Leaving shod behind If blisters are a barefoot runner's rite of passage then its official... I'm in the club. Just when I thought I had defeated my nemesis knot monster, the lingering blood blister on my second toe (yes... the webbed one) was torn up today. No longer a blister, but a flappy mess that needs some serious healing. At least I got a small barefoot run in today. Baby steps. I was able to run shod for 1.68 miles and then barefoot for .7 mi. I meant to do about 4 miles shod but cut it short on account of some slight tenderness in my hip (maybe the knot monster moved?) I was half OK with this since I was able to get a good 5 miler in on Tuesday. Still, to think that only a couple months ago I was able to complete my first triathalon without any issues. Well... except for the fact that part of my support team - my husband - was in the hospital nursing a mountain biking wound. Injuries in my house are as common as sneezing. If its not me, its the husband. If its not...

Vibram Five Fingers KSOs I'm about to tell you something truly personal about myself. No... I'm not addicted to painkillers. I don't have an eating disorder. I've never been arrested, not even had a ticket. I don't have a porn collection and I'm not a closet smoker. This fact about myself is a little weird, I must admit. Here it is: I have webbed toes. Actually they are the second and third toes on both feet that are still slightly fused and don't split apart like the others. Its not really even noticeable until I separate them to reveal the connecting skin. Unfortunatley, that extra flap of skin is annoyingly noticeable in my new pair of VFFs. My shipment arrived today and although I was excited to try them out, I'm not so sure about them for a full time experience. (Honestly, they look a little like gorilla feet, but apparently black is the only tiny, size 35 option.) I've really been enjoying the freedom of running barefoot and the fee...

Now that's what I'm talking about! I finally completed a longer run today. The first one in weeks on what seemed to be an intensely hot morning. I got to sweat, breathe hard, and run pain free. Its about time. I was at my wits end and was feeling more than just a little discouraged. I found some really helpful advice from the peeps over at Barefoot Runners Society . What a great support they've been. I seriously would be feeling pretty isolated right now if it weren't for those people. I've also been discovering some little tidbits like the Treko Blog which has given me some amazing insight and has helped me battle my knot monster. I ran shodded for most of the 5.23 miles (my pace was weak) but I was able to tear the shoes off at the end to complete about .7 miles barefoot and pain free. I finished by walking another .5 miles barefoot just so that I wouldn't push too hard too soon after this euphoric run. Now that I'm armed with a little more informati...

Fi-yah in Auburn CA. I jacked up my calf again last night, dancing. Seriously. Does this thing not go away? And the hoola-hooping did not help my hips either. I haven't hoola-hooped since I was a kid. Lately, any time I decide to let my hair down and truly enjoy myself, that wretched knot monster gets in the way. I'm rolling my calf muscles and quads daily in hopes that I can return to barefooting sans the monster. In the meantime, I can't help myself. If I can't run, I will dance. And if there's a hoola hoop, I will pick it up. You can't stop me. I'm on fi-yah! (at least for as long as my body holds out.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Hydration If you're running down the street and I drive by, I will totally check you out. I do this every time I see a runner and am embarrassed to admit that I've nearly driven off the road a few times. I don't know what it is. I have to watch other runners. I'm mostly checking to see if they are: 1. Barefoot and 2. Heel striking. I'm not sure how other runners feel about this, but I hope they're not offended or think I'm judging them. Really, it doesn't matter how you run as long as you're happy and pain free. I'm seriously missing my running fix. I'm rolling my legs religiously every day and even though the soreness has subsided in my left leg, the knot monster is still there. I swear this thing is a living, breathing entity that will be calling out against priests and holy water soon. Its made a home for itself deep inside my muscle tissue where no rolling pin can touch it. I can't tell if its getting smaller until I get out and...

"Untitled" 2010 - Krista Cavender No one told me that once I started running barefoot, potential disdain for shoes could happen. This morning I tried to get out of the house for some running "therapy." I've been really missing my long meditative runs. They are part of my sanity regimen. I strapped on my heavy, ultra-motion controls to my feet and headed out the door. Only about one quarter mile in, my feet felt weak, heavy and hard to pick up. I kept trying to tell myself to just deal and keep going - get into my rhythm and give it a few miles. It could be the cold I'm just getting over. But the lure of barefooting got the best of me. I couldn't stand it. I threw my shoes off and ran shodless. Beautiful! Freeing! Awwwwwyeah. That's what I'm talking about. Then, the knot monster in my left calf started talking obscenities at me. Then he started screaming at me and moving around, making sharp jabby knife-like motions. Now I had done it. I can...

Ahhh. Rum Runners in Tahoe. Nice. What did I do today? Jack shit. That's what I did. Well, not really. I still had two kids that needed to be fed, clothed, cuddled, hosed down and disciplined, but other than that my running amounted to absolutely nothing. And I'm OK with that. Right now, I'm icing my calves hoping for some reprieve. Really in my head though, I'm strategizing. Strategizing about how I can run my longer distances shodded without feeling the leftover pains of my barefooting. This, I will be experimenting with on Sunday when I will hopefully be able to pull together some much deserved "me time." For now, I will just sit my lazy ass down on the couch and have another cocktail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .