Thursday, November 25, 2010

4th Annual Thanksgiving Day Ultra/Marathon

I had the most amazing running experience of my life today. Julian and Alex Romero orgainize this guerilla style marathon running the LA marathon course every year at Thanksgiving. The one and only Ken Bob was the mobile Aid station in the car and sometimes running with us as his wife took the wheel. Those guys actually ran to the starting line!

I joined the group near my house..I figured I'd jump in and run a few miles until I couldnt keep up. Alex's marathon PR is 2:40 and Julian's is 2:47. There were 9 total people including the Ken Bob aid wagon in our clan. The only barefooters were Alex,Julian, Ken Bob and myself. I was in hog heaven! These are all the guys I have read about and looked up to and here I am running shoulder to shoulder with them!

I couldnt believe how light Julian, Alex and Ken were on their feet. Very gentle, yet fast and effortless. We got kinda lost at one point and I was having a blast so I didnt care. We ran some gnarly terrain and had some good hills in there too. When we make it the Beach, its a beautiful day, I am running with Ken Bob on my right shoulder and Julian is directly in front of us... as we hit the beach I am at mile 12 and the pace keeps getting faster it's sitting at 7min pace at that point. As we get to the boardwalk and hit mile 13 for me its mile 35 for them!! We decide to race the last mile back to the pier...we pick a starting point and we hit it and we are off and flying! Alex is immediately like....gone...Julian right behind. I am pushing at a 6 min pace and watching them disappear towards the pier. I am huffing and puffing and choking on my own spit at 6 min pace at mile 13 ... I finish, we all finish, joy!


I end up with 14 miles and Julian and Alex end up with 36 and the others 37! Those guys actually ran to the starting line!

Everybody there was so talented I felt so lucky and happy to be around such talent and such interesting folks!

The bonus was at the end Ken Bob gave us all Running Barefoot tye dyes!


Happy Thanksgiving!

52 miles

I am late entering last weeks miles as I have been crazy busy at work. I decided to cut miles as I was getting kinda grumpy and insane. 52 is easy at this point.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

74 mile week

My biggest week to date, 74 miles. I was supposed to be tapering but I got bored and I am still not sure if I am gonna do the mountain race. I did manage to get in my first barefoot Interval workout at the track, which is my first track session since my transition. I noticed while doing the intervals that my posture felt so much better than it used to in shoes when running hard (5:45 pace). I didn't feel like the space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere! It will take awhile to get used that crappy, spongy, textured surface on the track but I do like not having to worry about cars. I also got in a hard farltek session on some trails in my Luna Sandals, a mini-long run of 10.5 mi. barefoot through the streets and a bunch of other miles! This week will be less. I hope. ;)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Quality control

Hola,
This past week had a lot of quality hard running in it. I reduced mileage to 43.2 but put the pedal down.

The week's speedwork was all done barefoot:
I did two 5 mile Tempo runs in the 7:28 range on the streets. I did an interval/fartlek session which consisted of 10x100 meter on a grass infield and 6x 2min. hard 2 min. easy on a concrete loop.

I was starting to taper this week for the trail mountain race but I dont think I am going to do it. I dont want to wear anything on my feet and the terrain is just gnarly and I will get blown away by guys I know I could beat if I either A. Had something on my feet or B. Ran on another surface.
I think I will shoot for a 5k on the streets in January.

I dunno...my buddy Shack is gonna be there.. I guess I'll barefoot the biatch!

Adios,BURT

Sunday, October 31, 2010

70 miles of pure fun

Hola Compadres,
I managed to get in another 70 miles of running this week for a total of 244 for the month of October. The mileage felt quite easy even though I did much more HARD running which was mostly done on trails. Easy until I decided to double on my speedwork day with a hard paced Mountain run...which was like running up and down a wall for 7.5 miles after a hard 6 mi. fartlek workout in the morning. I was whipped after this and didn't even have the ability to mutter much of anything and laid lifeless facedown on the floor at home. It seems I could run forever at an easy pace, so I figure it's time to raise the bar.

I am now gonna cut miles and start hitting the track. Time to get some speed in these legs. Gonna work on my mile time. Rest this week and then I gotta do a barefoot mile time trial next week. Happy Halloween!

Adios,BURT

Monday, October 25, 2010

Santa Monica Mountains Sunday, 21 November 2010 9k

My next race is a real mother! It's in the Santa Monica Mountains 5.3 miles with a 1,300 ft elevation change. I got to get back to running in the Mountains like I did over the summer or I am a dead man. This weeks long run will be in the Mountains. My buddy Shacky is running the 50k which is just insane.

http://www.pctrailruns.com/Santa_Monica_Mountains.htm

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Happy trails

This week I managed 54 miles. I actually started doing some formal speed work. My Speed or lack there of has come up quite a bit in discussions lately. Speed hasn't been a real concern since learning to run barefoot. My focus has really been on running as much as possible (base training) and running lightly and gently in a way that causes minimal carnage. In the Last 4 weeks I have run 235 miles! This is monumental in my training.

A few points high points from the week included my first interval session in ages. I did them on a .25 trail loop in Luna Sandals. My long run was 13.5 miles in barefeet on the streets, 2 miles of the run on the local track at a comfortably hard pace...the rest was a very easy pace.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

70 MILE WEEK

This week I ran 70 miles barefoot on the streets of LA! The brilliance of the human body is really humbling. What a total hoot! This last 3 weeks have been my biggest cycle of weeks which was 61,50,70! I am gonna fall back and actually take a few days off this week. I didn't take any days off over the last 3 weeks. My next milestone is 80 mpw! Balls out!

I'm down to like 159lbs.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Weekly News Report

Hola Amigos and Amigas,
I got 50 miles in this week, all barefoot, all on streets and my favorite old concrete loop around our local park. I call the loop Cherry Lane, it's really a beautiful path shaded by trees, the park is in the middle which also has a dirt trail (which I am staying off for now).

I managed a few fast-ish 6 mile runs in amongst the easy runs, one of them in the rain. I got some giggles, smart ass remarks and odd stares as I burned down Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills sans shirt and shoes in the rain.

Last weeks PR for miles left me pretty tired, I need to eat and sleep better, or just toughen up. I'm still in base building phase so no real "fast" running at all. The speed phase will come. I am debating which race to do at the end of the month. I am leaning towards the 10k road race in West LA.

Adios 4 now

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Mileage Milestone for me!

Hola Amigos,
This week I ran the most miles I have ever run. I ran 61 miles! All miles were barefoot minus 3 which were done in luna sandals on a trail. It was pretty amazing week for me. I'd like to say it was really easy but it was a lot of running for me. I managed to get in a 3 mi. tempo run while the rest of the miles were at a farily easy pace. I ran on a big mixture of surfaces but the majority was concrete/ashpalt but a good amount of trails too!

I have lost almost 10lbs since my 10k like 3 weeks ago so I had to up the calories as I started getting really woozy feeling. Down to like 165 at 6'1''

I'm hoping to get to 100 miles per week in the next 6 months or so. I want to fist get real comfortable at the 60-70 zone and then jump up to 80-100.

I am gonna try to do one race per month from here on out. I am still not completely decided which race for Oct. but I will do some kind of 10k I am sure.

Adios, BURT

Monday, September 27, 2010

On the road again....

Hola Comrades,

I'm back to daily barefootn' after 12 days of letting my cut close up. The cut toe is still a p.i.t.a. and still unhappy, but it's ok to run on. I'm looking forward to logging some big miles and hitting some races!

I am now readying myself for the 10k trail races coming up.. but still no speedwork while healing. SO the goal will to be just go out and have fun on race day and get a trail race under the belt while bf.

My diet is going well...down to 167lbs @ 6 1/2 ft. getting stronger and lighter is good.

Monday, September 13, 2010

the barefoot 10k



This week I let up a bit on the miles as I decided to do the Santa Monica 10k barefoot. On race day I woke up at 6:30am without an alarm which is shocking to me. So I had some toast with some jam on it and some green tea and a banana and was off. We got at the race site with only 15 mins. to race time and I hadn't registered yet! So Amy let me out of the car and I ran to the starting line. I got there and apparently registraion wasnt at the start, there are a ton of people I am wading through. I am getting nervous about not making it in time. So as I am scanning for the registration I walk straight into a tire spike strip and totally SLASH and gash my left foot between the big and 2nd toe!! It hurt and was bleeding quite profusely. I finally find the registration stand and I am off to the starting line with blood foot. How the hell am I gonna run 6.2 miles in barefeet? But no way did I come here to cut my toe off and go home to the ER. I came to run and run I shall! I am lined up at the back of the pack at this point. I don't have a time goal anyhow, I have done exactly zero speed training.

BAM! We are off and I am happy to be moving, albeit at a turtle like pace. The first mile was a circus like sea of waddling folks. It must have been a 10 minute pace at best. I said ok I'm having fun and happy my body feels ok. Mile 2 comes and I see another barefooter, I give him a hollar as I pass him by. Mile 3 comes and At this point I decide it's time to get up and go. Body is feeling surprisingly good, I can't feel any pain in the blood foot. I start cranking up the pace and I am passing people left and right, one good thing about starting in the back, I never got passed once! I see Sammy Kosgei running straight at me at around mile 3.5 as he has made the turn around and is running like a deer! I screamed for him as he flew by in his Nike Free's. mile 4 is just after the turnaround and I am now running faster than I have in like 6 months. The surface of the streets were surprisingly nice on the feet and I am really enjoying the awareness of my body in my first barefoot race! Mile 5 comes and I up it one more time, down ocean ave. I let fly! This mile has to make up for the horrendously slow 1st mile. And it does. I am running all out from this point to the end. I don't think I have ever un this fast barefoot. Mile 6 I can see the finish and I now enter my sprint to the finish. I finish happy in 50:21. This was my first official 10k ever. I have run faster than this in training in shoes but never ran 6.26 miles this fast in barefeet. I am ok with this time, though it will undoubtedly be improved upon next time. I also will not start at the back and cut my foot off before the next race. Now as I wait to find out my time my foot started to really rebel. The gash was not happy and it started some gross inflammation and puffiness. This is gonna take awhile to heal as it looks like someone tried to amputate my toe with a hand saw. God willing I plan to run the malibu canyon trail 10k barefoot in Oct.!

















Mon. -1:10 Easy in Lunas and bf on the trails next to the tracks in the desert. ALso some laps on the concrete loop bf.
Thurs.- 1:00 Easy barefoot in da hood. The homies said "yo that is good for your organs!" and " yo that is hardcore" in response to my barefeet.
Fri.-1:00 Hills barefoot felt great...my technique is really coming together. I weighed myself today..I am at 171lbs...I started a bit of a diet to get down to 160lbs. We'll see how that goes. I am hungry!
Sun.- RACE 1st barefoot race and 1st 10k ever.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Miles a plenty and Luna Love





























I did 52 miles this week! I cant believe I have gotten up here running in nothing but barefeet and sandals. Amazing. I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm running this many miles as it feels so much easier than it used to.




I want to get up to the 70 mpw before this possible Ultra race in October... we shall see. I suppose 60 would suffice. I ran alot of these miles in the Mojave Desert.




The week Looked like this:




Monday- EASY 1:03 barefoot..sidewalks into the Hood South LA. They Homey's said "That's good for your organs" and "That's harcore right there" I love the hood





Tuesday-TEMPO 1:05 in Luna Sandals on the trails. warmed up easy and ran 3 mile-ish hard.





Weds.-EASY 1:06 barefoot on the streets of Bev. Hills.. I started to really feel light on my feet..form is getting better.





Thurs.-MEDIUM 1:00 barefoot on streets,sidewalks. After warming up I did some strides down the middle of the road. Working on running fast with no tension.





Fri.-EASY barefoot 1:00 on the concrete loop at freedom park in Palm desert. The white concrete loop was amazingly cool despite the 95 degree temp.





Sat. LONG RUN 2:00 Luna Sandals and barefeet along the train tracks in the middle of the Mojave desert..I eventually veered off into the sand and found some hard pack that was so hard and smooth I had to kick off the sandals and barefoot it. Felt great...I carry the sandals in my waist strap of my back pack like BF Ted. That way I can quicly slip the sandals on and off. I used the Hemp laces on the Luna Sandals without socks and they performed perfectly. No blisters and they felt very clos to barefoot excepth that they allowed me to run a long section of hardcore gravel without much discomfort. I also wore my Zensah calf sleeves. It was freakn hot.





Sun.- EASY 1:10 in Lunas and Barefeet... I went back to the same setting as yesterday and repeated the same performace but shorter.





Sunday, August 29, 2010

Up over 40

















I ran every day this week..really starting to get the mileage in with barefeet, I think I got to around 45miles this week. I was supposed to take a day off on Sunday but I got my Luna Sandals in the mail and had to head out to the trails with them. Training looked like this..

MONDAY- 1:01 EASY barefeet amazingly fun run down Wilshire blvd(which is really smooth concrete and marble in spots) shirtless and shoeless in Beverly Hills.. the run felt like a "mediatation" went to Yoga later that night with my girl Amy
TUESDAY-1:00 EASY Barefeet down Wilshire blvd.
WEDNESDAY-1:00 EASY Barefeet on sidewalks, really hot out. I went into the recording studio to cut a new song later that night that I wrote for Amy
THURSDAY-1:00 Easy Barefeet on Sidewalks, and a little bit of trails..feeling kinda banged up.
FRIDAY-45 mins. FARTLEKS on streets...did some good fast running body felt good....but I cant sustain good form for long at hard pace yet.
SATURDAY- LONG RUN Puma Salohs in mountains... I ran the Backbone Trail which should be called Backbreak. I had to go #2 in the woods which I call..."pulling a Johnny" this run was really hard ascent and the descent I was hauling ass jumping over ditches,logs, rocks you name it. I felt pretty rough afterwards.
SUNDAY- Medium 40 mins in Luna Sandals
I got my Luna Sandals in the mail and I couldnt resist a 40 minute trail run in them. Incredibly fun run in them. Best thing since sliced bread.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Proudfoot























It was a great week of running with multiple Longs and Lot's of hills! I also have 3 races on the calendar all of which are trail races. A 10k at the end of September, a 25k at the end of September and a 50k a the end of November as long as the promoters get the permit. I ordered some Luna Sandals in hopes of using them as my trail-wear.

Sunday- 35mins Medium barefoot on streets and sidewalks. muscles a little tight from long mountain run previous day.
Monday-1:16 Medium Long run barefoot on a variety of surfaces including sidewalks, streets, trails
Tuesday-Rest
Weds-1:00 Hills Puma Salohs (red) trails of Griffith Park. Loose sand and dirt and Steep hills. Tough!
Thurs- 42mins Easy barefoot on sidewalks on Wilshire Blvd and surrounding streets.
Fri-30 mins Easy barefoot on sidewalks
Sat- 2:02 Long Run Puma Salohs (red)Sanata Monica Mountains red rock trails. Had a Blast up and down the mountain and discovered a whole other forest trail
Sunday- Gym strength... squats, leg press, hammies, calf raises, chest press, hips. Feel great the day after my Long run!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Run Like a Ninja

This week consisted of me doing all of my runs (except my Long run) barefoot on concrete and pavement to work on refining my running technique. I am working on silent footfalls after talking to the amazing Julian Romero who routinely runs sub 3 marathons barefoot. Also being mindful of my running posture, (upright torso), relaxed body, only lifting.

Monday-30 mins. EASY Barefoot on concrete loop almost no sound of feet.
Tuesday-33 mins. EASY Barefoot concrete loop. Form is best it has ever been!
Wednesday-30 Mins-EASY Barefoot concrete loop. Pinky toe unhappy.
Thursday-40 Mins. EASY Barefoot concrete loop. Didn't feel great today. Didn't feel fluid.
Friday-40 Mins. EASY Barefoot concrete loop. Felt much better today.
Saturday- 120mins. Long Run in Puma Salohs-Topanga Mountains..really hard effort. Feels like 5k pace for 2hours when running the mountains.

Run Like a Ninja




Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Sonofabeach




Another long run in the barefeet! This one was tough..it was a mix of surfaces from sand( the toughest) to pavement (easiest), it was hot, I had to run in whatever shade was avail and on the white lines on the roads as it was in the middle of the day in Cali.The paws did just fine!I ran into what turned out to be some kind of mine field of burr/thorns! I fell down to get them off my feet and then they all stuck me in the butt! argh! It was a Good week of running in spite of me aggravating my ole bursitis in ye ole heel. I decided that I needed to start doing heavy squats again on the previous Sunday. This turned out to be a poor idea. I had Retro Calcaneal bursitis about 6 or so months ago that was quite annoying,which I blamed on running but the coincidence is, when I stopped going o the gym it went away, and upon returning to the gym it came back. My Squat form must blow. Anyways, this week my Folks came in to town and met Amy's family so my running schedule was thrown off but it was a nice visit. It looked something like this.

Sunday-Gym
Tues- 60 minutes Easy @Park in Puma Salohs
Weds-60 minutes Easy @Park in Puma Salohs
Thursday- 40 minutes Easy @ Park in Puma Salohs
Friday-125minute Long Run Barefoot on the trails in Griffith Park area
Saturday- 30 minutes Easy Barefoot on streets

Saturday, July 31, 2010

DO NOT SWIM

Been a good week of running.

Sunday- a walk and some easy, short barefoot runnin on grass to recover from yesterdays Long run
Monday- MEDIUM 30mins in blue Puma Salohs@ park with a few hard surges and hard .25 mile
Tues-EASY 45mins. in blue Puma Salohs @park
Weds-HARD 40 mins. red Puma Salohs @ park easy running for warm .25 mile 3/4 effort, 14x100 sprints at 7/8 effort. Easy running home for cool. Stretching afterward.
Thurs-EASY 40 mins. red Puma saloh @ the park
I let fly on the streets at the end of the run and some old lady's dog wanted to rumble and started chasing me...I said bring it on! I dusted that damn poodle!
I went surfing at Sunset and had the most amazing rides I have maybe ever had!
Fri-EASY 30mins. red Puma saloh @ park. I felt like puking and everything hurt...I got sick from the ocean water last night. Before I got in there was a warning sign metioning bacteria in the water DO NOT SWIM ..I paid no mind. and I paid for it. Oh well.
Sat-LONG RUN 2hrs. BAREFEET Santa Monica moutains in Old Topanga..I ran the Backbone trail. 1hr up and 1 hr down..the descent was slower than the ascent! This was the toughest run I have ever done. Rocky, incredibly steep, thorny and beautiful. I started to question my sanity during the descent. My bruised heel from landing on a rock like 3 weeks ago was feeling great so I opted for barefoot today and it was doing great until I ran through a leafy part of the trail and underneath the leaves a freakn rock which happend to hit right where I bruised the heel before! Even though I barely weight the heel it does come down to the ground, sometimes not, depending on, pace, if I am going up a steep hill etc... It didnt really bother me after a minute or 2..I stepped on a thorn which was fun, then a section where the trail was covered with what looked like crushed wantons with jagged spurs on them. I was starting to emit caveman type grunts often. I started to pray for it to end. I made it. But this trail is just too technical for barefoot..I haven't even seen any other runners on this thing. Next week I gotta run on flat ground with no rocks! I have now run 4 successive long runs in the mountian in barefeet or minimal flats. I am moving to easier ground next Sat.! On the way home I jumped in the Ocean to float and cool off..then proceeded to eat lots of tacos.

I will post some pics of the terrain.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Mountain Goat


It was a good week of running.

Monday- 60 minutes MEDIUM barefoot running on trails and streets..and then went surfing and the Surf was UP!

Tuesday-30 mins EASY in Puma salohs on trails..my bruise on my heel from my first mountain run was a little sore..I think the barefoot running on the concrete aggravated it.

Weds- 35 minutes TEMPO run in DS trainers on trails and the Surfing @Sunset

Thurs-35 mins. EASY Saucony fastswitch.. dont like these old sponges..gonna retire them. Although the cushioning was nice for my heel bruise.

Fri- 30 mins. EASY in Puma Salohs n park trails..felt good but right ham. tendon was tad angry from the previous days in foam boats.

Saturday- 100 minutes LONG RUN on technical mountain trail in blue Puma Salohs..I tried yet another mountain trail hoping it would be a little easier...wrong! It was the steepest and most technical yet. It was packed full of sharp and big rocks, ruts, ditches and extremely steep grade inclines. I am getting really strong at up hills! The down hill sections I still need some work on not braking when going down, I don't know if that is possible actually.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Surf is up man and so is Mountain running



Had a great week...I surfed like 5 times...getting my sea legs back! Man my arms and pecs were crying the first couple days.

Did some easy running throughout the week..and ended the week with a Long run up through the Santa Monica mountains again. I ran the Backbone trail today and It was beautiful! More shade than the other route I ran last week. It is such a complete work out..I climbed, I jumped over things, I got a great cardio workout...I got a strength workout and hills like this actually double as speedworkouts! I ran in my Puma Salohs which are minimalist shoes. I ran for 105 minutes. I honed my down hill running technique..this week I wasn't like a runaway train on the descent! Happy times! I love running long again.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Im a new mountain trail convert!

Been running like a wild banshee! I haven't taken a day off in I dont know how long and I feel great. Mostly all barefoot running, when not barefoot I like to run in my Puma Saloh flats.

I did the most amazing 2hr long run I have ever experienced today! I ran in the Santa Monica mountains starting in old Topanga on the roads and then up the trails. It was like running up a wall for an hour and then flying back down in 30 mins and running around old topanga. I mostly ran in barefeet! I ran with a back pack filled with frozen water bottles and bananas and my puma flats for areas that were too hot or plain old too gnarly for the bare soles. I really bonded with the earth today. Loved it.

ran on the beach yesterday after Surfing which was a hoot...the track for speed workouts the day before and then alot of road running in the days preceding

Happy times..

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Summer is for Barefoot!

Had a fun week of running...lots of barefoot..i started to head back on the road... man the road is way easier to run on than pebble ridden trails! But the trails have really improved my form, I highly recommend barefoot trail running for fun and form!

I finished off the week with a 6 mile barefoot run on the streets which felt pretty good. My worries of the toes were put at ease as I didnt feel it. So that's beuno.

I am reading " Born to Run" currently and enjoying the hell out of it. Really funny and educational at the same time. A recommended read.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Busy B

The last 10 days have been crazy...hence my late post. I am preparing a package for Universal music and I recorded some new songs and I am trying to finish them up for this friday..which is no easy order. I was told I had 14 days to prepare something for the meeting. SO ..whateva..I do the best I can in the time I got.

Regarding running...been doing primarily barefoot on the trails almost every day (I have been stupid busy)..no gps..heck most runs not even a watch.

Really starting to dial in the form...I am coming to really understand the importance of hip extension in running! Hip extension=Good ...... knee extension= Bad. I love barefoot....Ok got to get to the studio! Lates

Monday, June 14, 2010

Desert Rat

So the past week...brought 6 days of running. I had a travel day that just didn't prompt me to run the day after my Math final (which was horrible).

I managed a foot race with some kid while I was wearing my Vans slip ons on a trail after a mile of BF running...finishing the last mile in of the 3.5 in 6:40 (note...6:40 mile in Vans on trails feels like a 5:40 mile on the track in flats.) The kid wasted me. Not happy...but it motivates me to be better.

I then headed out to the desert the following day which was extremely hot and I ended up doing a 6.5 miler in Nike Vomeros that were at the folks house...also even some runs in Kayanos! However I did manage 2 out of my 3 days in the desert to find a nice park where I did some good Barefootn..

I dunno I must have done about 25 miles this past week...but who's counting. I have started running with no watch at all and no real idea of how long I am going to run when I head out the door. Much more enjoyable.

I'm going to hunt down a pair of Vibrams for some of my rough trail running. Happy times.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Great article on barefoot and minimalist footwear

Word.

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19747


As runners, our feet are what keep us connected with the ground and offer important tactile, sensory feedback, which makes the structure and design of the shoe on our foot essential in shaping our experience with the surrounding terrain. By wearing a shoe that eliminates unnecessary gimmicks and gadgetry (and, most importantly, a big, cushioned heel), I am allowing my foot to operate more effectively, efficiently and naturally while freely relaying proprioceptive information back to the rest of my body.

Minimal footwear enforces a heightened sense of the position of my body in space and its position relative to the technically challenging terrain. This sort of awareness is at the basis of any skilled movement we do as athletes, and the athleticism that running quickly over variable terrain requires is probably the essential difference between a trail/mountain runner and the traditional road/track athlete who operates primarily in a straight-ahead plane of movement.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Facing it

I ran everyday again this week...
twice on weds... I did a few barefoot runs in there too. My barefoot run on last Sunday was cut short when I burned the hell out of my feet as I am not used to running barefoot in the heat, Learned a valuable lesson. The burn was a pain the ass the next day as I had to lance the puss sacks on the bottom of my feet to run. But I did and it was ok.

On Friday I did a barefoot run on a concrete loop for the first time since I mangled my toes and felt no pain during the run, a little bit of discomfort later in the day though. Still not ready to run barefoot on concrete yet.

I got a nice brisk 6 miler on a concrete loop on thursday in Nike Triax...no pain in foot.

I did a 1 hr long run today (SAT.) in Nike triax..beautiful day out! Summer rules on the westside!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Weekly BURT News

Ran everyday this week.. twice on thursday...all on trails except one day on the composite track. Toe is feeling great.

Ran in an assortment of footwear from a wonderful 2 mile barefoot run in the rain to a tempo run Nike Lunar glides...and a few easy runs in the Asics DS trainers and lastly a few runs in my Saucony and Puma Flats. I notice a little something in my achilles area today before my run..I'll keep an eye on it.

In other news I went to an internal Medicine Dr. for my hand injury that has been a real pain in the.....hand! She put me on a steriod for 2 weeks and then I start physical therapy. Se examined my foot after explaining my previous injury and she said it was a fracture but it had healed so I could continue to run. So there ya have it.

Went in to Kronos Recording and cut 3 new songs with My band...new songs are going to be great and Theo the drummer is da man!

Till next week.
Adios
BAM

Sunday, May 23, 2010

On the road again.... actually trails

Have run everyday for the past week..So I am back to DAILY running! I ran barefoot 3 times, 3 miles being the longest BFR. The rest have been in an assortment of shoes..asics ds trainers, asics cumulus and Nike Lunarglide. The good news is all the barefoot has really translated improved form to shod running. Even after my little layoff during a run in padded shoes my stride rate was still 183..so the quick, light, compact stride is sticking.

The foot injury from barefoot speedwork on concrete (god that even sounds dumb) is still touch and go but I passed the hop on one leg test so I allowed myself to resume. I took almost 2 weeks totally off and a few weeks of minimal running. The other injury was the back of the heel bursitis or whatever,.its still hanging around but reducing. Back on track.

Changes:
I am running exclusively on dirt trails and grass
Limiting the barefoot running while foot heals

Reintroduced meat back into my diet. I found that I was WAY deficient in protein in my veggie diet. I just couldnt get enough protein within my caloric allowance which is between 1800-2200 calories per day. I have to think this veggie diet had something to do with the injuries..things were breaking down fast and there simply wasnt enough protein to rebuild them.

In other news I have a horrible, gnarly Math exam tomorrow that I should be studying for right now... gotta roll.

Adios

Sunday, April 25, 2010

I AM A CHEATING FOOL

After a week of no running and a week of barely any running becuase of trashed toes I put on the lunarglides and immediately jumped into a 7 min pace on a local trail..toes seemed ok...not totally healed..Im gonna do very little running(and in shoes) for another few weeks.

I think I am going back a mixture of shod/barefoot.. 2 months ago I was at 50mpw and doing speedwork..gotta get back to that

I had to remind myself of my goals..and I think some shod running is part of that.

anyhoo..

4/24/10 weekly summation

So this was the first week in a long time of no running..I managed the gym a few times though. I got to say I am enjoying some R&R away from running. After reading an article with Sammy Wanjiru, (olympic gold medalist, Chicago and London winner) and found out he only runs 6 days a week and takes of 2 months a year to gain some weight and rest...I thought "That sounds brilliant". I did a crap-load of running in minimalist shoes and barefoot this past 12 months. I am enjoying a little time off from the the daily trial of miles.

The band is kicking bootay...we are in preproduction for our upcoming recording sessions at Sound Factory at the end of May/top of June. These songs have and extra something.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

4/17/10 weekly summary


This was an Interesting week. I got my new band on track and we played our first show! Which is progress.However, my little toe is still unhappy, I didn't expect anything different though.. i did manage some running. But all of it on trails and grass and uneven terrain. It seems to like constantly changing terrain under foot. I hit the gym 2 times for some lifting and cardio. In general not a big physical week though.

I did only 3 miles of running this week spread out over 3 runs. Tender toe!
I gotta tell you it's been tempting this week to breakout the sponge boats and bang out some miles but..I'm fighting the good fight. Thanks Johnny :)

Ok till next time!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

4/10/10 weekly summary

This week involved me starting to insert some fast running..it can be done BF!
I have a bad boo boo between my big toe and 2 nd toe that I stubbornly ran on and I think my foot was auto compensating and giving the workload to the little toes which cause my meltdown on Friday... oh well. Thats what I love about barefoot. You will run gently or not at all. SO now I got to let this booboo heal. It's nasty man. It's like raw flesh.

total -19.1 miles
Sunday-.I did a little 3.25 mi. easter run this afternoon on sidewalks and streets.
Monday-2.25 mi. at 8:20 pace
Tuesday-dropped the hammer a bit and did a half mile at 6:40 pace and to my surprise it felt easier than it did in shoes! SO I can run a good fast 5k this summer! woo hoo
3.25 for the day
Wednesday-easy 5k in 25:10 ..calves are sore..I made a mistake of overstretching them when they were cold a few days ago and I have paid for it on my last two runs...oh well beautiful day! streets are getting warm!
Thursday-3.5 miles @9:30 pace..easy run. I had a break through with form...i must allow my knees to drive forward HOWEVER not up. felt good.
Friday-3.75 miles on my concrete loop at the park.. I averaged 8:20 pace which included my first easy mile and I ran 1 mile @7:30 I had to cut my overally run short as my pinky toe was hurtin like hell! I guess I am due for a day off..I had a late night last night at band rehearsal and an early work day for me..and I didnt really sleep. I came home from work and ran. I really put the wammy on the toe!
I ran past a guy who was wearing his Newton racers ...he was lookin all cool...until I blew past him in barefeet.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

weekly summary

I did 14.5 miles this week... Still slow but getting better. I am starting to think that this mystery pain in the back of my heel is actually insertional achilles tendonitis, Thanks once again Nike. So I am icing and stretching the calves and focusing on form. Making sure not to push off during running and relax the body.

On a positive note it seems as though the economy is turning around. Work has started to pickup for me. I'm starting to push the band for more rehearsal time and writing time.

Math Exam tomorrow.

Happy Easter everyone!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Getting Longer!

I got my longest barefoot run in today! 7 miles on my concrete loop around the park, it was a beautiful day for a run. I have been taking it easy on the running in the last few weeks, as I do need to focus on my music and school. I think I ran a total of 9.5 miles this week. Not much but I did go to the gym too so I am ok.

I am really excited about the songs my band is brewing up. I love the process of songwriting, it's like a great puzzle, if you put the pieces together just right you are rewarded.

Anyhoo... today also marks the 1 year anniversary of Amy and I being together! Wow what a great year it has been in so many ways.. Love you girl and don't worry I am not running off to Texas without ya ;)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Body's need their rest..

Hey gang, I am finally resting! I am gonna give myself a much needed rest.. I have been running 6-7 days a week for the last 12 months..and now that I have transitioned to Barefoot I want to give my body a chance to heal and mend so that I have a clean benchmark to evaluate my barefoot running with. Right now I have various niggles that came from Shod running and I want them to be gone. So I'll be back with fresh legs and barefeet in awhile! Carry on

Thursday, March 18, 2010

It ain't easy

Today

1st run was 3 miles on a 1/4 mile concrete loop ..

2nd. run was 1 mile to the store..I have a new system..I have a backpack that latches around the abdomen as well for a tight fit and I put some lightweight shoes in there and some money and I am starting to run barefoot for transportation. It works for transpo and conditioning!

I lanced my blister last night that I got for foolishly horsing with my footstrike yesterday and didnt even notice it on today's run. Barefoot daily running is NOT easy, it requires constant focus for me right now, very different experience than shod running IMO. I have a long way to go..but I am willing

4 miles total for the day

The rest of my day consists of Geometry problems and later going to a photography display by a family friend.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

HARVARD STUDY ON BAREFOOT RUNNING/FOREFOOT STRIKE

This really tells the tale on the benefits of Barefoot running, and a forefoot strike.

http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

The Heat is On! It's on the Streets..ba ba bah

So I woke up very late today, I had been feeling really horrible yesterday as I have a had a bug for what seems to be months. My legs and more specifically heels felt ok so i headed out for my run..Out the door, down the stairs and woa it's getting hot! Don't get me wrong I ain't complaining, I love the warmth of the California sun, however, this is a new challenge to the feet!

So off I ran around the block and to the well shaded park and gliding long it's concrete perimeter. I am feeling loose and happy to be running, so I decide to mess around with my stride, and experiement with footstrike, bad idea and I know better than this. SO I am headed on my way home and I think to my self what is stuck to the bottom of my foot. I stop and try and brush it off I though maybe I stepped in gum. I realize it is a mondo sized blister on the lateral part of my forefoot! Golly gee...the very part of the footstrike I was experimenting with. I felt great during the run and had no pains...so I am now thinking to myself..was it actually improvement and the blister is just a reult of that area of my foot not being used to friction or was it a bad idea.

Anyhow most authorities on running will say don't focus on landing, the foot strike is a result of other movement, leave the foot, ankle, everything relaxed, knees bent, lift the feet quickly under the hip and bang your running like a Kenyan. Well anyhow I got 3.55 miles in for the day. I might have to run on grass tomorrow due to this new mega blister, which will probably anger my heels because of the soft, unstable surface but I digress.

Happpy Trails

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

No Rest for the Wicked 3/16/10

I got to start by saying man my legs have been killing me..the muscles are sore in a way I have not felt since I ran a marathon with a big downhill section. It is muscular soreness, as if I have never run before..i think it's the squats at the gym coupled with no days off from running in like 62 days now. I headed down the stairs out to a beautiful sunny morning in SoCal and I told myself today I will just do a mile and treat it as a day off...I end up doing 4 miles on the sidewalks around my neighborhood..shirtless with no shoes. ha!

I really wish I would have become a full time barefoot runner long ago, I would have avoided so many chronic injuries that I am slowly overcoming now. I am feeling so light when running now, knees are bent, hips gently twisting, the shoulders countering the twist of the hips. The foot is lifted very quickly and I am slapping the ground way less than I had been not long ago. Initially when going barefoot my toes would slap, which has led to some miserable blisters..blisters teach you what not to do. I am starting to run like an Indian, silently.

Only sign of any issues is my lovely heel bursitis(once again...Nike, you suck) but not too bad at all. The heel had been bothering me less during the day yesterday and I sort of actually slept last night. I got maybe 5.5 hrs last night, I am due for a deep sleep soon or I am gonna flip out.

Ok I got to study some freakn Algebra today, i got a B on the first exam which is not good. Math hurts my brain.

Just when you think you couldnt, you can.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Sunny Mornin' in Beverly Hills

I awoke too early and said aw heck let's get it done! I did an easy 3.25 run on my park loop. I Felt pretty good today..I didnt do any stretching before the run and I felt better for it, I know, I know, I am late to the party on that. I used to do some light static stretching but lately it has caused calf blow outs on my runs. So maybe I do some dynamic stretches before the run but no static anymore.

So I started barefoot running maybe I dont't know 6 months ago...but only once a week at best, usually on Sundays and the rest of my training was in racing flats or other various useless footwear.

So I have just steadily increased barefoot into my rotation in my weekly training and have done up to 21 miles in a week barefoot whilst running the rest of my miles in shoes...and have run up to a 10k barefoot. But now the shoes are gone and I am now only running in BARE feet. So my weekly total of miles will be coming for awhile as I rebuild my base in bare feet but that's not a bad thing.

I am getting over some heel bursitis I contracted thanks to Nike and their sponge bob shoes! I have run everyday for the last 8 weeks 40-50 miles per week and 6-days a week 25-45 mpw for the last year without any major interruptions..I buy a pair of Nike lunar elites and after like 5 runs in them in my rotation I got this stupid heel bursitis. I don't have any swelling yet so I am still running daily barefoot only now...but..this crap ain't pretty. Thanks Nike. You suck.

Yea I plan on racing barefoot too.


Sunday, March 14, 2010

3/14/10

Hola friends,
So I am Burt Malcuit...I am part Musician,Student,Recording Engineer,Lover,Runner...Yogi

I am a bit of a pirate in that I tend to do things my own way and on my own terms.. I am what I am and that is that. I will be using some great qoutes from my main man Guru Singh, so if you hear anything profound it is stolen :) J/K

I am a barefoot runner as I can stand running in regular shoes. I run every day... I am currently on a 60 day streak..before that I was running 6 days a week for pretty much the entire last year. I have some lingering niggles from shod running but I am getting through the daily trial of miles.

Today I ran an easy 3.25 mile loop around my favorite park in Beverly Hills... The loop is concrete which is a preferred surface for honing in the barefoot form, I do also run on trails once a week too.


I also had band practice tonite...and man I am really stoked on this lineup of guys.. it's maybe the best band I have ever had. In case ya didn't know I am the singer/guitar player and the band is simply called "BURT". Now one may say, gee that sounds self indulgent! But really it's just more of a way to keep the songs and sound on track. I am the songwriter and band members kind of come and go so it's kind of my band, however this current lineup is special.

Ok I am starved and my girl is making a bad ass omelet.. she rules in so many ways.

Happy Trails,BURT