Off to the highlands I go

Filed under Danielle's barefoot running blog, blog

My other half has been holidaying in the highlands of Scotland ever since he was a baby, and it is now a BIG family tradition. So much so that all his huge extended family make the pilgrimage every year, with some staying a month or so and others dropping by for the odd week.

Legend has it that his Grandad was the first person to tow a caravan to this particular beach back in the 1950’s, which is no mean feat given that it is miles from pretty much anywhere and down a very windy, narrow and hilly track. My tradition is that we go every other year, with me choosing what we do on the alternate year!

So this year is the highlands, in our trusty van, two man tent and windbreak - so start praying for sun please. As we all know, you don’t go to Scotland for the weather - but I have to admit that when it’s good, you really cant beat it. The scenery is beautiful in a barren, open and untouched sort of way, the sand is white and fine and the sea is tropical blue (if a little chilly - wetsuits are a must!).

What’s more there are lots of lovely off-road running routes, and there is a gang of regular runners of all abilities heading off most mornings. Most years I don’t join them, because I am on holiday and like a lazy start to my day, but this year I am taking my shoes and planning to get back on track with some gentle runs. Being the highlands it will be difficult to post as there are limited signals but I will take some pictures to share upon my return.

Until then - the midge lotion, welly boots and sunglasses are all packed, speak to you soon.

Hand-me-down Birkenstocks save the day!

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Ever since being injured back in March, I have had various injury niggles to contend with and its driving me mad. That planned marathon attempt is looking ever distant as I struggle to manage any consistent training .

But help seems to have arrived in an unexpected form. With the arrival of warmer days, I have dug out an old pair of Birkenstock sandals that were handed down to be by my good friend Caroline (her feet like mine have grown in middle age and she no longer fits them). When I first put them on, I found it really hard to walk in them, but I persevered and within about 15 minutes they actually felt great. All those strange little heel pains miraculously disappeared and by the end of the day my feet felt in really good shape!

I did wonder if it was just the change of shoes from my daily converse habit, but now I am convinced they have been a kind of miracle cure for my foot problems. Each time I wear them it alters the way I walk - obviously in open sandals it is impossible to hit the ground with a heel strike, so you walk with a mid foot strike which is the way I should run barefoot. It’s like daily technique training for me, which is great, especially with my impossibly busy life.

So maybe these original ‘healthy shoes’ shoes are on to something after all - and maybe they are the perfect leisure shoe for bare footers! According to Birkenstock the original contoured footbed is designed with one purpose in mind - walking in comfort. They certainly do that.

From a style point of view, they are borderline acceptable. I can only do the classic single strap madrid or flip-flop style Gizeh or I start to feel a bit too commune (especially as I am a vegetarian and have an old (not cool) camper van) My other half is also a bit sniffy about their sex appeal status…but he’s a man so I am ignoring his style judgement! Rock-on Birkenstocks - I love you, especially if you help get me back on track with my running!

Now the only dilemma is what to wear when it gets cold again - but I shall cross that bridge when I get there.

The old ones are always the best ones!

Filed under Danielle's barefoot running blog, blog

Hot weather is not good for my legs and feet. By the end of monday my feet were so swollen and puffy they looked that the feet of someone twice my weight and felt horrible to boot! Partly this is due to being mostly desk bound but also partly because I am susceptible to fluid retention (when I was pregnant I looked like I had elephant legs, quite literally there was no ankle and my feet looked like a stumps - yep, attractive I know!)

So a run on monday evening was quite out of the question, I honestly could not even imagine trying to put socks on or squeezing my feet into my shoes. And even if I could, I was walking like an invalid, so goodness only knows how I would have managed to run at 180 beats a minute.

My predicament gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a tub of Epsom salts that my mum gave me - apparently they are great for situations like this. So I chuck a generous amount into a bowl of hot water and then soak while reading the label on the tub. The label says ‘for the treatment of constipation’ …uh oh.

Further googling on my phone revealed more useful information…

According to www.care2.com (and a variety of other sites that backed this up) Epsom salts have amazing health benefits and are a brilliant beauty basic. You can use them for a relaxing bath, a face scrub, hair volumizer and a miracle cure-all -helping to remove splinters and reduce the swelling of sprains and bruises.

Soaking in a tub full of hot water with a few cups of Epsom salts is good for relaxing muscles and drawing toxins from the body. They are made of the mineral magnesium sulfate which when absorbed through the skin, draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling and relaxes muscles as well as being a good exfoliator!

Well - who knew ? Obviously my mum did, so I am now sharing this helpful little tip with you too. My feet did feel a lot better after and the best bit - they are incredibly good value at just £1.55 for a tub of Boots own brand.

The wisdom of Lee Saxby

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So, my new regime is going well, getting up early is about 80% on target (which for me is a near miracle) and although I couldn’t honestly say I am feeling much fitter yet - I am sure I must be! Certainly my cycling is better purely because I am on my bike more - my hills and gear changing and general bike handling are without doubt improved which is great.

However (why does there always have to be a however?) I have developed a slightly annoying heel pain on my dodgy left leg. This is all apparently linked to my calf injury that has still not healed and was reported in my last post.

On Kim Ingleby and Caroline Peppercorns’ advice I have been rolling a tennis ball under the arch of my foot, standing on tippytoes and lowering my heels off a step, all of which has worked marvelously, but the truth of the matter is I am not entirely convinced that is is all to do with running. Having not run for 10 days since the Duathlon, I have had good days and bad days, but no logic as to what will trigger the discomfort. It could be a cycle ride or just a long day on my feet- and possibly my footwear has some effect too.

So I have been mulling it over and over and trying to come to some conclusion. At the same time I remember that on my long list of interesting barefoot news waiting to be mentioned is the new E-Book by the legend that is Lee Saxby. Lee taught my how to run barefoot back in December (read the post here) and is something of guru in the barefoot running world. He also works with Vivobarefoot, one of the original barefoot shoe manufacturers, so he knows a thing or two.

Now I am kicking myself (on my good leg of course) because within 10 minutes of reading through the book, I think I realise my problem! And what is more annoying is that I sort of wondered if this might be the case, but didn’t have the confidence in my gut reaction.

By wearing a mix of cushioned and non cushioned shoes, I have totally messed up because my brain is confused and my technique has gone to pot. I have undoubtedly been hitting heel first on the days I am wearing cushioned shoes and then the days I am in barefoot I am probably somewhere in between.

The most likely cause of my sore heel is my lapsed running technique and a confusing mix of shoes!

One of the principles of barefoot running is that your brain senses that you are not wearing cushioned shoes and automatically stops you hitting heel first - because your brain knows this will hurt over time. It’s called Proprioception: Our Sixth Sense. There is a passage in the E-Book written by Chris McDougall where he visits Lee in London, He too has been suffering heel discomfort so it’s pretty much my story too - here’s the conclusion:

So how did Lee address the problem? Simple. Unlike every other specialist I’d seen, he didn’t regard running as a danger; he regarded it as a skill. He took me through a series of drills, then brought me outside to tape me again. The difference was astonishing. In less than 30 minutes, he’d totally transformed my gait. “But you’re going to have to lose those things, mate,” he said, pointing to my cushioned running shoes, “or you’re going to be in this fix again.” I took them off and ran barefoot back to my hotel. By the time I got there, not only was my running form better, so was my heel: the pain which had lingered for months was gone - vanished, completely, never to return. Since then, I’ve never run a day without relying on Lee’s instruction: I focus on the form he taught me, and put as little as possible between my foot and the planet.

I feel like a dunce! And am going to revisit all the original technique advice and abandon any cushioning. Lets see what happens!

So - a wee plug for the marvellous E-book is in order. It is available on the www.vivobarefoot.com website and quite frankly is a ‘must read’ for barefooters, I don’t say this lightly in the way of the fashion press who seem to think a hand bag is a ‘must have’ (as if!) - this book really will help you stay injury free and running for years.

Sheactive Everywomans Duathlon

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On Saturday I completed my first ever Duathlon - the Sheactive Everywoman Duathlon in Bristol. I hadn’t actually planned to take part until the week before, so with very little actual preparation I turned up at the Downs on a glorious sunny Saturday morning. This was the only bit of the event that I did not really like - I had to leave my house in nearby Bath at 6.30am in order to get there in time for a bit of headspace - the briefing - and then the start at 8.30am. Which is a bit much at the weekend.

I had entered the novice event which comprised of a 2.5km run, 10km cycle, 2.5km run. Looking at the distances I was a bit worried that it was a bit short and hardly worth getting up so early for for, but as it turned out it was just right. My other concern was that I would look a bit daft on my mountain bike with big knobbly tyres - not exactly a speed machine - and at first all I could see was smart racing bikes and clip-in pedals, but as more people turned up, so did the mix of bikes (including a couple with baskets, hoorah, bet you could carry a lot of bananas and energy bars in that!).

The broad mix of women was brilliant - just what I had hoped for in fact. I really love a smaller event like this as it’s just so easy and straight forward, no queuing for the portaloo and you don’t have to hang around waiting for the start , I could sit in my van eating porridge until the last minute. Bliss!

After a friendly briefing and a last wee, we were off. I was wearing my Merrell Pace glove shoes for the event which worked well - I hate a big soled trainer on the bike, so the low profile sole was great. The first 2.5km run took us round the top of the Downs on a variety of grass and pavement and trails, I was taking it pretty steady and sat firmly in the middle of the pack, I don’t know about you but sometimes a shorter distance is harder mentally because its tough to pace and in this case with additional aspect of the ride I was probably rather too cautious. (Below is the challenge distance start, which we novices cheered on before our start three minutes after)

As I approached the transition area, I felt a little surge of excitement/nerves - I hadn’t really thought too much about the logistics of the transition, except for where my bike was and that I would put my helmet on first! Fortunately by now we had all spread out a fair bit so I was pretty much on my own in my area, which made it all totally calm and smooth - I almost felt like a real athlete as I jogged to the road with my bike!

The bike section was great, I really, really loved this bit. It’s so rare to get to ride without cars on the road and although it was fairly breezy it just was so much fun. I messed up a bit on the first turn as it was a little tight and I had to put my foot down - but it really didn’t matter and by the second loop the turn was made a bit wider. The whole time we were passing riders coming the other way or runners in the challenge distance, and the looping course worked really well because it meant that I really felt part of the event!

In the final section of the cycle I was shocked back into race mode as I was overtaken at some speed, by a woman on a road bike. Said woman looked to be somewhat older than me too and I was quite impressed to see her power away from me towards the transition. However, this is the beauty of the Duathlon - by the time I had transitioned, taken a swig of water and was back on the final run section I could see my opponent struggling away in front. And this is where my barefoot running technique really came into it’s own - small light and quick steps made the change to running so much easier - rather like being in a high gear and I caught and overtook in a flash. I actually suprised myself !

So as I made it down the final stretch towards the small supportive and cheering crowd to the finish line I was almost sorry it was over! As I crossed the line and smiled for the camera and noticed the clock which I think said 58 minutes, so at least I was under the hour. To be honest I had not thought about the time at all - but that sounded ok to me!

And onto the next great thing about this event - free massage from the fabulous Kim Ingleby and her team from Energised Performance. Luckily for me, after a short wait I received a great leg pummeling and massage, unluckily for me Kim identified that my calf injury is not healed and that I need to rest and massage and possibly get some treatment if it’s not better in a week or so!So how did I get on? Well I just checked and I came 14th, but what is very telling is that my second run is slightly faster than my first run so that means one of two things - a) I paced it brilliantly or b) I was a bit lazy in the first run - I’ll let you decide !

Fancy entering an Everywoman Duathlon? I would! Heres the link to rest of the season’s events www.everywomansseries.co.uk

The cost of being active

Filed under Danielle's barefoot running blog, blog

At the weekend I am taking part in the Everywomen’s Duathlon in Bristol, just the novice event as I have never done anything like this before. This event has been going from strength to strength for several years now, but there are numerous new events coming up to try, including several cycling ones. So I have dug my bike out of the shed and have been going out on it once a week as well as using it to whizz around town.

I love cycling and used to commute on my bike when I lived in London. I even cried when my old Bianchi Roadbike was stolen, but I’ve only ever used a bike for transport, so I have never used clip in pedals or spent much on a bike. So it came as a shock when my chain broke and I had to take it to my local repair shop - John’s Bikes on Walcot Street in Bath. Not only did they fix the chain, but they also replaced various cables and a gear part and the bill came to £114 - eeek.

This got me thinking about running versus cycling and the costs involved. Running, barefoot or not, really only requires a pair of shoes and a sports bra - allow £80 and £25, which is less than the cost of my repair. Of course its not a fair comparison as you can do so much more with a bike, but really if you are just wanting to get fit on a budget - then running wins hands down!