Running Update (8/21/2007)

Just a quick update on yesterday's running. Did the 1.5 miles (knocked down a few minutes!) and a cool down walk for about 1/4 mile. For the first time, I did not get any blisters or sore spots on the balls of my feet (yippee!). Legs feel pretty good this morning, too. No tightness in the back. A good running day it was.

An interesting thing the Mister brought up when he was looking into barefoot running. The primary reason he thinks I haven't been able to do the ball-heel-ball technique is because I'm not running fast enough. I recall reading that if a runner is running at a slower speed, he tends to be a little more flat footed. This made sense to me. I now think that I am running with a less pronounced BHB. In thinking it through, a foot is on its ball as it lifts up when walking or running (yes?). So the fact that I was running ball-heel, as I lift the leg up, the heel becomes ball in that motion. Hey, it makes sense in my head!

The Mister also did a little experiment on his own when he was running at the park with the dogs. He was able to do the BHB technique and noticed the technique made running feel "easier." That's the same feeling I had when I first started running barefoot and concentrated on relaxing and gently touching each foot to the ground. I think tomorrow I will track to see how long I can maintain a constant speed during the run.

(Psst, did you notice there was not a single food reference in today's post?)