.
To have a dream of moving like that -- flying free -- when one is so earthbound and is aging fast, can seem the height of ridiculousness right? Overweight -- not just by a little, but a lot -- Aging -- turning 50 this summer -- Osteoarthritic -- after she's been sitting for a while she hobbles across the floor in a bent over position until her joints get all oiled up and working again -- Lethargic, Slow to move, Prone to Procrastinate ... And she thinks she's going to fly?
But it seems like running might be a way to experience a moment of flight, because, unlike walking, there is a moment when both feet are off the ground, and you are kind of flying.
Friday, April 15, 2011
I M A Barefoot Runner!
Did you think I had left you all?
No way!
But I have been on a little break from barefoot running.
Didn't run for several weeks after the Run Disney event. A couple of weeks ago tried going out a couple of times and felt great both times. Couple more weeks passed and finally today got back out there again.
From the way it went outside there today, it appears as if it will not be necessary to start from scratch, even after all that down time. Soles of feet, muscles, bones, joints, ligaments all felt great. It can officially be said that I am not longer a complete beginner.
Last season's blog was all about becoming a barefoot runner. The format was that after I came home from each run I gave reports about the experience. I ran on the same path over and over again, mostly, and blogged immediately after running while all my thoughts were fresh in my head. Running along outside, thoughts of all of you barefoot readers were with me and so many posts were composed to you in my head as I ran along.
During this down time I have been thinking about what direction Barefoot Fresca blog should take this year. Will I continue going round and round my same running path reporting each little stone that got stuck on the bottom of my feet, and each little toe that I stubbed?
No, that doesn't seem to be right any more.
This next season should be about how I got stronger, faster, ran farther, went new places, met more new people, ran bigger races, etc ... right?
But that is not what this season will probably be about.
Some explorers explore by going out further and further. This type might even end up signing up with NASA and flying to the moon, or studying far away galaxies with a giant telescope in an observatory. But other explorers stay right at home, take out a microscope and start studying the dirt in their own backyard. They find their own "galaxies" as they break down the ordinary experiences within the self-imposed limits of their own lives. This is another valid job of the explorer.
Perhaps I shall run faster and further this year and shall meet more and more barefoot runners, and shall venture to new barefoot places. But, on the other hand, perhaps I shall not, and I shall study each barefoot step on the same path over and over again, and just get to know the barefoot people I have already met a little better. Each experience would be something to learn from
My main interest in focus in my barefoot running right now is in the experience of each single barefoot step. I am interested in the way it feels. I am interested in the principles that surround the act of managing gravitational forces, body weight, sensory feedback, balance, strength, speed. I am interested in learning about all the factors that effect the act of flying through the air for a moment and landing on one foot and managing those forces within the intricate coordination of joints, muscles, tendons, bones. I am interested in the way it feels, and I am interested in getting to what feels right and good as I go along.
For a long time, there has been something in me that has been intensely interested in athletics and I haven't known why, exactly. I'm not an athlete, exactly, and yet I felt that I was, in some way. I think I have finally discovered why this is. I have a deep interest in human movement in general. Almost a kind of scientific fascination. I was very excited recently to find that there is a word that puts a name to this interest. It is the word "Kinesiology."
Whatever the activity engaged in over the years, I have always wanted to understand that activity this way -- in a kinesthetic way. Singing. Kung Fu. Running. Dance. Golf. Or even just everyday Bending and Lifting. It is not enough for me to just experience the activities themselves. I must, it seems, understand which muscles are working, how the body is functioning while engaged in the activity, what the most efficient and optimal position is in which to perform the activity -- in a sense, getting to the heart of the nature of the activity, it's essence. In fact, there has always been a little something in me that couldn't quite grasp and perform the activity -- even while everyone around me found it simple to pick up -- without studying the mechanization and understanding exactly what I was doing.
But now I have found a name for this orientation of mine -- it is an interest in kinesiology, the science of human movement. I used to call it an interest in "athleticism," which was kind of close, but not exactly right.
So, don't be surprised if you read me musing, reflecting, exploring, studying and learning about the kinesiology of my experience of barefoot running and other physical pursuits in the coming months in this blog.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Season II -- Barefoot Mile Number 3 -- Calculations!
"Barefoot Running at the Indoor Track: Tonight or Tomorrow"
It was written to three of us and said she might be there tonight.
I showed up, but there was no one there. Kiddies were having their free karate class in the gym below, just like last week.
On the walk over, it didn't feel so bad out. I thought, why am I going to this indoor track? I should just run outside. Then I remembered I was going because my friend might be there. And besides, it was dark.
So, I started round the track. It was fun, I'll admit, but I was going to run further tonight so I wasn't sure how many times around the track would be about a mile.
I tried to eyeball the track and figure out how far around it was. Was it half the size of a regular track? I'm not very good at eyeballing, but I thought it looked half the size of a regular track. (You will find out later that I was very very wrong about this estimation.)
I decided to run around in sets of 10x around. I ran round and round. It was really hot. There were these old radiators in there and wow could they make it hot. Plus I was in the upper part of the room above the gym so the hot air had risen. But they had the windows open on the wall by the radiators so there was a cold breeze when I ran by the hot radiators. That was a weird sensation.
I started to get bored going round and round without my friend to talk to. This is not much better than a treadmill, I thought. Although it is slightly better because I don't have to change my form to pawback or anything. And I can count the laps. Only I kept losing track of how many, so I think I "cheated" myself by counting some of them twice.
I also started feeling a little tilted from running round the edges in the same direction. After 10 laps, I switched direction.
I had thought that 10 laps might be about a mile, but after 10 laps it definitely had not felt like a mile. Maybe 20 laps is a mile, I thought. I decided to do 40 laps (remember: I'm still getting back into it after a month off, plus I have Kung Fu tomorrow).
I decided to concentrate on breathing quietly and running softly and quietly without losing my composure. That was interesting enough to get me around all the laps.
After finishing the 40 laps -- uggh! -- I tried to figure out how far around this track was. I walked with baby steps around the track. It was about 140 baby steps. My baby steps might be a foot long and they might not.
When I got downstairs, I asked one of the kids taking the karate class if they knew how many times around the track was a mile. "24, I think."
Wow, I sure did not eyeball that track well if I thought it might be half the size of a regular track!
So, I got home and tried to do some math. First, I tried to see how many inches my "baby step" was.
I multiplied 20 inches by 140 steps around the track: 2800 inches.
Then divided by 12 to get feet: 233 feet around.
Then I divided the feet in a mile (5280) by 233 which came to roughly between 22 and 23 times around the track for a mile.
Considering how inexactly I had taken the baby steps and how inexactly I had measured my step when I got home, and also considering how I felt after running 20 times around the track, I guess the kid is probably right that 24 times round that track is probably a mile.
Now, why did I bother to try to roughly calculate that? Why do I need to know how far I went? Why do I need a measurement?
While I was going around it was really bothering me that I didn't know how far I was going or how long I was running. So, I had this thought that maybe I could just listen to my body. Maybe I could just run until it seemed like fatigue would no longer let me keep my form well. I thought of non-dieting approaches to manage food that recommend paying close attention to body signals: eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Maybe the same approach is good for running too. Let the body's wisdom determine the distance and speed.
But it was hard to listen to the body's wisdom. I needed to have an idea when it was time to stop. I needed some predetermined amount to run. I decided on 40 times around the track ahead of time.
I mean, what would happen if I listened to my body? What if it never wanted to stop and I was stuck there running round that track forever? Or, what if it told me to stop before I had run enough to benefit me? (Whatever that amount is?) What if endorphins kick in and I don't notice I'm overdoing it and end up with a repetitive stress injury? What if I give up and don't push myself beyond? (Beyond what?) What if there was no such thing as training for a race? A tempo run? A long run? What if I just ran for fun and did what felt good and exhilarating?
No, I have to go around 40 times. I'm sure at least 40 times ought to be enough. (Enough for what?)
And counting the times around will give me something to do.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Season II -- Barefoot Mile Number 2 - Back Out There Barefoot!
Forty-one degrees!
Just heaven.
I remember the first few times I ran out there barefoot in the 40s and it seemed quite cold. But after those few sub-40 degree barefoot runs I had back in December, and after those few tentative little walks out in the snow, this 41-degree-day today seemed so warm and comfortable.
This was my first time running outside since I got back from the Run Disney Buzz and Woody's Best Friends 5K early in January.
The running path looked mostly dry today:
There were patches where there was some slushy snow in the way but I just ran through it. It didn't feel that cold.
I ran an introductory "back out there" barefoot mile today.
I didn't know before I went out how it might feel. After a month off would I have to start all the way at the beginning doing a quarter of a mile? Would it take a long time to work my way back?
Well, that mile felt so good, and my feet feel so good now, that it is clear to me that the gains I made over the past season are with me, and that I will not have to start at the very beginning again.
I have spent a few weeks just thinking about barefoot running, what my "goals" might/should be for my second "season" and exactly what it means in my fitness life.
I have been influenced by a book I've been reading: Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning
by Vern Gambetta.
Today, as I ran along in my barefoot mile I had these passage from the book in my mind:
and
So, what does this mean? It means that as I ran along today I was more interested in the really sensing the relationship between gravity, my connection to the ground, the fluidity of my movements in relationship to the ground and gravity. It means that I was interested -- throughout the course of one barefoot mile -- in really experiencing what the movement was all about as I ran barefoot along. It means that I was focused more on the quality of my movement and how my relationship to gravity felt while moving than how far or fast I was running.
If Year One of my barefoot running was about being a beginner and just learning how to get out there and get my feet and body conditioned for some barefoot running, then I think Year Two is going to be, for me about the quality of the movements.
Will my blog be slow-moving and boring because of this focus? I mean, if I don't run faster than I did last year, or if I don't run farther than I did last year, will it all fall into "the same ole, same ole" category? Perhaps.
I am not planning to try to out-do myself this year. I am not planning any personal records. I am not planning to run farther and farther and faster and faster. I am merely trying to run better. I want to really understand what running movement actually is. I really want to try to feel and experience what my body is actually doing, how all the systems are working together with the ground and gravity.
So, I hope it doesn't get boring, because since a lot of what I'm going for is a feel and experience, it might be hard to write about.
Let's just say for now that I'm off to a good start with it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: I think by law I'm supposed to tell you that the link to the book above is part of Amazon Associates. If anyone clicked on that link and bought the book I would get some money. I am not writing my blog for money. (If I ever do, I will tell you). I would read this book anyway, and I would link to it anyway, so since they have this gadget, I figure, why not just use it since I'm going to link to the book anyway. I am not trying to sell books though. I am really trying to share stuff I find interesting and inspiring. (If that ever changed I would tell you.)
Just heaven.
I remember the first few times I ran out there barefoot in the 40s and it seemed quite cold. But after those few sub-40 degree barefoot runs I had back in December, and after those few tentative little walks out in the snow, this 41-degree-day today seemed so warm and comfortable.
This was my first time running outside since I got back from the Run Disney Buzz and Woody's Best Friends 5K early in January.
The running path looked mostly dry today:
I ran an introductory "back out there" barefoot mile today.
I didn't know before I went out how it might feel. After a month off would I have to start all the way at the beginning doing a quarter of a mile? Would it take a long time to work my way back?
Well, that mile felt so good, and my feet feel so good now, that it is clear to me that the gains I made over the past season are with me, and that I will not have to start at the very beginning again.
I have spent a few weeks just thinking about barefoot running, what my "goals" might/should be for my second "season" and exactly what it means in my fitness life.
I have been influenced by a book I've been reading: Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning
by Vern Gambetta.Today, as I ran along in my barefoot mile I had these passage from the book in my mind:
"Effective movement, especially high-level athletic performance, is the result of the interplay of the three movement constants; the body, gravity, and the ground. Understanding each of the movement constants independently is one thing, but the real key is to understand how they interact."
and
"A better understanding of muscle function will allow training to be more focused, logical, and exact ... The focus shifts from "feel the burn" and "no pain, no gain" to an understanding and feeling of flow and rhythm in the movements."and
"Movement is gravity driven. Movement is a delicate balance yielding to gravity or being able to overcome it."and
"The interplay between force reduction, force production, and proprioception will produce the highest quality of movement."
So, what does this mean? It means that as I ran along today I was more interested in the really sensing the relationship between gravity, my connection to the ground, the fluidity of my movements in relationship to the ground and gravity. It means that I was interested -- throughout the course of one barefoot mile -- in really experiencing what the movement was all about as I ran barefoot along. It means that I was focused more on the quality of my movement and how my relationship to gravity felt while moving than how far or fast I was running.
If Year One of my barefoot running was about being a beginner and just learning how to get out there and get my feet and body conditioned for some barefoot running, then I think Year Two is going to be, for me about the quality of the movements.
Will my blog be slow-moving and boring because of this focus? I mean, if I don't run faster than I did last year, or if I don't run farther than I did last year, will it all fall into "the same ole, same ole" category? Perhaps.
I am not planning to try to out-do myself this year. I am not planning any personal records. I am not planning to run farther and farther and faster and faster. I am merely trying to run better. I want to really understand what running movement actually is. I really want to try to feel and experience what my body is actually doing, how all the systems are working together with the ground and gravity.
So, I hope it doesn't get boring, because since a lot of what I'm going for is a feel and experience, it might be hard to write about.
Let's just say for now that I'm off to a good start with it.
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Disclaimer: I think by law I'm supposed to tell you that the link to the book above is part of Amazon Associates. If anyone clicked on that link and bought the book I would get some money. I am not writing my blog for money. (If I ever do, I will tell you). I would read this book anyway, and I would link to it anyway, so since they have this gadget, I figure, why not just use it since I'm going to link to the book anyway. I am not trying to sell books though. I am really trying to share stuff I find interesting and inspiring. (If that ever changed I would tell you.)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Season II -- Barefoot Mile Number 1 - First Time on An Indoor Track!
Well, bless my little barefoot heart, didn't I just have the answer to my barefoot winter prayers tonight!
An indoor track.
Free.
Just a couple of blocks away.
How cool is that?!?
You haven't heard much from me this January. As soon as I got back from the Buzz and Woody's Best Friends 5K down at Walt Disney World, two things happened to affect my running. First of all I got invited to black sash training at my Kung Fu school and have to be working out Kung Fu more frequently, and also going once a week to this very brutal black sash cycle training class. That threw off the balance of my workouts.
In addition, before going down to the Disney 5K I had been motivated to train in the cold because I wanted to run that race barefoot. But once I got back, I couldn't face the cold again. I decided that January was a good month to step back, think about things, get used to the stepped-up Kung Fu training and just decide what I was going to do with this barefoot thing in the middle of winter.
I want to tell you something. I have a treadmill. In the basement. A really nice one that we got about 8 years ago. A True treadmill.
But I just won't go near the thing. Just won't. Before we got it, I thought it would be a really amazing thing to own, but I found that I hated it. When I heard that people called it "the Dreadmill" -- a term I heard for the first time in the past couple of months -- I nodded my head in complete agreement.
So, I have been in a state of paralysis about my barefoot running during this month of January. I simple won't use the treadmill, even though many times I tried to talk myself into it. And yet I just couldn't bring myself to run outside with shoes either!
I toyed with just going out in the very snowy streets and just running barefoot.
Here's some pictures of me doing that:
In fact, I took a movie just for you all of me walking a block and back.
What you see by this is a girl who very much wants to keep running barefoot, but is dismayed by the weather. Like the last person who won't go home from the party -- doesn't want it to be over yet.
So, rather than give in and go out there in my shoes, I decided to take a little break and see if the weather got any better and I could just continue barefoot. But the weather didn't get better, and we just kept getting dumped on and dumped on with snow.
You've seen all the photos I've posted over the past Summer and Fall of the view I have of the City Skyline while running and how it's changed with the seasons? Well, one day, during a snow storm the view completely disappeared.
And my running path got buried:
And I started wearing my boots all the time:
So this barefoot girl was very bummed out. Very very bummed out and was just waiting to see what was going to happen. Would she run in her Vibrams again? Would she try the treadmill? Would she try to go out in all that snow barefoot? Would she wait until spring?
Then, a few days ago, I got this happy e-mail from my barefoot running buddy (Remember I met the barefoot running buddy and I wrote about it and she ran with me a few weeks and even came to the First Annual NYC Barefoot Run with me? Well, she had decided to run on the outdoor track in our town because the streets and sidewalks were a bit rough for her. So we had temporarily parted ways as far as our barefoot running was concerned.)
Well, this is what the e-mail from my barefoot running buddy said. It was an e-mail from our town's recreation department and it said:
We were the only ones who showed up to run, and my barefoot running buddy had on her winter boots, and I had on my Vivo Barefoot Kalis and when we asked about the track (you had to go upstairs because it was above the gym, as you can see in my first picture at the top of this blog) the lady looked at our boots/shoes and said, "you've got sneakers, right?" My friend answered really quickly, without batting an eye, "yeah, yeah, yeah." I figured the lady meant that we couldn't run on the track in our boots, and I didn't think it was necessary to get into the whole barefoot thing, right?
The track was small. We probably had to run around it 10 times to make a barefoot mile. But it had a really cool kind of rubber, not too cushion-y, but soft enough to be a little bit of a treat surface. It was nubby and textured enough to make sure the skin got enough to keep it conditioned, but in no way felt uncomfortable or painful. It was really great. I had a really great time and I'm so glad we went.
One of the recreation ladies did come up and take a glance at us running round and round on the track. She did notice us barefoot but just went downstairs. Later, when we were leaving, she said something like, "that track is not very soft," which I guess was referring to the fact that we had been barefoot. Inside, I couldn't help but smile. "Lady," I thought, "you have no idea how heavenly that surface is after running on the sidewalk all summer." But I did not voice that thought aloud.
The only bad thing about it -- and it is a really bad thing -- is that I am completely busy with choir and Kung Fu every time the track is available. There is only one night a week that I can avail myself of it. But that's okay. I feel so happy I could burst, to just have had this little answer to getting me out of my barefoot paralysis.
An indoor track.
Free.
Just a couple of blocks away.
How cool is that?!?
You haven't heard much from me this January. As soon as I got back from the Buzz and Woody's Best Friends 5K down at Walt Disney World, two things happened to affect my running. First of all I got invited to black sash training at my Kung Fu school and have to be working out Kung Fu more frequently, and also going once a week to this very brutal black sash cycle training class. That threw off the balance of my workouts.
In addition, before going down to the Disney 5K I had been motivated to train in the cold because I wanted to run that race barefoot. But once I got back, I couldn't face the cold again. I decided that January was a good month to step back, think about things, get used to the stepped-up Kung Fu training and just decide what I was going to do with this barefoot thing in the middle of winter.
I want to tell you something. I have a treadmill. In the basement. A really nice one that we got about 8 years ago. A True treadmill.
But I just won't go near the thing. Just won't. Before we got it, I thought it would be a really amazing thing to own, but I found that I hated it. When I heard that people called it "the Dreadmill" -- a term I heard for the first time in the past couple of months -- I nodded my head in complete agreement.
So, I have been in a state of paralysis about my barefoot running during this month of January. I simple won't use the treadmill, even though many times I tried to talk myself into it. And yet I just couldn't bring myself to run outside with shoes either!
I toyed with just going out in the very snowy streets and just running barefoot.
Here's some pictures of me doing that:
In fact, I took a movie just for you all of me walking a block and back.
What you see by this is a girl who very much wants to keep running barefoot, but is dismayed by the weather. Like the last person who won't go home from the party -- doesn't want it to be over yet.
So, rather than give in and go out there in my shoes, I decided to take a little break and see if the weather got any better and I could just continue barefoot. But the weather didn't get better, and we just kept getting dumped on and dumped on with snow.
You've seen all the photos I've posted over the past Summer and Fall of the view I have of the City Skyline while running and how it's changed with the seasons? Well, one day, during a snow storm the view completely disappeared.
And my running path got buried:
And I started wearing my boots all the time:
So this barefoot girl was very bummed out. Very very bummed out and was just waiting to see what was going to happen. Would she run in her Vibrams again? Would she try the treadmill? Would she try to go out in all that snow barefoot? Would she wait until spring?
Then, a few days ago, I got this happy e-mail from my barefoot running buddy (Remember I met the barefoot running buddy and I wrote about it and she ran with me a few weeks and even came to the First Annual NYC Barefoot Run with me? Well, she had decided to run on the outdoor track in our town because the streets and sidewalks were a bit rough for her. So we had temporarily parted ways as far as our barefoot running was concerned.)
Well, this is what the e-mail from my barefoot running buddy said. It was an e-mail from our town's recreation department and it said:
And my barefoot running buddy had written:Alternatives to Cabin FeverOur town's recreation reminds you that it offers
adult residents 18 and over
"alternatives to cabin fever"
during these long winter months
Had enough of the snow?
Tired of winter?
Not getting enough exercise?
We have indoor activities to keep you fit and healthy
At the local school gym, take a brisk walk or a light run
around the newly refurbished 2-lane indoor track!
"let's get together and do a barefoot run sometime."So that's what we did tonight.
We were the only ones who showed up to run, and my barefoot running buddy had on her winter boots, and I had on my Vivo Barefoot Kalis and when we asked about the track (you had to go upstairs because it was above the gym, as you can see in my first picture at the top of this blog) the lady looked at our boots/shoes and said, "you've got sneakers, right?" My friend answered really quickly, without batting an eye, "yeah, yeah, yeah." I figured the lady meant that we couldn't run on the track in our boots, and I didn't think it was necessary to get into the whole barefoot thing, right?
The track was small. We probably had to run around it 10 times to make a barefoot mile. But it had a really cool kind of rubber, not too cushion-y, but soft enough to be a little bit of a treat surface. It was nubby and textured enough to make sure the skin got enough to keep it conditioned, but in no way felt uncomfortable or painful. It was really great. I had a really great time and I'm so glad we went.
One of the recreation ladies did come up and take a glance at us running round and round on the track. She did notice us barefoot but just went downstairs. Later, when we were leaving, she said something like, "that track is not very soft," which I guess was referring to the fact that we had been barefoot. Inside, I couldn't help but smile. "Lady," I thought, "you have no idea how heavenly that surface is after running on the sidewalk all summer." But I did not voice that thought aloud.
The only bad thing about it -- and it is a really bad thing -- is that I am completely busy with choir and Kung Fu every time the track is available. There is only one night a week that I can avail myself of it. But that's okay. I feel so happy I could burst, to just have had this little answer to getting me out of my barefoot paralysis.
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