July Vacations

Hello Barefoot Runners,
It has been a very busy month in July (mostly vacation!)  yay!!




Lunch in Benton Harbor on the way up north

I started off the month with friends up in Northern Michigan (Elmira/Gaylord area) at a friend's buddy's cabin.  We had a great time relaxing, four wheeling and spent one day going up to Mackinaw Island on the ferry.  I got in a little barefoot running while there, although the pavement (if you can call it that) didn't really allow for any long runs.

While back at home and working briefly, I kept up the higher daily run mileages and we had our nephews, Timothy and Joshua come stay with us the week before we left on our second vacation for the month.  We had fun taking the boys to the county fair, the Indy Zoo and our church fish fry.  On some days we went swimming in the pool, camped in the backyard and they even helped me cut down a tree in the front yard.  

They had a good Indiana experience and we really enjoy having them come stay with us.   We had Linda's Mom and Dad come down on Saturday as Dave and Beth (aka parents of Timothy and Joshua) came back from their 10th wedding anniversary vacation in CA.  We got to celebrate Linda's Mom's birthday a day early and then left for our two week vacation on the following Monday.

Heading across Route 66 in OK, TX, and NM

Lutes at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo TX

And what a vacation is was (and still is).  I'm sitting in Grand Canyon Village typing this blog having just ridden the Mules up out of the Canyon from Phantom Ranch.  But let me start at the beginning.  We left Indiana and headed for an overnight in Tulsa.  I got in an interesting barefoot run the next morning around the Asbury Campus before we left for Oklahoma City and the Murrah Federal Building Memorial.  This museum was very well done and brought back to life this terrible tragedy from 1995.  From there we headed to Amarillo TX and had dinner at the Big Texan.  This is the home of the 72 oz. free steak...if you can eat in in one hour...we saw one guy fail while we were there!  After an eight mile barefoot run around the Amarillo shopping mall we left for the Cadillac Ranch, a strange "sculpture" of ten half buried (vertically) Cadillacs in a farmers field which people are free to spray paint as they feel inspired!



Albuquerque Metro
Run



One Week in Grand Canyon

Then we headed for Albuquerque and had lunch in Old Town.  The next morning we headed to Arizona and stopped along the way at the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Monument.  I had stopped at both of these some 31 years ago when I first moved to CA and was on my way out west.  The monuments were just as I remembered them, but it was nice to now be able to share with my family.  From there we headed to Flagstaff and then to the Grand Canyon to start a four day camping experience at the Mather Campground on the South Rim. 

I got in several nice barefoot runs from the campground each morning and we hiked the many trails around the South Rim during those camping days. 

We even headed over to Grand Canyon West one day to experience the Skywalk which is a huge glass shelf over the canyon along with other side attractions on the Hualapai Indian Reservation.



We came...we rode...we conquered!
Awesome Trip!

After finishing our camping adventure we checked into the Maswick Lodge on the South Rim before starting our two day mule ride to the bottom of the canyon.  This was definitely the experience of a lifetime and once again, I feel very blessed to be able to share it with my family.  We rode down the Bright Angel Trail to Phantom Ranch, where we enjoyed a steak dinner and accommodation for the night.  We attended two different ranger programs while there and my daughter Rachel and I hiked out to the "Silver Bridge" over the Colorado River in our flip flops.  The next day we ascended back up the canyon via the South Kaibab Trail.  I'm sure the girls and I will remember this experience for the rest of our lives.

Now we are checked back into the Maswick Lodge and will stay one more night before heading to Durango CO and a trip to Silverton on the narrow gauge railroad.  (We just got a text that part of the railroad washed out so they will be busing us 13 of the 45 mile trip - one-way!)  I'll tell you more about that one in next months blog.  In the meantime, everybody keep up the barefoot running and enjoy this beautiful summer we've been blessed with.

Happy Barefooting,

Barefoot Dan

July Mileage = 230 miles

The Hot Summer Rolls On

Hello Barefoot Runners,
Another Big Month...


I continued my increased daily run length again in the month of June.  I ended the month with 292.52 miles.  This was done by continually increasing my daily and weekly totals up until the third week and then I backed off and rested (a little!)


I started off the month with a week of running 10 milers every day, followed by a week of 11's and then a week of 13's.  This gave me an 80 mile week in the middle of the month (biggest of the year) so then I took it "easy" with two 59 mile weeks. 


I am enjoying the warm and mostly dry morning runs, typically between 4 and 6 am with the headlamp.  With the summer solstice now in the rear view mirror I will begin getting less daylight, but for now I am enjoying at least the last view miles in the daylight after sunup each morning. 


I will be enjoying some extended vacation in the month of July so the totals will probably not be as high.  The good thing is I am almost caught up to my 2000 mile/yr pace and this should be fairly easy to maintain for the rest of the year.  After several 50-80 mile weeks in a row, it now seems easy to get in the required 38 miles per week to maintain the 2000 goal pace.


The Lutes family will be hosting our nephews from the East coast in July and then jumping in the van for a 2 week trip out West including the Grand Canyon and the train ride from Durango to Silverton CO.

For the summer, I've started re-reading the book that started it all for me "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougal.  I read this back in 2011 and it started my journey into barefooting (via Vibram Five Fingers and a stress fracture) and I never put on shoes again (at least not running shoes).  If you haven't read this book I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!  Even if you aren't a barefooter or even a runner, this book is a good read.  It tells the story of the Tarahumara Indians of the Copper Canyon in Mexico and the search for the ever elusive Caballo Blanco.  If you read it you just "might" understand a little of the barefoot "sickness" although it might still leave you shaking your head.  Either way, enjoy.


However you choose to spend your summer, get out there and enjoy this awesome weather and the beauty of the earth we've been blessed with.


Oh, and stay hydrated out there in the 90+ degree heat!


God Bless,


Barefoot Dan


June Mileage = 292.52 miles

Long Hot Summer Begins???

Hello Barefooters,

Well we jumped right from Winter into Summer apparently...


Here in Indiana they said it was the coldest April on record and now we are possibly headed for the hottest May, although with the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto blowing through yesterday we may not break the record.

El Paso Texas Run

Melaka Malaysia Run

Regardless, I have been getting in some very good long runs as of late and I'm continuing to chip away at the perennial deficit in mileage after the slow winter start.  It has been a busy month travel-wise as well, since I've had two business trip in the month of May.  I started off the month in Texas, Mexico and Colorado for a 3-day supplier visit.  And spent the middle week of the month in Asia (Singapore and Malaysia) on a customer audit of our packaging facility.  I ate some really good food on this trip and got to run in a couple of my favorite spots (Singapore River Walk and the Historic Downtown Melaka Area) in the 80+ degree temperatures.  Of course all my runs were early morning with the headlamp but since I had run here a few times before, I knew the good routes and was able to keep up some relatively high mileage.



"The Path" - 1Km Fitness
and Prayer Walk at
Christ UMC Westfield



Since my co-workers and I started the "Fitness Challenge" at work, I've been trying to get about 10 miles per day in.  This week may be the first time I actually do it, now that we are almost six weeks into the challenge!  I've also been getting some walking (hiking) miles in regularly, although in shoes, by putting in 3 prayer walk loops on "The Path" each week at Christ UMC Westfield.  I've now put in 45 loops which is 45 Km, more than a full marathon, since I felt God calling me to "The Path" back in late February.  The Boy Scouts and now even the Girl Scouts are involved in this cool project which should begin to pick up steam since better weather has finally arrived.  We have a committed team of church members (trail builders) who are joining with the Scouts to see this vision through to completion.  May God continue to bless "The Path" and Christ UMC Westfield though this activity.

Enjoy Your Summer Barefooters!

Barefoot Dan

(May Mileage = 244.08 Miles)

April Ramp Up - 152 Miles

Hello Barefooters,
The month of April provided many challenges for me...weather, travel and now injury.



Easter Egg Hunting w/ Timothy and Joshua

I started off the month on Spring Break out east in Arlington VA.  We had a great vacation in the Washington DC area, staying with Linda's brother Dave and his wife Beth and their two sons, Joshua and Timothy.  Their house is adjacent to a golf course and a university so as always, I found a good running loop from their house that allowed me to get between 3 and 7 miles each day with some good hills thrown in for an extra workout.  All the runs were in the early morning using my headlamp and of course, there were many walking miles later each day to see all of the sights of Washington DC with the Linda and the girls.  One good thing about DC is you get your exercise no matter what you do. 

Relaxing Easter

Cherry Blossom Season in DC

While there, we got to celebrate Easter with family and friends, Travis and Gina, and also celebrated our 26th Wedding Anniversary. 

Since we had been to DC many times before we planned to do a couple of the newer things we hadn't done before:  namely the Museum of the Bible and the Holocaust Museum, both are excellent and not to be missed.  We saw the Museum of the Bible with Travis and Gina, and also took in a concert at the museum.  And later in the week, Gina showed us around her job at the USDA, and we shared lunch with her at the USDA cafeteria (very nice!)  Some other activities included the Air and Space Museum out in Chantilly VA (not the usual downtown version) and the Burning Man Exhibit at the Renwick. 

WW II Memorial



One day we also went to the Art Museum and the Natural History Museum which are some old favorites of ours.  We enjoyed using the Metro (subway) to get around, and had a very nice relaxing vacation.  We made it to Ebenezar's Coffe House adjacent to Union Station which is a mecca of sorts for fans of Mark Batterson's "The Circle Maker" Christian devotional.  This was also the first time we had ever been in DC during Cherry Blossom Season so that made for some nice family photos as well.  We had many nice family times while there including the celebration of Joshua's 7th birthday.  It is fun to watch my two nephews growing up and its amazing how much they are changing since we only get to see them once a year or so.  On the way back to Indiana we stopped in Ohio at my brother Dave's house in Beavercreek for a quick overnight. 

Snowy Footprints in Indiana
AFTER Spring Break

It snowed there in Ohio as well as back here in Indiana as we got back home.  Will this winter ever end?!?  It snowed off and on for the next week after we came back, but then slowly started to warm up and I started ramping up my barefoot mileage in earnest.  At work we started a "Fitness Challenge" which pits teams against each other and encourages participants to get in at least 7000 steps per day.  I thought it was a little goofy at first but was surprised to find out how motivating it could actually be. 

"Moves" App

The challenge is facilitated by Virgin Pulse and allows participants to track their activity with about 20 different Apps and connect using Garmin, I-Phone, Fitbit or whatever app you want.  I downloaded the "Moves" app on the IPhone so I could do the automatic connection (and still save my Garmin battery for "just running") and it really works quite nicely.  It tracks my running, walking and cycling activity separately and then connects to the Virgin Pulse app seamlessly so I never have to do any manual logging of my steps or further manipulation of any kind.  While I was recruited by 3 different teams to join, I stuck with my original team, the "Zero G's" and we are well on our way to walking to the Moon during this 8 week challenge.  There are over 100 teams and about 750 people (or more) participating company wide.  The challenge is just one week old but I told my Livonia co-workers that "This Fitness Challenge is killing me!"

After doing back-to-back 40 and 57 mile weeks (two biggest of the year so far) my feet are screaming at me to take it easy.  The MI pavement was especially unforgiving on my business trip last week and trying to do a quick ramp up after 4 months of lower mileage has NOT been particularly WISE!  My goal was to kind of use this fitness challenge to get myself back on a 10 mile/day average which by the end of this 8-week challenge would catch me back up to my 2000mile/yr avg. of 38miles/week.  (after the normal slow Winter start each year, I usually don't catch back up until late Summer or early Fall)

Stubbed Toe on Last Run of April

So, it's no wonder that I started today's run somewhat tired and sore, even for a Monday (after the usual Sunday off).  But nevertheless, I went out for a nice 10 miler this morning.  Admittedly I was ignoring a couple of little aches and pains to do these daily 10s and sure enough disaster struck once again at 2.5 miles and I stubbed my left big toe.  It was just south of a new construction zone on Hinkle road but the pavement was actually not to blame.  I just drug my toe ever so slightly, and that's all she wrote.  It hit hard enough to take me all the way to the ground but luckily the only damage was the toe itself.  Still this is disappointing as it has been over 2 years since I did it last time.  I got up and ran in the same direction another 100 yards or so before wising up and turning back for home.  It really didn't hurt that bad as I ran the 2.5 miles back home, but is throbbing pretty good right now as I sit here typing the blog.  Argh!, so much for the fitness challenge!  Oh well, I think this was God's way of slowing me down and reminding me to take it easy...at least a little more than I had been!  OK, message received!  I have a couple of longer business trips over the next few weeks, so 10 miles days would have been pretty hard to maintain anyway.  Time to go back to taking only what God gives me (and my body will allow) each and every day. 

Blessings All,

Barefoot Dan

April Mileage = 152 miles



Warmer But Wet March

Happy Springtime Barefoot Runners!


Well, March brought some slightly warmer temperatures but we still had quite a bit of rain and snow.




50Sub4 Award

As a result, my mileage did creep up slightly but I am still well off the pace for a 2000 mile year...looking forward to some warm AND dry runs in the near future.  It might also help if Indiana would do some paving projects as the roads are a crumbly mess.  The road in front of my house is resembling a gravel road in both directions so my feet are really taking a beating.



And Now I Have 2 Awards!!

The good news for the month is that I finally received my 50Sub4 Finisher Award in the mail.  I had already placed it on my shelf when the club organizer sent me an email asking if my award had any defects.  I mentioned that the two large stickers had bubbles under them and he said a new award would be sent soon.  That one just arrived this week so now I have two awards, one for home and one for the office!

And now the Lutes' Family is off on Spring Break to Washington DC and I am really enjoying the vacation.  This morning I got in a nice 4 miler in Cumberland MD right down the main drag in town "National Highway!"  It helped that the traffic was very light and I started before sunrise. 

Tonight we will meet up with my good friends Travis and Gina Sheets (Gina works here now) and enjoy a concert at the newly opened Museum of The Bible.  Then we will meet up with Beth and Dave (Linda's brother) and their two boys Joshua and Timothy for a week in Arlington VA.  It will be fun seeing the sights and relaxing with family for a week before the busy Spring travel schedule kicks in.

Hopefully everybody can get in some good barefoot training this Spring,


God Bless You All,


Barefoot Dan


March Mileage = 106.53 miles

RRRRRough February!

Greetings Barefooters,

It has certainly been a rough February...

Here in Indiana, both the weather and the roads have been rough.  It seems that the roads are falling apart worse that ever this month.  What used to be some of my favorite routes are quickly turning into gravel roads!  The weather has begun to moderate but that is leading to more freezing and thawing cycles which is obviously not good for the asphalt. 


While I am able to get more miles in on each run this month, I have tended to overdo it which has led to more "off" days.  After being cooped up with snow and single digits through most of January and part of February it is just too tempting on a wet 40 degree day to go out and run 10 miles.  The problem is the feet aren't conditioned to those mileages and I need to take it easy.  Twice this month I have had great weather conditions and ended up running too much, too soon, and then had to take extra rest days.  The first time was Valentine's Day two weeks ago, when I ran a nice 5 mile Monday, 10 mile Tuesday and 7 mile Wednesday, all with temps in the 30s but with wet and gravel strewed pavement.  As a result, I was blessed with no fewer than 5 blood blisters which became very painful and sidelined me for the rest of the week.


And then again this week on Monday I ran 7 and Tuesday I ran 8 only to have to take off today on a perfect 50 degree day because the feet are still sore and recovering from the debacle two weeks ago.  Hopefully, the feet will feel okay tomorrow and I can get March started off right.

"The Path" at Christ UMC

This past couple of weeks at my church (Christ UMC Westfield IN) we have been studying Rev. Mark Batterson's book "Draw The Circle" and visioning a new fitness trail known as "The Path" which runs the perimeter of our 7+ Acre property.  The Path is exactly 1Km (or 0.62 miles) and is currently undeveloped.  Our vision is to develop or at least mark out the path within the next few weeks.  Then, with the help of our "Honey Dudes" men's group and possibly an Eagle Scout Project we would begin to build the trail with gravel, railroad ties, or boardwalk.  We would like to have an arched gateway off of Union Street which would welcome walkers, runners and hikers to The Path.  Longer term we would like to have 6 or 7 "prayer stations" displaying favorite Bible verses of the congregation.  We might even have "fitness stations" for chin-ups, push-ups, etc.  We would love to have the Westfield Cross Country and Track teams incorporate this into their workouts.  We see this as a great outreach to our community and neighbors, and a way to get everyone "moving" in the same direction at Christ UMC. 


I've now completed 4 loops on The Path with a different group of friends each time.  Want to join me?  If you are interested, please feel free to contact me or just come take a hike and do a prayer walk on your own.


Looking forward to a warmer (and more dry) Spring!


Blessings,


Barefoot Dan
(February mileage = 72.0 miles)

Brrrrr! Cold January!

Hello Barefooters,


Well, hopefully everyone is surviving this cold winter weather!

January Headlamp Run

I've been taking multiple days off in a row due to the extended cold snaps here in Indiana.  Lately it has moderated just a little bit and I have actually been able to get in some runs.  For the month of January, I was able to run on 16 days which is pretty remarkable considering how cold and snowy it has been.  The warmest run was 54 degrees and the coldest was 23 degrees (just yesterday).  I have had to change to afternoon runs in order to get the warmest part of the day and have shortened some of the runs considerably.  The longest run for the month was 11.43 miles and the shortest was only 0.51 miles. 

Also, on more than one occasion I actually walked out my icy/snowy driveway in shoes and then stuffed my shoes in the mailbox once I reached the road and started my route.  This allowed me to complete a somewhat dry run without freezing my feet for the first and last 0.06 miles!  As I tell many people, the key to cold weather running is to avoid the moisture at all costs.  This is a pretty difficult proposition in Indiana when you may not see the sun for weeks at a time.  The other side of that coin is that once the precipitation comes through, the temperatures usually rise to "around freezing" so it's almost a Catch-22...it's finally warming up...but now it's wet again, argh!! 


The other difficulty, especially this winter is the amount of salt the road crews are putting down on these surfaces.  As I like to call it:  "Meat Tenderizer!"  This not only irritates the skin on your feet, it also eats up the road itself.  And the pot-holes are continuing to get bigger as the roads crumble with each successive freeze and thaw.  Some sections on Anthony Road, I feel like I'm running on a gravel road!


But alas, there are still some good days to run and I am enjoying the much needed rest on my many "off" days.  Hopefully the weather will continue to moderate and I can get back to some higher mileages in the next few weeks.


Happy Winter Running All!


Barefoot Dan


January Mileage = 77.5 miles