The preparation is going well for my upcoming barefoot marathon next month in Colorado. April turned out to be a great month for mileage since the weather cooperated so nicely. I was able to run a "full schedule" which is 6 days a week with an average of 8.48 miles per day! I always take Sundays off as a rest day which works really well for "going long" on Saturdays. My favorite route is a 7.5 mile loop (with spur) containing about 3 miles of the smoothest asphault around (Hinkle Road) as well as some not so smooth areas. It's a good combination which lets me challenge the feet in the beginning and then reward them with the smoother pavement toward the end of each run. The 7.5 mile length gives me a good "base" mileage each day and it is always easy to extend the workout if the feet and weather are cooperating.
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| Michigan 8 Miler - Rough Pavement! Ouch! |
I did have one business trip this month which took me up to Novi, Michigan -- or as I like to call it "The Land of Potholes and Pebbles!" I used the I-275 Metro Trail behind my hotel to connect to some neighborhoods about a mile away. But the first day there really trashed my feet. I did find some "smoother" pavement, but by the last day I had cry UNCLE and only ran 0.5 miles...see it's just hard for me to just take a ZERO mileage day! The feet did recover and I was able to do a six miler after returning home, but it really does make a difference finding a good smooth surface to run on. It gives you so much more confidence to "let it fly" when you know the next step isn't going to be on cracked, broken or pebbly pavement. Which makes me even more nervous for the upcoming marathon in Denver next month. I've watched the "virtual course" on-line a couple times and from that, I'm optomistic that the pavement will be "ok." But, we'll see.
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| Snowy Tax Day Run |
While the mileage did stay very high for the month we did have just a little unseasonable weather. For Tax Day, April 15, we had a freak snowstorm which allowed me, I hope, my last two snow pics for the season. I really don't miss the cold and snow at all. It's pretty amazing what the body and feet can tolerate when the only choice is snowy, cold or wet pavement. But it's also amazing how quick the body can start to get used to the warmer temps and ease right into the longer runs. My recovery time between runs seems to be decreasing and multiple days in a row of moderate to long distance is now pretty common.
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| Last snowy footprints of season...I hope! |
Now that I've been able to put in some longer mileage weeks, I've begun to re-focus on the 2000 barefoot mile goal for the year. This requires an average of 38 miles per week, so April has really helped out with four weeks of 51, 60, 47 and 45 miles each which allows me to start eating into the 240 mile deficit built up in the frigid months of Jan, Feb, and March. I shaved a good 50 miles off that deficit and hope to keep the momentum going. Of course I will have to do some tapering for the upcoming marathon race, so I may not make up as much ground in the month of May, but we'll see. God has been good to me and He ALWAYS provides!
This upcoming marathon will mark my second in the state of Colorado but will be my first barefoot attempt at a Sub 4 Hour marathon. I still have 5 states left in the "50 Sub 4" challenge...I think it may be a stretch to try to complete this thing barefoot, but I really like gearing up for the challenge and don't want to go back into shoes just to complete it. The speed is coming back so I think it is a perfect time to give it a shot. Please say a prayer for me on May 18 as I make the attempt at the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Colfax Marathon. What a mouthful! Kaiser is the sponsor, obviously, and Colfax is the name of the longest continuous street in Denver, on which a portion of the race is run. I will be flying out the evening before the race and flying back on Sunday evening. I'm using Frequent Flyer and hotel points so the whole weekend is free other than my entry fee. Hopefully the altitude won't be an issue although I do expect it will slow me down a little. There's less available oxygen in the Mile High City, but I'm hoping there will be just enough!
Stay Safe Out There & Enjoy the Spring Weather,
Barefoot Dan
April Mileage = 220.5 Miles
