Thursday, October 28, 2010

barefoot running back home in Salina photos and video

We ran for time and estimated miles today as we barefooted over bridges, ran next to the river, and watched our four spawn play as we ran through and around Oakdale Park. We went over 8 miles. Its amazing how quiet it is here.  Its lovely to experience being back in town from a happy Angie's perspective. There has been much personal growth for me over the last few years while living in Des Moines and my trips back home are a gauge of sorts as to my progress.  I am happy to be here and even more happy to run here!
Jaymon came up with some exciting ideas about games to play while running. Barefoot running in particular. I am really looking forward to brainstorming with him and then getting some meetups together!
I love the creativity that flows when running.  

 The littlest spawn love being barefoot and that makes me happy although keeping track of tossed aside shoes makes me wonder why I keep forgetting to have them take off their shoes before we get out of the vehicle.
I have rather thick pads on the bottoms of my feet. They are soft and supple yet the skin there is tough.  I stepped on this.....stake....its bigger than a thorn and not really a splinter.  It pierced my foot on the ball of my foot by my middle toe but I just pulled it out and kept going.  Seriously it barely even hurt and I was surprised at how I had taken for granted the padding I have there now. The last year and a half of conditioning has paid off for sure.
While barefoot running you are encouraged to bend your knees more and use your ankles and knees as springs.
A light step makes stepping on sharp objects less of a concern since I compensate by staying relaxed and not striking the ground with my foot. While running over rocks and rough surfaces my foot molds to the surface that it lands on and does not land stiff and rigid .  If it does hurt, then I am not relaxed enough.  It takes practice but its fun!

I forget that people want to see the bottoms of my feet.  I need to moisturize but really my feet are not even very dirty today.  There were so many different textures on our run.  Incredibly rough roads that I had to drop down a bit and work on relaxing.  There were walnuts to avoid as well.  I adore squirrels but cuss them sometimes when I step on a walnut husk that has been skillfully gnawed and left for me to discover with my piggies. 
My feet feel great. My ankles, knees, calves, and my glutes are all sore from the stabilizer muscles working in different ways.  I am really looking forward to running again tomorrow!  My mother in law has a new Grayhound she adopted and I can't wait to take her out for a run tomorrow. 

Here is a video of a little bit of our run.  I warn you, if you are prone to motion sickness it might make you woozy!  Oh and notice my handsome hubby in his kilt....mmmmmmmm!   Lucky girl I am to have a handsome barefoot running, kilt wearing, bearded man.

Happy Running!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

That is one big piece of wood. I can't imagine how tough your feet must be.

How long does it take you to clean your feet after running? My husband's get really dirty and he has to scrub them down (so he tells me). I just probably tell him to lube them after running to loosen some of the dirt.

Patrick Mahoney said...

That stake would kill a vampire. Wow.

Anonymous said...

The bottom of your foot is beautiful as it is, tough and natural.

RunToTheFinish said...

wow great thoughts on why your feet are tough and how you work your stride to be soft. very cool!

Julie said...

Damn Angie, for a barefoot running queen your feet look pretty darn good:) Love the video!

heather said...

Your feet look look better than mine and I don't even run barefoot!

Awesome run. Its like an obstacle course.

Hannah said...

Oh my goodness! You are like 90 minutes from me right now!!!! I live in Wichita! And I grew up in McPherson!

Courtney @ I CAN DO THIS said...

Ha ha, love it! It's very Blair Witch Project with the breathing :)

MCM Mama said...

You sound so happy! Awesome!

I wish we lived closer. I'd really love some barefoot running form tips.

Laurie said...

Cool video. I am so amazed by your barefoot running. You are so tough! Also, I just saw your article in "This Mother Can Run". I knew when I saw the cover about barefoot running, it had to be you. Very cool!

Jenny said...

I'm very jealous of your handsome barefoot running, kilt wearing, bearded man. And how great your feet look. I don't run barefoot and my feet look hideous compared to yours! Lol.

Run on.

donna said...

great idea to take a video for running. POV shot and all like Freddie in Halloween.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Were those picnic tables you ran over? And yes, I'm not dizzy! ;-)

Ouch to the stake that you stepped on! I thought of you on my race and wondered how you would navigate the sheer acorn covered decents in my race. I know my one sore toe would not be sore if I hadn't had shoes on! I wish I was brave enough to make the switch!

I provide Bradley Method childbirth education, doula, belly casting, placenta encapsulation, and post partum doula services.
I serve families in Kitsap County, Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Bremerton, Silverdale, Kingston, Port Townsend, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and the greater Seattle area. email me atangiebeehotz@gmail.com with any questions you might have
running apps