Time for Spring Break!!

Happy Spring Break Barefooters!

Feeling a new surface - Rubberized Track

I hope everyone is able to get away and find a nice beach to run on somewhere.  For me and the family it will be back to Myrtle Beach SC next week, one of our favorite destinations.  My sister Jill and her husband Neal live in North Myrtle Beach and we will be visiting with them for the week.  I absolutely love this location for barefoot running since we are only a quarter mile from the beach, so about 95% of my daily morning run can be on nice hard packed sand (or surf!) and not chewed up asphalt which I'm beginning to loathe about this time every year.  At the end of the week we will come back through Ohio and visit my twin brother Dave and his family in Beaver Creek, before heading back home.


Start Line of Westfield Underground RR 5K

Well March was another great month for barefoot running.  The milder temperatures allowed me to average almost 40 miles per week which has me about a hundred miles ahead of last year's total at this point.  The second week of the month was a "6 State Tour" to visit some of my customers.  I stayed in a different place each night and got in some interesting early morning headlamp runs in each off the different locations:  Jasper, IN - Brentwood, TN - Huntsville, AL - Duluth, GA and Murfreesboro, TN (also passed through IL and KY but no running in those locations).  It was a very tiring week since most of the mornings I had 6am conference calls with our Malaysia and Germany locations and then had to go meet a customer before driving to the next location.  This meant for the most part going to bed (collapsing!) at about 9 or 10pm so I could awake by 3am to get in my 4 to 10 mile run ahead of the days activity.  This is not a schedule I would like to have every week, but it was okay for these 5 days. 

Rachel (and Linda) did the 3K Walk



Yay! 22nd place and 1st in Age Group!

Once back home I began preparing (and tapering) for the next weekend's race, the Westfield IN Underground RR 5K.  This was the 4th year in a row doing this race barefoot.


Once again I also brought along some family members to enjoy it along with me.  I asked Rachel, my oldest, to come along and reminded her that all Seniors participating in the race get 5 additional chances at the $350 scholarship drawing (25 in all) after the race is over.  Trouble is, she didn't win (and neither did any of the on-site participants!) as this drawing is also open to all Westfield Seniors each year.  My wife Linda also came along and did the 3K walk along with Rachel so even if she didn't get the scholarship she did get some exercise!

Linda, Rachel and friends at start line

I was happy with the new and improved course which started and ended on the brand new track at the recently opened stadium.  The course then turned north on Union and bypassed the chipped up asphalt of Harvest Meadows (not fun for barefooters!) and onto a brand new wide section of pavement connecting to East Street where the course then turned toward the south.  The rest of the course was the same as last year - winding through Asa Bales Park - until the finish which again landed us on the new track.


The weather was cool (predicted light snow did not occur) but it was perfect racing weather.  I missed my BPR (Barefoot Personal Record) again for the second year in a row, but did manage to finish 22nd overall and 1st in my age group ("old men" 50-55!)  This once again netted me a $15 gift certificate to the Blue Mile running store so I basically ran for free, recouping my $15 entry fee.  I cashed in the gift certificate for a new arm sleeve to carry my Iphone-6 which I can use with the "MapMyRun" app instead of my Garmin. 


I'm not sure I love the sleeve yet, however, as it is almost easier to put the phone in my pocket and also the fingerprint ID doesn't work through the thick plastic window ,so stopping my run at the end takes a series of key-strokes.  Oh well, it's still a good back-up for when I forget my Garmin on a business trip or forget to charge it up.  The freebie MapMyRun app works great and almost "better" than Garmin since I don't have to wait for the annoying "Searching for Satellite" message, which is definitely the downside of the Garmin.


Anyway, my month is ending well, and I hope to continue the higher mileage daily runs into the summer...at least I will for next week on Spring Break!


Everybody, Keep on Barefooting!


Barefoot Dan


March Mileage = 167 Miles

Barefoot Leap Day (and High Mileage February)

Happy Leap Day Barefooters,
I hope everyone is finding SOME good warm days to run, even though it is still February.  Surprisingly it seemed there were several nice days even though we did continue to get some really cold weather and more snow and ice.  I usually waited for the "heat of the day" and ran after work but before dark (a narrow window!)  And then other days, it was warm enough to run before work so I got out early with the headlamp and logged a few short runs.  I was able to get in between 30 and 40 miles each week so overall this was a pretty big February. 



Nice Place to Run!

The other nice thing was that during the 2nd week, which was the coldest of the month, I was blessed with a 4 day business trip out to California.  The first day of the trip I was at my company location in Temecula and got in a nice 10.5 mile run before going into the office.  The rest of the trip I was down in San Diego since we took our customer to visit our operations in Tijuana Mexico.  I was staying in a place I hadn't stayed before so I knew I would have to scout out the new area when I got there to see if there would be any good places to run.  I got there in the late afternoon in time to walk down to the park close by (in shoes...it was actually too hot to barefoot run at about 85 degrees!)  I quickly found a good place to run so I was very happy to be able to get in some more long runs while in the warmth.

I stayed near Mission Bay and Sea World in San Diego and found a really nice path to run on each of the two mornings I was there.  From my hotel I could run about 3/4 of a mile and into Mission Bay Park which has a beautiful wide concrete bike bath all the way to the back of Sea World (about 4.5 miles total) and with some extra spurs got in 11 or 12 miles each day.  I extended my miles each day in California knowing that it was single digits back in Indiana and maybe wouldn't have gotten in any miles at all back here.  The path was completed deserted when I went out each morning at o'dark thirty and the temps were always in the mid fifties, perfect running weather wherever you are.  The path hugged the coast of Mission and went through the Hilton complex on the way to the backside of Sea World.  The path turned to gravel at that point so I didn't venture far down it.  I ran part of the Sea World parking lot as well, but it was VERY rough and not worth the effort with the nice patch of concrete calling me back toward the hotel.  I enjoyed the peaceful warm morning running under the stars, which are also had to see this time of year back in Indiana!  The path was much smoother than what I had run on up in Temecula so I figured I would be able to get a nice one in on my last day there as well.

Ouch!
  Note to Self:  "Don't stub toe while running barefoot!"

On Friday morning before flying back at 6:15 am I went out very early so that I would have enough time to still get in a long run and then sleep on the plane back to Indiana.  I went out and did basically the same route but added a few more out and backs on the section down by Sea World.  I was on one sort of circular turn around (maybe a parking/camp site) and as I turned to go back I stubbed my toe HARD on a curb and heard a loud CRACK!!  I was sure I had broken my toe.  When I looked down, I was shocked to see my toe bleeding like a stuck pig.  But it didn't feel broken and I could move it.  Since I was using my Iphone (Map My Run) as I forgot my Garmin charger back in Temecula, I used the camera to snap a photo of my foot (sorry, I know it's gross.)  I was more than a little panicked at that point since I was still 3.5 miles from my hotel!  I said a quick ,desperate prayer that my toe would be alright and kept running.  I kept praying (breath prayers) the whole way back that I would get it infected (with some weird Vikka virus) running through the puddles from the sprinklers along the trail.

Looked a little better back at the hotel,
but still throbbing.

Since I had extended once again and decided to get in a 12+ miler before turning in the rental car and jumping on the plane, I kept praying hard that I could keep up my pace and not have to start walking or limping.  He again answered my prayers and I made it back to the hotel in time to take a quick shower, put some Neosporin on the toe, wrap it in a tissue and stuff it in the sock and shoe.  It did keep throbbing on the plane ride home but not too bad.  I did make it back to Indiana and then decided not to run on it the next day which was still nice and cold anyway.  By Monday it was better and I did run on it again without any problem.  The rest of the month did have some bad weather but there were enough good days in between that I was able to keep the mileage up.  I finished off the month this morning with a 7.2 mile headlamp run to top the month at 150 miles (my biggest barefoot February ever!)  I'm also celebrating my 7th Leap Day with Linda (we've both now had 7 Leap Days with and 7 Leap Days without each other...wow, what a milestone!)
Hopefully the weather will continue to warm and I can keep this mileage pace going in March.  Looking forward to Spring Break in about a month with a little beach running.  Hope everyone out there is enjoying the mild winter and if not, don't worry...Spring IS coming soon. 

Stay Warm Out There,
Barefoot Dan
February Mileage = 150.7 Miles

Cold Weather Running

Hello Barefooters,

Barefoot Prints - January 2016

January has been pretty relaxing, since it started out pretty cold.  This was nice since I really needed the rest from my big push at the end of last year to hit the 2500mile mark.  The first two weeks of the month were the coldest and as a result I didn't do much barefoot running.  Actually, I only ran 5 times for a total of 27 miles those first two weeks.  During the third week we had another snowstorm but I was up in Michigan on a business trip.  I stayed at a different hotel than normal this time so I checked our their treadmills.  I did three days in a row on the treadmill and got in 5 or 6 miles each day. 


The tricky part about barefoot running on a treadmill is to find one that doesn't get too hot!  Believe it or not, the belt can get hot enough to blister your pads and toes if you aren't careful!  Depending on the quality of the belt and deck, some treadmills stay relatively cool.  The other factor is how well the unit is maintained.  If the surface of the deck is regularly treated with graphite or other lubricant, the belt can stay relatively cool since the friction will be reduced.


Regardless of the quality of the treadmill or it's maintenance plan, I still like to move around on the belt while running.  I basically try to run in 4 different spots on the belt:  top-left, top-right, bottom-left and bottom-right.  I can usually run a half mile in each spot and by the time I get through all 4, I go back to the original spot and it's usually cooled back down.  This requires a little bit of concentration to not step off the side of the belt or hit the front rail or, God forbid, step off the back roller!  It makes the boring workout a little less boring by moving around a little without falling off.


Still, I hate treadmills, so I was very happy to have a warm Saturday when I got back from Michigan and got to run outside for 8 miles here in Indiana.  The problem, of course is the wet and salty roads.  It's sort of like running on meat tenderizer!  My feet were a little raw after three days of abrasive treadmill running followed by the 8 miler on salty meat tenderizer!


This week warmed up nicely and I got in several long runs after work...a little tricky since sundown is at 6pm!  I was able to get in a total of 51 miles for the week and a monthly total of 102 miles...not bad for a cold January.  Longest run of the month was yesterday - a nice sunny (but cold) 15 miler.  Still, I'm ready for warmer weather.  Bring


Stay Warm,


Barefoot Dan


January Mileage = 102 miles  

2500 Miles in One Year - New Barefoot Record!

Happy New Year Barefooters,

I hope everyone is enjoying this special time of year with friends and family as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  I'm also hoping everyone is looking back on a good year of running and now plotting out their course for an interesting 2016.  As I look back over the year, I'm almost amazed at what I was allowed to accomplish with my newfound passion of barefoot running.  Barefooting has completely changed my running (and changed me as well!)

Today, I'm celebrating my biggest annual total ever of 2525.25 Miles of barefoot running.  This large total has sort of been in the back of my mind all year but was definitely not the main focus of my running or my goal setting.  Of course as the weekly and monthly records were set earlier in the year, I again had a large annual total, which sort of made it a no brainer.  I actually hit the 2000 mile mark back on Sept 26 (quickest date ever) so I knew last year's total of 2222 would be relatively "easy" to top. 

The 2500 mark sort of "came into view" by mid November, but with much needed rest and impending colder weather, I had sort of given up on it by the first week of December.  But then the weather began to turn milder and I got serious about the 2500 mark for the last two weeks of the month, which meant daily double digit averages.  I figured, "Oh Well, I'll rest next year!"  I've enjoyed these last two weeks off from work and got in some great warm December runs, actually turning in an 18 on Christmas Eve and then a 21 a couple days ago so I could take today off completely and write the blog!

With the big total, I started looking at my all time numbers and came up with the following interesting facts:  I've now run 22.8% of my all-time miles barefoot (6,958 barefoot vs. 30,536 miles total).  I've been running for over 25 years but only the last 4 have been barefoot.  And yes, this also means I've now run around the world at least once but only in shoes...barefoot total is still only a quarter to third of the way around the world!

Also for 2015, I looked back to note that I have run in 5 different countries and 10 different states this year alone.  This included my first ever barefoot marathon outside of the US back in January when I went on the Mission Marathon Trip to the Canary Islands (part of Spain) with Athletes in Action.


My Top Ten for the year 2015 would go something like this (chronologically):


1.  1st International Marathon ever - Grand Canary Island, Spain - Jan. 2015 
2.  Barefoot Running in Philippines, June
3.  Biggest Barefoot Month Ever, July = 333.33 miles
4.  Biggest Barefoot Week Ever, Aug 22nd = 111.11 miles
5.  Biggest Barefoot Month Ever, Aug = 370.05 miles
6.  Biggest Barefoot Week Ever, Sep 26 = 125.25 miles
7.  Biggest Barefoot Month Ever, Sep = 404.04 miles
8.  Fastest Barefoot Marathon Ever, Delaware, Oct. = 3 hours, 45 minutes, 0.9 sec
9.  Barefoot Running in Austria/Germany, November
10.  Biggest Barefoot Year Ever, 2015 = 2525.25 miles


If you look closely at the chart above, you see that my 3 record breaking months were actually back-to-back-to-back in the months of July, August and September.  The other astonishing thing (to me) is that these records came during what could be considered a "transition year" at work.  As most of you know, my company was bought out last year and my work and travel schedule have changed, although not too drastically.  But through it all, I was able to maintain the high mileage daily running, primarily by shifting to very early morning running...oh, with a headlamp of course!

Another tidbit discovered while "number crunching" is that my daily average is now 6.91 miles (without counting my Sundays off) and is 8.06 miles (if you discount the off days).  This gives me a weekly average of 48.5 miles, which is another all time high, of course, with or without shoes.

I pray that God will continue to bless my running and all of you other barefoot runners out there as well.  If you haven't done it already, I would encourage you to pick a new goal (or three) for the New Year!  I hope to meet some more of you in 2016.


Stay Strong,


Barefoot Dan


Dec. Mileage = 241.8 miles