The Barefoot Revolution: Why It's Hot and Why It's Not

I know I am opening up a can of worms with this topic. And I am completely okay with that! I have not read Born to Run though I hear it is a great read. I have however read a lot of articles and done a lot of personal research on the biomechanics of running and why barefoot is good/bad for you. Also, in this post I will probably use the words "barefoot" and "minimalist" running interchangeable. Yes, I do understand that some people run completely barefoot while others consider themselves barefoot runners but still wear shoes that are very light or zero drop. But for all intents and purposes of this post, I will use them as one and the same.

So, with that garbage out of the way, here is my take on whether or not you should ditch your shoes for a pair of those frog-toed Vibram Five Fingers....


Running barefoot or in minimalistic type shoes can be incredibly beneficial. I believe there are two main benefits to barefoot/minimalist running. The first being that it greatly reduces a heel strike type running form. I personally believe, as do many research studies, that heel striking is one of the biggest factors in causing injury.

A barefoot/minimalist shoe reduces the amount of cushion in the heel area. Without that cushion you realize how painful it is to land directly on your heel. This forces you to start landing with a mid-foot strike. Mid-foot strike running is much easier on your joints, especially knees and shins. Also, look at the lean of the girl pictured in the GOOD running form above. See how she is automatically leaning more forward? This will help you run faster with less effort. When you land on your heel, not only are you sending that shock force up through your shins and knees, you are also causing yourself to brake with every step. Your body has to work much harder to overcome that braking force than it does when you are leaning forward and landing mid-foot. Side note about form: When you lean forward make sure you are not breaking at the waist and bending over. As in the stick people pictured above, your whole body should be included in the lean. Its more from your pelvis and not from your waist.

Another awesome benefit from running in minimalist shoes or barefoot is how it strengthens your feet and legs. Think of it like a baby chicken. If you break away its shell for the chick and don't let it do it on its own, it will never be strong enough to fly. Same with all the cushion special pronator shoes. When you baby your body its whole life, it will never get strong. Your body learns to rely on the cushiony supportive feel of shoes. However, since your body's mechanics are not made for this (and the type of running it generally supports) you are likely to get injured. 

This video is AWESOME for explaining good form and a mid-foot strike. Hopefully it will better explain what I am trying to show with my lovely drawings above :)

I believe many runners would benefit from doing one completely barefoot run a week around a grassy area. Hopefully you have heard that you need to ease into barefoot/minimalist running. If your body is not accustomed to it, you are going to be sore at first. You will use different muscles and place more strain on certain parts of your body than it is used to. But you will be strengthening your body in a good way. As you run barefoot you should notice how your form changes. When you go back to wearing shoes, try to remember that feeling and recreate it. Whenever I am at a park, whether for speed work or for a recovery run, I run barefoot. You need to be careful though when dealing with pine cones, rocks, unidentified objects, etc.

With all those benefits to the minimalist movement are you feeling convinced you should try it? Sure, if you want. But I am not a believer that it suits everyone. In fact, I disagree that every runner should join the "revolution". If you are happy and comfortable with what you are running in now, why switch? Not everyone will benefit from it. If you don't make the switch safely, or if you don't fix your running form with the switch you could actually increase your risk for injury. Also, running barefoot can be dangerous in the fact that you could step on something sharp/hard/poisonous. It takes a long time for your feet to become callused enough to run completely barefoot.

I love running in light-weight shoes. Not necessarily because they are generally more of a minimalist type shoe but because I don't want to lug the extra weight around. Also, I don't like a lot of squishy cushion when I run. I feel like it takes away my spring and makes me feel sluggish or sticky. But that is my preference. I do enjoy a more cushioned shoe when doing trail than when doing speed work or tempo on road and grass. I have two pairs of running shoes. A lighter more "barefoot" shoe and a heavier (though still light) more "cushioned" shoe.

When buying shoes, if you want a true minimalist/barefoot shoe you have to get what is called a "zero drop" shoe. That means there is no change in height from the heel to the toe. Many light-weight shoes that claim to be minimalist are not zero-drop. They are usually still less of a drop than other normal shoes though. But shoes such as the Nike Free, Nike LunarElite, Saucony Kinvara and Asics Gel Speedstar are technically not true barefoot shoes. That being said, it is okay. You don't have to get a true barefoot shoe to still get the benefits of running barefoot. The LunarElite and the Kinvaras are my favorite running shoes ever I think. I can definitely tell a difference in my form and in the strength of my feet and legs from running in these lightweight less of a drop shoes. 

I hope this has provided a different perspective on running barefoot and the minimalist movement. While there are many benefits, I don't think everyone needs to chuck their favorite pair of shoes. Do what you like best. Experiment. Try running barefoot. Try fixing your form! That is the message I hope you get from this article. Form is more important than what shoe or lack of shoe you are wearing. Read more on how to fix your form here.

These are some good resources if you want to check out more on barefoot running:
 

Why It's Important to Eat Before You Run

If you run in the afternoon or evening, you are probably fine on running fuel because you've eaten throughout the day. But if you are a morning runner, you need to get fuel in you before you run!

Why is this so important? What if you aren't a breakfast person? What if you can't run on a full stomach?

We've all heard how important of a meal breakfast is. Why? It gets your metabolism going, it gives you energy for the day......etc. etc. But breakfast is even more important as a runner. Sleeping is a form of fasting. Think about it. When you wake up in the morning, you haven't eaten for hours! You can't expect your body to perform well when it has no energy to draw from. Even if you are trying to lose weight, you can't deprive your body of the calories it needs. Many people have the idea that if they run on an empty stomach they will lost weight faster and burn more calories. This is simply a myth. It is not possible to run on an empty tank, so if you haven't eaten, your body will turn to other sources of energy than carbs and fat. Your body will technically start to "eat" itself. Your body uses carbohydrates and fats as energy and when those aren't available it will turn to whatever it can get. This means you will break down your muscles and bones as your body struggles to get the energy it needs.

Let's focus on where the body gets its energy during exercise in order to better understand the importance of providing adequate nutrition to your body. At any given level of activity, your body uses a mixture of fuels. Your body prefers fat energy because it provides more energy per gram than carbohydrates or protein. But fat, unlike carbs isn't an efficient fuel for vigorous exercise and it is not as easily accessible. Therefore carbs are the preferred food for exercisers, especially endurance athletes. For a  20-30 minute run at a moderate pace, your body will rely on about 50% fat energy and 50% carbohydrate energy. We all have enough fat energy stored in our bodies to keep us going for hours, its the carbohydrate/glycogen energy we need to make sure we have enough of.

When you don't eat before you run, you risk experiencing hypoglycemia- low blood sugar. This will cause needless fatigue, light-headedness, blurred vision and confusion. None of that sounds fun!

To avoid this and to properly fuel your body, here are a few pre-exercise eating tips.

1. Avoid foods with a high sugar content, especially in the hour before running. You don't want to get that sugar high.....and that sugar crash that inevitably comes with it. If you are craving something sweet and have to have it, eat it within 5-10 minutes of running because it won't give your body enough time to secret insulin...meaning you won't get that sugar crash.
2. Avoid high fat proteins like cheese and red meat that take a long time to digest.
3. Fruit sugar, fructose, will not help fuel your body (it needs glucose) and causes stomach distress in many runners.

So what can you eat before you run?? Every person's stomach handles foods differently. It may take a couple of trials and errors before you find what works best for you. I do best on a granola bar or a bowl of non-sugary cereal (like Corn Chex). Milk is really hard on many runner's stomach, even in cereal. I am lactose intolerant so I only use almond milk and it doesn't affect my stomach the same way cow's milk does. My mom loves to eat yogurt and a banana before she exercises. Some people like to make a smoothie or shake for their pre-workout fuel. As you experiment with what it best for your stomach, just remember to stay away from high fat, sugary options.

What if you aren't a breakfast person? What if you can't eat for at least 2 hours before exercise?? Well, like anything, you can train your body. I wake up early enough in the morning to give myself time to digest my breakfast for about 30 minutes if its more than 200 calories. Usually I can eat a granola bar on my way out the door and handle it okay. But it does take training. My husband isn't hungry for breakfast when he first wakes up like I am. Many people are like this. But you need to force yourself to eat at least 100 calories before leaving on a run. Eventually your body will get use to the routine and you will be able to handle it better. If you feel like you need a long time to digest food before exercising, it may be that you aren't choosing the right things that your body can handle. You don't need to have a huge breakfast or meal before you run, but at least 100 calories is a good rule of thumb to go by.

What do you like to eat before exercising? How long before exercise to you eat? What is your favorite pre-run meal?

Fun Training Runs

Happy 4th of July!! Celebrate America's Freedom with a run!! The best way to celebrate!

For those of you you are coaches or members of running groups, here are some ways to get in a good run while also having a blast. These ideas come from my former high school coach. It is especially helpful to make runs fun if you are a high school coach....I find high school runners often need as much motivation as you can give them. But it is also good for any age group. Running needs to be fun, it can't always be so serious.

Run Idea #1: Poker Run
This one takes a bit of preparation. Find 5 houses or destinations (like stores) that you can trust with a deck of cards. Divide your runners into groups and tell them the location of each deck of cards. The groups must go to each destination and pick a card from the deck. The group that returns with the best poker hand wins! The groups do not have to go to the destinations in any order, just how they choose. You can also set a time limit if you desire.


Run Idea #2: Slurpee Run
On 7/11 (July 11) all 7-11's give out free slurpee samples. It is fun to map out all the nearest 7-11's to your starting location and run to each one to sample their slurpees. You can do this any day of the year though; maybe have a certain 7-11 destination and each runner can get a slurpee when they get there. You could make it far enough away that you could have a car there to shuttle back to the starting point, or have it be a halfway point.


Run Idea #3: Ultimate Frisbee
This is the ultimate cross-training activity for any cross-country runner. We may not be very coordinated, but any runner can play ultimate frisbee. For those of you who don't know how to play, divide into 2 teams. Each team passes the frisbee to other teammates, trying to make it into the specified end-zones. You cannot run or take a step once you have the frisbee in your hand. No tackling. This is a fun game for a cross-training day, or a fun recovery workout.


Run Idea #4: Endless Relays
This is usually done on a track, but doesn't have to be. You can choose any distance, but I have only ever done it with 200s and 400s. Endless relays are a fun way to do a speed workout and not get very much recovery time. With 400s, you pair up each runner with someone similar to them in speed. You can have some sort of baton, or just do hand slaps. So each runner runs a 400, and as they finish and pass off the baton, the next runner starts. This means your runners only have the amount of time it takes their partner to run a 400 as rest time. It is really difficult. I've done anywhere from 8-20 400s this way.
If you choose to do it as a 200m workout, the runners get in groups of threes. The rest then becomes 400m and makes the workout a bit easier. Either way, it is a really good, hard workout, but makes it more fun than repeats.


What are ideas you have used to make training runs fun? Comment so we can build the list!

The Devil Inside Your Head

If you want to overcome the voice in your head that tells you  "you can't", you must find the voice inside your heart

Every one of us must battle against ourselves, against that voice in your head that tells you to stop, you are too tired, you can't do it. But you can. There is always more left in you. You just have to learn how to access that power. To learn to access that reservoir of strength deep inside your soul, you must overcome the fear of pain. Fear is what keeps you from pushing yourself past that limit. But you have the ability to overcome fear. Will is the greatest power in the universe (k, I stole that from Green Lantern, which is a great movie btw).

If you can master your will, you can master control of your mind. It is one of the hardest things to do. I know. You have to learn to trust in your training and trust in your body.

When you can let everything go in a race and kind of 'tune out' and just run that is when you will have your best races. Stop over-thinking. When you analyze every single thought and every single move, you are thinking way too much. Stop thinking about how much your body hurts. Stop thinking about how many people have passed you. Stop thinking about if your hair looks cute (admit it, you've had this thought in a race before). Instead, focus on the moment. Focus on your breathing. Focus on how strong you are. Focus on how exhilarating each moment is. Focus on your strengths.

Push that voice inside your head aside and be the stronger person. Overcome the doubt and fear you have. It takes practice and it takes courage. Its something you must practice on every single training run. 

Courage isn't being fearless, it is having the strength to overcome fear

How do you overcome that voice in your head?

When You Can't Take Even One More Step

Today I've had writer's block. There's millions of things I could write about. But none of the ideas I had seemed to want to form themselves into words that would be interesting to read. So after much contemplation and a little bit of physics homework I decided what I needed best right now was a good inspiring story.

I don't really have all that much of an inspiring story about myself, but I did a little research and this story really stuck out to me. I searched and searched for a good story and this one did it for me. It might have even made my eyes a bit watery.

Heart doesn't just come from the elite athletes, the college runners, the Olympic medalists. Heart comes from YOU.

The following is a short description of the incredible finish at the Leadville 100 mile trail race:
            by Keith Woestehoff:

There are certain moments in sports where time seems to stand still and the impossible becomes reality. Those moments make us cheer and they make us cry. They are so special and so rare that we never forget them. For me, the list includes the immaculate reception, Bob Beamon's long jump in the Mexico Olympics and Kordell Stewart's miracle in Michigan. but this weekend, I witnessed another unforgettable finish which must be added to this short list. The setting was not in a high profile sport. It did not include a millionaire athlete and you won't be able to see reruns of the event on sports center. But the impact was felt at the bottom of everyone's heart who witnessed it. The names are unknown as I write this but the passions and emotions and the love are real.

The event was the Leadville trail 100, an extremely tough 100 mile foot race through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The racers must deal with long climbs, steep descents, rocky trails, stream crossings, a sleepless night, high altitude and a 30 hour time limit.

As the 30 hour time limit approached, more than half of all runners had dropped out from exhaustion or injury. The winner had already crossed the finish line 11 hours earlier. But now the crowd was much larger to watch the drama of the remaining racers struggling to reach the finish line before the final gun.

The excitement seemed to start when a man crossed the line for his first successful finish after 6 failures in previous years. He received a champagne shower from his friends and family.

With 9 minutes before the final gun, a woman was staggering up 6th avenue to the finish. Her eyes were glazed, her legs were stiff and she wobbled and staggered from side to side. She was having a hard time keeping her balance. The cutoff was not a problem, but everyone could tell she was in real danger of collapsing before reaching her goal. Everyone held their breath as she staggered those last final steps, finally collapsing as she broke the ribbon. She was then carried to the medical tent.

For the next few minutes, more runners crossed the finish line, hearing the cheers of the crowd and then celebrating with their family and friends. Then, the nearly 1/2 mile view up 6th avenue showed no more runners. It became quiet. We started to wonder if there were any other runners who would know the joy of reaching the finish line before the final cutoff. The race announcer said "3 minutes left". Still, no more racers in sight. Suddenly, a racer and his pacer appeared at the top of hill. The announcer broadcast his number and his family and friends ran down the street toward him to see what they could do to help.
 
I honestly didn't think he could finish on time. He had at least 200 yards of downhill and then 300 yards of uphill to the finish. He would have to run the whole thing and after 100 miles of heaven and hell, I didn't think he could run up that final hill. As he was running slowly down the hill, you could see his family and friends running towards him. They were too far away to hear what they were saying but it was obvious they were telling him to hurry. Instantly, he started to run faster and it was obvious that everyone was frantic. If everything went well, there was a small chance he could make it but the odds were against him. As he was nearing the bottom of the hill, suddenly another racer appeared at the top of the hill. Again we see family and friends rushing to a new racer. But, he had no chance, he had too far to go and not enough time. Another person would have their heart broken on 6th ave with the finish line in sight.

As the 1st racer reached the bottom of the hill, we knew this would be his moment of truth. Could he run it? As each second passed, I kept waiting for him to stop but he kept running. People started running out of the stands and off the sidewalks to form a human tunnel for him to run through. Everyone was yelling "go, go". As he reached the tunnel, we were hoping the final gun wouldn't sound. He sprinted the last 20 yards and fell through the tape, doing a face plant into the red carpet. Medical people ran to help him. the race official was standing nearby, looking at the race clock and the gun pointed to the sky. Everyone was worried about the condition of the fallen racer and then I glanced back and saw the 2nd racer putting on an unbelievable charge. Someone forgot to tell him he couldn't make it. There were people on both sides of him holding a ski pole in front of him. He was holding onto it and they were trying to drag him up the hill. The human tunnel scattered to give them room. The gun was going to be fired at any second. Go, go, go came the cheers. He broke the ribbon and as he was crashing to the red carpet, the gun sounded. He didn't move. The medical staff, who just barely had time to help the previous racer sit up, were rushing to the final finisher. The cheers suddenly turned to silence as he was surrounded by the medical staff and family. With each second, our fears for his safety grew and grew. And then after what seemed like an eternity, we see a hand come up from the mass of humanity and a finger pointed to the sky. Everybody started cheering and most were also crying.

After he had time to recuperate, I introduced myself and talked to him. I told him that I knew how he felt since I finished next to last the previous year. But in all honesty, my 3 min 33 second margin was an eternity compared to his official finish time of 29:59:58. I told him that what he did was better than taking 1st place and he would remember it for the rest of his life. His final charge up the hill was an incredible display of courage and determination. It was as impressive as anything I've ever seen in the world of sports. It doesn't get any better.
 
I looked back up 6th ave. There were no more racers on the course. This year, there would be no broken hearts with the finish in sight.

The last 2 racers had 2 of the shortest margins ever in the history of the Leadville trail 100. They trained hard and made many sacrifices before racing for 100 miles and giving every ounce of energy they had. There were no cash prizes and fame and fortune will elude them. They did it simply for the love of the sport.

There is a heart that beats strongly in the world of sports. the heart won't be found in the boardroom of an NCAA meeting or in the Olympics or in the Superbowl. but it will be found in a neighborhood playground with children who have boundless dreams playing a pickup game with a tattered ball. it will be found in backyards with fathers and sons playing catch football. and it will be found with a weekend warrior, who in many ways is just like you and I, lying on the red carpet in Leadville with his arm raised and his finger pointed to the sky.

I did not write this story, I found it here  
http://www.runningforums.com/one_of_my_favorite_motivational_stories___t34543.html

When you are struggling, when you don't think you can put one foot in front of the other even one more time, when you are so discouraged giving up is the only option....think about this. The odds were against these two competitors. They had run 99.9 miles only to be staring at the finish line while everyone wondered if they could make it. But they didn't run 99.9 miles only to stop there. They finished when they couldn't even move another step. Are you going to give up? Are you going to go all that way, whether it be 3 miles or 100, only to give up?

It's a Hill, Get Over It!

Love hills and they will love you back

I took a good friend on a trail run today. Its a gorgeous trail with an amazing view. What I forgot to tell her was the mile and a half climb to get to the nice flat easy part. As she struggled up the hill, cursing my name with every step I'm sure, I got thinking. How can I make running hills easier? What is it about running hills that is so different than just running in a flat neighborhood?

Hills are a totally different beast than running flat. There's adjustments your body needs to make. You have to change your stride, your mindset. Hills are intimidating. But they don't have to be.

Uphill
You have to shorten your stride and take tiny little baby steps. One foot in front of the other, that's all it takes. Short and quick, short and quick. My coach yells that at us over and over. Short and quick! But it helps so much. Before you know it, you'll suddenly be at the top!

A common mistake many runners make is to stop as soon as they get to the top of a hill. Its fine to stop if you need to catch your breath, but put in a quick surge at the top before you stop. This will teach your body to keep going after you feel like you've given it your all. It will also give you a huge advantage in races. You'll blow the competition out of the water with just a short surge right before the crest of a hill. Mentally it's incredible for your psyche to push past that hard point, and for your competition it crushes their psyche!

Some hills are huge. They are daunting. It looks like they go on forever. But the view at the top is going to be so worth it! Don't let hills intimidate you. Tell yourself "I am good at hills. I am going to kill this hill. I am strong." This mantra is what really helped me in the race that changed my life. When I got to the hills, I had practiced telling myself how good I was at them, and when the time came to race on them..I dominated them. I crushed those hills into the ground! You be in control of the hill, don't let it be in control of you. Attack the hill. Attack it like nobody's business. I'm not saying sprint up the hill. You'll tucker out in 2 seconds. But attack it with confidence. And if you have to walk, its OK.

Downhill
Let gravity pull you down the hill. Don't slow yourself down, this is an easy way to get shin splints. That being said, don't let gravity cause you to run out of control down the hill either. Try and find a nice balance between putting on the brakes and letting yourself go.


Next time you look up and see that daunting hill in front of you what are you going to think? I hope its something along the lines of "I've got you where I want you, now I'm going to SMASH you!" and then you laugh evilly to yourself and dominate those hills.

How to Get Sexy Abs

Everyone wants a nicely defined six-pack right? Not only is a nice stomach good-looking, its also imperative to building a strong runner. My coach has us do 20minutes of core strengthening exercises three times a week and 10 minutes of abs the other 3 days (the 7th day is our day off).

First off, toned muscles are much more noticeable when body fat percentage is low. You can be crazy strong and even have rock solid abs, but if you have a high body fat %, you won't be able to see them. Cardio/Aerobic exercise is the best way to trim this down. Honestly I have the best abs when I am running a ton of miles, but not necessarily when I am doing a ton of crunches. Swimming is also really good.

Next: exercises to do. Crunches are better than sit-ups (I'm still not exactly sure why, but they are). But don't sit there and do endless crunches all day long. You have to mix it up. I usually do about 8 minutes of straight abs starting with crunches.
              Some of the exercises I like to do include:
                        Bicycle: touch your elbow to your opposite knee, while pumping your legs like you are on a   bike. Most people do this really fast, it is more beneficial to do it slow and steady
                        Touch your toes: Lift your legs straight above you (as straight as you can) and reach for your toes, opposite hand to opposite foot
                        Leg Lifts: With your hands under your butt for stabilization, lift your legs up and down. The straighter they are the harder it is
                        Envelope: This is like a double crunch. As you are bringing your torso up for a crunch, bring your legs into your body. When your torso goes down, your legs go down and straighten out, but do not touch the ground. So at the top point you are just balancing on your bum

That's a very select few of the exercises I like to do.

Some other great exercises to strengthen your core and make you a better runner are balance drills.
This one is so good for you. I do each leg for about a minute, but I started with 30 seconds on each side. This chick is really good at it, its okay if you arent as straight as she is. When you tighten your abs and your butt, it makes balancing easier.
This is also a great one to strengthen a ton of different muscles at once. Start with about 20 seconds each side and work your way up from there! Right now I can only do 30-45 seconds :) We call this star plank. You can also make it a little easier by going down onto your elbow instead of being up on your hand like he is.

So there's a few tips for getting hot abs like this:




Or this:

(Not gonna lie, this is my favorite part of this post)