BF/VFF Adventures!

My running shoes are trying to kill me. Or at least cause me a lot of pain.

I'm not sure whether or not they were feeling vindictive for my lack of running in them or what, but today was a rough run.

I haven't run in my shoes for about 3 months. Wow... sometimes I can't believe that I've actually gone that long without running (at least in shoes).

Now, I have been barefoot running about 2 times a week for the last couple weeks and it's been glorious, but today since I'm done with Insanity (finally! woo hoo!) and because I've been aching to go on a run I decided to head out in the shoes since my Vibrams are still not here!!! (hopefully this week).

So I went from this...

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(I actually did get an AWESOME barefoot run on the beach in on Saturday. It was rainy and perfect :) )

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To These...

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Look at all that padding!!! My feet had NO clue what to do. In Born to Run it talks about how the more padding we have the more our body strives to find balance and stability. And my feet were really struggling to stabilize. I felt like I was teetering all over the place! My feet could NOT figure out how to function and were thrown off by the fact that they were basically in a cast. My shoes also decided within the first 1/2 mile that I needed a blister and for my knee to go out on me... sweet.

I truly couldn't believe how much heavier my feet felt and how cooped up they felt. Thankfully I've kept my old running shoes that are completely worn down and hopefully my feet won't be quite so confused by all the padding next time.

But truly I'm just hoping to get my vibrams this week and then start building my running base with those. The goal is to run a half and then a full marathon next spring/summer in the Vibrams. We'll see how it goes, but if I can base anything off of today, it's that

1. my feet do not enjoy shoes

2. my heel and new blister didn't appreciate them either.

3. my knee and shoes are not on speaking terms

4. I think my running life is better off without shoes

Soooooo, so long running shoes! Hello, barefoot running....

The Weekend

The weather in Korea has finally cooled down, and it is GLORIOUS!!

But I couldn't help but feel that we were re-living a lovely rainy morning just a few months ago.

Of course our apartment felt the need to flood....again.

Can you see the water trailing down the walls?? What a treat!

Jon fixing it :)

Ian was  HUGE help...

And of course we also had some scones to go along with the rainy day flood.

After that we decided to just head for the beach and run around in the rain. It was a BLAST! Hands down, the best place for barefoot running is the beach. The sand just feels so good and the rain helped too :)

Sara, Jon, and I made the attempt to swim to another island, it didn't quite work out. But we did spend an hour playing in the waves, in the rain. It was extremely random, and so fun!

After all of our swimming and barefoot running fun!

I love that we are still having some fantastic weekends before our time in Korea has ended. It's been so nice to have people come out and visit and just experience the randomness of the islands with us!

How was your weekend??

BF/VFF Adventures

I figured, because I haven't even gotten my Vibram Five Fingers yet I should really be calling these posts. Barefoot and Vibram Adventures... because all the running I've done has been via my own little toesies.

In high school two of my best friends and I would compare our feet. Melissa's were dubbed cute and well proportioned, Joelle's were cute and little, and mine were...ugly. You see...I had these lovely large lumps on the sides of my feet called bunions. I'd like to thank my mother and grandmother for those babies. They were large, disfiguring, and gave my feet a bit of an odd look. Plus... wearing any sort of dressy shoe was a complete pain.

Because I apparently had "the worst bunions ever seen on an 18 year old" my doctor suggested they be hacked off. And when I say hacked off I mean my foot splayed open like a 8th grade science dissection project, pieces of bone removed, a pin shoved in, and then everything sewn back up into a neat little package that can't be walked on for 2 months.

Look at those lovely scars

 Even after the removal of my bulbous bunions my feet still weren't too pretty, the scarring is still quite noticeable and that doesn't exactly make for a beautiful view. But to be honest that just doesn't matter much anymore.  After not being able to walk on my feet normally for a few months after the surgery I became to appreciate just how miraculous those things attached to the bottom of my legs actually were.

Now, as I've been barefoot running I think I've come to see just how absolutely incredible our feet truly are.  Not only can they get us anywhere we want to go... but they have 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. How freaking out of control is that!? In such a tiny space all of that is crammed in. 

 It's still hard for me to believe that so many intricate details go in too such a small and confined space. For such a small part of the body it really does have an impact on our everyday lives. We don't fully realize how much we rely on them until we can't use them or they are hurt.

What I've really been learning during this whole barefoot running experiment is how much we need to take care of our feet. After I've gone on a run it's amazing how nice it feels to scrub them down and give them a little rub down with some lotion. My feet love me after I do this and I really think that it's a key component to keeping my feet healthy and working in prime condition. It's also the key to keeping the rest of my body in sync. I've realized that when my feet hurt it effects the rest of my body. My ankles, legs, back etc. They are the key ingredient to the rest of my bodies happiness. So, regardless of whether they are pretty or not, I love my feet and love the fact that they do so much for me! So whether they are pedicured, dirty, buniony (is that even a word?), or not so pretty looking take care of your feet! They are the ONLY ones we get! 

VFF Adventures!: Barefoot 2

As you all know by now my lovely VFF's are not here yet :( But my mom has sent them back and hopefully I'll be seeing them in a few weeks!

I decided that I would tough it out instead and go straight up barefoot! After my first barefoot run I was excited to get back on the track and work those foot muscles. But of course my plans were put on hold as we had loads of visitors!!!

I was willing to put my barefoot dreams aside for the good of the visitors :) And it wasn't too hard to do. Now that it's just Jon and I again, I'm back out on the track!  It was so nice to just go out again and see what my little toes can do.

The Stats
Distance: 1.75
Time: 22:27
I interspersed .25 miles running with .12 walking so that I had a little break in between the runs just to get my feet used to it.  It took me awhile to get back into the groove and find my stride. The 1st two times of the running my pace was around 9:50 (not too shabby considering I haven't done really any running since June) and the walking was at 16:30 BUUUUUUUT as I kept on, my pace got better, my form improved, and it became so much easier! My pace dropped down to around 9:19 for the last two rounds of running and the walking was about 15:45. I loved that my body adjusted the way it did... such a great feeling!

With all of our visitors I got a slew of questions about this barefoot running "craze" and I tried to explain why it's so good for our feet, but a lot of times I'm not quite so great at explaining things. Another blog I've been reading up on is
The Edible Perspective , Ashley and her husband live in Colorado and I'm secretly hoping that when we move out there we'll become BFF's and run around in our Vibrams together.  Her and her husband went to a free barefoot running clinic and I'm pretty jealous. But the information she was able to get was incredible!!!

Here's the info she was able to get down! Enjoy! And hopefully it will help you understand my new obsession :)

I'll let you know how the next BF run goes on Tuesday!

VFF Adventures: A Misadventure

Yesterday my mother, sister-in-law, and friend Danielle arrived in the land of Korea...

along with them, my VFF!!!! wooo hooo!!!! (trust me I was just as excited about the rest of them coming too :) ) But I had envisioned wandering the streets of Busan and Seoul in my new VFF's. I was going to conquer the world in them. I was going to get stared at. I couldn't wait.


So of course I put them on and admired their beauty.

I walked around for five minutes in the house... and then I noticed something a bit funny.

Not all was well in VFF land.

*gasp* a hole!!!??? I was shocked, upset, aghast that this could happen to me!

So I re-inspected.

And saw that yes, it truly is a huge gaping hole in my brand new Vibram Five Fingers.

Now I'm sure you're thinking, what's the big deal? Just send 'em back and get a new pair! Ummmm, people... I'm in freakin' South Korea... I ordered these puppies a month ago and had to wait for my mom to bring them over for me. 

Soooooo now they get to go back with my mom next week, get send back to the VFF company and they will send her a new pair, and the she will have to mail them to me. So in about another month I'll actually  have them. *le sigh*

So I guess I'll just continue on my barefoot ways... and wait for the day when I'll actually put on VFF's without fear of a hole.

VFF Adventures: Barefoot Baby!

Lately I've been desk warming... which means I've had loads of downtime.

And with this lovely time I've been researching, reading, and searching for as much info as possible about barefoot or minimal footwear running!

I wrote a post before about the Vibram Five Fingers, and I'm happy to say I'll be receiving mine on Friday!!! After ordering them a month ago and waiting impatiently patiently for them to get here... they will be making their appearance along with my Mom!!!!

Ahhh I can't wait until I have a pair of my own!!!!

So throughout all of this research I found an AWESOME website with all sorts of info about VFF's and barefoot running... and instantly I was hooked.

I've been wondering how to adapt and transition into the VFF's and have REALLY wanted to just be gutsy and go all out with the barefoot running and I came across this encouraging article.

How to Transition to Running in Vibram Five Fingers- Let your skin be the guide!

The actually suggested starting with barefoot first and VFF second. Because with the VFF's you really have to work on your running form they suggest that to get the correct form you really need to start barefoot to get it down right!

So I took these babies for a spin

(here they are lovely and dirty in cambodia)

Now as much as I love being barefoot... in Korea it's a terrifying thing. There literally glass on every surface and I'm not really up for completely slicing off a toe. But there is a track nearby and I dragged Jon along with me and we gave our little toes a spin around the track.

We alternated running one lap (about .12) and walking one lap. Jon's smooth and supple feet were "feeling" the track after 2 run arounds and he called it quits, my callousy, rugged feet made it a few more times and it ended up being a mile. My feet are feeling a little sore, but otherwise good.

Throughout all of the reading and researching the one piece of advice I've seen over and over is to start SLOW! And so I am... I think every other day for two weeks I'll try doing the mile alternating the walking and running and then I'll move up the mileage depending on how my feet feel.

As "rough" as my feet feel apparently after a few weeks of barefooting it, my brain will start to recognize that the nerves in the balls of my feet are getting a lot more stimulation. Because of this my brain will start sending signals down to the soles of my feet and fat will start being deposited there. Voila! Instant padding :) Truthfully half the fun of this is, is just finding out how absolutely incredible our bodies are. We are truly created in a unique way and our bodies and feet in general were created so capably and they can do so much! We just have to be willing to put them to use! And I fully plan on it :)

I'm hoping in the future to put up some more of the scientific reasoning behind barefoot/minimal footwear. In the meantime... go get the book Born to Run... now!

As for me I'm going to go soak my sore toes and remember the bliss they felt in all of this glorious Mexican sand :)

If you have anymore questions about barefoot/minimal footwear walking and running send 'em my way! I'm happy to research things and have found a lot of information on the subject :)