A bunch of randomness...

Over the last few weeks, I've been busy with my various adventures, then documenting said adventures.  There are a lot of happenings occurring in the very near future, lots of news to share.  Let's begin!

My Achilles Injury

When running in the Burning River 100, I tweaked my left Achilles.  As of last week, it was still sore and inflamed.  My plan was to simply rest in preparation for the Fallsburg Marathon this upcoming weekend.  Late last week, I was emailing Dr. Scott Hadley, a barefoot running friend of mine.  He had read my race report about Burning River and suggested I try a self-treatment he developed on his TrekoClinics site.  I felt a bit foolish; I had forgotten I had access to one of the leaders in the field of diagnosing and treating.  

Based on Scott's recommendation, I used the treatment he described in the sample video on the site's main page.  After three days, the Achilles feels perfect!  The tightness and pain I had felt completely disappeared.  I tested it with a four mile tempo run yesterday at a 7:20 pace.  This would constitute one of my two training runs before tapering for the marathon.  The Achilles was 100% both during and after the run.  Bottom line- the treatment worked.

Barefoot Track Meet

My friend, occasional training partner, and Barefoot Runners Society Michigan Chapter president Andy Grosvenor is helping to organize a barefoot/minimalist shoe track meet this Friday in Rockford, Michigan.  The idea is simple- it's a fun event to help raise the awareness of barefoot running.  I'm still working on my schedule, but am planning on being in attendance.  I'll be running the longest event, but doing it very slowly.  I'll be happy to answer any questions people may have about barefoot or minimalist shoe running.  Additionally, there will be at least a few more VERY experienced barefoot runners in attendance.  It will be a great opportunity to learn.

All are welcome!  Here are the details:

WHEN: Friday, August 13th, 7pm
WHERE: Rockford North Middle School Track,
397 E Division Street Northeast, Rockford, MI
WHAT: 440, 880, 1mi, 2mi, and 3mi in nothing but the bare of your barefeet [or some interesting MINIMAL footwear, if your feet can't take it...]
WHY: because we can, to raise awareness of barefoot running, and for a groovy homemade medal!

Book Signing/ Barefoot Workshop

I will be leading a discussion on barefoot running at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, August 17th at 7:00pm.  I will be joined by physical therapist Dr. Dave Asselin and Gazelle Sports.  The workshop will be more topical than my usual workshops due to time constraints, but we will have ample time to answer questions from the audience.  The event is free!

This will also be the first opportunity to purchase the second edition of my barefoot running book.  Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Barefoot Runners Society!

Barefoot Running Workshop

I will continue my series of regular barefoot/minimalist shoe running workshops at Crossfit Grand Rapids.  The next workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, August 24th from 7:30pm to about 9:30pm.  This is a comprehensive hands-on (of feet-on) workshop that involves actual drills and running.  Cost is $10 and you can reserve a spot by contacting Brandon Armstrong at contactus@crossfitgr.com or 616.916.7210.  Spots are limited and fill up rather fast, so it's usually best not to wait until the last minute.

616-916-7210 begin_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting

Paleo Diet

Shelly and I have been following a quasi-paleo diet for about a month now.  This will be a topic of a future post, this is just a quick update.  It is going VERY well.  Effects noticed:

• No intense food cravings, especially cravings for breads or sugary foods,
• Decrease in body fat percentage despite no reduction in caloric intake,
• Even energy levels throughout the day

The results are striking enough for me to continue with the experiment.  Again, I will write more about this in the near future.

Fallsburg Marathon

As mentioned before, I will be running in the Fallsburg Marathon this upcoming weekend.  I will be joined by at least two other barefoot runners (Andy G., the organizer of the barefoot track meet and Shelly, my wife).  The course is relatively barefoot-friendly, and they do have a 5K and half marathon option.  If you're in the neighborhood, check it out!  My goal for the race- beat my marathon PR of about 3:55.

North Country Trail Ultra

On August 28th, I will be running the North Country Trail 50 miler.  I'm looking forward to this event as it will reunite Shelly and I with our road-trip crew of Mark Robillard and Jesse Scott (among a lot of other friends).  This is a VERY barefoot-friendly course.  We will have at least six or seven barefoot and/or minimalist shoe runners, possibly MANY more.  If you plan on being there, look for me (I'll be running in my Sport Kilt again).  My goal for this race- complete my trifecta of PRs (100 mile, marathon, and 50 mile) in one month by running a sub-10:20 time!

Woodstock Running Festival

Shelly and I are planning on attending the Woodstock races this year.  My tentative plan is to crew/pace for Jesse.  Shelly's plans are still up in the air.  Like the North Country Trail races, there should be a fairly large contingency of barefoot/minimalist shoe runners on hand.  This is another great event with a large range of races  from a 5K up to a 100 miler... if you're in the area, check it out!

Reviews

In the very near future, I will be reviewing a variety of products.  I will continue to document my experiences with running in the kilt, I will give a few review of Barefoot Ted's Luna sandals, and should be reviewing a pair of GoLite minimalist shoes, Inov-8 minimalist shoes, and eventually some New Balance minimalist shoes.  I may be reviewing some Zensah compression sleeves, too.

Life Simplification

I haven't posted much about this topic lately, but I am continuing to simplify my life by purging excess material "stuff".  My goal is to eliminate half of my possessions by the end of summer.  I am about 75% done.   The long-term goal is to reduce my family's possessions substantially (down to about 25% of our current possessions) by the end of spring 2011.  Part of this process is culling our crap.  The other element is being EXTREMELY selective on new purchases.  So far, so good.

Workouts

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know I am a HUGE proponent of weight training as a form of crosstraining.  I have been training with Brandon Armstrong and John Devries of Crossfit Grand Rapids for about six weeks, and have been training with my friend Pete Kemme for several years.  Pete recently added a HUGE list of exercises and accompanying videos to his site. I credit these workouts for my ability to finish 100 milers despite a relatively low number of running miles (average about 40 miles per week over the last three months).  If you are a runner, you should seriously consider this style of workouts as cross training.  It's tough, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Finally...

I mentioned it earlier, but the second edition of my barefoot running book will be officially released in two weeks.  The book is available for pre-order right now at a discount ($9.99 versus $14.95) and should ship in about two weeks.  Once it is released, it will be available via Amazon.  For those that prefer Amazon, I will post the link as soon as it is ready!