Pushing the Limits - 404 Miles in September

Greetings Barefooters,

Limits?  What limits?
I'm again celebrating a couple of new distance records.  Last week I broke my weekly record with a 125.25 mile week and this morning set my new monthly total at 404.04 miles for the month of September.  This month was a lot like last month...I didn't start off to break any records.  Actually, I was going to "take it easy" after two record breaking months in a row.  The first week of Sept. I actually had a couple days where I only ran 3 or 4 miles...but just a couple...looking back, the rest were all high-mileage days. 

Do I look tired?  (I am!)

After that first "low-mileage" week of 68, ha! I started running 15 miles a day beginning on Labor Day.  Rain, shine, warm, cool, local or travelling...15 just seemed to be the right distance.  As a result I racked up 2 back-to-back 91 mile weeks and then started looking once again at the totals.  I began to think what it would take to run a 3rd record breaking month in a row...and sort of decided "NO!" just not worth it.  I mean, after all, I had a hike coming up on the Appalachian Trail in a couple of weeks and didn't want to get injured. 


But then on the Monday of the last full week, at about mile 7, I was feeling pretty good and decided to "GO FOR IT!"  I started a little spur run to turn my 15 into a 20 just to see what it felt like.  Well...it felt pretty good!  And, I just took each day...one at a time...not trying to predict, or anticipate what the end of the week would look like.  I just kept running 20 a day and actually bumped it up to 21 from Wednesday to Saturday.  Part of the decision was the beautiful weather God had provided, low/mid 50's every day with no rain in the forecast.  The other factor was no planned travel for the week.  Although I did need to go to work each day, I got in the habit of going to bed super early (like 8:30-9pm) which was not a problem being pretty tired from all the running.  Each morning I got up about 2am (without an alarm except for one morning!) and tried to be out running each day by 3am.  This got me back to the house each morning between 6:30 and 7:00am in time to see Linda and the girls off to school and still have time to get a hot tub, shower and second breakfast (Hobbit Style!) before going to work each day.  It was a pretty grueling schedule and one I don't want to repeat too often, but it really worked out pretty good.  The last two miles on Saturday morning, my buddy Mark just happened to come up on his bike and rode along side me all the way home.  It was a GREAT distraction from my pain (feet, pads, arches, Achilles, ankles, ham-string, groin muscle...you name it...they were ALL hurting this week! )  The daily mileages (with Sunday off), were Mon=20.08, Tues=20.09, Wed=21.20, Thurs=21.06, Fri=21.18 and Sat=21.64 which totaled up to an unbelievable 125.25 for the week.  Another big milestone for the Saturday run was that I surpassed 2000 miles for the year!...and it was only September 26th!  I've never done 2000 that soon in any year...with or without shoes!


Once again, I must give God all the praise and credit, since I know He gave me multiple healings during the week (and some days multiple healings within a single day's run!) and His weather was just absolutely perfect.  I felt Him with me each day as I prayed to find the "smooth path" and asked to avoid the rocks and sticks...much needed, since I ran ALL these miles in the dark with a headlamp on, plus my flashing LED lights on my waistband to keep the cars warned.  Thankfully, there was not much traffic out there until the last hour each day.  And since I was able to keep my pace in the "10's" each day (between 10 and 11 min/mile) I kept my total running time for the week at just over 22 hours (almost one whole day!)  Of course once I had the big week behind me, the monthly goal was "easily" achieved by finishing out the last 3 days of September with 15-milers each day...which actually seemed easy after the 20's and 21's everyday last week!


Now I really am going to start taking it easy (running wise) to get ready for my marathon in mid October.  This next week I won't be doing any serious running as I'm off for a 50 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail in the Shenandoah N.P. in Virginia with 4 hiking buddies.  We will be on the trail 5 days solid (Mon-Fri) with a planned 10mile/day pace.  We will be packing everything (tents, food, and all) from start to finish.  Even though this will be strenuous, it will be a good way to begin my taper for the Wounded Warrior Project Monster Mash Marathon in Dover Delaware on October 17.  (still 3 States left to go in my 50 Sub 4 quest)  Looking forward to getting this one under my belt and might even go for the BPR (Barefoot Personal Record---sub 3:50:48 is needed) if I'm feeling good come race day.


Blessings All,


Barefoot Dan
September Mileage = 404.04 miles (new record)

Record Breaking Barefoot Month! - 370 Miles

Hello Barefooters,


Celebrating My New Weekly (and Monthly) High Totals

I hope everyone is enjoying the end to their summer.  This is a great time of year to get in some good high mileage.  The feet are "peaking" after a long summer of barefoot runs and it becomes easier and easier to "extend" each run just a few miles to get the mileage totals higher.  After just setting my monthly high last month (in July, 333 miles) I really didn't think I would be setting it again so soon. 


What I was attempting to do was to set my highest mileage week of the year (not all time) in the 2nd week of August.  I was looking at running about a 90 mile week when my Thursday run went horribly wrong.  As I was finishing up what I thought would be a 16 miler, I pulled my left groin muscle coming up a big hill on Hinkle Road (my normal daily route).  As soon as it happened (about 8 miles in) I turned back for home.  After the initial twinge it was painful the entire mile or so back to the house, but I did continue running.  I prayed for healing and took it easy the next couple of days, with a 1 miler on Friday and a 6 miler on Saturday.  Obviously my 90 mile week was shot but I was still happy to get in a 64 mile week...and this would turn out to be my SHORTEST week of the month!


After taking Sunday off (as always) I started the next week on Monday with a 18.3 miler just to give the groin muscle a good test.  I had been healed!  There is no other explanation!  I continued running 18.33 miles each day that week...but always took it one day at a time.  I knew this could be a record breaking week, but I wanted to make sure I was "listening to my body" and evaluated carefully each day whether I could continue the high miles.  Again on Thursday, believe it or not, same leg...the left hamstring began to tighten in the last 2 miles.  I thought, oh boy, here it comes again.  I again prayed for healing and on Friday the hamstring not only held together, but I ran the miles about 30 seconds faster each!  This again made me realize this was a healing from God and not just a normal recovery.  These type of injuries (groin or hamstring) would have laid me up for multiple weeks in the past.  Now I was back to high mileage within 1 or 2 days of the injuries and feeling better than ever!


That third week of August turned out to be my record breaker, 111.11 miles, which beat my old weekly record of 102 from last August.  The week was basically a series of consistent 18.33 mile days, Monday through Friday, with a "push" on Saturday of 19.39 miles to ""round out" the total with a .11 on the end!  I was actually finding it hard to believe I was doing it at the time and was afraid it could all fall apart at any point during the week.  While I could have simply sat back and taken it easy for the rest of the month, I started looking at the high totals and realized that the impossible monthly record set just last month was now very "beatable" with only 12-13 mile days for the rest of the month...believe it or not, that sounded easy at the time since I had just finished a solid week of 18 mile days!


I had to travel to Michigan for work the last week of August but was able to still string together 14 and 16 mile days away from my normal course in Indiana.  The Michigan miles are somewhat difficult since I have to run on the I-275 Metro Trail at the beginning and end of the run while connecting with some nice "smooth" parking lots at Mahle and Cooper Standard in Farmington Hills.  After piling up miles for the past 60 days, I think I may actually be wearing down the pad on the ball of my right foot as you can see in the picture.




Concrete in Michigan Wearing My Foot Thin!

This has happened before and usually takes some time to recover.  The picture was taken on Friday August 28 after the 16 miler and I had already actually broken the July record by a few miles...still had Saturday and Monday to "pad" the record if the feet could just hold up!...Well they did and I finished the month of August with a new high total of 370.05 miles.  With the shorter days, I am now running approximately 75% of the time in the dark (am) with a headlamp...but the good part is that it's the coolest time of day (and least traffic). 


I definitely feel blessed to be able to log these kind of mileages and am still in awe of the body God gave me.  He continues to bless and heal me at just the right time, allowing me to extend my miles way beyond what I would have thought possible last year...or last month...or even last week!  Praise God!


Enjoy your ever shortening late summer days,


Barefoot Dan


August Mileage = 370.05 miles
New Monthly Record, with or without shoes

333 Miles - Biggest Barefoot Month Ever

Hello Barefooters,

Rachel's new kitty friend from Red Bird

I am really enjoying my summer and getting in some great daily long runs.  I've been travelling quite a bit (more than I like) but have been fortunate to still get in my morning run no matter where I lay my head.  The month started out down in Kentucky at the Red Bird Mission in Beverly.  This was our church's third trip down here and this one didn't disappoint.  We had 20 missionaries from our church (including my entire family) and we divided ourselves up into two different teams.  The first team worked on campus to complete a deck on the girl's dormitory while the off campus team worked at the home of a local woman, Stella Wagers, and completed a plumbing project and a flu pipe installation (with hook up of a wood fired cook stove).  Stella blessed us all week long with her sense of humor and "Mountain Wisdom" and she was very grateful for the work we did.  As with most mission trips, the blessings go both ways!

Team Signing of New Red Bird Trailer

This year was especially nice for running, since the county paving crew was finishing up putting down brand new asphalt on the main road leading to and from Red Bird.  On Monday, I ran the two newest miles of fresh pavement (still warm!) and got in a 5 miler to start the week.  I increased my miles each day (as they increased the length of the new pavement and by the end of the week, they had the entire Clay County portion paved (7 miles) and I had turned in 62 miles, culminating with a 16 miler the day we headed back to Indiana.

The next week I stayed in Indiana the whole time and even with the rainy weather, got in 13+ miles each day.  This turned into my biggest week of the year so far at 81 miles...not to shabby.  I wasn't really planning to run my biggest month ever but did start to ponder the hows (and whys!)  I was sort of nursing my left Achilles by the end of the week so I decided to "take it easy" the next week.

Lutes Family Back Home in IN on July 4

The following week I also stayed in Indiana and the weather started to dry up a bit.  I "only" ran 72 miles after going a little shorter on Mon and Tues with a 11 and 10 miler those days (now relatively short distances!)  I finished the week with 12s and 13s and on Saturday was actually shooting for a 16miler when I went up a hill and felt a twang of pain in my left groin muscle...it almost brought me to a walk...and I immediately turned around and limped the 1 mile back home, feeling lucky that I was that close to home.  I sort of attributed this groin pull to the overcompensation of the recovering Achilles on the same leg. 

The nice thing about barefoot running is the short duration of injuries.  I mean even after each of these otherwise "devastating" injuries to my Achilles and groin muscle, I took only one day off (the Sunday I would have taken anyway) and then ran a shortened recovery run, first one 11 and the second one 7, but not necessarily short by most people's standards.  I feel that this is because I seem to be more in tune with my body and can tell what my limits are better when barefoot than when wearing foot coffins (er, shoes!)

The next week had me out in Temecula CA for training for work.  I stayed in my usual hotel and did multiple laps each day in the industrial park where my company is located.  All these runs were done with the headlamp each day so that I could still get to the office on time.  I got in an 11, 8, and 13 mile run that week in CA with the last one being particularly challenging timewise...I had a 6:25am flight from San Diego so got up at midnight to do my 13 miler, so I still had time to drive from Temecula to the airport...it helped with the jet lag on the other end since I normally get up at 3am anyway (which is midnight in CA!)

Steel Fragment from I-275 Metro Trail
Thanks Detroit!!

This past week had me up in Michigan, both Livonia for training and St. Joe for a customer visit.  I continued the long run streak each day with a 12 or 13 miler each morning.  On Tuesday morning I added another FBO (Foreign Body Object) to my list of "things I've pulled out of my foot" with a particularly nasty piece of sharp rusty steel picked up on the I-275 Metro Trail.  The Metro Trail is nice because there are no cars, but it does have some debris which is definitely the downside.  I only run on it for about a mile and a quarter until I reach the Mahle parking lot which offers a nice half mile loop on freshly sealed pavement.  This steel was picked up witin the first mile of my run so I definitely felt blessed to still be able to continue on and finish my 13 miler for the day.

The next couple of days were over in St. Joe.  This time I didn't venture down to the beachfront but carved out a nice 2 mile loop from the hotel, using the smooth Whirlpool parking lots and the nice white stripe on the edge of Lakeshore Drive returning to the hotel.  I was able to get in a couple of 12 milers and run without much traffic as long as I ended by 6am when the Lakeshore commuters take over the road.

This morning back in Indiana I ran my shortest run of the week of 11.72 miles to finish the month of July with exactly 333.33miles which beats my previous record of 281 by over 50 miles!  This was a solid month of 60, 70 and 80 miles weeks with a daily average of 12.3 miles not counting my Sundays off.  Who would have ever thought this could be done without shoes!

I definitely feel blessed to have this amazing body God gave me...a body which continues to heal and strengthen the more it is used.  He definitely knew what He was doing when He made the human body...what an amazing system of muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments...no man-made design even comes close!! 

KEEP RUNNING!

Barefoot Dan

July Mileage = 333.33 miles
(new all-time record, with or without shoes)

Barefoot in the Philippines + 72 Mile Barefoot Week

Happy Summer Barefooters,
I hope everyone is enjoying your Summer out there and getting in some nice long runs.  I absolutely love Summer since I'm not limited on distance by the colder weather.  I'm increasing my distance as the weather continues to warm up and making up for some of the shorter weeks back in January and February.  I'm now "almost" caught back up to my pace for a 2000 mile year.

Sunset over Lake Michigan - St. Joe

I'm publishing the blog a few days early early since I will be travelling down to Kentucky on a Mission Trip over the next week (with little or no internet)...it will be nice to be "un-plugged" for a few days.


Speaking of travel, I had three business trips this month so I got to experience barefoot running in a lot of different places...and time zones!  The first trip was up to St. Joe Michigan.  I got in a nice long run on the beach in St. Joe.  The morning meeting dictated an early morning headlamp run, but it was nice and peaceful and deserted.  I got in a nice 7.5 mile run from the hotel, down to the beachfront area and even ran out to the end of the concrete pier before turning back. 


The following week I spent some time in Livonia MI (on the other side of the state) and got in some good early morning barefoot runs on the I-275 Metro Trail which runs right behind my hotel.  I usually connect this trail with several loops around the Mahle parking lot which has some nice smooth sealed pavement.  This is a nice break from the otherwise VERY rough roads in Michigan.  A few of the days I had to deal with rain showers so my runs were shortened a couple of times.  This wet weather also affected the timing and length of several of my runs back in Indiana as well.


Then finally I had a week long business trip to the Philippines.  This was my first trip ever to the Philippines and I stayed in the Manila area in a place called Alabang which was very nice.  The hotel and business district of Alabang were relatively small, but I did manage to carve out a 0.9 mile loop and also a 1.65 mile loop which gave me a good way to get in some decent mileage.  The weather was a hot 81 degrees each morning (this was the "cool" of the day).  After getting off the plane I got in a quick 1 miler (with headlamp) just to get the "lay of the land."  Then the next morning I got in a 4 miler before going to the plant the first day.   Each day I got progressively longer and enjoyed an 8, 10, and 13 miler the next three days.  The pavement was "ok" and ranged from semi-smooth to pretty rough but after doing the loop a few times I was able to find the smoothest path possible.




Jose Rizal's Footprints

I took the Sunday off from running, as always, and got in some sight-seeing on both Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday I took a 3-hour Manila City Tour which highlighted the cities cathedrals, the US-Manila cemetery and Ft. Santiago which housed Dr. Jose Rizal up until the time of his execution just prior to the Philippine independence from Spanish rule.  The sidewalks commemorate his final "death march" to the firing squad by tracing his foot prints (in metal) while being led from his cell to the front of the fort.  

Ahhh...Fish Spa!

Jellyfish

On Sunday I enjoyed the Manila Ocean Park tour which offered a nice aquarium walk through, a trained seal show, jellyfish exhibit and the highlight of the day, the "Fish Spa."  The fish spa consist of a pool of calf deep water with small minnows/fingerlings that massage your feet while they groom your toes and eat the dead skin off the sides and soles of your feet.  It tickled while they worked on your feet and the neatest part of the whole thing was sitting there and watching other peoples reactions as they stuck their feet in the water and got the first sensation of the nibbling on their toes.  Some people really enjoyed it for a long time while others were "in and out" rather quickly.  It was a novelty and something I'm definitely glad I got to enjoy.


On the Monday evening after walking in the plant audit all day and after running my 10-miler that same morning I decided to get a massage once again at the hotel.  As I prepared to go to dinner I rubbed the kindof sore spot on the ball of my left foot and found what I thought was a thorn or piece of glass.  I didn't have my handy-dandy Swiss army knife tweezers (left

Piece of wire pulled from left foot - 13 miles next day

at home so they didn't get the TSA toss into the garbage) so I pulled out a pair of nail clippers.  After much pushing, rubbing, praying, pinching and tweezing I was able to pull out the offending FBO (Foreign Body Object).  It wasn't a thorn at all but a piece of wire about a quarter of an inch long! Wow, that was my second truly "Foreign" FBO since I had the piece of Canary Islands glass back in January.  As soon as I pulled it out I felt immediate relief and even ran my longest Philippine run the next morning of 13 miles before yet another LONG plane ride home.


Once I got back this week, I continued with some longer distances after dodging rain/lightning to get in a 16-miler on Friday and then a 17-miler just this morning.  That 17 miler caps off a 72 mile week which started in Manila and included a "wire injury" and jetlag and rain shortened runs of 8 and 7.3 miles.  The 72 miles represents the biggest week of the year so far!  Even though I still have 2 running days left in the month of June, I will go ahead and publish the blog since I won't be able to do it from Kentucky next week.  I hope to get in some long runs in Kentucky but as I recall from 2 years ago, the pavement is pretty rough so we'll see.  We have 20 from our church going to Red Bird Mission and this will be the third time we've gone.  Our projects include building a deck, plumbing a bathroom and installing a flu-pipe.  Fun stuff!


Happy 4th of July (soon)!


Barefoot Dan


June mileage = 252 miles (not counting June 29 & 30)

Shiprock DNF Reflections

Hello Barefooters,



Shiprock Selfie



I hope everyone is enjoying the start to summer and getting in some good barefoot mileage.  I have been enjoying some longer runs in the early mornings before dawn.  Nothing like a good 12 miler with the headlamp to get the day started right!



 As many of you know, I started my month out in Shiprock NM where I was attempting to run the Shiprock Marathon in under 4 hours barefoot.  But it was not to be.  I suffered my first ever DNF ("did not finish") and will have to return at some point to capture the state of New Mexico for my 50Sub4 quest.  I say "suffered" but actually, I was more than happy to get on the bus at mile 10 and end my day.  The course was just not "barefoot friendly" you could say and I think many different things came into play with the DNF.  



DNF - done at 10 miles



Now that I've had some time to reflect on the day, I would have to say these things all conspired against me to end my day early:

1. Rough Road - rocks
2. Heat
3. High Altitude
4. My Mindset
5. "Ease" of quitting



VERY Rough Road



This list is in order of importance and I will explain each one.  The "Rough Road - rocks" was the most important factor by far.  The race was run on the Navajo Indian reservation with spectacular views of Shiprock for the first 20 miles.  The road however was very old asphalt, like macadam, and the rocks in the asphalt were like granite.  The gap between stones was noticable and it definitely slowed me down.

The "Heat" was also very much a factor.  The day started off at 61 degrees with a predicted high of 85 which was at least 10 degrees warmer than normal.  The race started at 8am and ran primarily west to east which meant we were running straight into the rising sun...not a great feeling when the temp is rising.

The "High Altitude" wasn't expected to be much of a factor, but I believe it surely took it's toll as well.  Linda and I bought a case of water and began drinking as soon as we arrived in NM but I'm not sure I drank enough to counteract running at a 6000 foot altitude.  I maybe didn't give this factor enough consideration after successfully running both Colorado and Wyoming last year (both above 1 mile high)




Driving the Course - "Testing" the Pavement

 

The next factor was "My Mindset" which actually had two different components, neither of which was good.  The first problem was that Linda and I went to drive the course the afternoon before.  Usually driving the course the day before is a good thing and instills confidence in the runner as you begin to "see yourself" on the course and visualize a good event.  Just the opposite happened this time.  As I viewed the course and kicked off my sandals to test the surface I was horrified to find out how rough the road was going to be.  I began to dread the next day.  All the positive thoughts didn't seem to help.  I prayed for calm nerves and asked for help to sleep well that night.  I tried to remember that this could be just like any other run, once I got started, and just needed to get myself to the starting line. 



Lots of broken glass and debris



The other problem with "My Mindset" happened in the first 1.5 miles or so of the race.  I was running along minding my own business, and trying desperately to find some smooth pavement in the early stages of the race (which was uphill).  I was running to the right of the centerline and "sort of" found some smoother pavement when from behind a guy starts shouting at me to get over to the left with the other runners.  "Come on man, you're blocking traffic" he said, after I had already gotten over to allow a race official and a baggage trailer around me (on the otherwise closed course there were no "other" vehicles).  I told him I was looking for some smooth pavement but he was having none of it and made it his personal responsibility to get me to run on the left side of the road.  I was not in a very good mood already, and this guy was not helping.  Words were exchanged, which I won't repeat but which I immediately regretted.  Once the situation escalated it got ugly...a shouting match between the two of us.  He finally relented, and took off running leaving me to stew and fume and oh yeah, pick my pace up because I was already running slightly above my needed 8:35 pace needed for my BPR.  I couldn't believe I'd let him get into my head but the damage was done.  No matter how I tried I couldn't seem to pull the pace back down to 8:35.  I'd run 76 marathons all over this country and had never "gotten into it" with another runner...what had just happened?...I was at a loss to explain my action and my over-reaction to this rude intrusion into my race.

This brings us to the final factor:  "Ease of quitting."  They just made it way to easy at this race.  This was a relay race so every 5 miles there was a relay exchange station and a set of busses waiting to take runners back to the finish area.  My decision to stop came very suddenly at about mile 8.  Up until then I hadn't even thought about stopping but suddenly it seemed like the only thing to do.  I looked at the aid station at mile 8 and thought, "Well I at least need to make it to the bus at mile 10 so I kept slogging along.  When I stopped at mile 10 I had actually picked the pace back up a little and had a 9:12 average going...but still not enough for a BPR or even a sub 4 hour time at that point.  I was very relieved and even happy to get on the bus and off of that awful pavement.



Free Roaming Horses in NM



After the bus ride back I was happy and relieved to find Linda and made to to the finish line to watch the half marathon winner come across the line.  I made it to the massage tent and was happy to find almost no line!  Linda and I made our way back to Farmington and enjoyed the rest of our day by attending a New Mexico film history presentation that afternoon in Farmington.



Shiprock



The trip was still very enjoyable and not a bust at all.  We got in some great hikes in Choco Canyon and Angel Monument.  We had a great little 4-day weekend while Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls for us back in Indiana.  I won't be too disappointed to have to come back to NM to re-run this one since there is a lot to see and do here.  I'm looking at the Albuquerque Marathon which looks to be very flat and smooth.

Have a Great Summer Barefooters,

Barefoot Dan

May Mileage = 167 Miles

High Mileage April - 205 Barefoot Miles

Hello Barefooters,
Another April has come and gone and I was happy for the break in the weather.  I finally was able to get in some decent mileage this month.  My preparation for the Shiprock Marathon is coming along nicely due to some great long runs in the month of April.

The two highlights would have to be:  1. Spring Break - running on North Myrtle Beach and 2.  The Graffitti Fun Run

Our annual Spring Break trip was the first full week in April and we once again went to my sister Jill's house in North Myrtle Beach.  She was so gracious to host us for the entire week and we thoroughly enjoyed the accomodations and the close proximity to the Beach.  Each morning I could get up and run a short 2 blocks to the beach and then simply pick a direction (North or South) and begin my daily run in the surf.  Myrtle Beach is so nice to run on since it is flat as a pancake and has a huge smooth area to run on especially at low tide.  My favorite route was turning North to run all the way above Cherry Grove Pier to the end of the peninsula.  I just loved running down in the surf and watching the shod runners avoiding the waves and the pools gathering on the flat parts of the beach.

The next highlight of the month was the Graffitti Fun run at the Indiana State Fair Grounds.  Twelve of us from my church ran this race including my entire family.  I say race but it wasn't even timed...just a lot of fun to get colorized by the packets of exploding colored corn starch all around as well as the color canons at the color stations.  A good time was had by all.

The picture here is of my daughter Sarah who thoroughly enjoyed the colorization.  She stood directly in front of the color cannons at the "after party" and the transformation was pretty dramatic.

Now I'm hoping my big month of April didn't take too much of a toll on my feet for the marathon on Saturday.  I spent the week in Michigan and the gravelly trail has taken its toll...hoping the feet can recover a lot over the next 36 hours or so.  Off to Shiprock tomorrow morning with Linda.

Happy Barefooting Everyone!

Barefoot Dan

April Mileage = 205 Miles

Out Like a Lamb!

Hello Barefooters,


Rachel, Dan, Megan, and Sarah at start of Underground RR



March went out like a lamb once again, thank goodness.  We have had a VERY cold winter in Indiana (and elsewhere) and the month of March wasn't much better.  But it ended well!  Today is in the 50's and the weather is dry.  I'm enjoying being able to run either before OR after work these days instead of always having to wait for the "heat" of the day after work.  It seems a lot easier to do a headlamp run in the morning before going to work than trying to sandwich in a late afternoon run between work, conf. calls, etc.

Megan and me at Underground RR 5K Start



The highlight for the month would have to be the Westfield Underground Railroad 5K Race which was held on March 21st.  This was the third year in a row that I did it barefoot.  Once again, other family members joined me in the endeavor.  My 14 year old daughter Megan ran the 5K with me, while her sisters, Sarah (14) and Rachel (17) showed their support by walking the 3K Walk.  We all had a good time.  I was happy to place 1st in my age group once again.  Even though I was 26 seconds slower than last year, I did beat my next closest age grouper by over a minute.  1st prize was a $15 gift certificate to the local running store, The Blue Mile, so I was able to recoup some of my entry fee!

  


Megan finishing with a strong KICK!

 

This month also allow me a couple of business trips to try barefooting in some new locations.  The first trip was to Livonia, MI, followed by St. Charles, IL, followed by Marshall, IL, and finally Flora, IL.  The MI portion allowed me to get in a couple of warmer runs, one with a new co-worker and running buddy Anthony.  We started at the Livonia office and ran down to Anthony's favorite running park and back for a nice 4.91 miles at 68 degrees---warmest run of the year so far.  The next morning I did a similar run, although with a headlamp and only 45 degrees, this time 8.29 miles.  The IL portion of the trip, I was able to find some very smooth pavement down in Matoon IL and got in 19.1 miles over the evening and morning runs while there.

 



Anthony at Comache Lookout Park



Anthony plotting our course



The next week I got some even warmer weather by travelling down to San Antonio, TX.  Customer meetings in two different cities outside San Antonio allowed me to get in 4 different runs in this great city.  Again, with my new buddy Anthony, we explored the city's Comanche Lookout Park to find a good running trail after our customer meeting was over.




Comanche Lookout Park in San Antonio, TX

 

Later, we did a longer run on the city's famed Riverwalk before getting cleaned up and enjoying a steak at the Salt Grass Steak House which was right on the Riverwalk.  Excellent cuisine indeed!  The next morning I had a later flight so I was able to get in another 5 miler on the Riverwalk at a crisp 45 degrees...still very nice compared to the 20s/30s in IN with rain...it was actually SNOWING when we landed in Indy later that day...YUCK...hopefully Winter is FINALLY over!

Now I'm looking forward to Spring Break next week in Myrtle Beach, SC at my sister Jill's house.  She lives only 2 blocks from the beach so my morning routine will be to run a quarter mile on pavement down to the beach and then choose the "North" or "South" route each day to get in a nice medium to long run.  At this point I'm actually a little ahead of my mileage from this time last year, although still about 205 miles behind the pace needed for another 2000 mile year...oh well...still plenty of time to make that up...I'm still not sure if I WANT to top that big mileage from last year!  Either way, I plan on getting in some nice longer runs this month as the weather warms.  I'm preparing for the Shiprock Marathon on May 2nd in Shiprock, NM.  This will be another 6000+ ft elevation marathon but I will be attempting to pull it under 4 hours (actually shooting for another BPR of 3:49) in order to capture yet another 50<4 State (that's 50 sub 4, or 50 state marathons in under 4 hours).

Happy Springtime Barefooters!  Enjoy!

Barefoot Dan

March Mileage = 156.3 miles  (306 for the year)