This race was pretty simple.  No obstacles.  No timers. No roads. No way out without getting dangerously close to many, many zombies….

Nothing like sprinting through a small zombie horde to get your heart racing!  I think I ran faster during this un-timed run than ever before – thank goodness we were able to walk between the zombies.  That’s the biggest part of the fun of these runs, trying to dodge between zombies chasing you, zig-zagging back and forth at top speed.  It’s not everyday an adult can get away with that you know.  The other half of the fun is everyone there is obviously having a blast and really, really nice.  This is the second time I’ve run this and both times every single person I met was super friendly.

I started wondering if I could get my kids to dress like zombies and get them to jump out randomly on my regular scheduled runs. Would my neighbors come running out to help?

There were a lot more zombies this year than last year. The run was at Lake Park in Lutz, Florida which is like 30 minutes from my house and I’ve never even heard of it before. I’ll definitely be visiting here again! I’d even swear I saw a lake through the trees at one point, I must go back exploring.

The bad thing about a trail run with zombies?  Well, a trail isn’t exactly a road.  If a zombie comes running up behind you (some were original Dawn of the the Dead slow and some were new Dawn of the Dead fast) you can’t exactly get through the crowd in front of you.  It’s kind of like my driving mantra. You can’t go faster than whoever is in front of you, try as you might (stupid tailgaters). However, in a moment of zombie induced panic I did try and get past the guy in front of me for a minute, then I had to stop and apologize.  He didn’t care a bit but I felt a wee bit dumb.

There was no mud and not too much blood so no need for an after picture, but here we are before the run.  Heck ya I was proud of my I ♥ Daryl t-shirt.

Speaking of blood, they had a blood splatter station for the zombies.  Dexter would have been so happy.

One other thing of note – this is the second time in a row I started a run with shoes and ended without them.  I wore the same shoes I always do to an organized run but this time they tore up the backs of my feet from the heels all the way to the top of my shoes.  Maybe because this wasn’t a mud run and my feet were dry?  I have no idea but I think I may be officially done with running in shoes, obstacles or not.  I’ll spare you the gory pictures (you’re welcome) but trust me when I say it was quite the lesson learned.  And contrary to what I would have thought only one single person even seemed to notice the lack of shoes, and she just asked if I was a barefoot runner.

What else could there possibly be to add to the good times?  Superman Walks founder Thomas Mills was there.  If you haven’t heard of Superman Walks you should check out their site, it’s a great organization. I’d love to walk with them one of these times.

And of course you can’t forget the racing bling.

I went on my planned 2 mile run last night. I had originally planned on doing something akin to fartleks but instead of concentrating on speed for short bursts I was going to concentrate on raising my cadence for short bursts. Instead I set my metronome app on 170 and just tried to keep up most of the way.

Before I set out I asked at Barefoot Beginner group for some tips and they gave me a great one – don’t try and touch your feet to the ground with each beat, try and lift your foot with each beat. It sound trivial but it really made a difference.

I can’t say that a switch went off and I suddenly figured out how to do it right, but the more I ran the easier it seemed, I think with practice I can actually get this.  I had a lot of fun speeding up and slowing down while trying to keep my cadence right at 170.  I have to admit it was still much more tiring than just running without thinking about it, but I do believe I’m going to get this.

Now to go completely random on you please tell me what you see in this picture.  I took it out my window at work through the screen.  HINT: IT’S A TURTLE and it’s dead center. None of my kids see it.  Please be on my side on this one.

Related articles

• Cadence – The Quest For 180 (kindazennish.com)

I’ve read in several places that one of the keys to running is to run with a cadence of 180 a minute or faster.  The science behind it depends on the study you read, but the theory sounds sound to me.

Basically the faster your cadence the less time your foot is on the ground with each step.  The less time your foot is on the ground the more time is is not on the ground – resulting in a lighter, less injury prone step.

This is especially important when you are running barefoot over rough terrain such as gravel or, a favorite here in Florida, broken up shells. They cover a lot of the otherwise sandy roads in the parks here. The reason this is so helpful is, again, because you don’t want your feet to totally settle (or slam) into the ground.  You can test that by taking a short jog over some pebbles or gravel, and then trying to walk on them.  When you are walking your foot settles fully into the ground, and you feel EVERYTHING.

I’ve had two issues with running at 180 beats per minute.  No, I haven’t even tried for faster than that.

One, if my feet are moving that fast then I get tired too quickly no matter how slow I’m running. One of the advantages of a higher cadence is said to be a smoother, more effortless run. I believe this simply because so many professionals say  it’s true – but so far it certainly feels like a lot of effort to me! I’m hoping that with practice that won’t be true.

Two, how the heck am I supposed to know I’m running at the right cadence?  Technically speaking you should be able to count how many times one foot touches the ground for a minute and then multiply that by 2. I have an issue with that, wouldn’t I already have to be running at my normal speed when I started the stop watch? Um, I can’t really concentrate on both of those at the same time.  It’s physically impossible for me to be that graceful. BUT I did manage to do it by setting a stopwatch on my phone and then setting the phone on the treadmill so that all I had to do once I settled into my normal speed was hit the start button and count how many times my right foot touched the ground until the beeper went off.  82 times.  That’s a cadence of 164 which is actually quite a bit better than I would have guessed! I think it’s a bit high to be honest. I was trying to run at my normal pace but I DID know I was timing myself and human nature and all…

Unfortunately some suggestions I’ve read to help with improving in this area just don’t work for me.  First I tried running to music with a beat at a particular cadence.  Turns out the fact that I don’t dance isn’t a fluke. I just don’t get it.  Fortunately for you it seems that music does work for everyone else on the planet. However, when I try it I either can’t find the beat I am supposed to be running to for more than about 30 seconds at a time OR I kind of hear it, but my lame attempts at running to it makes it look like there is something very, very wrong with me.

Moving on.

How about an app to turn my phone into a metronome?  Now this works for me.  It seems like it should be boring to just listen to the tick-tick-ticking but to me it’s kind of meditative. I have the RunSafe app and I don’t use all the features but I like it for this. It not only gives you the beat to run to, it counts your steps and tells you how you are doing. I think it would be more accurate if I didn’t carry my phone in my hand, I need to invest in an arm band.

So, all of that said, what to do to improve cadence? Here’s my plan.

• Add a one mile run a week where I try to concentrate on cadence the entire run.  I’ll use the app and set it at a slightly higher cadence than I usually run at.
• Cut my Tuesday run to 2 miles and run fartleks.  I’ll simply pick up my cadence a good bit until I pass a light post or two a few times during the run. Sound kind of random and unstructured?  That’s why I chose fartleks. You can be random and still do it right.
• I’ll keep my last 2 runs of the week at 3 working on 3.5 miles and not worry about a thing while running besides what music I feel like listening to.

They say you can’t learn to run faster without running faster – and I fear this falls into the same category. I’m not convinced that 180 is the magic number for everyone, but I am convinced that barefoot running can be improved by a faster cadence- so here goes.

Do you think that a higher cadence is a key to good running form?  If you work on your cadence how do you do it?  I’d love to hear some suggestions on good apps or any drills you can recommend to help improve running cadence.

Last month I decided that since it was my birthday on the 1st it would be the perfect time to start creating monthly goals. Kind of like mini-New Years resolutions except that I never make resolutions.  So not SO much like that.

Anyways, there’s no point in making goals if you aren’t going to assess them at the end of the time period, so here goes.

RECAP

FAIL. But not totally. My goals were:

1) By the end of the month I want to be running 3  miles every time I go out.

That didn’t happen, mostly because at the beginning of the month I totally slacked so I had to create a tight schedule that required not missing a single run to hit the goal, and required running every other night instead of 3 nights a week. I missed a couple of nights, resulting in not running 3 miles a night by the last week of October.  I’m OK with the reasons I missed my goal runs though.  One night I just ran a mile because the top of my feet had been hurting and I didn’t want to push it.  I haven’t really tried to increase my distance since running barefoot and I also haven’t really run all that consistently so this was a big change for me. Another night I went for a walk with my sister’s 2 year old twins and held one or the other while racing to and from light posts, when I got back I was more tired than after a longer run!

What did happen is I ran at least 3 times a week without fail and I got up to 2.75 miles so I”ll be running 3 miles a night this week. Good enough for me!

2) Check my mail at least 3 times a week, then look and see what’s in it.

How about 2?

3) I’m getting myself out on the paddle board at least once this month.

Nope.  I used to be able to take off from my uncle’s back yard and I’d go by myself.  Since he moved I don’t have anywhere safe to go paddling by myself so not only do I have to get myself out there I have to get someone to kayak with me because I have no interest in being one of those why would someone do THAT news stories.  Plus getting that board on top of the car (even if it is a little Prius) is hellacious after paddling a couple hours.  I’m pretty sure it doubles it’s weight on the way home!

That wouldn’t be such a bad thing except I have so much (fun stuff) going on in November there’s no way I’ll have a chance to get out paddling.  Maybe December?

4) At the end of this month I’m setting a new running goal for next month.

I’ve got this one!

RESET

1) My running goal is pretty light this month.  I simply want to keep running at least 3 times a week and get up to 3.5 miles.  This is because I need to start working out again, I don’t even remember the last time I did and the scale is showing it. If I increase my running AND start doing other workouts I’ll be less likely to hit any goals!

2) Those other workouts – core and arm workouts 3 times a week. I’m in the worst shape I’ve been in since I remember, time to get a little strength back. I have 3 obstacle runs in the next 6 weeks, I better get ready to get over those walls and up those ropes now!

3) Cook my lunches to bring to work all week.  When I don’t get my lunches ready for the week on Sunday I end up buying it at some fast food place.  Bad for my health and bad for my wallet!

4) Running drills and watching my form – I’ve decided to start checking in on the way I run more often, and also start doing some running drills.  That way when I’m ready to start increasing my mileage a bit more my body will be more ready for it.  That’s the theory anyways.

Related articles

• New Month, New Year (kindazennish.com)
• A Goal Isn’t Enough! I need a Plan. (kindazennish.com)

As you know if you’ve been reading along I don’t run a ton of miles, but I do want to do the miles I run right.  I randomly think about my form and I feel like it’s pretty good but of course most everyone’s form could be better.

I had a non-running form wake up call the other day though when I asked my daughter to take a picture of me doing chaturanga and then took a look. Um, I felt like I was doing it so great!  Not so much from the camera’s point of view, I was much much higher up than I thought and my elbows weren’t as pulled in as I thought.  It’s my body, I really thought I knew what it was doing. Stupid everything.

Anyways, I’m going to start concentrating on one aspect of my running form at a given time for a while and see if it makes a difference in how I run.  Well, in how I perceive I run since that’s probably a totally different thing.

First thing to concentrate on is one of the most important according to Ken Bob Saxton, and who am I to argue with him?  Especially when it’s his book, Barefoot Running Step by Step that really got me started in the first place.

Bend your knees!  It makes a lot of sense after someone says it out loud.  If you run with your legs straight you are not allowing your knees to work as they are intended to and you are jarring your whole body with every step.   Keeping your knees bent while running allows them to absorb some of the shock that running can otherwise put on your body.

How much should your knees bend when you run?  I’d guess it’s different for everyone but here’s a video of an expert – take a look.

I ran 2.5 miles my last two runs, and I have to admit I’m pretty happy with myself.  Tomorrow night should be 2.75 and I’ll be at 3 by the end of the month! Of course it’s the passing 3 miles that always seems to get me, but I’ll deal with that next month. This whole consistency and planned improvement thing does NOT come natural to me but at the moment I’m loving it.  I’ve even been wanting to run on my off nights, which I know would not be a good idea, I need the rest.

The funny thing is it’s not my legs that get tired and I’m not getting out of breath, it’s the muscles in my feet that are getting sore.  It’s mostly the muscles on the TOP of my feet, which I find kind of strange, maybe because I’m trying to keep my toes curled up a bit to avoid letting the road (or treadmill) blister them. That’s never happened to me but I’ve heard it can and it doesn’t sounds fun so…

I know running barefoot uses different muscles, and also that one major benefit of running barefoot is that your body tells you sooner when it’s had enough instead of allowing you to run until to injure yourself. It’s interesting to me though to see it in action.  Everyone knows you aren’t supposed to increase your running distance too fast, but if I was wearing shoes would I physically feel it?  In this case I don’t think so, because nothing else in my body is telling me to take the rest days. Kind of cool, in my humble opinion.  I’d way rather have sore feet for a couple hours when I wake up than sore hips all the time!

I went ahead and set some goals for myself this month, but I kind of did it wrong.  Luckily, it’s not too late to fix that!

I don’t know about you (obviously) but I know I’m a sucker for marking things off a list.  I’ll even make a list that includes stuff I already did, just so I can cross them off.  Don’t judge. But with a monthly goal it takes sooo long to get there.  How do I know if I’m doing what I need to get there? Where IS the goal?

I really only set one serious goal (though I DO want to do all of them), to be running 3 miles every time I go running.  It’s not that much but since I started off the month lucky to get to 2 miles most times it’s a good one for me.

So I set the goal on the 3rd and then only ran once the next week.   Par for the course in the life of me.  But wait! I am perfectly capable of accomplishing SOMETHING. right? So I thought about it. If I run 3 miles the last day of the month that hardly counts.

So then what does count?  I want to run 3 miles everyday the last week of the month. OK, now I know my definition of meeting my running goal. Step 1!  Well, lets call it step two since step one was deciding on the goal.  Look, I crossed something else off the list!

In that case, on to step three. How am I going to get there? I can’t just sit back drinking wine every night then jump up the last week of the month and go. Since I’d already lost some time to my typical procrastination I was kind of behind, but in this case it worked.  I ran 2.25 miles each run for the last week. 2.5 miles this Thursday and Saturday, 2.75 miles all next week, and that leads me to 3 miles the last week. Easy peasy, right? Right.

My last goal was to set a new running goal at the end of the month.  This time when I set my goals I’m going to use the 4 step plan.

1) Set a goal

2) Define what attaining the goal will look like

3) Make a plan on how to get there so I can tell at any point of time if I am on the right path

4) Get that goal and move on to the next one.

When you set goals do you make a plan to get there or do you just go out there and do it?

I’ve been asked quite a few time why I decided to run barefoot.  After all, I don’t know anyone else who does and I live in Florida, land of creepy things to step on.

Well, last November I somehow hurt my hip and couldn’t run anymore. Heck, I could barely walk.  I don’t even know how I hurt it. Maybe it was running, maybe it was driving over 90 minutes each way to work or the combination of the two.  Maybe I was abducted by aliens, but whatever it was it was bad enough that I went to the doctors about it and that’s something I avoid probably a bit more than the average grown up.

While I was unable to run for a few endless weeks I started reading a lot more about running. I scoured the internet and even picked up a few books.  What causes hip injuries? How do I get rid of it? How do I not do whatever I did again?

I kept coming back to barefoot running. I picked up Ken Bob Saxton’s book, Barefoot Running Step by Step.  Really it didn’t sound all that different from how I already ran.  I knew not to heal strike and the rest just didn’t sound  like it would make that big of a difference. But the big thing that I read everywhere is that if you are running with bad form AND running barefoot you will feel it right away and adjust – not feel it after something was really hurt.

I had been unable to run more than about three steps without doing some serious injury, even after going off running and on some meds the doctor had given me for a while. I decided to give it an honest go, the right way. I started running just a quarter mile the first week.  It hurt.  Not my feet, my hips.  But not as much as before. and here is the kicker – after about my third quarter mile run it started hurting LESS. My hip actually started heeling after I started running again. Best of all? Although I have had a problem with my hips being sore for years, well before I even started running, they rarely bother me now. I think this also has to do with switching to a job that is half the drive.

Do I think running barefoot is for everyone? Maybe. I don’t think it is good for everyone to do exclusively. It does require the ability to set very small goals because jumping into it full steam is a recipe for disaster for most people.  It can heal one injury and cause another if you aren’t careful. The amount of people who toss off their shoes, go for a 5 mile run, and end up really injuring their achilles tendon is fairly high.

Since trying it out the first time (which was nothing like perfect) I’ve run very few times with shoes. It just works for me.

Have you ever tried barefoot running? Would you consider it as a supplemental ‘training’ portion of your regular runs?

If you read a lot of blogs (guilty) then you’ll quickly notice that a lot of people set these things called goals, and they do it often.  Like, every month.  When I try that I have a high tendency to set completely impossible goals, or to set a ton of goals that sounds reasonable, until you ad them all up. So I just don’t set them very often.

This month however I think I’m going to jump on the bandwagon, since it is an admirable one. Plus, my birthday was the first so I’m not only starting a new month, I’m starting a new year.

But this time I’m setting nice and easy goals, nothing all crazy like a marathon or 10K (heaven forbid).  So I’m going to try and meet these four goals, and when the month is done I just might set 4 more.

1) By the end of the month I want to be running 3  miles every time I go out.

I usually run about 2, so this really shouldn’t be a stretch but for me a 5K is my breaking point.  Not because I can’t run further, but because every time I get back to running a 5K I lose all sense of motivation and kind of stop running.  Both stupid and weird? Yes.  But nevertheless true every time. This is my main goal so to get myself started I ran a mile three times on the treadmill last night, taking a few minutes between each one to walk around. Easy that way, but still mentally a start!

2) Check my mail at least 3 times a week, then look and see what’s in it.  Don’t ask, I don’t know why I hate to check the mail. I think it feels too grown up or something. Plus, it’s not like I get any letters from people I know.

3) I’m getting myself out on the paddle board at least once this month, it’s ridiculous how long it’s been since last time I went. Plus, I have to have a 100% fun goal.

and

4) At the end of this month I’m setting a new running goal for next month.  Even if it’s just to keep on keeping on.

So there you go, wish me luck because because while some people have an issue listening to authority figures I have an issue listening to myself.

Do you set short term goals for yourself? Do you tend to keep them?

Best question of all, do you reward yourself if you make your goals?  Maybe I’ll sign up for another mud run if I make all 4 goals, now that’s motivation!

When I started running barefoot I read some books about it and joined a Facebook group and all of that. After all, I was making the change because I heard that it might help the injuries I had and I wanted to be sure I was giving it a fair chance by at least trying to do it right.

All the questions that could be asked and one of the first I asked the Facebook group was um, are my feet going to get all gross and dirty and calloused? I’m not exactly fashion conscious or anything (kind of an area I slack in) but I’ve seen people with skin that looked as if it had been grown with dirt as a natural part of it, and sorry but it’s kind of gross.

Now that I have a whole 9 months experience I can answer my own question, at least for me.  I run 3 nights a week and I don’t run further than a 5k ever, and rarely that far. So I don’t know if there is a difference if you run barefoot marathons or ultras (ya, there are some really, really bad-ass people who do that).

The answer is no.  My feet didn’t get permanently dirty and they didn’t get calloused.  As a matter of fact the skin is softer and smoother now than it used to be. I think it’s for two reasons.

One, I mostly run in the neighborhood and I think the asphalt acts kind of like a pumice stone, smoothing out the skin. I had almost expected my skin to get thinner as a result, but again I was wrong.  My skin actually seems to be a little thicker. The bottoms of my feet also seem to have a bit of padding or muscle on them that wasn’t there before.  Kind of a plus actually.

I think the other reason is because running on asphalt actually is a bit gross. When I get home my feet are black as tar and I washing them with soap doesn’t do much. I have to actually use a pumice stone after every street run.  I don’t scrub them hard or anything, but I do use it. Maybe that’s why the little cracks that I used to have on my heals are gone now.

So question and answer. Won’t running barefoot make your feet gross? Nope, it’ll leave them better than they were before!