The Bare Necessities

Me and those Feet that will carry me 13.1 miles.

Realism.

I feel breathless from this whole journey that I have been on over the last 6 months or so.  In fact, in thinking about the last 6 months, I am shocked by how fast it has gone by.

The last 6 months have been a real journey for me on many different levels.  There is the barefooting adventure, but there are also so many other things that have been going on in my life over these last 6 months.  I have got really into my role as my student union's religions & beliefs rep; I have had a quite a crazy journey with new forms of direct activism; I have had a lot of personal-exploratory meditations; and I have been going for walks down the lane of final year degree work.

You might think that this blog entry is to suggest that the barefoot adventure may be coming to a close.  The Barefoot Revolution that I have espoused, however, does not feel anywhere near a climax.  It feels more like the Barefoot Revolution has become a way of life.  In this preparatory last hours before the big run tomorrow morning, I am seeing now that this will not be my final distance run of my life.  My barefoot training has suggested that I have to think much more optimistically than that.  Perhaps last year I ran my final distance of my life in shoes.  The barefoot philosophy has given me some hope, though.  I vow to live to dream.

Tomorrow I will run 13 miles without the use of footware.  I will prove to the world around me that I still can run, despite my injury that caught me in the act last year.  I will show the world that, even if you carry a debilitating injury that forbids you from running, you need not stop believing.



Manifesto.

In the world that we are living in, where more people are allergic to food that they eat than ever in history (look at the statistics of wheat allergy sufferers, for example); more athletes are getting arthritis; more cancer is spreading despite all the research into cures; more war is taking place despite all the movements for peace; a world where so much investment is paid towards researching cures for everything but nothing seems to be working; I vow to prove that a little personal investment into spiritual harmonisation with nature is all that we need.  My barefooting adventure is just that - it is forcing myself to reconnect with the ground that is beneath me, and all around me.  It is allowing my feet to breath in and to breath out, and to adapt themselves to their surroundings.



Gratitute.

I would like to say thankyou for everyone that has supported me.  I have received so many messages of support that it has been hard to actually respond to them all.  Please know that I have utmost appreciation and Love towards you, for all the support that you have given me.

Just over a week ago, I was interviewed by Bath On TV.  This is a new online community media organisation - set up to video everything great that is happening in and around Bath.  I met James and Matt in Royal Victoria Park on a cold Thursday dusk-time.  They were just finishing off filming a local gymnast who was in the olympic team who will be running in the Bath Half.  Their interview with me was fun, creative, and very light-hearted.  They were very nice guys, and I respect all that they're planning to do with their new project.  I hope it gets really big too.  But anyway, a few days ago the actual video was released, upon the unveiling of the website.  I can't actually embed the video into the blog, so please visit this page to view the video:
http://www.bathontv.co.uk/bath-half-runners-stories-simon-jilley-goes-barefoot/

Today a friend of mine from back home sponsored me with £12.17, which was all the money he had left at the time in the bank.  This pushed up the money that has been raised for Transition Bath under the 'barefoot' agenda to £225.17, with more promised soon.  This is very encouraging for me, and I hope that it helps Transition Bath to continue with the path that it has laid out before itself.

Fundraising is here: https://www.justgiving.com/barefootsimon ;)



Final meditations.

ON Thursday evening I went for a fairly short, 3-mile run around Oldfield Park/Bear Flat.  On approaching Moorland Road something must've happened in my left leg to cause it to not lift up when it was that leg's turn to, and the big toe of the left foot skidded, causing me to quite calamitously stumble on the pavement.  This stumbling sensation on the big left toe had happened once before, when I was running the previous week on my longer 8-mile run.  This time, though, I got a feeling inside of me that everything was not quite right anymore.  I crouched down and grabbed the toe, trying to give it some immediate comfort and reassurance.  I managed to keep running the last five minutes or so to my house, but the toe was feeling sore.  Yesterday, on day two of my three-day planned Total Barefoot, I found it progressively more uncomfortable through the day to be on my foot.  I played one singles game of badminton in the evening barefoot, during which I really felt the presence of inflammation around the knuckle of the that toe.  When I returned home in the early hours of this morning I made up a special ointment out of honey, olive oil, ground devil's claw root, yellow jalokia chilli powder, and some chilli sauce.  This was due to bring the inflammation out, as all ingredients used except for the oil are known in some way to alleviate inflammation.  I spread it all around my toe and up to about halfway up my foot, and put a bandage and a sock over it.  This morning the toe felt somewhat better, but still quite sore.  I have a pack of frozen spinach on the foot for most of the day.  It currently feels quite deeply stiff around the toe, but I can still move things fine, and it doesn't hurt so much to be walking on it now.  It feels like I have had quite a big scare with this sudden injury, but I feel like I am going to be fine to run tomorrow.  The worst that could happen would be for me to pull up and incapable of going further due to the injury - and this is something I had expected to happen due to my hip all along.  I feel like this new injury may take my mind mainly off the hip, and perhaps even give me a smoother run, depending on how it fares up.

I am due to be having one more interview with Bath On TV tomorrow morning in runner's village, before they strap a GoPro camera to me for the run.

My plan, for now, is to meditate the evening away.  Mindfulness over matter, that is my way forward.


I will post a full review of the run for me when the time comes for it.  Until then, over and out.