Racing for a Cure Barefoot 5k

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k
I raced this morning. On shitty asphalt.
Lots of rough, cracked, and uneven bits. This required some serious strategy, folks. Really. The thing that annoyed me the most were the shod runners who were "running the lines." You know? The paint lines in the road? Yeah. Just so you know... if I'm running a race barefoot and the conditions are shitty, those lines are MINE! SHODDERS GET THE HELL OFF OF THEM! And not to be bitchy or anything, but GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY! I gotta keep up my cadence and if I slow down or have to come to a screeching halt for any reason, my feet really feel it. I don't like to be parked on pointy, gritty asphalt for any length of time. I gotta keep moving.

Wow. I feel better now.

Race Start
So, it was actually a great run. Even with all the swerving and strategizing I felt super fast. Had I not had a crappy surface to run on I would have kicked some serious barefoot ass! I'm getting closer, though. My barefoot pace was equivalent to what I normally do in my VFFs which was around a 10:30 min/mile. This made me pretty happy. This means that I'm improving. Also, my bitchy body parts had absolutely nothing to say during this race. Nothing. Silence. No twinges. No aches. No pulling or pain. Just muscles and joints doing what they're supposed to be doing. Making me move. Without pain. That's what I'm talking about, people!! Fiyah! 

When I got home from the race, I found out that my cousin who went into hospice in her last days of cervical cancer died last night around 7pm. Holy crap. That totally sucks. She was so young. This kind of news brings me new perspective and focus. I can see that I need to embrace life more and live it more passionately. I can't help but feel a small sense of urgency to do things I've never done before as I get older. I don't want regrets when I'm close to my last day. 

With that in mind, I think I had better buck up and finally read Born to Run. I've been afraid it would inspire me to take on bigger challenges. Maybe it will. I shouldn't be afraid of that. I haven't mentioned it before here on my blog (those that have friended me on FB will get ALL the dirt) but I've decided that I want to try a pretty challenging half marathon trail run and do it minimal. This will be at the end of August. It seems a little crazy right now since I've been easing back into my running, but I'm hoping with all my training for my little triathalon and some other serious trail races this would be a pretty decent sized goal. One that would be a big bite to chew, but I think I can swallow it. We'll see.
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Comments

  1. Congratulations!!!! And so terribly sorry to hear about your cousin.

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  2. Thanks so much, Claire... :-)

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  3. Er.. Hi I climb mountains with boots on, but I admire your bravery.

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  4. I love your rant. I so hate rough pavement. My daughter has really adjusted to running with me. She wears Vibrams and allows me the smoother places when we run together:)

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  5. Neil - thanks for checking out my blog!

    Janice - that must be really cool to run with your daughter. Nice! And she gives her mama the right away... how sweet!

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  6. No worries... Hey at least your barefoot run was for a very good cause. I just realised that you also do graphic design. I just checked your KM Creative site. I love the Donnieville Outfitters website. Keep up the good work...

    Neil

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  7. Congrats! I think about you a lot and wish that we lived closer! I need a barefooted friend to help me be less self conscious! I'm so glad that it went well and that nothing hurt! That's a major victory in itself.
    I'm excited for your 1/2 at the end of the summer. You are so inspiring!

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  8. Best rant of 2011 to date!
    And you'll do fine with the half marathon distance. Just add a mile per week to a long run and you can be running any distance you'd like soon enough.

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  9. @ Jen - I know. All my barefoot buds are online. It sucks not having real people to run with. However, I have converted a few neighbors into barefoot runners. Actually, I now have 4 friends who barefoot since I've been transitioning. When they get further along in their journeys I might actually have people to run with!

    @ Nick - thanks so much for the encouragement. That sounds so easy! My worry is about the elevation. This trail run has some serious hill climbing. We're talking about 7-9 miles uphill, maybe. I know I can do it. I just need to wrap my head around it.

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  10. Sorry to hear about your cousin, Krista.

    Great job in the Cure race. I can relate to what you're saying about embracing life. BTW, I've got Born to Run and haven't read it yet either. So here's the challenge. We both have to read it in the near future.

    Regarding that trail half, at least with most of it uphill you're less likely to hurt yourself falling down. At least that's how I approach trails because of the terrain challenges. That's good in my book.

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  11. Hi Ken! I actually got Born to Run for Mother's Day. I've just started reading it and have to say its already sucked me in. I'm only at about page 50 though.

    Yeah, one of my trail runs is a canyon run, so its 3 miles down and 3 miles up. The half marathon, as I understand it, is similar, just longer. Blood, Sweat and Beer is pretty appropriate for the name of the first trail run I'll be doing. Last year I nearly slid down the trail because my shoes had almost no tread. The beer was great, though, which is why I'll be racing it again. ;-)

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