Race day...

So, it all came down to this: the six months of training, hurting, fundraising, blogging and panicking was all rounded off in just two hours of pounding the streets of Bath in a colourful procession of panting, sweaty bodies all packed together and pushing on with that single objective: get to the finish line.

But was it worth it? 

Oh, yes, it most definitely was.

Of course I could use this post to talk about the feeling of accomplishment, or how glad I was to raise funds for Transition Bath, or the journey I took through my training; but instead I want to get down in hard copy all of those brilliant little moments the that made the day so special for me personally. You know, the little things that are so easily forgotten after the event.

Me (left) and the rest of Team TB

The first few miles of the race were very hard for me; by the first turn my shin had tightened resulting in a very heavy right leg, my sore knee had flared-up and my expectations of finishing had dropped significantly. 

But then I looked up. 

Being on the crest of a hill, I could see all the way down Pulteney Road. Ahead of me the bobbing, vibrant sea of people stretching from curb-to-curb and as far as I could see was truly a sight to behold, and something I imagine that only the runners get to experience. Thankfully, this little lift kept me going on until Churchill Bridge (and my first taste of the really noisy crowds), which was great, but my body was still protesting.

Then came Queen Square. Yes it's an uphill slog to get there, but feeling the samba drums pulsating and bouncing off the walls as you approach and then taking the corner that leads you through that exquisite tunnel of noise was simply awesome – and even more so the second time around.

Then it all went quite again, and I finally stared to find my rhythm. The aches were subsiding and I was actually beginning to feel good. It was at this point some spectators did their job of lifting me once again, but not in the way I expected. On three separate occasions, I heard people muttering amongst themselves sentiments such as, “they must be mad,” or “you wouldn’t catch me doing that,” and as bigheaded as this sounds; I loved hearing this.

So with a slightly inflated ego and a mouthful of Jelly Babies, I crossed the bridge, rounded the corner of Newbridge Road and headed along the most uninspiring part of the race: the first section of the Lower Bristol Road. I was feeling great by this point, though. The aches were gone (but not forgotten) and that boring stretch of road surprisingly allows for some real thinking time, all the while in an un-real situation. A true delicacy in this day and age.

Other moments that lifted me were seeing the man dressed in a fluorescent orange head-to-toe body suit trying his best to be discreet as he had a wee in field (sorry, mate, that was never going to happen); the two runners arguing over a bottle of Lucozade Sport; the girl in front of me with the disappearing thong and nearly see-through leggings; the point where everyone around me was running in perfect step as, for a few seconds, we made a noise like an army on the march; and of course, having my name on my t-shirt was huge – every personalised shout of support took a second off my time.

The lead runners (no I'm not in this photo)

Naturally, though, with this type of endurance race, one also goes through lows as well as highs. The low points were my shock at the wastage of water and plastic bottles as people have a sip, take an impromptu shower and then dump the rest in the bin (or the crowd, which is a tad moody). I also hated seeing one of my fellow team members in pain, but luckily by this point we were only two miles away from the finish and all ended well. And I don’t even want to go into the Great Jelly Babies massacre of the Upper Bristol Road – what a senseless waste. Poor little blighters, just discarded in the road and left to be trampled. No Jelly Baby deserves that.

Anyway, without going on and on about the numerous other things that make a day like this so special, I’ll finish with the finish. Oh and what a finish. That last half-mile (tight hamstring and all) was amazing. The crowds baying you on, the collective sense of “we’re nearly there,” the consequent quickening of pace, and all topped off with that tunnel vision dash to the finish, when Bam! It hits you. That’s it. I did it. Wow.

Last year the Olympics inspired me to get out and get fit, and I’m now totally hooked on running. I am definitely doing the Bath Half again next year and have just literally signed myself up for the Bristol Half. Following this, I am potentially also looking at running a marathon next year and Paris would be my race of choice. Can you imagine running a marathon around the wonderful city of Paris? 

Once again I’d like to thank Nathan for organising this and I hope we can run together again soon.

Just to finish: If you've never had a go at something like this, ask yourself one question: What’s stopping you?

Love and kisses to all who helped me on the first part of this amazing journey.

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.

Remembering Why

I went out for my final training run on yesterday and decided to do the whole Half Route.  It was great to be out on such a clean and crisp day and give me a chance to don my new Transition Bath running tee.  

After the first 3 miles I started to really struggle.  My mind was elsewhere on work and soon enough my legs became heavy.  I had an energy gel in my pocket, but decided to solider on through.  At mile 6 my legs felt like lead.  So time was now for that little pick me up.  After slurping it down I started to feel better.  At the same time I realised my head for the first time was not in it.

Since I started training I have clocked up just over 280 miles over 35 hours of running and loved every minute of it.  Those first 6 miles were really tough.  On the back of my t-shirt it says "inspired to run, run to be inspired".  I thought about this for a good mile and half and around 7.5 miles my feet became light, legs became springs and I began to smile.  I completed the run with not a lot left in me, but did smash my personal best completing the course in 1:49.

I realised on the second loop round that one of the reasons for this was the lack of preparation.  All my other runs have started with a 5 to 10 minutes of meditation and stillness to visualise and bring my body into a more connected space with the Earth, my surroundings and the often cold air that I will be breathing.  It is through this connectedness and enjoyment at the sense of being free that spurs me on, that keeps me moving.  Running to me has become like surfing and mountain biking.  Unlocking the flow to be part of the here and now and enjoying the sense of movement, the release from the chaos and hustle of the busy life and being in the now.  The only thing that matters is keeping one foot in front of the other.

This is is an adventure in running.  And for me, it has only just begun.... Here is to loving to run.  Here is to running to love.

Barefooting the soft Bathonian snow

Frozen man in the snow...Bath Abbey.

I'm not sure quite why we did it, but the other day myself and my barefooting friend Alex (who, I can confirm, is also going to be running the Bath Half this year barefoot) at about midnight ran down his road to Moorland Road in Oldfield Park, and ran back up it again.  I was dressed as a machine, with five layers on my top half.  Alex was stripped down to just shorts.  It is clear that he wanted the refreshment aspect, whilst I just wanted a little stroll to air my feet.

Anyway, we were both barefooted, and it was Friday night.  Lots of snow everywhere, about 4-5inches deep I predict all across Bath.  As my feet touched the outdoor ground, they felt joyful.  They didn't feel cold, they just felt free.  It wasn't actually so cold, anyway.

To compare the cold, I will relate a story from my Christmas holidays.  I stayed at Skanda Vale, a sanathana dharma Hindu community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with my mum over Christmas.  She hadn't been there before, but I'd stayed for a combined three weeks previous, so it was all wacky for her but pretty decent and expectedly unexpected for me.
On Boxing Day, a big group of us staying there (possibly 30 of us) went down to Tenby for the Boxing Day swim.  At least 15 of us were actually due to be going in for the swim, including myself, and we all dressed up for the occasion.
We got there ridiculously early.  I was expecting us to be working on Indian time, but my understanding of Indian time was that you always arrive late for things.  We were an hour early.  We all got into our costumes, and just hung out on the beach mostly doing the Gangnam Style dance at odd occasions.  When the time finally came to assemble with all the other swimmers, it appeared that we'd been fooled.  We had to stand around with the other swimmers for a good 10 or 15 extra minutes, in the absolutely pouring and freezing rain.  My feet were freezing out - I already had lost feeling in the outer edges of both feet, and was a little worried about them.  The sand at Tenby, let me tell you, was absolutely freezing this midwinter morning, and the rain puddles didn't exactly help.
Eventually, the loudspeaker guy said that we would be have our mad dash into the sea in #countdown5minutes.  A minute later, there was a bang and everyone was confused and then people at the front were running and so I leapt for it, sprinted with the one goal of the seas glorious encapsulation in my mind.  I had a warrior mask on, which gave me tunnel-vision.  All I could see was the sea in front of me.
When I got to the sea, it wasn't actually so bad.  I just sprinted into it, but didn't dive in.  I got to about waist-deep, and was confused, as it got a bit cold.  Within a few seconds of pondering over things, I was rugby tackled into the sea.  A big rush overcame me.  I started swimming, but everything had gone numb.  It was like my body was piloting itself: my mind had completely disconnected itself from the body.
Anyway, we stayed in there for some 10 minutes or so, and then came out, got given a medal, I was given a cup of mulled wine (I completely gave up drinking about 9 months before, but this didn't mean anything when I had this warm wine in my hands), and I tried getting dressed.  It was all well and good, until I realised that my feet could not fit into my shoes anymore.  I couldn't feel my feet, so I didn't know what was happening, but I knew I had to be very gentle with them.
My decision was to lay in front of the big bonfire they'd got going on the beach and to thaw the feet out.  This worked terrifically - otherwise I would, for sure, have had frostbite.

So the point of relating to this story is to show how cold my feet could get, as compared to what I had the other day.  I could not feel my feet anymore when I was in Wales.  I had the potential of losing feeling in them for years, if I hadn't acted upon it straight away.  The other day, there was a little bit of cold under my feet, but it felt nowhere near as cold as what I experienced that day on the beach in Tenby.

One thing I noticed, the other day, was the sharpness of some of the snow.  This could be where the big issues are - and this goes for runners with shoes alike.  I stepped on some chunky bits of icy snow, which seemed to go right into the arch of my foot.  These bits of icy snow didn't feel so constructive...

We both managed to get down the hill and up again without too many problems.  It was a little slippery going down the hill (when normally I would deliberately slide down with my big walking boots on), but going back up was fine except for the bits of ice sticking out of the ground.

In my opinion, running in the snow is just like running in any other conditions, except with the possibility of a little less traction and some sharper bits here and there.  There is no need to be scared of it: just train up your feet to be used to the cold.  It's such a nice feeling, anyway, to come back into a warm house after your feet have become cold and callussed.  The feet tend to buzz a little, like after receiving a massage.

For those who are interested, here are a couple of pages that I found useful to read whilst writing this blog entry:

Winter Barefoot Running - is it right for you?
7 Barefoot Running Myths: Barefoot and Minimalist Running


Now, on the complicated general side of things for me:

I haven't been running properly in a few months, as my hip has taken major toll over the winter months.  I've had it scanned, and re-scanned, and had an arthrogram and then an MRI arthrogram, and they tell me that it's osteoarthritis.  Hence the difficulties I've had over the last few months - it reacts to colder and damper conditions.  They say that there are some bone spurs/osteophytes on the joint that they would like to remove, but they'll give me a shot of steroids in the joint first to see what that does.  I'm hoping that the steroid shot will sort things out in the short term, and then I'll have the surgery sometime after the Bath Half, and after the badminton season has finished at uni.
For now, though, I'm still taking it easy so as to avoid causing unnecessary inflammation.  I've experienced a lot of inflammation in my hip before as I used to cycle until just under a year ago, and the inflammation can have such a long-lasting effect.  If I were to be training now, I would probably be able to run once a week and have to rest it off for the other 6 days of the week.
My solution, then, is to wait for the steroid shot, and start running again after having this.  If it doesn't have the desired effect, I will just keep my fitness up with non-demanding activities (badminton doesn't have such a toll on my hip, and neither do some yoga postures, etc.) and run the Bath Half on the day without having ran in preparation for it.  I will keep my leg muscles up to strength (I know, from my experience of running last year, that the legs can get some serious cramp if they're not prepared for the run!), and generally be very easy-going in my buildup to the run.
This doesn't stop me working on my barefooting, of course, and as I explained before barefooting is very beneficial for my condition, taking a lot of strain off of the hip when I am trodding my ways.  Therefore, I will continue to go barefoot.

Sorry I haven't posted a route to run on, again.  I felt, though, a duty to send out a barefooting message to you all!

Until next time, stay safe!

A awesome run around the park

So I know this blog is supposed to be about local running, but I had to post about my experience today in Central Park, New York; as much to commit it to my own memory as anything else.

I may be stuck here due to cancelled flights, missing my family and all the fun the snow, but this helped go a little way to improving my mood.

Picture this: 6.30am on a cold NY morning and I began my run around Central Park. The sun wasn’t up yet and the running track through the park was lit in a dull glow from the streetlights. Then, in a city of however-many million people, I looked around and saw I was running practically on my own. Wonderful.

As the sun began to rise and I headed down the western edge of the park, I felt like I was in a movie, Calvin Harris was banging away in my ears and life felt very, very good. Then, coming back up the east side of the park, the sky scrapers running the opposite length began to glow a radiant terracotta and seemed to be utterly relishing their own magnificence. You know how Bath looks in the autumn sun? Well, it was something like that. Awesome.

Including the jog from the hotel, my morning’s run took in: The Empire State Building, The Plaza Hotel, The building used in Ghostbusters, The Tavern on the Green (also in Ghostbusters), The Metropolitan Museum, The Guggenheim and finally a glimpse down Broadway to the lights of Times Square.

So the moral of this story? If you’re a runner and you go to NY City, take your running shoes and add a run in Central Park to your ‘to do’ list. It’s a 6.1 mile loop, a little hilly, but you don’t really notice this with all the sights to see. I have to say, though, that I do have half an eye on running a marathon if I can get through the Bath Half intact, but thinking about running a distance equivalent to four and a half times round this loop makes me think twice about the wisdom of such an undertaking. On the plus side, I comfortably managed these 6 miles in 55 minutes, so that equates to me finishing the Half in just under 2 hours… doesn’t it?

Freezing fog, rain, sun and rainbows: What a week of running!

So then, this week has been a great week of running for me with three very distinct runs all with various weathers to contend with – and also to relish…

The Friday morning run with Sandra and Let’s Go Run was a short affair and a good thing too. We met at St Andrew’s school and ran for 40 minutes through icy rain, slowly losing the feeling in our extremities but giving ourselves (all 3 of us) a smug feeling of how hardcore we were to be so committed that we would run in such horrible conditions. Also, please bear in mind that as I’m new to running I haven’t yet acquired thermals and was doing this in shorts and a t-shirt only. Bring it on!

Midweek I ran out with Gavin (another TB runner) and we did about 5 miles including a timed one-mile tempo run. What was remarkable about this run was the fog (freezing as it was). As we emerged into Bath city centre and the whole place was lit up with a backdrop of Christmas lights and shrouded with a dense layer of grey fog I had one of those “I love running” moments. We slowly approached the Abbey tower and got have a proper look as it rose eerily and majestically into the foggy winter night; what a treat. If, however, I were seeing this from my car, I'd probably have about two seconds to admire the view before having to pay attention to the taxi about run into me or the suicidal tourist about to jump in front of me. Yes, if you want to see Bath in a new light, go running. Of course you could walk, but why anyone would be out walking on a night like that, I don't know.

On Sunday I joined up with Let’s Go Run again and we did a wonderful 10k run. Again the weather was odd and we found ourselves running in glorious sunshine at one point with rain simultaneously beating down on our heads (never did get that). From there we were literally chasing a rainbow as we ran through the park. The run itself took us from the sports centre, along the river, up through Victoria Park and The Approach and then into yet another area of Bath that I haven’t been to: We went off road on the Cotswold Way and up the hills to a very muddy Primrose Hill. Along from there we emerged by Kingswood School and then finished off the run with a very fast and hugely exhilarating belter all the way down Landsdown Road and back to the sports centre. Once back in town, it was fun trying to make our way around a bunch of Sunday shoppers with just over a week to go until Christmas, but we just about managed to zigzag around them with no collisions. 

View from the Cotswold Way (taken by somebody else on a sunny day)

If we (the TB runners) do collate our runs into some form of 'Transition Guide to Runs Around Bath', this 10k will definitely go on there. It’s great training as the long slog up the hill really works you, but the scenery is fantastic and the blat down the hill at the end is great – says his inner child. This run comes highly recommended; thanks Sandra for showing it to me. 

My 3-Point Plan to Physical Perfection

So then, I’ve not really got any running to talk about today as I've been injured. However, following on from my injury I decided that I needed to go back to square zero and safeguard my body a little more from my new-found hobby. Therefore I am proud to introduce my ‘Conscientious, meticulous, splendiferous three point plan to protecting your knees (and feet and hips and groin and shins).’ And, yes, I am trademarking that name:

Point 1:

Get the Dr to check you out. Did that, and the doc said my knee was fine. Good.

Point 2:

Learn to stretch properly. Went for a lovely Friday morning run with Sandra from Let’s Go Run and learned how to stretch and warm up properly, as opposed to standing on one leg while holding the other in some Karma Sutra-esque yoga pose, while simultaneously trying to read random internet instructions on correct stretching from my precariously-perched laptop. Much better.

Point 3: (the most revelatory point of the three)

Get the right trainers. I went along to Running Bath and had my gait checked – turns out I seriously over-pronate (my foot turns in). After a few sessions of running up and down the Corridor in front of bemused early morning shoppers, I was given a pair of high-support trainers, instead of the zero support ones that led me to injuring myself (see the photos for the difference). My new shoes felt so much better as soon as I donned them and the friendly chap watching me run advised that he also thought these were the best of the five pairs he gave me to try. Job done.  Ok, so the added support they offer makes them look slightly orthopaedic, but do I care? Well, yes, a little; but who cares? My feet will be moving so fast that they are nothing more than a blur come March 3rd.

After going for my small run in my shiny new shoes, my knee felt fine, perhaps a touch aggravated, but so much better than previously. Unfortunately, though, I then went and walked a mile to school with my 3-year on my shoulders, followed by an hour’s ice skating session, so I’m now in a little bit of pain. Silly. I do comfort myself, however, that it was not my run that did this, more just me aggravating a not-completely-healed injury.

Look at the difference in the support...

...and here notice the difference in the middle of the foot.

As you can see, there is a huge improvement in my new shoes, although the colour is a little more difficult to match to my other clothes!

So that’s it. I’m back in the game and looking forward to our first run as group in a few week’s time.

Looking at my feet

This is where a photo of my feet would go, if I hadn't realised that my old card reader doesn't read the cards from my current camera... So next time, you will get your Simon's Feet photo.  And it will be glorified through Picasa, to make the feet look almost hallucinatory.

Gorilla foot...this is how I envision my feet evolving

But for now, I will begin with what I just read on the QI feature on feet that is on the Telegraph website:

A South African study in the podiatry journal The Foot, in 2007, studied 180 modern humans from three different population groups (Sotho, Zulu, and European) and compared them to 2,000-year-old skeletons. The researchers concluded that people had healthier feet and posture before the invention of shoes. The Zulu, who often go barefoot, had the healthiest feet of the modern humans. 

(from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/qi/8404696/QI-Quite-interesting-facts-about-feet.html)

This quote ties in pretty well with what I was going to talk about in this entry:

Everyone's been asking me about why I would decide to go barefoot.  

Isn't it dodgy on my ankles, as I don't get the ankle support that I would normally get in shoes?  

BE CAREFUL OF BROKEN GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Won't I get frostbite?  

Sure, it's kind of understandable to run cross-country without shoes on, but tarmac isn't made for me to go barefoot on!  

I'll get HARD FEET!!  

Won't I be called crazy if I venture outdoors with no shoes on?

My experience with this barefoot project has been very different as of late compared to how I represented it in my first couple of entries.  

1. Firstly, I've cut back on the running.  I've neither found the time to go running (getting up at 5am has been a huge challenge, and I have failed to do so on almost every day since we began trying to get up at 5am...), and nor have I felt that I feel comfortable to be running yet.  I had my hip x-ray'd at the RUH today, and I should know the results of this in about a week.  And my feet are still only hardening up - I think it would be a bit foolish of me to be running around on soft feet.  This has led to me walking lots, barefoot.
2. So I've been walking loads barefoot.  I go to peoples houses barefoot; I go into shops barefoot; I get the bus barefoot; I go to uni barefoot (although I've been putting shoes on before going to lectures/seminars).  My feet are my new play-thing.  And I've been exploring using them on different grounds.  For instance, last night I went to the skip of a charity shop that I know throws out lots of fascinating stuff.  But the skip is round the back of the shop, and I have to go down a fairly bumpy bit of road where there was plenty of shiny stuff (shiny stuff is always quite scary as a barefooter, because of the whole glass idea..).  I was treading more flat-footed at this point, to spread my weight more so that if I did hit some glass it would be less likely to pierce my skin.  Anyway, I must've crunched at least 10 bits of glass under my feet in this very short walk down this 10 metre stretch of road, and none of the glass pierced my feet.  Moreover, my feet felt very refreshed after these fairly sharp steps along this road.  There were plenty of those small stones that seem to just pick themselves into your toes or the arch of the foot, which can be quite painful.  But really, it's like receiving a painful massage: it helps the muscles unless it tears them apart.
   
   
   
   Coloured gems on the famous 'glass beach' of California
   
   Also last night, I started to walk with my head up towards the sky.  The sky was beautiful.  My feet hit no glass, just a few of those dodgy little stones.  But it felt really liberating to take my eyes off of my feet.  Have you ever tried walking with your eyes closed for more than a few seconds?  I did this on the beach back home when I was last there - I planned to walk all the way to the sea without opening my eyes.  This was on Old Hunstanton beach, which is massive, it takes about 10 minutes to walk out to the sea on a good day anyway.  I ended up opening my eyes because I was confused... But anyway, the feeling was the same when I walked on the beach with my eyes closed as when I walked last night with my eyes away from my feet.  It is definitely one of my goals for the next few weeks to be able to walk/run barefoot without feeling that I need to be constantly scouting out the ground in front of me.
   
   
   
   Old Hunstanton beach
3. I'm now more interested in the spiritual benefits of walking barefoot than of the physical benefits.  Sure, taking off my shoes allows me to feel the impact of hitting the ground in the wrong way (heel-first is definitely the way of destroying your hips and knees...).  But it is much more important than that.
   I have found myself on a number of occasions to be walking in the centre of town, and losing myself amongst the hustle and bustle.  Since taking up barefoot, I've begun to strip down my feet when this happens, and put my shoes and socks in a bag.  A few minutes of walking barefoot seems to radically clear my head.  It grounds me.  I feel connected to the earth, and I feel light and freer.
   
   So I don't want to rush my barefoot running training, as I still have absolutely plenty of time until the half marathon, and would rather find the spiritually best time for me to get into running more properly.  Perhaps when my feet have hardened some more.

On a strange kind of end note for this entry, there is apparently Biblical citation of Jesus encouraging his apostles to go about their business barefoot.  It says in Matthew 10:10: 

'Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purse, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves.'

Jesus Christ, the barefoot shepherd

Definitely down… but definitely not out.

So then, after a month of running, I’ve only gone and bloody injured myself haven’t I? I am sitting here feeling a touch low because as I look out of the window at this wonderful sunny day, I know that I should have been on a refreshing morning run with Let’s Go Run down by the river.

Don’t worry, my injury isn’t serious (it’s just a very common case of runner’s knee, brought on by me pushing too hard over the last few weeks) but it has hurt to walk for the last week and of course I haven’t been able to go for a run.

Having consulted Dr Internet, I know that the reasons I have done this to myself are simple:

• Not getting my pronation properly checked and then buying the right shoes. I just went out and bought a pair of Nike Air running shoes and figured these will do the job fine. Wrong.
• Increasing my mileage by more than 10% – the other day I went from doing 3 miles to 6 miles. (I think that’s more than 10%)
• Not stretching properly, not stretching long enough, not stretching at the correct times and missing out some vital muscles.

So, I’m going to be fine as long as I get my pronation checked out, buy the right shoes, stretch properly and don’t think that just because the music is pushing me on, that I am superman. I’m not. I’m also not as young as I was.

Widcombe Locks. I'd never been here until now. Lovely

Still, the good news is that I am loving my new-found fitness regime and, more importantly, this Local Running Adventure is doing exactly what it said on the tin: I have found parts of Bath that I never knew existed before I got out of my car and have thoroughly enjoyed getting lost along the back alleys and footpaths of this amazing city. I’ll be back pounding the trail soon – hopefully next week  – but until then it’s a diet of take it easy and plenty of rest (I just need someone to tell my kids that!)

Peace.

Sustaining Myself Sustainably

I completed my first triathlon and ran my 3rd Half Marathon in September.  Both were tough and yet enjoyable.  Unfortunately the only way I could sustain myself was to consume those horrible energy gels that send me crashing once the sugar has burnt off and often leave me with a stinking headache.  

Over the summer on many of my training runs I have been burning 2,000 calories which as you can imagine has left me feeling pretty empty.  I have been exploring how you can get your body to store more calories and also prepare better for a longer runs (which I hope to blog about later).  I have read some interesting digests about running with hummus wraps and alike and wondered what a local alternative would be to a light high carb - protein mix could be.  

So as winter settles in and the frost starts to harden the ground I am wondering what naturally and locally available food stuffs there are that could help me to keep my energy levels up whilst training and aid recovery post runs that will fit into what can be seen as a rather busy lifestyle. 

Any good advice would be gratefully received.  

A Sunday morning running adventure

Ok, so this is my first ever blog post, I don't know how to make it look all fancy and add photos but guess I am here to learn! I also really hope this has some sort of spell check function. Here goes! I'm Lucie and I am taking part in the local running adventure! excited! and slightly worried my running will be on a par with my blogging skills... So today I went on a running adventure- it was quite exciting really (though it was waaaay to early on a Sunday morning). It was an unexpected adventure as I was supposed to be kayaking but the river was too high so I donned my running outfit (always good to look the part) and strode out into the morning chill... I have been running in Bath before, but if I am honest I plan to downplay previous exercise to make myself look a bit better when I limp over the finish line after an embarrassingly slow run in March. So I headed to the park- easy, took about 10 minutes, turns out I live quite close to the park. Next challenge I thought I might aim higher- quite literally and decided to tackle a hill- being in Bath, there’s a few so I aimed for the one I thought was nearest and went for it. So after a short stint of running up and down what I fear may have been the same 3 roads for about 20 minutes I make it to linear park- success!!! Or not... it was closed and I was back to square 1, but it did give me the chance to entertain the lady walking her Jack Russell by running (If I am brutally honest at this stage it was walking) up the drive of someone’s house- in my defence I thought it was a footpath, realising, then trying to pretend I meant to do that, while beating a hasty retreat. I finally found my way and carried on up to Bear Flat and familiar territory. I was a lovely Sunday morning and linear park was the perfect place for a run- it’s actually closed because of the "Two Tunnels" project which will provide a walking and cycling route through 2 disused railway tunnels to the other side of Bath. It will be lit, which is handy as the tunnels are pretty long and a fantastic link to the existing routes, avoiding the dreaded hills! You can read more on their website www.twotunnels.org.uk Also heading down Lyncombe hill- you just get the most amazing views of Bath- especially in the morning.

A foot massage

In my last blog entry I mentioned that I hadn't actually done any barefoot running since being in Alicante over two and a half months ago, and that the last time I walked barefoot was over a month ago and had to stop because the ground was too harsh on my feet.

Well, I'm going to deviate a bit now.  I just wanted to set the scene, before I would go on.

I've started a very, very healthy routine with my flatmate of getting up at 5am every day.  Whoever is up first knocks on the door of the other, and then we both do our respective spiritual routines.  My plan has been to go for a barefoot run after I've finished my morning meditation every morning, but upto today this has not happened purely because I've felt too tired.  And then, so the plan goes, I have breakfast after the run, then either leave out to uni or get on with some work or go back to bed for a while.  The important bit is actually making the disciplined effort of rising at 5am, no matter how stubborn I'm feeling towards staying in my bed and my dreams.

Today I managed to kickstart my barefoot training!  And my, did it feel good to get into it.

I thought I would just go for a walk down to Moorland Road from my flat on Hillside Road, and walk back again.  Ya know, just so that I can carefully place the tips of my toes in the water, so that I can get a feel of its temperature.

I noticed a few things in the first half of the walk, whilst I was walking down to Moorland Road.  Firstly, 7am is such a special time!  It is before anyone has really got up and started the day, but there are still a few people about.  It felt very atmospheric to me.  Oh, and the sky was really quite something.  It was pretty sunny, but there was a layer of dark clouds that looked like they were about to come over (and they have since been over, about an hour later).  The birds were at band practice.  The temperature was actually fairly mild, though my feet were feeling very cold on the slightly damp pavement.
I noticed, straight away after leaving out, how completely different of a sensation it is to be walking barefoot.  I can actually feel my weight moving on and off of the ground when I'm barefoot, as I can feel the after-shock/vibration of every footstep.  I guess shoes normally absorb this all.  So leading back to the last entry that I did, where I linked to this article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm in saying about the different kind of stride that you're supposed to have when being barefoot because of how much more uncomfortable it is to walk with the heel hitting the ground, I can clarify that in my experience I very much agree with this finding.  I don't know if it's like it every day (it certainly wasn't quite like this in Alicante), but today the pavement seemed so spiky and hard!  It was actually quite painful to walk until I started walking on the balls of my feet, and then I felt a lot bouncier (as the article suggested I would), and I found that I was walking very very quietly, like as if almost all impact of my steps had disappeared after I stopped walking on my heels.

Now, what about this ball of the foot?  Why is it called the ball of the foot?  Won't I do damage to it by walking on it?  Well, as for its origins, it is named after the largest metatarsal bone which has a ball-like appearance.  Interesting huh?  It's been used in this way since the mid-1300s.  And as for the damage, we'll see.  I'll let you know if anything happens.  But it has not happened in my experience so far with being barefoot, and I don't honestly expect it to happen in the future.  Also, I would regard the possible injuries to my feet to be much less serious compared to the injuries I have already experienced with my hips from playing badminton, from cycling, and from running badly.

I got to Moorland Road, and then walked round Triangle North, so that I could do a loop and go up Junction Road.  But, quite unexpectedly, I started running just before I got onto Junction Road.  It wasn't even raining or anything, I just felt completely like running.  Sure, my feet were cold and I was deliberately twitching my toes quite a lot so that blood kept circulating in them (I'm paranoid about getting frostbite in above-zero temperature...how embarassing it would be!), and I didn't have any speed about me because I wasn't used to either running or going barefoot, but there was a really nice feeling that I got of moving my body in this way.  It was really really relaxing, just bouncing away up the hills.
And then, to make things even more interesting, I started needing to run.  My bladder had become a little upset by the fact that I'd decided I didn't need to go to the loo between waking up and going for the run.  So I started to run faster, and more urgently.  But it still felt peaceful and relaxing.
I became surprised by how warm I had become - even though I wasn't actually running with much speed at all despite my latter urgency, I had picked up a sweat very quickly.  Next time, I decided, I won't go out with all the layers on.

So I returned home, sorted myself out (including, very importantly, washing my feet.  This avoids any awkward confrontations with either my housemate or anyone else who see me barefooted and notice the cleanliness of my feet...), and had my well-earned breakfast.  A very good start to the day.

And the best part of it all: the feeling after sitting down.  My feet tingling, and feeling smooth.  They had just received an unorthodox massage, but a massage regardless.  Completely for free.

So if anyone would like a foot massage, I would suggest you join me on my early morning barefoot run.

And for an inspiring video of this guy winning the 1960 Rome Olympics marathon (he was completely unheard of previously) without wearing shoes, see: http://youtu.be/0Dppdcy1pyM?t=5m55s

My bear feet are bigger than yours!

Hello world, again.

I am Simon.  My name is ironic, because it is often translated as to mean 'he who hears', and yet my hearing is not so great.

Now, there's a philosophy that I really really like.  And that is that all of the muscles and nerve endings on the soles of your feet are connected to different parts of your body.  I assume that this is how reflexology works, but I am not so interested in massaging other people's feet.  I do give a lot of upper back and neck massages, but for some reason I have never felt compelled to massage anyone's feet before...I think that foot massagers are a special breed of people, perhaps of a similar kind to that Tarantino guy.
But I am into exploring making use of these magical gems at the bottoms of my legs.  I don't think that I enable them to be as magical as they could be, as I keep them for too often in a comfortable environment that merely decreases the power of their muscles.

One of the reasons for me deciding to explore running barefoot is this: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm.  In March of this year, I ran the Bath Half.  I had ran some quite long distances before, but never 13 miles.  I didn't want to mess up my new badminton shoes, so I decided to go out with some dodgy trainers, thinking that they're still shoes and so I'd still be fine.  I learnt through the experience that I had, of being unable to walk without pain for the following two weeks and still continuing to have some pain in my feet for upto a month after, that not all shoes are good shoes.  In fact, after this run, I started my first explorations in walking barefoot.  Walking barefoot, for the first couple of painful weeks, was the most comfortable way of walking, as my feet muscles had been damaged and shoes seemed to just restrict the muscles moreso.

A friend of mine in Bath began to urge me, since way before the summer, to start running barefoot with her.  I agreed that I will plan for it when I got back to Bath after the summer.  She hadn't really ran barefoot before, but I liked the idea of this adventure that we'd share.

I was in Alicante, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, for a month in the summer.  The weather was good, so I mostly walked around topless and barefooted.  There were times when I'd go to a shop and realise that I'd forgotten to pack my sandles, and so either I was not allowed into the shop or I had to sneak in.  Shop workers seem to not like bare feet in Alicante.  I was running often in Alicante, as there was very good reason to be doing so.  My brother had a room in a flat about twenty minutes run from the beach, so I often ran down to the beach with just swimming shorts on, and nothing else.  My bare feet felt lovely cycling the ground - it felt at times like I was hovering along the surface of the ground, as there was no aftershock being felt throughout my body.

Perhaps due to excessive wintery cycling on a bike that was way too big for me, or perhaps because of playing badminton at a competition level (both arguments are probably equally as likely), I have attained a hip injury that makes a lot of physical activity a little stressful.  I haven't ran a huge amount this year because of this injury:- after the Bath Half in March, I had been planning to run some 10k's throughout the year, but this hasn't happened because I've not been able to begin running distances with my dodgy hip.  However, that running that I did in Alicante had very little consequence on my body.  I believe that the findings from that study I have linked above, of how barefoot runners do not have to absorb the collision impact that shoe-wearing runners absorb, is the reason for why barefoot running was so good for me in Alicante.

I left Alicante for a Buddhist community in the Spanish Pyrenees.  The landscape was harsh, and very rocky.  My barefoot running routine was forced to stop, because I could not master the terrain there.

When I got back to England, I went on a hike in North Norfolk.  For the first day and a half-or-so, I walked completely barefooted.  It felt good, but I really didn't feel good to be walking along the boardwalked path that was covered in chicken wire.  So the sandles soon were used.

Since then, I haven't really been barefooted so much.  This little adventure with Transition Bath is incredibly exciting for me, as I believe that it will be very life-affirming.  This will be my first deep exploration into my feet's properties.

The benefits of a little competition.

Well, another first for me today: I went for a run while away at work.

I know that we’re supposed to be blogging about our local running adventure, but I just wanted to share this as it was quite an interesting experience for me.

First, just to clarify; I work as long haul cabin crew for BA (not very Transition, I know) and my job entails a lot of time spent in hotel rooms around the world. Until now, that time has been spent doing many things – but getting fit wasn’t one of them. For me to get up and go out for a run was a wonderful, fresh experience and I’m very much looking forward to doing it again.

I didn’t push myself too hard, however, because after a few laps of this lovely little park in Johannesburg, I realised that to do so could prove a little silly for 3 reasons:

·   I had only had about four hours sleep the previous night as I had been working a 12-hour shift bringing 300 passengers the full length of the African continent.

·     It was 27 degrees, very sunny and my water was back at the hotel.

·      Jo’burg is 5751 feet above sea level. Oxygen is harder to come by at this altitude.

Nonetheless, having realised all of this, a fellow runner then appeared. He was running the opposite way to me and, as the track was on a ½ mile loop, we kept on passing each other at the same two spots. Now, I’m not overly competitive, but knowing that this other guy had seen me, there was no way I was going to drop off first, and I made it my goal to keep going longer that him. Silly? Perhaps, but having that incentive really worked to push me on even when the above reasons had me feeling pretty ropey after just 10 minutes. I also like to think that he felt the same way and that my presence pushed him on a little too.

Anyway, I am glad to say that my self-induced competition ended in a draw: He backed off and started walking the course – I imagine as a warm down exercise – and I told myself that enough was enough and not to over do it (being half a mile away from my hotel and in a foreign country I didn’t really want to collapse from heat exhaustion and dehydration). 

As I left my impromptu competitor walking round the course and headed home out of the gate, we exchanged a friendly salute and – so I like to think – a mutual gesture of thanks for the company and the amicable competition. A good run.   

Hill training: My God it actually works

So, I went to go on a jog with Let’s Go Run on Friday morning, but due to heavy traffic on the school run, I was a bit late and never made it. Instead, I went for a bike ride and then took a little jog up to Perfect View and around the block. 

The road to Perfect View

Interestingly, I noticed how much easier this little hill was than when I tried it a few weeks ago. In the time since first running up it I've done a few small runs and plenty of cycling, and that little bit of work seems to have paid dividends because I relatively flew up the hill on this occasion, as opposed to struggling up last time; this bodes well methinks.

Morford Street

Yesterday, on the way back from visiting the Moscow State Circus, I ran a mile home to fetch the car because my 3-year old was cold and my 7-year old wasn’t feeling well and the half-hour walk home with them would not have been a pleasant experience, believe me. However, after running up Morford Street and then to the top of Camden Crescent wearing (the highly inappropriate) Converse trainers and jeans and carrying a rucksack full of stuff, I found myself questioning the sense of this decision. Still, to quote a much over-used, but-oh-so-true phrase: no pain, no gain. I guess any kind of hill training is handy for the Bath Half.

I also made a couple of notes to myself when out running:

• The right tunes are very important – Before going on a run  I need to make sure the iPod is stacked with bangers that push you on and not slow stuff that… well… slows you down. Save that for dinner parties.
• I need a bum bag - Carrying my phone, iPod and keys in my hands while running is, quite frankly, a pain in the arse.

I also have a couple of questions:

• Do you just run through a stitch, or should you stop?
• How can I make myself less flat-footed? (I can hear my shoes thudding on the ground even over the music in my headphones)
• Why does it always rain on me?

Balloons in Victoria Park - nice.

 Photos courtesy of my lovely wife.