Record Breaking Barefoot Month! - 160 Miles

Hello Barefooters!

Spring Break in Myrtle Beach & barefoot everyday of course

April was one for the record books!  I continue to be amazed at these feet God has blessed me with!  My in-between run recovery time has been drastically improving as well as the duration of my individual workouts.  The month of April included four consecutive "Highest Weekly Barefoot Total Ever" weeks.  That's right...each week I broke my all time record for barefoot mileage...4 WEEKS IN A ROW!  I started off the month in Myrtle Beach SC at my sister Jill's house.  This was our annual Spring Break with the family but the first one we had spent in Myrtle Beach.  We had a great, relaxing vacation and each morning I was able to get up and run a third of a mile to the beach and then pick "left" or "right" for my morning workout.  I probably bored everyone to tears on Facebook by posting my daily Garmin downloads but I really enjoyed each and every day on the beach.  One of my favorites is shown below.



Myrtle Beach Rave Run - 8.1 miles to Cherry Grove Pier



It just seemed so natural!  Each early morning run was synced up nicely with low tide so I got to be out on the flattest part of the beach and most days ran right in the actual surf.  The beach total for the week was 33 miles.

After returning home, I began the next week sort of "missing" the beach but found something very interesting.  I was able to still employ my "beach mentality" even while running on the asphalt!  In other words I felt like I was still running on the sand and trying to pick up the feet quickly with each stride...kind of like trying to run WITHOUT leaving any footprints in the sand!  This allows you to sort of begin to "pick up" the feet BEFORE you put them down...I know, it sounds impossible but as with so much of barefoot running, it's all in your head!  The important thing is to get that visual image in your head of your foot coming back up toward your body BEFORE it actually touches down.  This first week back included a business trip down to Georgia, during which I incorporated a nice long run at Falls of the Ohio State Park (in Clarksville IN) and some Spring like runs near Atlanta GA and Nashville TN.  The barefoot total for this second week of travelling was 37 miles (Another all time high!)

Pulled this piece of glass out of my heel (8 hours after the run!)

After returning home yet again, I had some early morning runs in the dark (with the headlamp and flashing red light for safety) and continued to increase my daily and weekly totals.  Even though I was running every day without a day off in between for recovery, the feet continued to respond well and always seemed to be ready for the next day.  This week back in Indiana netted me another record week of 42 miles!

Then I turned north toward Michigan for week-long automotive conference for work after discovering a new 8 mile course just to the south from my house.  I was able to enjoy a daily run of a least 8 miles each day in Michigan during this week.  Two of the days I ventured out to Kent Lake (near Milford MI) and did the metro trail around the lake.  One of these days was 37 degrees and featured rain mixed with snow pellets, but I still made it all 8 miles around the lake.  Other days I explored the I-275 metro trail which turned out to be VERY ROUGH indeed but did connect to some nicer trails and sidewalks in the local neighborhoods of Novi and Farmington Hills.  Needless to say, by the end of this week my feet were trashed and needed rest but I put in an "easy" 3 miler back home on Saturday morning to give me a weekly total of 45 miles and another record.

Now, I'm simply resting with very few miles this week in preparation for my first ever Barefoot Mini Marathon in Indianapolis.  I've done this race 18 times but always with shoes of course...this will be my first experience to run the iconic Indy 500 Track in my bare feet and I'm looking forward to it!  If you would like to support my fundraising quest for Relay For Life just click here and help fight cancer as I run a barefoot half marathon.

Keep Those Miles Up Barefooters 
& Enjoy Spring If It Ever Gets Here!

Barefoot Dan

April Mileage:  160.9 miles (All time barefoot high)
Week 1= 33, Week 2= 37, Week 3= 42, Week 4= 45, Apr 30 = 4