Running Barefoot

Barefoot running inspires visions of running on the beach in the hard packed sand, wind in the hair, ocean waves pounding, perhaps a big ass smile shining and radiant like the sun. Barechested men (and women yeah!) going full throttle or at an easy comfortable pace totally lost in the moment almost like they're in some movie on an island somewhere.

The first time I consciously noted a barefoot runner was in Cambridge, MA a year or so ago. She was a typical runner type physicue sort of girl with long blond curly hair in a pony-tail I think, cute, I remember that. I passed her along the Charles River and wondered how long she'd been experimenting with that form of running. Kenyans grow up running barefoot so I understood the benefits, it seems to promote much greater muscular strength in the feet.

There are over 100 muscles in the foot, 26 bones, and 33 joints. This is a great place to recruit new volunteers to help you run better and faster if you get tired of working your quads, hams, calves, core, and your spiffy new running shoes aren't giving the mojo you really desire. I saw a few guys running barefoot perhaps six months later as I was on a group run in Brookline, MA and again marveled at the clean, pure, almost perfection of running without shoes. This was an ideal that I might never experience.

I am one of the 20-30% of individuals who do not have proper arches and thus require adequate support to correct how my feet land (pronate) as I walk or run. I have realized that my overpronation which causes my feet to fan out in more of a duck like pattern poses some hazards to my running career which I hope to continue the remainder of my life. With this in mind I decided to try some barefoot running to try and teach my feet to make some changes. Change is good right?

Barefoot running on the beach sounded exciting, but I've had experience in sand and am not a big fan. I decided to take the experiment indoors to my health club and treadmill. Oh, and I despise treadmills, they are my sworn enemy and although they birthed my passion for running I long ago scorned them for the joy of outdoor running.

I returned to the treadmill only as a test of the barefeet. I started out rather slow about 1-2 min slower than my easy pace and just stared at my feet to make sure they were landing properly without the support of a shoe and orthotic. I felt pretty comfortable after a few minutes so I steadily upped the speed to a much faster racing pace and then ran for 3/4 of a mile before slowing it back down to a walk. I'm glad I stopped then because I felt the tips of my toes eagerly preparing to graduate from being slightly irritated to full on blisters. Otherwise I felt great but I think I did work the muscles pretty well because a day later as I neared my apartment my right foot started hurting and today is still sore. I think it's a good sore though, sort of like when you weight train or do lunges. Next time I run barefoot I'll get some special "shoe gloves" they make which look funny because they're just like gloves for your feet complete with toe/fingers.

Oh and if you're interested I found a few links on Barefoot running or Barefooting as it's known:

barefootrunner.com,
barefootrunner.org,

Resilience in the face of Annihilation - "If this is happiness, then yes I am very happy"

Does this title suggest some glimmer of hope? Perhaps offer a warm opportunity to better something or someone?

I'm taking a cue from the film I watched last night and will guarantee you none of those things :-)

Last night I joined a local film club to watch Megalopolis, a new documentary which explores the dehumanizing effects that cities and modern society have on human beings.

I'd be foolish to suggest this movie will change your life or offer some new reflections you haven't considered of your fellow creatures but I will offer a few observations which probably won't be misinterpreted as being filched from the marketing brochure.

The film left a thick layer of malaise on everyone who remained for the full 2 hours and probably even those who left well before the final scenes. I found no compelling reason to watch or share this film with anyone in the future as I typically want to see something that fits one or more of a few requirements:

a) entertaining (pure unadulterated/titilatting/stupid/intellectual/or otherwise)
b) educational (I learn something new vs. seeing what I already know)
c)uplifting (offers hope for a better future or a completely fabricated ending that fits only in the dreamlike non-reality state one inhabits during a movie.)

This film is bleak, you can almost smell the sickeningly rancid noxious fumes of human depravity, fear, and feel your skin crawl with the ridiculousness of the behavior documented. The story is not one of hope but rather despair and resignation. There are many rather compelling images of modern life, glistening sparkling skyskrapers, billboards with happiness smiles and other good emotions repackaged and beckoning all to consume, the ivory tower life as seen from afar and often viewed by the audience through the small fragmented lens of the characters. There are also some humorous english translations in the subtitles as well as interesting observations from a linguistic perspective. In one particular scene we witnes an affluent Chinese couple riding along in a convertible Mercedes in downtown Shenzen. The man offers this phrase to his partner and to the camera. "If this is happiness....then yes I am very happy" I hope this is mildly entertaining as you consider the logical fallacy of this statement. The sentence proves nothing or perhaps everything. Perhaps it's quite true. After all if what he is experiencing is happiness and he's fully immersed as he appears then he truly is happy. I can only wonder the comments of the other characters as they toil, endure, and suffer. "If this is misery, then I am truly...."

The film does offer a stark contrast to western media in their portrayal of Muslim Madrasahs and Islamic veil traditions. Yes, you and I are most likely aware of this disparity and filter that we receive here in the Western World. It was illuminating nonetheless to see boys as young as 6 years old from the US going to Pakistan to study the Koran without the distraction of our society.

Here's a few nuggets, if I can call them that. Perhaps I should call them bits of coal:

If you ever completely lose all worldly possessions you may find yourself in despair at how to survive. Even in the largest filthiest most inhospitable cities such as Karachi, Shenzen, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, and others one might still have real means however dim of survival. I saw a family of 10 sorting through garbage to feed the entire family. They work daily nonstop from 6 AM to 10 PM and live in the stench and filth of rubbish. This is their existence, the father laments he knows no other way to support everyone.

I witnessed women recounting their exploitation and those of others, a man who left his family to live on the street and knows no one, he is not a mentally challenged fellow, he's just weary of his former life. Young asian women dramatically altering their appearance in a group called "Angeleek" and engaging in a seeming ridiculous outfit and makeup that appeared almost like a warrior paint of black and white so as to prompt intrigue and perhaps fear from others.

Tales of mass suicide, oppression, prostitution, crimes of all sort. Stories from the streets of LA and an interesting observation that LAPD is also a gang and by far the most highly organized and capitilized of them all.

Although the film offered no call to action and left me with no desire to smile I somehow found a peaceful reflection in our resilience as humans we find a way to survive most situations whether by design or accident. I made my way home later that evening first by walking (in the wrong direction) and then by sheer coincidence happened upon a bus route that would bring me much much closer to home. I took a seat on the bus and soon found myself back in familiar and safe surroundings.

No dreams of Karachi, Tokyo, or Shenzen last night as I think the extents of my travels were brief and soon interrupted by the garbage trucks carting away the refuse.

Cold water swims Hot coffee runs

A few days ago I tried my first experience swimming in the balmy 60 degree water at Aquatic Park here in the city. I've been told that now is the warmer season to try open water swimming so I was curious to see how my body would adapt to the temperature. A very helpful woman at a local swimming program swim-art.comgave me some really great advice for first time cold water swimming. Her feedback was to only spend 30 minutes my first time out, take a hot shower afterwards, oh and that I’ll be hooked.

I figured the best way to experience Aquatic Park would be to make use of one of the local swimming club facilities as a guest. This would give me a chance to potentially meet other swimmers and also a place to change, store my things, and shower/warm up afterwards. There are two clubs located at the park: Dolphin Club and South End Rowing Club both share the park and offer access on alternate days of the week.

I chose the Dolphin Club for a few very compelling reasons: a) I heard they have more club rules and hey I like rules, b) they have a cooler name, c) it was the first club I researched online and I like the familiarity. All good reasons if only subjective.

Upon entering the club facilities I was immediately aware of the grand, historical, almost reverential tone of the building. I had the blended feeling of entering a house of worship or summer camp facility during off hours. The building is over 130 years old with hard wood floors, large very acoustical rooms, and I saw no one as I placed my guest visitor fee in a drop box and read the notices posted. I made my way up the stairs to the locker room and changed quickly, then proceeded outside to try the water.

The small patch of beach for entering and exiting the water is bordered on both sides by two piers and on this day was relatively empty. I saw only two people in the area, one man was sunning himself in a chair on the deck and another sat legs crossed in the sand. As I walked down to the water I started to wonder just how very cold and just how long it would take to get used to the temperature.

My feet entered the water slowly, the icy prickliness quickly traveled up my entire body, this was going to be cold. I'm picturing what it would feel like to immerse myself in a cold bowl of milk and cereal. Did I say milk and cereal? Let’s try milk, cereal, and frozen fruit. This is really cold! I move slowly and deliberately wading further in, starting to feel the cold surrounding me and wondering if I can last a full 10 minutes much less 30.

I finally am into the water at chest and then neck level as I start to swim. It feels surprisingly refreshing now that I'm completely submerged. I guess cold water swimming is like many intangible things we experience. We fear, we have anxiety, then we plunge, and soon we get used to it. I feel my heart beating and am looking around, nervous not sure if I'm allowed to swim straight ahead or if I am supposed to turn and swim out into the park area or if it even matters. Those darn rules I heard about, I secretly hope I am perhaps shunning a few rules since I am not really a member and can feign ignorance. I lied when I said I like rules, they’re highly overrated. There are few swimmers around so no guide to figure these things. I decide to just swim to the left towards the park and buoys using some basic common sense to dictate my direction.

Swimming in the open water feels very liberating. I'm being conscious of my stroke patterns and how well I'm moving along and try to build some speed intervals with rest breaks to get used to the workout. I'm smiling to myself as I picture what a few swims each week might net me in upper body conditioning and definition. I can feel a lot of muscles being recruited which normally might prefer their more casual lifestyle. They’ll save most of their thoughts for post swim feedback I’m quite sure.

Swimming in this water is giving me a fresh perspective on the Bay area. I can already tell I'll spend more time in the water as I appreciate the arresting views of the Bay. I can see Angel Island, Alcatraz, Tiburon, Sausalito, Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate Bridge, barges, piers, boats, people on the beach, people in the water, there are hundreds of spotty clouds in the clear blue sky. I’m almost overwhelmed by the sensory overload.

As for other reasons to further my swimming exploration, I feel the Type-A runner surfacing in me even here in the water. He is already calculating how long it will take me to build up the experience, skills, and endurance to undertake a Golden Gate Bridge swim or similar venture. I observe another experienced swimmer gracefully cutting through the water like a knife and try to appreciate how his stroke differs so that I can emulate.

After 27 minutes of laps and rest in the water I start swimming back towards shore, eager to warm up and reflect on the experience. I towel off in the sun, shivering and quickly bound up the stairs to the sauna for more warmth.

Twenty minutes in the sauna helps out but not tremendously, I am still quite cold and shivering and I leave the club in search of sunshine and coffee. I enter a Starbucks a block away and emerge with a big Venti drip coffee and hopes of regaining my proper core temperature. As I walk uphill on Hyde street I am still very much cold and not sure what to do.

I have my itunes playing…my coffee in hand… and I am wearing my running gear. What’s a fellow to do? I have over an hour before my track session at Kezar. A mantra I've heard before and love states “When in doubt, run uphill.” So I start running up Hyde Street, coffee cup in hand. This is a steep incline in some places probably 30-45% grade.

It feels great to warm up and my legs aren't even complaining yet. The coffee running at first seemed ridiculous but going uphill keeps my cup fairly even and nets almost no spillage. I am smiling and laughing nonetheless at the ridiculous image this must pose for people passing by, in the trolley, in a car, and walking.

Fully warmed up by the time I crest the top of Hyde Street I resume a fast walk and return to neighborhood exploration curious mode. There are quite a few great restaurants in the Russian Hill and Nob hill neighborhood. On one particular block I see several wine bars and find a great restaurant called Luella.I stop to view their menu which has a great Prixe Fixe offering, and I walk inside to feel the good energy as I exchange pleasantries with the hostess and take a business card.

Moving on down Hyde Street I alternate running and walking and as he sun sharply descends, I turn right onto Fell Street to venture through the Panhandle to Track workout.