Da SunDaY EdiTion: Workout Plannings

Today is Sunday and I'm at work. I really dislike having my day of rest being a day of work, but I needed this coming Saturday off for a tech rehearsal for my show so there you have it. I have tomorrow off ~ just in time for a dentist appointment! Yay me, I love the clean feeling after but actually going to the dentist is awful, and the last time I went there they drilled on my teeth and some of the fillings still hurt or twinge when I drink something hot or cold or too sweet.

I went running last night and viola, it was a lot easier than last time! I went running in my Vibram five-fingers though and every single time, I get enourmous blisters on the balls of my feet. The pain is kind of cathartic, I feel like I did something. I'm going out to run again tonight, this time I'm going to tape my feet to help reduce the friction from not wearing socks. You seriously can't not wear socks and expect not to get blisters. My training method is such, starting Monday I'm going to go on a short run/bike ride first thing in the AM, then a longer one in the evening. When I really got in shape that's what I was doing, and I only have a limited amount of time before my easy 3 miles needs to be an easy 6 miles. I can do 4 without dying, that's what I did yesterday but it's an endurance thing and the difference between 4 and 6 is huge when you have no energy left!

Okay, I'm going to put my weight on here, nobody laugh okay? I'm 165.4 lbs as of Friday June 20th at 6:23 am. I'm hoping to cut that down some, I'm just barely over the normal BMI to the overweight category, so I gotta get on that. I know I'm strong enough, just have to dedicate the time! Everyone, keep me on the right track will ya? (all you invisible non-readers I suppose). I can only bear to weigh myself once a week, otherwise I get depressed and say, "Screw this, I'm going to eat chocolate at midnight." So there's that.

I always gain weight when I start exercising but having been going at this seriously for 3 weeks, I know that now I should actually start losing weight instead of gaining it. I don't know why my body does this to me, but I suppose it's in reaction to thinking:
"Great, Charly's getting chased by zombies for about an hour every day. We better pack on the fat and muscle and everything else because who knows when she'll eat again!"
I don't know that my body says that for sure, I just imagine that's what my body says because it's much more interesting than:
"*synapse pulse*, exercise + healthy food = imminent starvation. *pulse* fat on lockdown".

Anyway, that's it for today. Cheer me on! And if you feel the burning urge to comment, how does your weight loss go when you try? I'm probably the only one that exercises and gains weight. It's pathetic.
Ah loves ya!

Barefoot (or Minimalist) Running

I went for a run today, and when I got home I had to sit down and treat three quarter size blisters on my feet, OUCH! I was working on barefoot running, I though my feet were pretty tough, but apparently 3/4th's of a mile in bare feet on smooth pavement is too much friction for my winter-softened feet to stand. Let me explain what's happening here.

When you're running through mud, you need light shoes, not a lot of padding and lots of drainage. (I've signed up for a few mud runs this summer, I'll explain next blog) Something that dries quickly and won't give you blisters in the process. I started researching shoes and I found the New Balance Minimalists and the Vibram Five Fingers, and I also found a style of running called barefoot running. Barefoot running incorporates a slightly different step that makes you run faster, puts less stress on your knees, and is used by non-shoe wearers all over the globe. If you didn't wear shoes, this is the way you would be running.

To run barefoot, or in a minimalist shoe, you land mid-foot instead of striking heel-first. It's how all the awesomely fast Kenyan runners do it, and anyone who wants to run long term usually eventually switches over for the health benefits. It's also incredibly hard to do for anyone who's spent their life running heel-first and wearing super-padded shoes. They tell you to run 1/4th of a mile to 1 mile in this style every other day for 2 weeks while your feet slowly build up the strength and calluses to do this, and after that, only slowly increase the distance to protect your tendons and muscles. It takes about 2-3 months to really be able to run 5 miles in this new style. Good minimalist or barefoot running shoes cost between $80 to $150. Before I shelled out that much, I wanted to give barefoot running a try. (I couldn't use my regular shoes with the new technique because they are a super-padded pair of sketchers. Wonderfully comfortable, and impossible to move your foot it)

I'll spare you pictures of the blisters.

Here's my take on barefoot running. It's almost impossible to run slow, it feels great, and it's a very natural step, you don't even have to think about it after awhile. It also makes you incredibly tired, due to the fast running and added strength needed from your calf muscles to support yourself, and it can give you blisters.

I jogged down to the running trail so people wouldn't think I was too weird as I passed them in dirty bare feet. Once I got there, I slipped off my shoes and socks, hid them behind a tree, and took off. I'd practiced the steps  so I knew how my feet were supposed to work, land mid-foot and spring off the ground, I just needed a little distance to really give it a try. So, after 1/4th a mile I was beat, I mean, panting for breath, I must have been running faster than I thought. After a few more yards the balls of my feet and my big toes started a slow burn. I felt my Achilles tighten, so I took it slower after that. After just 3/4ths of a mile, arriving back at my shoes, I was panting as if I'd sprinted the 100 meter, and I knew I had a couple good blisters. I brushed my feet off and threw my shoes back on to finish the run. I did pretty good, but on arriving home I found the monster blisters.

To sum up, I grew up with my dad as a podiatrist, so all the propaganda you're going to read about how barefoot running so dangerous and awful is false. Barefoot running is only dangerous if you kick your heelbones into solid asphalt. You can step on something if you're not careful, get too much callusing without proper care, and hurt your tendons if you over-stress your feet. I think I'll invest in a good pair of minimalist running shoes, and continue to practice. After all, blisters only take a few days to heal, and the feeling of running barefoot (before exhaustion and blisters set in) was wonderfully freeing, I think I'll try it again tomorrow...