'Toe Girl' Tina's Barefoot Alternative Adventures

New Barefoot and Minimalist Running Research

2012-01-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Two new papers have been ePublished ahead of printing in the Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise journal out of Dr. Daniel Lieberman's lab at Harvard University.

Effects of Footwear and Strike Type on Running Economy concludes:

"Minimally shod runners are modestly but significantly more economical than traditionally shod runners regardless of strike type, after controlling for shoe mass and stride frequency. The likely cause of this difference is more elastic energy storage and release in the lower extremity during minimal shoe running."

Foot Strike and Injury Rates in Endurance Runners: a retrospective study concludes:

"...Runners who habitually rearfoot strike have significantly higher rates of repetitive stress injury than those who mostly forefoot strike... One hypothesis, which requires further research, is that the absence of a marked impact peak in the ground reaction force during a forefoot strike compared to a rearfoot strike may contribute to lower rates of injuries in habitual forefoot strikers."

Essentially, these two papers suggest that forefoot strikers have fewer injuries than heel strikers and that no matter your foot strike pattern, if you run in minimal shoes, your running is more efficient with improved running economy.

I'm taking away from these two conclusions that forefoot strikers who run in minimal shoes are more efficient and have fewer injuries compared to heel strikers who run in conventional shoes. Sounds to me like ingredients included in a recipe for maximized efficiency and minimized injury...

Speaking of running news, stay tuned for some EXCITING developments in the coaching related area. Announcements are coming soon!

Back at the Track

2012-01-05T19:44:00.002-07:00

As all the sidewalks and paths have been icy where I live, I've returned to running at the indoor track.

The indoor track at Spray Lake Sawmill Family Sports Centre

To keep it from being too boring, I thought I'd try a variety of shoes and see which ones I like best for indoor track running. I always start out running a few laps barefoot. Then I put on some shoes (and socks if necessary), run a few more laps, switch shoes, and repeat. Below are the pics of the shoes I ran in my last time at the track and some thoughts for each model.

No shoes: best barefoot feel (hehe), not that grippy, felt like I was landing too far laterally on my forefoot (I haven't figured why that might be), very quiet landing, got quite a few looks from other runners.

VIVOBAREFOOT Lucy Lites: AWESOME track shoes, my preferred shoe for running on the track, excellent grip, felt like I was running super fast, no shock absorption (how I like it), felt like I was landing on the medial forefoot more easily than barefoot, not as quiet as barefoot, love the uniformity of the outsole, ADORE the width, no need for socks with their super soft inside, kind of hot even without socks.

New Balance Minimus Trail Zero: despite their being designed for trails, I like them for indoor track running because of their excellent flexibility, a little high in the stack height, outsole absorbs some impact making for a cushy run (which I don't particularly enjoy, I like no shock absorption whatsoever), love the width, need socks because the inside is kind of rough, good ventilation, not too loud on the track (in terms of sound but not colour).

Soft Star Moc3: soft inside, great width, really loud slappy sound, good ventilation, decent grip, surprisingly uncomfortably cushy on the track.

Vibram FiveFingers Performa Jane: great grip, very quiet, quite comfortable upper, no shock absorption, but I can feel the edges of the pods underfoot which is kind of distracting.

Switching shoes is a great way to make an indoor run more fun. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do that. Winter makes me miss some of my great barefoot alternative or minimalist shoes so indoor running lets me wear them for a while. At least until Spring arrives. :)

Gift from VIVOBAREFOOT

2011-12-14T13:55:00.002-07:00

The holidays arrived a little early for me! VIVOBAREFOOT sent me a beautiful gift that I wanted to share because it's so neat! They sent specially made VIVOBAREFOOT cookies from Eleni's New York, a hard copy of Lee Saxby's Proprioception: Making Sense of Barefoot Running, and a thoughtful card. Thanks Michelle and Lizzie, you're the best and I wish you both a happy New Year to come!

And the cookies are VERY yummy!

Hiking with the Dogs

2011-12-14T13:48:00.003-07:00

My family decided to have a bit of a snow day yesterday. We drove out to Bragg Creek with the idea that we'd do some snow shoeing. Turns out that the snow wasn't all that deep out there and most of the trails had been groomed. We decided to hike with just our boots instead.

Again, I had the dilemma of which boots to bring. I decided to bring my old pair of hiking boots from the pre-minimalist footwear days. I don't have a pair of minimalist boots that would work well with snow shoes. I think it's one of those few times when you probably want a rigid sole beneath your foot.

It was the first walk I think I've done in conventional footwear in over three years! Here are some observations I made:

I missed feeling the ground
The boots were surprisingly wide enough for my feet
My feet were warm the whole time
They are so heavy!
Walking on snow and soft ground wasn't so bad
Walking on asphalt felt like I was walking on a wedge despite the miniscule heel rise the boots have
There are times when a conventional shoe isn't a bad idea (ie, snow shoeing)

Here are some pics from the hike. Snow days are great! :)

Take 1: With dogs

Take 2: Without dogs

Icy Neo Trails

2011-12-14T13:38:00.002-07:00

It's often a dilemma for me to pick which shoes to wear for a walk with the dogs (I know, such a rough dilemma to have but, believe me, I'm grateful at this point because it wasn't always this way). The other day, we went for a walk and it had snowed quite a bit and was icy on all the sidewalks and paths. I chose to wear the Neo Trails and am so grateful I did for this particular walk.

We ended up walking along the snow covered paths around our neighbourhood and it was beautiful. We decided to cut across the frozen creek to the other side instead of walking all the way down to the bridge and back. The creek is usually QUITE frozen by this time of year. Apparently, this is not the case this year.

Much to my surprise, one of my steps made my foot fall through the ice into the water below. Thankfully the creek is not deep this time of year and there was only enough water to go up to my ankle (the rest was frozen).

This post is about how grateful I am that the upper in the Neo Trail is hydrophobic. Most of the cold creek water beaded away from my foot and didn't soak it through. The only part of me that got wet was just above the throat of the shoe. Had I not been wearing water resistant footwear, I might have been in big trouble getting home in the cold and snow with a soaking wet foot. Because most of my foot was dry, I easily made it home before the cold set in too deep in my ankle.

In addition to their fantastic water repellant properties, they also have incredible grip in the snow and they're warm enough for temperatures down to -10C (with socks, of course).

Can you tell which shoe fell through the ice?

Road Tripping

2011-11-21T16:47:00.001-07:00

My spouse and I just returned from an 8-day road trip to the U.S. and back. We drove south through Alberta, crossed the border into Montana, drove through Idaho, Nevada, and reached California. We stayed in Auberry, CA for three nights where we learned how to ride dirt bikes through Rich Oliver's Mystery School (if you've ever wanted to try dirt biking, I would highly recommend going to Mystery School, Rich and his wife, Karin are wonderful hosts and teachers). We drove back up through California, along the coastal highway in Oregon, across Washington, a little ways through Idaho again, across the border into British Columbia, and then back home to Alberta.

It was a trip of three seasons: we drove through snowstorms on the way down as well as beautiful fall colours and experienced summer again in California. On the way back, it was the reverse until we reached winter again in northern Washington.

Why would I write about my road trip on a blog about being barefoot (or it's alternative of minimalist footwear)? Because sometimes it's hard to pick the best shoes for travelling. I often find it a dilemma picking which shoes to pack before going on a trip; I'm often limited in space. This trip I brought my Soft Star Moc3s, the VIVOBAREFOOT Evo, and the VIVOBAREFOOT Boxing Boot (they just arrived to review).

So what did I wear? Mostly the Moc3s. I find they are really very comfortable for road tripping. They feel like slippers and have plenty of room to wiggle my toes wide. On the occasions where we got out of the car to see up close what we usually drove by at 70 m/hr, I enjoy the extremely minimal sole and their amazing ground feel. I loved being able to feel the squishy ground at the Redwood National Forest in Oregon and the beach beneath my feet at the ocean. They were even fine in the snow as long as I didn't need too much traction. :)

And here are some pics of our trip:

Yes, I'm actually barefoot! The ocean is a little cold this time of year but I did manage to run along the beach and into the cold water. This picture was taken after the dip.

A little further along the coast from the dip. The Soft Star Moc3s are perfect travelling shoes.

You can't tell, because I'm so small in the picture compared to the enormous redwood tree, but I'm wearing the Moc3s. The ground covered in redwood needles was wonderful to feel through the minimalist soles.

Introducing Barefoot Banter

2011-11-11T14:36:00.001-07:00

Al and I decided to try something new with The Living Barefoot Show recently. I had such a great time talking with Caity McCardell at Run Barefoot Girl (check out the link for her interview of me here), that I wanted to include Caity more in The Living Barefoot Show. Therefore, the idea for Barefoot Banter was born. It's a new format of show where Al, Caity, and me talk about interesting topics in the barefoot world. It's not investigative reporting by any stretch, it's more three friends chatting about topics that interest us. If you've ever wanted to hear me try not to sound like an idiot, check out the first of our Barefoot Banter episodes. There are plenty more to come.

VIVOBAREFOOT Evos Coming to their Inevitable End

2011-10-29T13:14:00.000-06:00

I am sad to say that my VIVOBAREFOOT Evos are starting to fail. Although, I have to say that I am VERY happy with how well they've lasted and performed over the year and half that I've owned them.

These have been my go-to shoes ever since they arrived in the mail. Because I write reviews for Living Barefoot, I get a lot of shoes in the mail, some are winners and some definitely are not. The Evos quickly became my favourite pair of minimalist footwear for errands, walking the dogs, and most especially running. I even wore them on several hikes in the mountains. They are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I have EVER worn. I don't know how many kilometres I've put on them but quite a few of them have been in rocky, rooty, muddy, thorny, and downright difficult conditions for any shoe, let alone a minimalist shoe.

How are they failing, you might ask? The mesh on the upper is starting to rip and become holey. I hit a rock pretty hard once recently with the very top of the shoe (I was surprised and grateful I didn't break a toe on that one) and it tore the mesh open there as well. I'm totally impressed that the TPU cage is holding fast so I'll probably continue to wear them despite my pinky toes starting to poke through the mesh on the sides.

The sole is holding up well also. These are my favourite road running shoes as well and the sole, although definitely showing wear, still has a lot of life in them yet.

Despite their beginning to fail, I know that if I had abused a pair of conventional shoes this way, they probably would have failed a long time ago. I have other minimalist footwear whose uppers have not lasted so well so long. And I have other minimalist shoes whose soles have not lasted so well with far fewer kilometres on them than these. These Evos have been well-loved and brutally abused (at least compared to any pair of shoes that I have ever owned).

Because I love them so much, I'll probably keep wearing them but I think it's time to buy another pair soon...

Here are some pics of my beloved and abused year and half-old Evos:

Beloved Injinjis

2011-10-29T12:45:00.001-06:00

I have loved Injinji Toe Socks since I received my first pair as a race souvenir at a 5 Peaks race several years ago. Since then, I've been slowly growing my collection and have come to realize I wear them probably over 95% of the time now. Why would I write about toe socks on a 'barefoot alternative blog'? Because I think they are a healthy product for our feet as they allow absolute freedom of ALL the toes. I find whenever I wear regular socks now, my toes feel squished and constricted. I wiggle my toes a lot and stretch them out after standing for a long time (which I do a lot because I have a standing desk to work at) so love that I can stretch all my toes out as far as they can go when wearing Injinjis.

A friend recently asked me what kind she should buy so I thought I'd write a post about the different kinds I have so she can decide which pair (or pairs) will work best for her. What better way to do that than with pictures? So here are some pictures and captions of the different models of Injinjis I have. Keep in mind, these socks aren't new and are well loved. :)


Performance Series Original Weight Mini-Crew Black. Just above the ankle, mid-weight toe sock great for running and hiking in minimalist shoes or just wearing around the house.

Outdoor Series Mini-Crew Slate. Wool toe socks which are the thickest and warmest Injinjis I have. They are quite warm around the house but don't fit well in tight shoes. They are great for cooler temperature walks or hikes with boots or a wider shoe. The wool doesn't conform to the feet as well as the synthetic material does but they are definitely not itchy against the skin.

Performance Series Eco Mini-Crew Rainbow Black. These have become my favourite Injinjis, mostly because of their colours. :) They are mid-weight synthetic socks but come in funky rainbow colours. They are the same thickness as the Original Weight Mini-Crew Black toe socks above so are also great for running and hiking but mostly I wear them for more casual outings as I don't want them to get stained with dirt.

Performance Series Lightweight No-Show Grey. The thinnest and smallest of my Injinjis. They really don't show much while wearing any minimalist shoe. Because they are so thin, they fit very well in tighter shoes. They probably won't last as long as the mid-weight socks, however, and don't provide that much warmth, which isn't really the point of them. They are a thin interface between your skin and your shoes and do a great job preventing blisters.

Performance Series Lightweight Mini-Crew Black. I've folded down the top edge in the picture to show that, if you want, you can have Injinjis that don't show any brand markings, not that Injinjis' are obtrusive in any way. Still a thin interface between your skin and your shoes but won't show any stains.

Performance Series Lightweight Mini-Crew Grey. I ran a muddy trail with these and, although they performed beautifully, I haven't quite gotten the dirt stain out of them yet. These have become my go-to toe socks for trail running. :)

Performance Series Lightweight Crew Black. These fit great under boots! A thin interface between your skin and your footwear that go up mid-calf. I wear these a lot with my motorcycle boots.

That's my current collection. They are all well-loved and worn much.

When do I go back to wearing conventional socks? The only time I've found I wear regular socks is riding my motorcycle when it's cold (between 0-5C). Because Injinjis have separate toe pockets, they're like gloves for your feet. Regular socks are like mittens; they keep the heat in a little better and the warmth evenly distributed across your toes. Although I can wiggle my toes in my motorcycle boots, the lack of activity doesn't allow me to create enough body heat to keep my toes warm enough in such cold weather with separate toe pockets. But my toes are definitely NOT as happy in regular socks as they are in toe socks!

NUUN Addiction

2011-10-29T11:48:00.003-06:00

Back in May, whilst in New York for the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program, my dear and lovely friend Barefoot Angie Bee introduced me to NUUN. I've been hopelessly addicted ever since.

To begin the tale, I should probably talk about what happened in New York. At the time, Angie was a regional rep for NUUN so had brought a bunch of samples to share with the attendees of the coaching program. I was a little skeptical at first because I had only ever tried Gatorade powder in water and I liked that quite a bit at the time. The day before the coaching program started, Angie and a friend of ours from VIVOBAREFOOT had a lovely day touring New York City. We walked all over Manhattan and across the Brooklyn Bridge, sight-seeing all day long. It was a gorgeous day and we all had a great time. We finished the day with dinner at a Brooklyn Pub, which was great, until we all got home. All three of us had a touch of food poisoning. The next day, the first day of the coaching program, Angie and I were still feeling the previous night's effects and I didn't think I could keep any kind of breakfast in. Angie suggested I try some of the NUUN she brought so I could at least get in some electrolytes.

So I tried it.

And it was wonderful.

I don't even remember what flavour it was but it tasted great and it stayed in. My belly actually stopped hurting. And I was hooked. I drank NUUN in my water the rest of the trip. And now I drink a lot of NUUN at home, too, and especially when I exercise.

Here are some things I've learned about NUUN since my initial hit in New York:

I enjoy all the flavours I've tried and my favourite is probably Strawberry Lemonade
Kona Cola is the only flavour with caffeine (that I know of and that I've tried) and it tastes a lot like Coke but without the sugar
I drink a lot of NUUN while travelling to stay hydrated and have taken it on every trip I've been on since New York
It's super easy to pack in their little tubes and (if I remember) easy to mix and match flavours in one tube
I'm convinced that drinking NUUN keeps me from getting 'travel headaches' (which I used to get a lot and was probably due to being dehydrated in an effort to keep from having to find a bathroom in a strange place)
While drinking straight water at home, I often find it goes right through me and I have to pee every 20 minutes (I know, a bit of TMI) but if I add some NUUN to my water, over-peeing issues resolve immediately (they're probably due to some kind of electrolyte imbalance, I think)
I LOVE that NUUN has no sugar! Not only can I drink it all the time without worrying about calories but I don't have to worry about washing my water bottle out with soap every time I drink it because it doesn't grow bacteria (this is especially nice when travelling where I've found international water alone can make my bottle smelly after only a couple of days)
If I have NUUN available while exercising, I tend to drink A LOT (because it tastes so good) so for short hikes or run, I"ll leave the NUUN in the car and bring water so I don't run out on the course
I like NUUN so much better than Gatorade now because I can control how many calories I take in separately from my water and electrolytes
I don't have any sorbitol issues but have found that some people can have sorbitol intolerance problems (which are apparently no fun at all)

I am grateful to Angie every day that she introduced me to NUUN (thank you so much, Angie!). If you haven't tried it and want to, it's available at a number of sport-related stores or online, of course.

NUUN flavours I've tried

Long Time No Post Update

2011-10-29T11:13:00.000-06:00

I dislike leaving blog posting for over a month but I have spent the last month writing a lot for Living Barefoot and quite a bit of coaching for Living Barefoot Coaching. On to the details...

I've been trying to catch up on writing shoe reviews for Living Barefoot. With the increased popularity of minimalist shoes, Al and I found ourselves somewhat swamped (but in a totally good way) with shoe reviews this summer and fall. In the last month, I've written four reviews (which will all be going online in the next couple of weeks) and I still have four to go. Then another three shoes are currently in the mail for fall reviews. It's been a bit of a hectic writing schedule. I love that there is so much choice in the minimalist shoe market now. What a change from two years ago!

Living Barefoot Coaching is picking up as well. I've spent the last four Fridays coaching at Dynastream Innovations Inc. in Cochrane with Natural Running Lunch & Learn sessions. They've been so much fun and I've learned a lot. I really do believe that 'You teach what you want to learn' and with every client I coach or every presentation I give, I'm learning something, too. The people at Dynastream have all been great sports and I hope to continue coaching some of the wonderful people I met there.

In other coaching news, I've started 'running' form check-in runs with past clients. We start with a couple warm-up exercises and then head out on my favourite nearby trail, through the Cochrane Ranche. We focus on form on the way out and usually run to the 180 BPM cadence beeping out of the metronome. On the way back, we just have fun and enjoy the scenery.

Here are a couple pics of yesterday's group run:

Warming up


Heading out on the trail

In other coaching news, I'll be attending the 5 Peaks Central Alberta Mountain Equipment Co-op Night on November 6 from 6-8 PM. I'm hoping to have a lovely poster presentation (which is this weekend's assignment to get finished) and have more of a Q&A type of set-up then a formal talk. So if you're in the Calgary area and want to see what Living Barefoot Coaching is about in addition to learning something about the biomechanics of running, come on down to MEC November 6.

On to some catch-up blog posting...

Ghosting the Second 5 Peaks Canmore Race

2011-09-23T19:16:00.001-06:00

Back in June, I ran the first 5 Peaks Canmore race. Last weekend, I ran the second 5 Peaks Canmore race. I ghosted the race again, meaning I ran the race without a race number. I find it really takes the pressure off and makes the 'race' more enjoyable for me. I'm out there to run a fun course on my own terms at my own comfortable speed and don't have to worry about times and categories and all that jazz.

I woke up super early again for the race because I was volunteering at registration (as always). But this time, I rode my motorcycle to the race! My motorcycle is a relatively new acquisition and activity for me and I was super excited to ride by myself the 80 km to Canmore from home (and then back again after the race!). Despite the small amount of rain on the way there, it was a glorious ride.

Anyway, back to the race.

After I finished my volunteer duties, I had about 10 minutes to change and get ready to run. I could have taken as long as I wanted, I suppose, but it didn't end up taking me very long to get ready. My friend that was there racing even commented on how fast I was. :)

I started the race very shortly after the last of the racing pack left. It didn't take me very long to catch up to them. And then I started passing people. And pretty much kept passing people. This year is the first year I've been fast enough to pass anybody (thanks Lee!) so I still get a kick out of how much faster I run this year over previous years. I'd say I'm a middle-of-the-packer now instead of finishing very close to last.

The course was some rocky hills and some wide paths but mostly dirty, rooty, evergreen needle-covered single track. In other words: my favourite type of trail! I chose to wear the new VIVOBAREFOOT Neo Trails for the course to test them out for my upcoming review. They had amazing traction on the slick rocks, roots, and occasional mud. They were very comfortable on the flats, downhills, and not steep downhills due to their glorious wideness. On steep, technical downhills, however, my feet tended to slide to the top of the shoe because I couldn't tie them tight enough to keep my foot from slipping forward. Other than that, I would say they are the most comfortable trail shoes I've tried yet.

By the end of the 6th km, I was feeling like I would be happy to be finished running. There was one more km to go, though. I know when my body is tired because my form starts to fail: I start to lean forward instead of straight up and my trail leg gets longer instead of as close to my centre of gravity as possible. I stuck it out and ran the last km.

The Canmore Nordic Centre is a gorgeous place to run and has awesome trails!

That's it for the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series this year in Southern Alberta. I hope all the runners had great races and hope to see you all next year!

At the end of the race. Happy to be done...

Tired form could definitely be better :)

ENDURE Review - Inspiring Athletic Theatrical Experience

2011-09-23T18:51:00.003-06:00

I recently had the pleasure and honour of participating in a presentation of ENDURE. The show is an athletic theatrical experience where the audience is as much a part of the production as the outdoor scenery in which it's set. I say 'participate in' rather than 'watch' because, as the audience, you flow with the show as a part of it rather than a bystander seeing it pass by.

ENDURE is a 50-minute walking/running theatre production set outside, conceived and written by my friend Melanie Jones. I believe that Melanie's original idea for ENDURE was to produce a piece of theatre that reflected her experience leading up to and including her first marathon. What she created was an emotion inducing, inspiration evolving, life reflective journey composed of sound, action, movement, and nature.

I had the singularly humbling experience to help Melanie choose the path for the production of ENDURE in Cochrane. When I attended the performance, even though I knew where we were GOING, I had no idea WHERE we were going. Melanie lead us on a journey through her thoughts, feelings, and life during moments of elation, desperation, despair, and epiphany that can reach ANY audience member on an emotional level.

The theme of the production might be getting through a marathon but it really parallels the challenges and journey of life.

ENDURE is starting it's fall production run this weekend in Brooklyn, NY. If you need a little inspiration or want to experience a wholly different kind of theatre, check out http://www.runwomanshow.com/ for details or to buy tickets.

#ENDURE

VIVOBAREFOOT Training Clinic Site has Launched

2011-08-25T17:41:00.004-06:00

The VIVOBAREFOOT Training Clinic site has launched and is THE location to learn how to 'Master the Skill of Barefoot Running'.

The site includes a link to Lee Saxby's ebook Proprioception: Making Sense of Barefoot Running, which explains why proprioception is so important for human locomotion, how to run barefoot correctly, and exercises to improve the skills of running.

The site also includes a vast Resources section with a huge library of Training Videos to help you with your exercise technique and a Research section for those who want to learn the science behind barefoot running.

And my personal favourite section: the Find a Coach page that can direct you to the nearest VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coach, which includes yours truly.

There's also a section where you can book a course to Become a VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coach yourself and details on how the course and certification works.

Check out the new site to start your journey to mastering the skill of barefoot running!

Living Barefoot Coaching Clinics Coming Up in Alberta

2011-08-21T12:46:00.003-06:00

Calling all Alberta Barefoot/Minimalist Runners!

I have a couple of Living Barefoot Coaching Introduction to Natural Running Clinics coming up this week in Calgary and Edmonton:

MEC in Calgary on August 23, 2011 at 6:30 PM

Fast Trax Run & Ski Shop in Edmonton on August 27, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Check out the Living Barefoot Coaching site for the details and to register!

Email me at: coaching[at]livingbarefoot.info for promo codes for significant savings from the regular-priced registration fees!

Trail Running/Hiking the Sibbald Ole Buck Loop Trail

2011-08-21T12:21:00.004-06:00

I recently ran/hiked the Sibbald Ole Buck Loop Trail with a dear and lovely friend. She is just getting into trail running so I thought I'd take her on an easy trail near where we live. It was a lovely 1-hour run from the Sibbald Viewpoint parking lot and a lot of fun!

It had just finished raining so I decided to wear my Inov-8 Bare Grip 200s and it was a wise choice with all the mud. The way out was overcast and dry but on the way back it started to pour. In Alberta, we have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." It was an apt saying for the day. :)

The beginning of the trail was wide and a little rocky through the trees. There is a lovely view from the top of the cliff to the flats below. Then we crossed the road, ran back into some woods, and over a bridge. The creek below was flowing nicely from the recent rain. Then we came upon a meadow with chin-high grass (it was chin-high on me anyway, it was over my friend's head). We both got covered in grass seed. Then we started uphill. There's quite the little climb on this trail at the beginning of the loop on the Ole Buck Trail. We walked up the hill and stopped a few times to enjoy the view (because what's trail running if you don't stop to look around at the scenery?). Then it started to rain. We thought we'd missed it but another cloud came rolling in at our farthest point out. By then we were soaked from the wet grass and muddy trail so it wasn't a big deal. We ran back down the hill over a lot of downed trees until we reached the grassy meadow again. We stopped at the creek on the way back to wash the second round of grass seed from our skin and clothes. The water was blissfully cool to stand in. Then we high-tailed it back to the car in the downpour that hit us.

After the run, I took some pics of the view and trail. It was a great day and made us both feel grateful for the laid back lifestyle we lead that allows us to go trail running in the middle of the day every once in a while. :)

Living Barefoot Coaching Clinic in Las Vegas

2011-08-07T14:43:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week, I held my first ever international Living Barefoot Coaching Clinic in Las Vegas, USA. The staff at REI Las Vegas-Boca Park were fantastic: so friendly and helpful. The clinic was a small group of four VERY enthusiastic individuals. Audience participation is always welcome and these guys were incredible with their willingness to try the exercises. They asked great, well-thought out questions. I've even heard back from two of the attendees with additional comments and questions.

This clinic exemplified for me the saying, "You teach what you want to learn." I hope I never stop learning new things about people, delivery, myself, and most importantly how to run naturally.

Thanks Las Vegas!

The Sweat Collective Workout #4

2011-07-27T15:33:00.003-06:00

Some time ago, The Sweat Collective Workout #4 was issued and it's been sitting on my t0-do list ever since. This one has been a real struggle for me. The introduction for said workout looked like this:

"Imperfection is okay, and often its acceptance is the key to having fun, to innovation, and to recognizing your worth and success."

I can honestly admit to being accused of being a perfectionist. In fact, Lee Saxby looked right at me during the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program when he said, "For all you perfectionists in the class, the best you can hope to achieve with this level of training is to help 80% of the people out there." He's a strong proponent of the 80/20 rule and for very good reasons (which we learned all about during the course).

Melanie Jones faced the challenge of reaching perfection and wrote about it in How to be Better Than Perfect, which I highly recommend reading. This post was also the inspiration behind the latest Sweat Collective Workout, which is:

How have you reacted when you have ventured off the path to perfection? How do you handle the effort to try again? How has this affected you in your training, creativity, in your life?

My struggle with perfection (at the moment) has to do with my running form. For my natural running form clinics, I've videoed myself running on a treadmill several times now. I analyze my form the same way that I analyze my clients' form. It is definitely NOT perfect. I would like it to be perfect. I want to be able to demonstrate what perfect form is to my clients. Sadly, this cannot be the case. It's hard for me to admit that after two months of running with the new form, it's still not where I want it to be. I just have to work at it harder.

This assignment, though, made me realize that it's okay that I'm not perfect (no matter how badly I may want to be). I have something to work towards. I think if I didn't have details to work on, running might be kind of boring. I currently have the excitement and anticipation of seeing my running form evolve through future videos. Despite the irksome deficient details of my running form, it is FAR superior to what it used to be (thanks Lee!). All I can strive for is to do the best that I can do every time I run out the door. It seems, what is true of running, is also true of life. :)

Thanks Melanie for the eye opener!

By the way, if you are in the Calgary or Cochrane areas, ENDURE is coming to town. For show dates, times and to buy tickets, check out: http://www.runwomanshow.com/dates/. I've already bought my tickets and I can't wait! #ENDURE

Link Updates

2011-07-24T12:21:00.002-06:00

I've been kind of lax lately in updating my review links but I've finally caught up. I've updated the 'Products & Reviews' page with all the latest product reviews I've written and their links. I've updated the 'Barefoot Resources' page with new videos of Lee Saxby and Dr. Daniel Lieberman. And I've updated the 'Barefoot Blogroll' page with one of my new favourite bloggers: Caity McCardell who writes RunBarefootGirl.com.

Check out the new link updates via the page links above!

Living Barefoot Coaching coming to Las Vegas

2011-07-14T15:18:00.003-06:00

What better way to travel is there than mixing business with pleasure? I'm going to Las Vegas in a few weeks for a friend's wedding and thought it would be great if I could present a clinic while I'm there. And now it's going to happen!

Living Barefoot Coaching (yours truly) will be presenting an Introduction to Natural Running clinic at REI Las Vegas-Boca Park on August 1, 2011 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. For more information (or to register), check out http://www.livingbarefoot.info/coaching/.

I can't wait!

**Update** The clinic has been added to the REI calendar. You can check out the REI page at: http://www.rei.com/event/28422/session/35035.

Run Barefoot Girl Interview

2011-06-24T20:19:00.002-06:00

I had the pleasure and honour of being interviewed by Run Barefoot Girl's Caity McCardell a little while ago. Caity has completed her editing magic and posted the interview recently. It was definitely weird for me being on the other end of the microphone questions. I probably could have gone on and on, however, as we were talking about my favourite subjects: minimalist footwear and natural running.

Here's the link to RBG Episode #6.

For those not familiar with Run Barefoot Girl, it's a website and podcast dedicated to 'celebrating women who run barefoot.' It's DEFINITELY worth checking out!

Long Review - Inov-8 Bare-Grip 200

2011-06-23T20:52:00.006-06:00

Seeing as my last post mentioned that I ran the 5 Peaks race in Inov-8 Bare-Grip 200s, I thought I'd link to the long review I recently wrote for these shoes.

Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/06/review-inov-8-bare-grip-200/.

It's so great to finally have a pair of minimalist shoes with phenomenal grip. I have literally landed on my butt several times in either mud or snow because the shoes I had didn't have enough traction on slippery surfaces. The Bare-Grips are fantastic for traction. I have yet to find mud too slippery to slide in with these shoes and I've gone looking for it! It rained here for a week solid and I still couldn't find mud to slip in.

After the initial disaster of running in them without socks (and, oh yes, I still have the scars), they've been totally awesome. Running in the rain is such a pleasure again. And passing people on the race course who couldn't get traction: AWESOME!

Ghosting the 5 Peaks Canmore Sport Race

2011-06-21T22:54:00.005-06:00

I've been volunteering at almost every 5 Peaks Trail Running Series race in Southern Alberta (although the website calls it 'Central') for the last 7 years (I took a few races off during 'the year of pain' aka 2009). This past weekend was the Canmore Nordic Centre Race #1 and I was volunteering again at the registration table.

Some years I run some races, some races I don't run any and just volunteer. Although I wasn't sure about being able to race the almost 6 km loop, I thought I'd ghost the race (run the course without a race number). I'm so glad I did because it was such an awesome course with amazing weather!

I started the course two minutes after the last people passed the start line. I was at registration until after the first wave of runners went through and then I got to use the washroom (finally :) ) and change for the race, hence the late start. I ran in my inov-8 Bare-Grip 200s because I knew the course was muddy in sections (my spouse had set the course markers the day before the race).

I couldn't see anyone ahead of me when I started so I was all alone in the beginning. After the first dip and corner, I saw my spouse course marshalling, I gave him a quick kiss and went in search of other runners. It wasn't long before I caught up to some race walkers and passed them. Then it wasn't long before I caught up to the tail end of the last wave of runners. We were in the trees by this point so I called, "On your left" and passed them, too, and finished with a "Thank you." Then I repeated these words for a good 10 minutes straight dodging trees and runners. I thought I passed about 50 people during the course of the race but it was closer to 100!

I very recently started wearing a heart-rate monitor again when I'm running. I found that with the new running form, my heart rate goes pretty high and I've been trying to keep it between 155-170 BPM on training runs. I wore it for the race for my time and to keep an eye on my heart rate. Sometimes it goes into the 190s when I'm racing and I didn't want to run THAT hard this time.

Turns out I ran the course in exactly 41 minutes. According to the results, that would have placed me 135th overall out of 238 runners. The only reason why I was curious about where my standing would have been is because when I used to run these races (back in 2008 and earlier), I placed no better than 5th to last EVER. Therefore, my conclusions are thus: either I can run faster now (kudos to Lee Saxby for teaching me the new running form) or the racing crowd at 5 Peaks has grown much bigger and therefore there is a broader range of runner speeds, or both. I don't care which, really. It was AWESOME to run that course and very motivating passing people as it really hasn't happened to me that often in my racing experience.

In addition, the Bare-Grips were an AWESOME shoe for the race. I had absolutely NO problems with grip or traction on even the slipperiest, thickest mud. One guy even said to me, "Those like like cleats, they're performance enhancing." To which I replied, "No, they're just shoes." I saw another racer wearing the same shoes and I asked her how she likes them and she said, "They're fantastic." I couldn't agree more.

So it was an incredible day overall. Long but still incredible. We woke up at 4:30 AM and wasn't done race stuff until 5:30 PM. It was a great course. Running was amazing fun and I had a smile on my face the whole time!

Powderface Creek Trail Hike and Run

2011-06-15T12:31:00.008-06:00

Yesterday I hiked/ran my first mountain trail of the season. My spouse, my dogs, and I ran the 12 kilometre Prairie Creek and Powderface Creek Trail Loop.

There was a lot of uphill walking but tons of flat and downhill running. I wore my VB Evos with only 4 mm of sole and it was awesome! (I can't imagine hiking in conventional hiking boots anymore.) The Evos had just enough grip for all the uphills and flats, although a little more might have made me feel better about bombing down some of the steep downhill sections (bring on the Neo Trails coming this fall!). But there were no falls or slips so YAY! There was a ton of mud and creek crossings, too. The trail reminded me of my Death Racing days.

I'm only mildly sore today, mostly in the quads, and not at all in my feet. I'm pleasantly surprised by how strong my feet felt yesterday and how great they feel today.

Here are some pics:

My First Living Barefoot Coaching Clinic

2011-06-07T21:29:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I hosted my first ever Living Barefoot Coaching clinic. It was an Introduction to Natural Running clinic and was held at Trailblazers in Cochrane, Alberta. The format was a two-hour lecture on the biomechanics and skills of running, motor skill milestones for natural running, and exercises to improve the skills of running. I worked on the slides for about a week before I was happy with the presentation. I provided demonstrations of most of the exercises (and I do all of them almost daily) as well as videos of my current running form (it's not perfect but it's a good starting point).

I think the clinic went well. My audience seemed enthusiastic at the end about what they'd learned. I was a little nervous at first; it was my first presentation to an audience in six years. I videoed the clinic so that I can work on its delivery for future presentations. I also made a little movie (my first movie ever) of the introduction to the clinic. I'm a little nervous about sharing it but here it is anyway:

The Sweat Collective Workout #3

2011-06-07T21:07:00.003-06:00

The latest Sweat Collective Workout asks the question: What fuels you?

For me, that answer is both simple and yet complex, that being: PASSION.

It's my passion for the quest of pain-free movement that fuels pretty much everything I do. After being so broken in body as to be horizontal for the better part of a year with motor and sensory nerve dysfunction and a great deal of pain, the drive to become pain-free in general and to move again pain-free was not only necessary for my physical health but my mental health as well. That drive is fueled by passion. That passion translated into a near obsession (using the word 'near' might not entirely be necessary in that statement) of minimalist footwear because I can move in them without the pain I used to feel while wearing conventionally heeled footwear. It's the obsession for the minimalist footwear that brought me to write this blog and writing for Living Barefoot. It's researching for writing for these websites that brought me to learn about the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program and learning about appropriate biomechanics of movement. It's attending the Coaching Program that has taught me how to achieve good posture, what the skills of running are, how to improve these skills, and (most importantly) how to coach it to others. Now I have a new passion that fuels me: sharing this knowledge with others so that they too can be pain-free. #ENDURE

New Standing Desk

2011-06-07T20:50:00.003-06:00

I like to keep this blog dedicated to 'barefoot adventures' but I think this piece of news qualifies: I (and my spouse) built a platform to convert my sitting desk to a standing desk. I think it qualifies because I'm barefoot most of the time while standing (unless the house is cold and then I'll wear socks :) ).

Why would I want a standing desk, you may ask? After learning the plethora of information on biomechanics, I learned how bad sitting is for humans. I have had bad back issues in the past (if you know me well, you might laugh at the understatement) so sitting has been a big problem for me. Standing just seemed like common sense.

Why didn't I convert to a standing desk sooner? Standing has a lot to do with good posture and I have had terrible posture most of my life. Therefore, standing was not very comfortable for me either. But after learning a plethora about posture and HOW to achieve good posture easily and without thinking about it (but feeling it), I now know how to stand properly (at least I think so).

So far the results have been a much happier back (and happier me as a by-product of the lack of pain) and somewhat more tired legs. I'm working on reducing the muscle action required for standing and balancing better but it is a process. My feet are a little more sore after standing for a long time but they are adjusting, too.

Here's a pic of the new setup (old desk, new platform):

VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra and Jazz Long Reviews

2011-06-07T20:43:00.004-06:00

I've been crazy busy with Living Barefoot Coaching lately and have been lax whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifith blog posts. I have finished writing the full-length reviews of both the VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra and Jazz, and they are both online on Living Barefoot.

Here is the link for the Ultra: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/05/review-vivobarefoot-ultra/

I've pretty much been living in my Ultras since I got them. They are so comfortable to wear. I usually don't like wearing shoes without socks (a habit forced by my climate) but these are so comfy to wear without socks. I've gone running in them several times without socks and love them.

Here's the review for the Jazz: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/05/review-vivobarefoot-jazz/

I love the casual look of the Jazz. Finally, I have a pair of comfy minimalist shoes that look good with or without socks!

My First Book Review - Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

2011-06-07T20:39:00.002-06:00

Not surprisingly, the first book review I chose to write was for Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. In addition to being a great read, it's also incredibly inspirational, and been called a great 'impetus for the barefoot movement'. I (and the other participants of the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program) received signed copies of the book. :)

Here's the link for the full-length book review: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/04/book-review-born-to-run-by-christopher-mcdougall/

My First Coaching Review

2011-05-27T22:09:00.002-06:00

My friend Julie was gracious and generous to accept being my second case study 'client', and my second coaching experience ever, on my road to becoming a VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coach. I actually called her from Manhattan before I left to tell her about the course and to ask if she'd be one of my case studies. She was excited (to say the least). :)

She was so easy to coach. She listened intently to my presentation and practically predicted where I was going next with it. She easily took to the exercises I gave her and incorporated the 'feeling' of them into her running.

Julie wrote a review of the coaching session on her blog and you can check it out at: http://runningwithdoggies.blogspot.com/2011/05/run-skills.html.

Thanks Julie for being such a great sport, an enthusiastic athlete, one of my guinea pigs, and for the kind review. :)

VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coach

2011-05-25T11:00:00.004-06:00

I am officially a VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coach! I just got the email from Lee Saxby, the VB Coaching Program Director (and genius coach extraordinaire).

Let the coaching officially begin...

For details, check out the Living Barefoot Coaching website. I've added One-on-One Natural Running Coaching Sessions and a Natural Running in a Day clinic to the list of clinics I now offer.

Definition of the Perfect Minimalist Shoe

2011-05-17T10:40:00.002-06:00

During the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program course, Lee Saxby, the participants, and I decided on the definition the perfect minimalist shoe. This is what we came up with in my own words:

1) Allows for maximum proprioception for the intended purpose. The purpose defines the trade-offs necessary for thermal and puncture protection.
2) Allows for appropriate shifts in the body’s centre of gravity in terms of sole thickness and heel to toe differential.
3) Allows for complete natural movement of the foot in terms of room and flexibility for bone structure and elasticity as well as proper heat dissipation.

My shoe reviews from now on will include how well the shoe satisfies this criteria.

It's important to keep in mind that the purpose of the shoe is incredibly important in this definition. For example, the puncture protection necessary for a trail running shoe is going to be much greater than that necessary for a casual or work appropriate shoe. A winter shoe is going to reduce proprioception because of the extra insulation required for thermal protection.

The Sweat Collective Workout #2

2011-05-17T09:14:00.002-06:00

The latest Sweet Collective Workout (for which I deeply apologize for being late in accomplishing) for #ENDURE asks the questions: How did others react when you began sharing your experience? What do you ENDURE that you feel you can easily share with and explain to others, or do you find it difficult to share your journey? How do you approach talking about commitments to change or improve your life? Do you feel others are accepting of your commitment to change, or find your ideas "crazy"? So without further adieu, here are my answers:

How did others react when you began sharing your experience? If we're talking about making the switch from conventional, padded, high-heeled shoes to minimalist shoes, most people were skeptical and baffled. Most people at the time didn't understand why I thought minimalist shoes were such a good idea for me. They were baffled at the appearance of shoes with toes for sure. (Although many people are still occasionally confounded with the look of VFFs.) There were many questions as to why, which I tried to answer with the best reasons that I had: Because they strengthen your feet. They're good for your posture. They make you walk/run better. Because my back no longer hurts when I walk while wearing them!

What do you ENDURE that you feel you can easily share with and explain to others, or do you find it difficult to share your journey? I do not find it difficult in the least to share my journey. I love to share my story. I lived with a lot of pain before I switched to minimalist footwear. My feet hurt with plantar fasciitis and my back hurt with every step when I walked in conventional shoes with a positive heel. When I switched to minimalist footwear, my feet got stronger and the PF finally had a chance to heal. My back stopped hurting with every step. Because my heels were level with my forefoot, my posture straightened out and my back wasn't carrying any unnecessary load. I thought they were miraculous!

How do you approach talking about commitments to change or improve your life? Very simply: conventional shoes hurt me, minimalist footwear does not. When the choice is living with pain or without it, it's a very simple choice for me.

Do you feel others are accepting of your commitment to change, or find your ideas "crazy"? Some people still find wearing minimalist footwear difficult to accept because they don't 'look' like regular shoes. Whether or not other people accept my choice doesn't really bother me. I know what works for me and realize that it may not work for everybody. Ultimately, it's my choice and I wholeheartedly believe it was one of the best things I have ever done to improve my life.

Tales from New York City

2011-05-16T12:33:00.000-06:00

My trip to New York was utterly amazing in every way. I learned so much about biomechanics, coaching and people in general that I will undoubtedly be processing for quite some time. In short, it was truly life-changing for me.

I arrived at Newark on Saturday after an uneventful flight (other than a lovely conversation with a local Calgarian and a plane-shifting wind close to landing), followed by an easy and direct shuttle ride to the Chelsea International Hostel (which I highly recommend for low-budget travellers). It was late when I arrived so I hung out at the Hostel to prepare for the following day of sight-seeing. (I ended up moving to the Gershwin Hotel on Thursday night, which was totally awesome and would recommend to any New York tourist no matter the budget as they have a wide range of rooms available.)

On Sunday, Angie Bee Hotz (super mom and barefoot runner), Sabra Ellingson (Operations Director for VIVOBAREFOOT), and I walked all over Manhattan soaking in the sights. We met at the Chelsea Piers Sports Centre, where the VB Coaching Program was going to take place, and then walked and rode the subway around Manhattan checking out Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building, Battery Park, and ended the tour with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We managed to squeeze in quite a number of sights in a short time. It was so much fun hanging out with Angie and Sabra! We ended the day with a late supper at the Brooklyn Public House and I headed back to Chelsea to get some rest and recharge for the beginning of the VB Coaching Program course.

Me and Angie Bee at the American Museum of Natural History

I don't want to go into detail about the course, it would take me a week. It was outstanding! I feel incredibly honoured to have participated and been given the opportunity to learn from Lee Saxby and meet the wonderful people who also participated in the course with me. Congratulations need to be given to Lee for the incredible success of the event. Not only does he possess a profound depth of knowledge in human movement but also the skill to share that knowledge clearly and effectively to his students with a wide range of backgrounds. Thanks must be given also to Michelle Hinsvark, the VB U.S. In House Marketing Executive; she was completely invaluable to the running (haha) of the course.

Basically, we were taught the biomechanics of human locomotion, how to diagnose inefficient and/or injurious running form, and how to coach correct form using video analysis and drills. I am excited to apply what I learned to not only improve my own form but that of any runner interested in becoming a more efficient and potentially uninjured runner.

The basics are already available to anyone who wants to learn. I highly recommend Lee Saxby's ebook Proprioception - Making Sense of Barefoot Running. It outlines the concepts and exercises important in the evolution of a not only a barefoot runner but anyone who wants to develop their sense of proprioception, the most important sense that humans have in developing good biomechanics.

Me and Angie Bee after the course

Me and (genius coach extraordinaire) Lee Saxby

Miscellaneous Updates

2011-05-06T09:40:00.003-06:00

I prefer to write one blog post per subject but my 'Barefoot Adventures' have taken over my life recently, in a totally awesome and creative way. So here are some updates as to what's going on in my world:

I wrote my first Book Review for Living Barefoot. Al and I decided to venture into writing book reviews and I thought the first one should be for Born to Run. It's definitely a different writing style and process than writing shoe reviews. In fact, Al was so surprised with it he initially doubted that I wrote it. :) Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/04/book-review-born-to-run-by-christopher-mcdougall/.

My WOODWAY Treadmill Review was posted. I had so much fun at Stenia Health and talking with the owner, Kelsey Andries, that I had to write more about the WOODWAY treadmills. There was a bunch of material that I'd taken out of the Barefoot Running Treadmill Review that I felt still needed to be shared so I wrote the WOODWAY Treadmill Review for this material. If you're looking for a treadmill to run barefoot on, these were undoubtedly the best of the 20 treadmills I tried. Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/04/review-woodway-treadmills/.

This past May 1 was International Barefoot Running Day! As I had run the day before (in my Evos), I celebrated by going for a barefoot walk with my family. I'm working up to barefoot running outside (after many barefoot runs indoors this winter) so decided to start this year's barefoot running program with some barefoot walking (as suggested in the Complete Idiot's Guide to Barefoot Running). I have a long way to go before I'm ready to run barefoot on concrete, my tender feet have some sole strengthening to do. But spring is here and the weather is warming up so I can look forward to many more barefoot walks, progressing to barefoot runs, in the coming months.

Living Barefoot Coaching has taken off! I have two clinics booked already and plan on looking for many more venues when I return from the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program in New York. This is super exciting for me and I can't wait to share the joys of Natural Running with experienced runners and those looking to start or get back into running.

Stay tuned for stories from New York City! Off to pack...

Announcing Living Barefoot Coaching

2011-04-24T12:32:00.004-06:00

I am super excited to announce the creation of Living Barefoot Coaching. It's taken a couple of weeks of intensive work but the Coaching website is now online with descriptions of the two types of clinics I am going to offer (to start with), a Coaching Calendar, and an online Registration for clinics. I even have an Introduction to Natural Running clinic already booked for the end of May! (Thank you Richelle and Tri It Multisport!)

I was thinking earlier this winter that I'd like to start teaching people how to run barefoot or with a natural stride but I didn't know where to start. Then I found out about the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program and I got my answer. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to learn how to coach from "the world's best barefoot running coach" Lee Saxby. Now I can share my passion for barefoot/minimalist running to groups of people who are interested in learning how. I can't wait for May!

The Sweat Collective Workout #1

2011-04-18T15:31:00.006-06:00

I have joined The Sweat Collective, an interactive community of bloggers, athletes, artists and those who recognize life is the ultimate endurance sport. The Collective is in support of Melanie Jones' RunWomanShow ENDURE, opening in New York City in July and coming to Alberta in August for a number of performance.

The first workout as part of The Sweat Collective is to share who you are and why you decided to be involved in the Collective. Therefore, this blog post is dedicated to my first Collective workout.

Who am I? The answer to that question is, to me, an existential quandary that depends on one's perspective. From the perspective of the writer of this blog and a member of The Sweat Collective, I am:

A runner
A barefooter
A minimalist shoe enthusiast
A soon-to-be natural running coach
A sharer of a passion for pain-free movement
A friend to the great and talented and inspiring Melanie Jones

Why did I decide to be involved in The Sweat Collective? Because it gives me yet another opportunity to share my passions for natural running as well as the joys and celebrations in pain-free activity. Because I want to share in the journey of ENDURE and learn how other people feel about enduring and endurance. Because I believe in Melanie's vision and want to support its inception into the world.

To learn more about The Sweat Collective and the ENDURE RunWomanShow, check out the Facebook page. You can also read more at Follow Your Bliss: about how ENDURE's team and the project grew exponentially from a simple idea, and The Courage to Cross a Zillion Start Lines: on everyday endurance and transitioning to natural running (and a humbling mention of me). #ENDURE

Running Two Days in a Row

2011-04-16T21:34:00.000-06:00

It's not very often that I run two days in a row. I went for a run yesterday in the sunshine and today, well, see the picture below. We're having a bit of a spring blizzard at the moment, not cold, just snowy.

Me covered in melting snow after spring running

During yesterday's run, I had a bit of an epiphany: a faster cadence really is easier. My right foot was hurting a little about three quarters through my run. I thought it might have been from landing too hard. Then I thought if I had a slightly faster cadence, maybe it would land more softly. And it really did! My foot stopped hurting, my arms dropped, my back got even straighter, my knees lifted a little higher all from speeding up my cadence a little. I'm pretty sure my heart rate went up a bit but I don't really know because I don't run with a heart rate monitor anymore.

This morning, my calves and feet weren't as tired and tight as they usually are the day after a run so I thought I'd go again. Just a really short run, though. I tried the faster cadence the whole run and it went really well again. Very comfortable. And I tried Angie's breath trick: in in in out out out with my steps. I liked it when I read it and thought it was really easy with the higher cadence.

A note about cadence, I counted it a couple of times last year and it was always 84 BPM. When I tried to run at 90 BPM my heart rate shot up (that was when I did wear a heart rate monitor). At the time, I didn't think it was worth the higher cadence but now I think differently after yesterday's and today's experimenting.

I've read that a cadence of 90 BPM is the optimum turnover for maximum utilization of your body's own elastic capabilities. I'm certainly willing to keep trying to achieve 90 BPM to test if this works for me. After three years of running in minimalist shoes, there are still new things to learn. I CAN'T WAIT to learn from Lee Saxby next month in the VIVOBAREFOOT Training Clinic!

Spring Firsts

2011-04-14T20:13:00.002-06:00

In the last couple of weeks I've done a few 'Spring Firsts' that I'd like to share and some realizations that came with them.

First Spring Barefoot Walk

Warm concrete is much more pleasant on the soles than cold concrete
Ice really is as cold as it looks to walk on
Pea gravel (the stuff they coat the roads with here when it snows) is NOT comfortable in the slightest
My already pansy feet got pansier over the winter (not surprising realization there)
I really can't wait for it to warm up here so I can go on more barefoot walks because, despite the above complaining, it felt WONDERFUL to be free of socks and shoes

First Spring Road Run

After several months of running completely barefoot on treadmills and the indoor track, my feet got wider AGAIN (my feet are now too wide to comfortably run in my VFF TrekSports :( )
The VIVOBAREFOOT Evos are the most comfortable road running shoes I own at the moment (they are the best at accommodating my newly wider feet)
I need to be careful running across pea gravel-strewn roads, they are really slippery
Running with wet feet in shoes is not as bad I thought it would be

First Spring Trail Run

It would be lovely to have a shoe as comfortable as the Evo with a little more traction.
Trail running is MUCH more fun than road running (not really a realization, just a reminder)
You get an incredible foot workout when running on trails in minimalist shoes (again, just a reminder)
Again, I can't wait for it to get warmer so I can enjoy some more (slightly drier) trail runs

It's nice to be reminded about how great warm, sunny weather is. I was reminded that it's spring by Angie Bee's latest blog post with flowers picked for her by her sons. I'm looking forward to spring flowers and warm weather. In case you're wondering why the lament, this is what I woke up to this morning:

Spring in Alberta

Thankfully it melts fast these days. The latest spring snow dump should be gone in a few days. Bring on the warm Alberta weather (it's fleeting but it does happen on occasion).

WOODWAY Treadmill Day

2011-04-12T14:22:00.005-06:00

While in the process of writing my barefoot appropriate treadmill comparison review, I had the pleasure of spending several hours at Stenia Health & High Performance trying out their WOODWAY Curve and Desmo treadmills as well as chatting with the head coach and owner, Kelsey Andries. Kelsey was a fountain of information about her treadmills and a pleasure to talk with. I'm currently in the process of writing a WOODWAY treadmill specific review and the helpful information Kelsey shared with me. Stay tuned for the link to that review when it is finished. :)

The WOODWAYs were the first treadmills I tried out for the barefoot treadmill review. They also turned out to be the best. Hands down. No contest. The BEST! I liked running on both of them because of their total lack of temperature increase of the running surface and the ideal suspension. The Curve was my favourite though because the workout running on it was so hard. The non-motorized, curve design forces good form and mindful running because you always have to be aware of your driving your pace.

I could go on and on about the Curve and Desmo but I think I'll just share some pictures of them share the full-length review when it comes out on Living Barefoot.

WOODWAY Curve and Desmo

Curve

Curve Running Surface

Close-up Curve slat

Desmo

Desmo Running Surface

Close-up Desmo slat

VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Course

2011-04-07T21:23:00.004-06:00

I'm super excited to share that I will be attending the first VIVOBAREFOOT Certified Coaching Course next month in New York. The instructor is international barefoot running expert Lee Saxby, who also hosted the 'Learn to Run Barefoot' video linked in the Resources section above. The course will be a week long and based on the eBook recently published by VIVOBAREFOOT called Proprioception - Making Sense of Barefoot Running.

And one of the best parts about going to the course, is I get to learn along side Barefoot Angie Bee! She's a true pioneer of barefoot running and an inspirational woman.

If you or your organization is interested in having an experienced and soon-to-be newly certified coach teach a seminar or class on barefoot/natural running, feel free to comment on this post to let me know.

Barefoot Runners Society Treadmill Recommendations Post

2011-03-31T21:18:00.003-06:00

The Barefoot Runners Society posted a shortened version of my treadmill review yesterday. The short version includes my criteria for a barefoot appropriate treadmill, the best treadmill for barefoot performance, the best treadmill for barefoot value, and my recommendations when considering buying a treadmill specifically for barefoot running. Here's the link:

Don't get burned: What to consider when picking the best treadmill for barefoot running

Barefoot TJ at BRS is an inspiration to the barefoot running world. Thanks TJ!

Barefoot Running Treadmill Review

2011-03-23T10:48:00.006-06:00

After four months, from inception to delivery, my Barefoot Running Treadmill Review is online (the link is below).

I originally conceived of the idea of 'What is the best treadmill for barefoot running?' after speaking with Corrado Giambalvo about my lack of barefoot running in the winter months. He recommended checking out the WOODWAY Curve. He raved to me about the unique and innovative curve design that imposes a natural running style. Then I started thinking about the difference between running on a conventional, flat-decked treadmill in shoes versus barefoot. I searched online for reviews of treadmills for barefoot running and didn't find any. I then decided to undertake the challenge of finding out what is the best treadmill to run on barefoot and what are some considerations that need to be made.

I set out to find as many treadmill brands as I could and to run on each completely barefoot. I occasionally encountered skepticism from fitness store employees but, for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised at how inviting and enthusiastic people were about my idea and barefoot running in general. I will probably write more on the process and the people involved in bringing the treadmill review into being; there are so many to thank for helping me write this review. But until then, you can check out the full-length review at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/03/special-review-treadmills-for-barefoot-running/

Sharing Passions

2011-03-21T18:05:00.002-06:00

It's not every day you get to share your passion with the people in your life who inspire, motivate, and impassion you. I shared a conversation with my good friend Melanie Jones the other day about natural running. Melanie is a self-proclaimed writer, performer, lion tamer, sillypants, defender of dreams and most especially creator of ENDURE: RunWomanShow. To me, she's an inspiring woman and artist who shares her passions daily with the people around her (for which I am grateful to be among).

During our conversation, I recounted how and why I switched to wearing minimalist footwear for walking and running. I told her about the positive changes I've benefited from due to the switch.

She's written two phenomenal blog posts about her reasoning and progress. They were humbling for me to read and I wanted to share them with you:

The Courage to Cross a Zillion Start Lines
Natural Running Transition Process: Day #2

Again, welcome to the world of natural running, Melanie. I wish you a glorious, exciting, beautiful, and triumphant adventure. I can't wait to hear and read more about it.

New Barefoot Jewellery

2011-03-13T09:52:00.005-06:00

It finally feels like spring is coming as we've had some above zero temperatures here recently. In light of the warmer weather, I thought I'd post some pictures of my barefoot jewellery. My mom made me a pair last year and I loved them so much, she recently made me another. The original pair is purple and the new pair is a bright blue.

If you're interested in buying some barefoot sandals/jewellery, there are a number of online retailers including Ladybead.com, Jewels by Michele, and Seaheart.

There's also an eHow on how to make your own beaded foot jewellery.

Calgary Herald Article on Barefoot Running

2011-03-07T20:24:00.002-07:00

It's not often that the local paper picks up a story on being barefoot. This week, the Calgary Herald's Trent Edwards wrote an article about "The bare facts on shoeless running."

Trent talks to Christopher McDougall about his opinions on barefoot running and shoes, Eric Orton about coaching barefoot running, and Dr. Reed Ferber from the University of Calgary about his upcoming research on barefoot running.

STEM Footwear Sneak Peek

2011-02-15T21:00:00.004-07:00

I had the opportunity to see (and take pictures of) the coming-soon-to-the-minimalist-market STEM Footwear Primal Origins shoes. To say that I'm REALLY EXCITED for these shoes to become available would be an understatement. I've tried A LOT of minimalist footwear and these are definitely worth waiting for. They are super light, extremely comfortable, immensely lightweight, and phenomenally flexible.

For the full Sneak Peek and a plethora of pictures, check out: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/02/stem-footwear-sneak-peek/

When Andrew Rademacher, the co-founder of STEM Footwear, says that they tried to provide a solution to something that's currently missing in the minimalist shoe industry, he's telling the truth... and I think they succeeded.

I can't wait for August.

Long Review - VFF TrekSport

2011-02-12T20:14:00.006-07:00

My VFF TrekSport review just went online on Living Barefoot.

Here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/02/review-vibram-fivefingers-treksport/

I am really surprised at how much I've worn these shoes since I got them. Usually I don't wear VFFs that much in the winter because they aren't that warm in cold temperatures. It hasn't been an overly warm winter, I just really like the TrekSports. :) They are really comfortable and have excellent grip on snow. I even went walking on a frozen lake with them!

I like the TrekSport more than the Treks because the TrekSport upper fits my feet better.

The TrekSport has come out in really cool colours for this season, too. I know at least one person who's REALLY excited for the pink and black ones.

Barefoot Runners Society is Back

2011-02-12T20:09:00.001-07:00

The BRS went offline for a few weeks for upgrading but it is now back online to the public. I really do enjoy reading the Gear & Footwear Forum (go figure :) ) and am so glad that it's back.

If you have not checked out the BRS before, now's a great time!
http://barefootrunners.org/

Living Barefoot Show Interviews VIVOBAREFOOT

2011-02-03T10:36:00.003-07:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show was just posted. Al and I interviewed Terra Plana employees Sabra Ellingson (US Operations Director), Amy Schrader (Director of US Wholesale), and Michelle Hinsvark (US Marketing Executive). I've corresponded with each of them for a while now and it was so great to speak to them and ask them questions about the future directions of VIVOBAREFOOT.

Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/02/living-barefoot-show-episode-27-interview-vivobarefoot-2011/

Building a Better VIVOBAREFOOT Brooklyn Boot

2011-01-18T20:52:00.005-07:00

Dear VIVOBAREFOOT designers,

I live in Alberta, Canada and have to cope with a great many days that are colder than -20C here in the winter. I'm so grateful that you make the Brooklyn boot as they are the only minimalist footwear I've found that is warm enough in this extreme cold. I've spent this winter almost exclusively wearing the Brooklyn boot for walking outside.

There are many features of this boot that I love: The off-road sole is fantastic for gripping on snow and every other surface I've tried (except smooth ice, which is understandable). The smooth leather is easy to snow-seal and does not show salt stains like suede does. The upper is waterproof, which is a must for slushy snow. The depth of the sole and thickness of the insole prevent all cold from the ground from transmitting to the feet. The sole is flexible enough to feel the contours of the hard-packed snow trails. The faux shearling lining is incredibly warm and keeps my shins and calves warm in -30C (and I have been out when it's that cold, not including the windchill).

May I suggest two changes to make this boot even better?

1) It would be beneficial to the fit of the boot if it had laces and a zipper, similar to last year's Dundan boot. Because the Brooklyn slips on and there is no way of customizing the fit, I find that my foot slides around in the boot when walking either uphill or downhill. It is most noticeable walking downhill as my toes get squished against the end of the boot, and after long walks, can be uncomfortable for quite a while. Laces would allow one to customize the fit around the ankles and calves, and prevent slipping. To preserve the waterproof feature, the tongue could be continuous with the upper part of the boot, like a fold, which would keep snow and water out. The zipper would make the boot easy to get on and off without affecting the fit of the boot each time the boot was taken off, and would be much easier to do up. It could be a waterproof zipper, like those included on waterproof rain jackets, in order to preserve the boot's waterproof feature. It could also have a flap of material covering it on the inside of the boot to preserve the boot's incredible insulating feature and prevent the zipper from touching the skin.

2) It would be great if the toe box could be a little wider, again similar to the Dundan last. I find that the toe box is smaller in the Brooklyn than the Dundan and can wiggle my toes less. It might be because of the added insulation in the Brooklyn, but thick socks definitely do not fit in the boot with the insole inside. A wider toe box would allow for thick socks and more toe wiggle room while the addition of the laces would keep the foot from moving around inside the roomier forefoot.

This is the first winter I've been able to comfortably walk outside in the extreme cold of the Canadian winter. Again, I'm very grateful for the Brooklyn boot and thank you for designing the best minimalist boot on the market to date.

Yours sincerely,

Tina

Long Review - VIVOBAREFOOT Evo II

2011-01-11T10:52:00.003-07:00

The full-length review of the VIVOBAREFOOT Evo II went online on Living Barefoot last week (I've been a little busy and forgot to post the update). They are just like the original Evos but with a denser nylon mesh upper for increased water resistance and a microfiber lined interior for added warmth and comfort. They are fantastic cooler weather running shoes.

Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/01/review-vivobarefoot-evo-ii/

Barefoot Running at the Track

2011-01-10T16:23:00.003-07:00

Today was another barefoot running day at the track. On days like today, meaning cold and windy, I wish I had a barefoot-appropriate treadmill but that hasn't happened yet. So, I ran at the track today.

It started out like any barefoot run, waiting for my feet to warm up. I thought I'd run for half an hour because I haven't run much in the last few weeks. But then something interesting happened: I saw a woman running passed me in VIVOBAREFOOT Evos! I was really impressed with a) her running form b) her running speed and c) her running shoes! I smiled a great big smile.

Then I saw another guy running in Evos!

Then I saw yet another guy running in Evos!

Three people all running in Evos at my small-town track! I was amazed.

The next time the last guy I saw in Evos came around the track, he stopped to talk with me on his walk break. He asked me why I ran barefoot and I replied, "Because running in running shoes hurts my back and running barefoot does not." He then asked if I'd read Born to Run and I replied with something like, "I had it preordered before it came out." We chatted about his Evos for a bit and he said his wife and son were both running in them (the other two people on the track at the time). He said he got the Evos from his daughter for Christmas because she runs a store in Calgary that sells them. He said he thinks they're great and likes running in them. And then he was off running again.

A little while later, his wife was on a walk break so I talked to her for a bit. She also loves her Evos and finds running in them very comfortable. She told me all about their daughter's store and about their son (who was running with them on the track). And then she was off running again.

It was so great to meet a family of Evo runners! And that they were curious about my barefoot running.

The store in Calgary, which I'm really interested in now, is called Riva's Eco Store and sells not only shoes, but all kinds of non-toxic, environmentally friendly products. The owners "strive to provide products that are both healthy for the planet, and healthy to those that use them". If you're interested, here's the link: http://rivasecostore.com. I think I'll go visit the store one of these days on an upcoming trip into the city.

And my run turned out to be over 40 minutes long. It felt much shorter due to the engaging conversations. :)

VFF TrekSports at Home

2010-12-28T20:48:00.004-07:00

Last week I ran in Arizona in my TrekSports, today I ran at home. I ran on the semi-hard packed snow trails around my neighbourhood, across the frozen creek, and on the slightly snow-covered asphalt path in the next neighbourhood. It was about -7C.

The grip of the TrekSports is PHENOMENAL on snow. It felt like my feet had teeth that bit into the snow. I had no trouble with traction on any of today's snow, from hard-packed, to soft-packed, to loose fluffy snow. I walked some pretty steep uphill and downhill too and had no grip troubles.

I had decent traction on the frozen creek, too. Because the sun was shining, the smooth ice was a little tacky where it wasn't covered in snow.

It took about 1 km for my toes to warm up. Until then, my feet were a little uncomfortable. Once I and my feet warmed up, the run was very comfortable.

When I finished the run, my feet were wet but I don't know if it was from melted snow or sweaty feet. Either way, they weren't cold even after walking the last 10 minutes of my run.

I think I need to run the trails more, my feet felt a little weaker than usual but I haven't had much opportunity to run the trails since the snow fell. I'm looking forward to more of it now. I'm hoping for more (relatively) warm winter weather.

VFF TrekSports in Arizona

2010-12-27T15:54:00.003-07:00

I recently returned from a vacation in Arizona. I was very fortunate to have received my new Vibram FiveFingers TrekSports just before I left. The trip was a wonderful opportunity to test them out.

I find the upper of the TrekSports, made of coconut fibre, more snug than the original Treks, made of kangaroo leather. The coconut fibre is quite stretchy while the kangaroo leather doesn't stretch at all but has cutouts in it with stretchy elastic near the topline to make the shoes easier to get on. My foot doesn't slide around inside the TrekSports at all because of the extra snugness and stretch in the material. Which is a big plus because I do tend to get blisters on my big toes wearing the Treks because my toes slip around inside the toe pockets. I was a little concerned that I couldn't wear the TrekSports with socks but this turned out to not be a problem at all. They are quite comfortable with Injinji socks on.

I took a stroll in the desert in Tucson and was surprised at how well the sole of the TrekSports performed. I stepped on some pretty sharp and pointy cactus spines and nothing went through the sole. I even looked down once to find a piece of dead cactus stuck to the side of the shoe near my arch and I didn't feel it.

The grip is phenomenal on rocky terrain. My feet didn't slip at all on any of the desert surfaces I walked; either flat, downhill, or uphill.

The new padded heel cup is really comfortable. I think this is a great addition to this shoe compared to the original KSO.

I'm looking forward to comparing the TrekSports to my other VFFs. I'll be writing a full review for Living Barefoot in the next month or so. Until then, here are some pics of them in the desert.

Barefoot Runners Society 'Stomp of Approval'

2010-12-07T13:23:00.002-07:00

If you haven't already noticed the new addition to the right side of the blog, I was just approved for the Barefoot Runners Society's (BRS)'Stomp of Approval'.

If you don't know about the BRS , it is a great site with lots of barefoot and minimalist running information, tips, blogs, forums, and much more. It's also a site where BRS Chapters across the U.S. and internationally are organized. I joined the International and Canada Chapters.

I highly recommend checking them out. Here's the current link: http://www.barefootrunners.org/build2/.

(BTW, the tab for the 'Stomp Roll' or blogroll of other BRS-approved sites is located near the bottom of the page, in a row of tabs, just above current forum information.)

Long Review - Vivo Barefoot Brooklyn Boots

2010-12-06T19:16:00.003-07:00

The long review for the Vivo Barefoot Brooklyn boots has been posted on the Living Barefoot site.

Here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/12/review-vivo-barefoot-brooklyn-boot/

I love the Brooklyns. This is the first winter that I have footwear that don't hurt my back when I walk, are comfortable, AND are warm. Mostly I was missing the warm part. Like I say in the review, most minimalist footwear have either too thin a sole, too little insulation, or both to keep my feet warm in -20C. Here in Alberta, it's -20C A LOT.

Although I mention in the review that the Brooklyns don't grip well on ice, I don't have a single pair of minimalist footwear that does. Now I think the challenge to the industry will be to design a pair of comfortable, minimalist footwear that is good for -20C and can grip on ice. I think it's a tall order.

CMAJ Articles on Barefoot Running

2010-12-06T12:09:00.002-07:00

The Canadian Medical Association Journal recently published two articles about barefoot running. The articles look at both sides of the issues and basically conclude that there is no research currently available that says running with high-heeled cushioned shoes or running with a barefoot style is beneficial or detrimental and agree that more research is needed.

Here are the articles (with links):

The rise of barefoot running

Low-tech running shoes in high demand

My favorite quote out of the two articles is one by Dr. Daniel Lieberman, "The key thing is not being barefoot, but using a barefoot style, and not colliding into the ground with your heels.”

First Completely Barefoot Run of the Season

2010-11-21T19:13:00.002-07:00

I decided to run indoors on the track today as -20C (not including the wind chill) is a tad chilly for me to run in (I've done it but it's not the most enjoyable experience). And if I run on the track, it's always completely barefoot.

Some observations I noticed while running today:

• There is a huge difference in the temperature of the floor between the walls beside windows and those that are not
• Random dirt on the track (it must have needed sweeping) did not stick to my feet this year
• I needed a few walking breaks to give my foot muscles a break (I ended up doing 3 X 10 and 1s). They are obviously not as strong as at the end of last winter
• Thirty minutes was enough for my first time running barefoot this year
• My form could use some improvement as I ended up with a hotspot on one big toe and another small one on the outside edge of the ball of the same foot (it’s probably my form and not being careful enough rounding the corners, which were all in the same direction)
• You really can’t push off at all with no shoes (which I was observing everybody else doing in their shoes)
• Running really fast barefoot (or as fast as I can go) is more like flying than running because your feet are in the air much more than they are on the ground (as opposed to my usual plod-along but comfortable pace)
• I can’t wait to do it again :)

Winter Wonderland in Brooklyn Boots

2010-11-18T21:36:00.004-07:00

Snow! Glorious Snow! (This is a good attitude to have when you live in Canada and the white stuff is around for a good six months of the year and can fall in any month of the year :) ).

We've had almost a foot of snow where I live and my new Vivo Barefoot Brooklyn boots could not have arrived at a better time. I wore them outside for the first time yesterday in approximately 6 inches of snow and today in about a foot. They are fabulous! If you need a warm winter boot that grips well on snow and ice, still lets you feel the ground contours, and has absolutely no positive heel, then these will work out well for you!

My previous minimalist winter boot options, the Vivo Barefoot Dundan boots and Feelmax Kuuva boots, both have the same problem: their soles are too thin to prevent the frozen ground coldness from coming through to the inside of the boot, which results in frozen feet. This is NOT a problem with the Brooklyn Vivo Barefoot Off-road sole, which has an outsole thickness of 5 mm (2.5 mm sole base and 2.5 mm grip depth). Standing on ice and frozen ground was not a problem for me with only a thin pair of socks. I have left the removable insole in for now but I'll be testing the boots without it as well. Today it was -17C and my feet were toasty warm the whole time.

The boots are almost knee-high and the shaft of the boot has a faux shearling lining for warmth. My calves weren't cold at all in today's frigid temperatures (and there's no need to worry about wind chill).

If you're thinking of buying a pair, the Terra Plana website says that the Brooklyn is running TWO full sizes short and they are NOT exaggerating. I generally wear size US 8/EU 38, most of my Vivo Barefoot shoes are US 9/EU 39, and the Brooklyns are US 10/EU 40 and they fit well at that size.

I will be writing a long review of the Brooklyn boots for Living Barefoot, but until then, here are some pics of me in the snow with the boots.

First Run in Evo IIs

2010-11-15T21:47:00.006-07:00

There's nothing more motivational (for me at least) than that first run in a new pair of minimalist shoes. My new Evo IIs arrived on Saturday and today I got to go for my first run in them. I adore the Evo I and have been looking forward to the warmer version of them, the Evo II, for months now.

It was just as I imagined it would be: perfect. The Evo IIs fit almost exactly the same as the Evo I. They are a tiny bit more snug so I loosened the laces on them a little bit. They are MUCH warmer. Even when I wear socks, I can feel a draft with the Evo I. There is no such draft with the Evo II with the addition of the microfiber liner. The ground feel is phenomenal, the grip is great, and the fit is fantastic.

I can't wait to try them out in the coming snow (this week's forecast for my area is snow every day for the next five days). I'll write about running in them in snow as soon I get out in it.

Until the long review is posted on the Living Barefoot site (in about a month), here's a sneak peak at some pictures.

Long Review - Luna Sandals

2010-11-12T19:02:00.003-07:00

My latest long review has been posted on the Living Barefoot website: Barefoot Ted's Luna Sandal.

Here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/11/review-barefoot-teds-luna-sandal/

I think they are stellar running sandals. If you want the absolutely minimalist shoe for running, these are definitely for you!

Long Reviews - VFF Performa Janes, Women's Trek, and Flow

2010-11-04T11:44:00.004-06:00

I've written a bunch of minimalist shoe reviews lately and they've been steadily going online at the Living Barefoot Website.

For the long review of the Vibram FiveFingers (VFF) Performa Janes, here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/10/2253/

For the long review of the VFF Women's Trek, here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/11/vibram-fivefingers-women%E2%80%99s-trek-shoe-review/

And for the long review of the VFF Flow, here's the link:
http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/10/review-vibram-fivefingers-flow/
(This review was written more as a long-term review because my Flows are over a year old. They've proved to be extremely durable.)

Running in Luna Sandals

2010-10-19T16:43:00.003-06:00

I've decided that running in Luna sandals is more comfortable for me than walking in Luna sandals. I've never worn flip flops and it has taken me a long time to get used to the hemp lace of the Lunas between my toes. That said, I couldn't feel the laces at all when I was running in them. They are fabulous running footwear (when the weather's warm).

Because they have no upper, your toes can splay as far as they need to. There's plenty of breathability, too. There's just enough thickness in the sole to allow for comfortable running even on gravel.

I think they look so great with the suede footbed that I couldn't bring myself to wear them through the mud, even for the review for Living Barefoot (which is coming soon).

You really have to have strong feet to run in these for any length of time, however. The muscles in my feet were a little sore the next day. :)

Long Review - Kigo Curv

2010-10-07T14:00:00.003-06:00

My long review of the Kigo Curv went online yesterday on the Living Barefoot site.

Here's the link.

I think Kigo Footwear is a company that is definitely going places. They listen to their customers and adjust their shoe designs to reflect what they've heard. I'm really looking forward to what this company produces in the future.

In case you're interested in learning more about Kigo, we also interviewed Rachelle Kuramoto, co-founder and marketing director of Kigo Footwear, for the Living Barefoot show and her interview can be found here.

Foot Changes

2010-09-18T18:31:00.005-06:00

I wrote a similar post to this some months ago but I extended and updated it for the Living Barefoot site. It's about how my feet have changed over the last two years since I switched from wearing conventional shoes to minimalist shoes.

I think it accurately captures the changes that I've noticed in my own feet. I don't know if others will experience the same kinds of changes but most, I think, will experience some similar changes.

Here's the link: Foot Changes after Two Years Living the Barefoot Alternative

(And the pictures are of my feet. ;) ).

Luna Sandal Fitting

2010-09-08T19:13:00.004-06:00

I haven't had much opportunity to wear my new Luna sandals these days as autumn has arrived and summer is fading away (I'm a cold weather shoe pansy). I can tell you a little about fitting them, though.

The first pair that arrived was a stock pair with red leather lace. I thought they fit quite nicely when I was taking the pictures. I was sadly mistaken. When I walked around with them on outside, the lace between my toes was almost painful. It turns out the hole for that lace is in the wrong place for my feet. If you look at the picture, you can see that it wraps under my toes a little bit. This is not a good fit.

The second pair that arrived was a custom-holed pair, made from my own footprint, with hemp laces. The fit is MUCH better. The hemp lace is much softer and the holes are in the right place. As you can see in the picture, it does not wrap under my toes and is in the right place between my toes. I believe this is how the lace is supposed to look.

If you're having problems with your huarache sandals, check out the fit of the holes. Maybe they need to be in a different place. And tying is definitely an art! I've tried several different tying methods with my assorted pairs and usually go with what works best with each individual pair.

And thanks to Barefoot Ted and Jules Smuin for being so great!

I'm really looking forward to spending some time in my new Lunas. Let's hope the weather improves. The full review of the Luna Sandals will go online on Living Barefoot as soon as I can get some quality time wearing them. :)

VFF Women's Trek - First Impressions

2010-08-28T13:24:00.004-06:00

I've gone for three trails runs in my new Women's Treks. My biggest first impression is that they are much roomier than my previous VFFs. These are size W39 but the W38 would not fit the length of my left foot, I think (specifically my pinky toe). I have only worn them with Injinjis for this reason.

When I first put them on, I felt so high off the ground. They have an 8 mm sole and all the shoes I have right now are no higher than 4 mm (forefoot and heel). Once I walked in them outside, I didn't feel like they were so high.

On rocky terrain, they are awesome! No problems at all with grip on flat, up, down, or loose rocks. Absolutely no worries about stone bruising (and I have experienced bruising on the bottom of my feet from stones, it does NOT feel good).

On paths with vegetation, prepare to deal with plants getting stuck (and staying) between your toes and/or stopping to pull them out.

My one problem, which is probably just me, is the blisters on the bottoms of both big toes. I haven't worn VFFs much the last few months because I didn't have any that fit properly (my feet got too big for them) so my VFF callouses healed. Now I'm reforming them on my big toes, but the initial blisters don't feel that great. :)

Here are some pictures of my new Women's Treks:

The long review of the these shoes will be online on Living Barefoot in a few weeks.

My First 10K (Again)

2010-08-21T20:08:00.003-06:00

Today I ran my first full 10 km since I hurt my back. It was a really long time coming.

Last September I started running again after being completely inactive due to a herniated disc in my back, which had happened in January 2009. When I started running, I couldn't even sit yet (sitting didn't happen until this passed December). So I started running very slowly, for very short intervals, and always in minimalist shoes (at the time is was VFF KSOs). I started at 30 seconds running, 30 seconds walking, and I did three intervals. Every time I ran, I would add one or two intervals to that. Eventually I could run for a minute, then two, with 30-second walk break intervals between.

Today I ran my first 10 km (I wrote 'again' because before I hurt my back, I could run 10 km without a problem). The only walk breaks I took were to go up a few hills (I'm still working on hill strength). It took me almost a year to start from scratch to run 10 km. My only program was listening to my body and I'm very grateful for it.

Today's run was done in Vivo Barefoot Evos. I had no problems with them at all and absolutely no blisters. My feet weren't fatigued when I was running nor are they now. I did feel that my Achilles were a little sore after about 6.5 km but that was probably because my calves were tired and my form deteriorated. My knees were a little sore after the run because of the bad form but now they feel fine.

My back isn't completely better and I don't know if it will ever be 100% but I'm so proud of today's accomplishment. :)

VFF Performa Jane First Impressions

2010-08-19T20:52:00.005-06:00

I have tried out my new Vibram FiveFinger (VFF) Performa Jane shoes a couple of times at the gym now. My first impressions include that they are really cool looking. I love the suede and smooth leather look, the attractive button, and especially the driving-glove-looking holes in the upper.

I was originally concerned with how well the back of the heel would stay on because there is no elastic strap to tighten it around my heel but I haven't had any problems with slippage at all. The strap along the top does an excellent job of keeping the shoe on my foot. They are equally as comfortable as the Performas and definitely feel more secure.

I got the Performa Janes in size W39 because I've noticed that all my W38 pairs of VFFs are too small now for my left pinky toe and really cramp it. The W39 is the perfect size for the Performa Jane and I definitely don't feel like my foot is swimming in the shoe or any of the toe pockets.

I'll be starting Martial Arts in a couple of weeks and I'll be trying out the Performa Janes there too (if barefoot is not an option because of the gym rules or the floor is slippery). I'll update my impressions after I try them out doing some more rigorous testing activities.

Here's a sneak peak of a couple of pictures that will be included in the Living Barefoot long review, which should be online in about a month from now.

Learn to Run Barefoot with Lee Saxby

2010-07-30T11:56:00.002-06:00

This is an amazing video with simple tips to improve your running form. Lee Saxby delivers easy-to-follow, easy-to-remember tips to make barefoot running fast to pick up.

And I love Evos, too. :)

http://vimeo.com/12451532

Hiking in Evos #2

2010-07-28T10:27:00.004-06:00

My second hike in Evos was on a trail near/on Moose Mountain in Southern Alberta. It was mostly gravel but some meadow, moss, bog, mud, dirt, and grass. We hiked mostly uphill for just over an hour and then back down. I had no concerns or issues with walking on all that gravel. The Evos handle it very well. And again, no problems with grip either.

I remember my calves were quite sore for the next two days. I'm just getting back into hiking and with all that uphill, it wasn't too surprising that I was feeling it the next day.

The Evos are an incredibly comfortable hiking shoe and I highly recommend them for anyone for almost any terrain.

Here are some pictures (there's only two because we spent more time hiking than taking pictures):

Hiking in Evos #1

2010-07-27T20:12:00.006-06:00

Recently I started hiking in my Evos. I think they're great hiking shoes: they're light, flexible, grippy on dry terrain, and extremely comfortable.

This first hike is at a place called Sibbald Flats in Southern Alberta. The terrain is a mix of flat and hills, dirt, roots, grass, gravel, mud, and grass. I often couldn't help myself from running. :)

There are trees as far as the eye can see and the views of the Rocky Mountains are fantastic. The Evos were fantastic and performed excellently.

Here are some pictures (courtesy of my spouse):

Hiking in Evos #2 to follow tomorrow.

You are the Technology

2010-07-26T11:02:00.003-06:00

Vibram FiveFingers launched a new microsite for the Bikila. It is as creative as it is informative as it is provocative. I love it!

http://www.youarethetechnology.com/

You can click on the tattoos for more information, click on them again to return to the 'bigger picture', and click on the Vibram logo on the bottom left corner to return to the full screen view.

Barefoot Breakthrough - Completely Barefoot Running

2010-07-20T22:06:00.002-06:00

After my foray into barefooting in the rain today, I thought that it is finally time that I try completely barefoot running outside. I've run barefoot before on an indoor track so today was a first attempt at running outside sans shoes.

I started out with my Evo shoes and Injinji socks as I was going to do a trail run. I ran out and back on the trails with my shoes and socks on. When I finished the trail part and was back on the road home, I decided it was time to take off the shoes.

I ran on smooth black top asphalt through one of the near neighbourhoods. It was great! I didn't really feel much difference in my running form other than I probably step a little lighter. Cadence and speed were probably the same (for the end of a long run). I did feel the ground more though (obviously). The little rocks and cracks didn't bother me until I got to a section of 'sidewalk' that cars used to drive on. It was too rough for my new-to-barefoot-running tender feet so I walked this section. When I got back to concrete sidewalk, I ran again and didn't have any problems.

It was a great experience and I think I'll try more of it. Again, I was surprised that my feet were clean when I got home. Hopefully my soles toughen up a bit more so I can run on some slightly rougher terrain. And I really want to try barefoot trail running (because trails are my favourite).

First Barefoot Walk in the Rain

2010-07-20T14:29:00.004-06:00

Most days I walk to the mailbox completely barefoot. As I was about to step out my door today to see if my new review shoe packages have arrived yet, I saw that it was raining. I thought that today would be a good day for my first ever barefoot walk in the rain.

It was nice. The concrete right by my house was cold but the asphalt road was warm and wet. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest. My feet didn't get cold at all from all the water. And when I got home, my feet were clean. :)

I did feel kind of silly wearing my rain jacket and rain hat with no shoes, though. ;)

It was clearly time to try rainy barefoot walking because 10 minutes after I got home, the rain stopped.

(And sadly, no new review shoe packages yet. Even though I like barefooting, I still love trying new shoes to review for Living Barefoot.)

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 18 Released

2010-07-20T14:25:00.002-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show was released last night. Al and I interviewed Jimmy Tomczak, inventor of Paper-feet, paper-thin sandals made from reused billboard vinyl.

You can check out the show at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/07/the-living-barefoot-show-episode-18-we-interview-jimmy-from-paper-feet-com/

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Christopher McDougall Interview

2010-07-13T08:54:00.004-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show (Episode 17) was released last night. Al and I had an absolute fabulous time interviewing author of Born to Run, Christopher McDougall. I read the book last March very shortly after the book was released. It was an honour and a pleasure to interview Chris.

You can check out the show at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/07/we-interview-christopher-mcdougall-author-of-born-to-run/

And the show has a new MP3 format right on the site (in addition to being available on iTunes).

Kigo Footwear Available in Canada

2010-07-07T19:44:00.001-06:00

For all of us Canadians who have been wanting to order Kigo footwear in Canada, Fast Trax Ski and Run Shop in Edmonton, AB has just become the first distributor in Canada. Fast Trax is an excellent running store with a vast selection of minimalist footwear. They also ship shoes within Canada. I've been to Fast Trax many times and I am always impressed by the phenomenal staff.

To check out what Fast Trax has to offer, you can check out their website here.

In Kigo news, Kigo footwear will soon be offering two new models: the curv and the edge. The new models were produced in response to feedback from barefooters and minimalist shoe enthusiasts like you (and me)! I have the Kigo star and love them. I was wearing them today, in fact. :)

To see the new Kigo curv and edge, check out their website here.

Long Review - Vivo Barefoot Evo

2010-07-06T06:13:00.003-06:00

My detailed review of Terra Plana's Vivo Barefoot Evo running shoe just went online on the Living Barefoot site. In short, I adore them! I've worn them every day since they arrived. They are so comfortable I've worn them for just about everything: short errands, long errands, walking around town, hiking on trails, and especially running. I have had absolutely no complaints or issues with them. I'm seriously considering buying another pair. :)

You can read the review at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/07/review-of-terra-planas-evo-running-shoe/

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 16 Released

2010-07-06T06:10:00.002-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show was released this morning. Al and I interviewed Dr. Daniel Howell, the 'barefoot professor' from Liberty University. Daniel's recently published Barefoot Book explains why he enjoys living barefoot and why shoes fall short.

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/07/we-interview-daniel-howell-author-of-the-barefoot-book-on-the-living-barefoot-show/

Long Review - Vivo Barefoot Kali Shoes

2010-06-29T20:39:00.003-06:00

I just finished my review of Terra Plana's Vivo Barefoot Kali shoes and it is now online on the Living Barefoot website.

These are the shoes that I bought at Terra Plana's New York store. Although they needed to be broken in (a painful blister lesson) I do love them. They are a sharp looking shoe and perfect for any office environment if you're in to minimalist shoes (or if you're like me and can't wear anything else). If there's ever occasion where I have to wear a dress again (no doubt I will be hard pressed to avoid that kind of situation), I will wear my Kalis.

You can check out the review (and my attractive modelling feet) at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/06/review-vivo-barefoots-kali-shoe/

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 15 Released

2010-06-27T21:35:00.003-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show was just released. Al and I interviewed Michael Sandler: runner, coach, author, and all-around great guy! We had a fabulous time talking with him during the interview and we chatted for quite a while afterwards as well. I would really like to catch one of his barefoot running clinics. I'll have to keep an eye on his schedule. Or maybe, I'll have to see about hosting one of his and his lovely fiancee's clinics in Calgary....

You can check out the show at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/06/the-living-barefoot-show-episode-15-we-interview-michael-sandler-author-of-barefoot-running/

I AM A RUNNER!!!

2010-06-27T11:37:00.004-06:00

I have finally decided that I am a runner. I have changed programs recently. I'm doing the 'Listen to Your Body' program, which I learned from Dr. Lieberman at the Barefoot Running Clinic in Boston. I've been trying it for probably two months now.

I run with no tech: no heart rate monitor or GPS. It's been working great and very freeing. I run when I want to or feel like running, I walk when my heart rate gets too high or my legs/feet need a break, I walk up hills if I feel like it, I occasionally sprint up hills if I feel like it. I've been making super progress too. I've been running longer and stronger. I think my progress has improving much faster than it ever was when I ran a more regimented program (like 4 minutes running, 30 seconds walking times however many intervals I thought I could do). My body tells me when I need to slow down or speed up, when my legs are tired, when my arches need more recovery. I'm learning to listen to the big messages and even the more subtle ones. So now, I AM a runner.

I also recently returned from Vancouver, B.C. where I had a short vacation(thanks Susi). I walked and ran A LOT on the trails of North Vancouver. It was fantastic! I spent almost every minute of the trip in my new Vivo Barefoot EVOs, which I absolutely adore (the long review of those will be up on Living Barefoot soon and I'll post a link when it goes up). I took some pics while on one of my walks. This is Lynn Canyon. Enjoy!

Barefoot/Minimalist Running Advice

2010-06-15T15:09:00.004-06:00

Jason Robillard, the author of the Barefoot Running Book, recently asked me if I had any 'helpful tips' for barefoot/minimalist runners. My best tip is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It will tell you when you should slow down or when you're ready to speed up. It will tell you when you need to step lighter or when you can plow through some terrain. It will tell you when you are ready to increase your cadence or when you need to slow it down. It will tell you when you can go out and run again or when you need a little more time to recover from the last run. Learning to listen to your body is crucial in barefoot/minimalist running and experience will help in interpreting the messages.

That's my two cents. If you're interested in reading Jason's book, you can check out his blog where he has information on how to order it.

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 14 Released

2010-06-08T21:06:00.001-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show recently went online. Al and I interviewed Dr. Michael Nirenberg, a renowned barefoot-friendly podiatrist. The interview is spectacular.

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/06/living-barefoot-show-we-interview-dr-michael-nirenberg/

Not Tough Enough

2010-06-02T15:37:00.003-06:00

Although I can say that barefoot/minimalist footwear is one of the best changes that I've ever made in my life, there are, unfortunately, still set backs for me. My recent trip to New York taught me that my feet are just not as tough as I'd like them to be.

Granted, I haven't spent as much time on my feet as I would have liked in the last year, I had a hard time being on my feet as much as I was while on my latest vacation. I obviously wore minimalist footwear all of the time, seeing as that's all I own for footwear. After the third day of walking around Manhattan, my feet were a little damaged. I had developed a deep tissue blister between the balls of my left foot. I'm pretty sure that this was caused because my feet were not strong enough to handle all the walking/running with very little padding in my shoes. In addition, I got bad blisters from wearing new shoes with no socks after many long winter months of strict sock-wearing. My feet were in rough shape.

'Live and learn' is a favourite philosophy of mine. I learned that my feet, meaning both muscles and skin, are not as tough as I'd like them to be. On to strengthening my muscles and toughening my skin...

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 13 Released

2010-05-16T22:38:00.002-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show was released yesterday. Al and I interviewed Jason Robillard of the Barefoot Chronicles, the Barefoot Running University, and the writer of the Barefoot Running Book. I've been following Jason's blog for about two years now so it was really great for me to get to interview him. The show is fantastic!

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/05/the-living-barefoot-show-episode-13-may-15th-2010-we-interview-jason-robillard/

Visit to the Terra Plana Store in New York

2010-05-16T22:11:00.005-06:00

I've been back from New York for a while and been hesitant to write this post, not because it wasn't an awesome experience and so much fun, but mostly because there are pictures of me in it. :)

One of the 'must dos' for me while in New York was to visit the Terra Plana store. It's the only one in North America and I love the Vivo Barefoot line so much that I had to see the store. I was also really looking forward to meeting Sabra Ellingson, the USA Operations Director, who I've had many enjoyable conversations with on the phone and via email.

My spouse and I took the subway to Manhattan and stopped at the closest station we could to the store. We asked a very nice and friendly police officer where we could find 254 Elizabeth Street because our GPS was having trouble locating it (satellites were hard for our NUVI to find because of all the tall buildings, I think). Anyway, we were 3 blocks away and we found it easily enough.

The store is absolutely beautiful and HUGE. Compared to some of the other shops in the area, the Terra Plana is enormously spacious. It is bright and beautiful and colourful. I was immediately attracted to the Vivo Barefoot section of the store (go figure). There are shelves of all the new Vivo Barefoot shoes for the Spring/Summer 2010 collection. It was heaven. :)

There's also a wall with the new Kids Vivo Barefoot shoes, Dopies, as well as any previous models that have been shipped to the store for resale.

Charese and I spent a long time talking about the new models. She was so nice and incredibly patient with my excitement. While we were there, I spoke to a man who was wearing the new Vivo Barefoot Evo running shoe because he was there with his wife picking out a pair for her. We talked a while about the minimalist movement and other minimalist shoes on the market.

I was so happy to finally meet Sabra. She had an incredibly busy schedule that day so I was grateful for the time she spent with me. She's lovely and incredibly kind and generous.

After trying on many of the new models, I picked a pair of black Kalis to buy. I'll be writing a review of them for the Living Barefoot website and will update when that comes out (in a couple of weeks or so). I wore them out of the store and can't wait to wear them more often here now that the weather is finally warming up.

Here are some pictures of the Terra Plana store.

Sabra and Charese

Me and Sabra

Me wearing my new Vivo Barefoot Kali shoes

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 12 Released

2010-05-05T09:41:00.001-06:00

The latest episode of the Living Barefoot Show has gone online. It has the most interviews in one show so far.

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/05/the-living-barefoot-show-episode-12/

Long Review - Invisible Shoe Huaraches

2010-04-29T17:58:00.003-06:00

The long review of the Invisible Shoe Huaraches I received from Steven Sashen went online on the Living Barefoot website a few days ago (I just got back from vacation so could only post about it now).

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/04/review-of-the-famous-huarache-running-sandal/

Steven, Invisible Shoe's founder, said this about the review "It’s an incredible comprehensive review, with great pictures of the process of making your own huarache running sandals from our kit."

Thanks, Steven!

I really do enjoy these shoes, with or without socks (depending on the temperature). They are so comfortable to run in and I often forget that I have anything on my feet now when I wear them. I highly recommend them to anyone who needs a little extra protection for their bare soles but still want all the mobility of being barefoot.

Running in Invisible Shoe Huarache Running Sandals

2010-04-21T19:41:00.003-06:00

I've had the Invisible Shoe Huarache Running Sandals for almost a month now and, in addition to many walks, I've worn them on four runs. Oddly, I've run in them once at home in Cochrane on the trails, once in Lachine, Quebec (a suburb of Montreal), Boston, and New York City. They're very well travelled shoes. :)

I absolutely love running in them. They are comfortable both with and without socks, depending on the temperature. I love the incredibly free feeling I have running in them. My feet can bend and move in whatever way they need to while running.

I could go on and on about how great they are for running shoes and how comfortable but I think I'll wait until my Living Barefoot review comes out in a just a few days. Until then, here's a picture of my custom-made by me huaraches and my black injinjis.

Meeting the Vibram FiveFingers Folks

2010-04-21T18:24:00.002-06:00

On Friday, I went to the Boston Marathon Expo to check out the VFF booth. It was FABULOUS!!! I finally got to meet Michael Martin and Georgia Shaw from Vibram USA. I've spoken with them both over email and the phone for so long it was fantastic to finally meet them. They are such nice and gracious people.

I also got to meet Corrado, Michele, and Irana (sp?) from Vibram FiveFingers Milan in Italy. We had an excellent half hour conversation about barefoot running, minimalist shoes, the new Bikilas, and the new Speeds. It was a wonderful conversation and it had to reluctantly end because the expo was closing for the day.

I got to see the new Bikilas, which I couldn't try on because the women's sizes were not available yet. They are beautiful and are going to make most excellent running shoes. I also got to see a large pair Speeds (they were Corrado's), which were also really nice. It's so great to see that Vibram listens to their customers and improves their new models to reflect the wishes of their fans.

It was really a joyous experience for me to spend time with like-minded people. The VFF folks are fantastic and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have spent some time with them.

Boston All-Star Barefoot Running Clinic- Updated

2010-04-17T15:38:00.002-06:00

This morning's Vibram FiveFingers All-Star Barefoot Running Clinic at City Sports in Boston was fantastic! There were fittings for VFFs, including some men's sizes of the new Bikilas. Chris McDougall, Dr. Daniel Lieberman, and Corrado from Milan were the main speakers. The 200+ attendees were split into five groups with different 'coaches'. Mine was Dr. Lieberman. He was fabulous and answered many questions from myself and the rest of the group. We ran to and around Boston Common. After the running, there was a short Q+A with the speakers. It was an awesome experience and will probably be one of the highlights of Boston for me (of course, I'm not running the marathon on Monday :) ).

Now that I've had some days to think about my experience at the clinic, I thought I'd write about some things that I remember in particular. Some advice that Dr. Lieberman had about technique includes:

- Listen to YOUR body.
- Regarding cadence, do what feels right for you.
- When landing, land on the lateral ball of your foot (at the 4th and 5th metatarsal heads)
- Transition slowly! (Always good advice.)
- Don't push too hard too soon or you could end up with tears in your calf muscles (among other injuries).
- Enjoy what you're doing.
- Pain is never a good thing.

I'm so glad that I got to be in Dr. Lieberman's group, although I'm sure that the other groups had just as much as we did. He spent a lot of time answering all the questions that we had for him.

And here's some pics from the event.

And if you want to see a video of the clinic that Vibram put together, check it out on YouTube here.

The Living Barefoot Podcast Show - Episode 11 Released

2010-04-06T08:21:00.002-06:00

The latest Living Barefoot Podcast Show has been released. Al and I interviewed Anna Papij from Australia about running in minimalist footwear, Donna Rosser the Barefoot Photographer, and Adam Wik of the newly created Move Free Shoes company.

You can check out the new show at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/04/the-living-barefoot-show-podcast-episode-11-released/

First Trail Run

2010-04-04T20:35:00.003-06:00

It's been a very long wait for me to hit the trails around my town. I think it's been around 16 months since the last time I ran on the wonderful pathway system that is literally steps from my house. I really missed them. I finally went for my first trail run. I wore my favourite KSOs. And it was glorious!

I avoided the trails because with the herniated disc and the total lack of core stability, any slip on an uneven surface could have been extremely painful and detrimental to my healing. So when I started running again a few months ago, I decided to stick to the sidewalk. It was either that or not run at all.

It was a short run on the trails for my first time back at it in over a year. Just one way around my neighbourhood. Nothing steep in either direction but lots of red shale, some gravel, some grass, a little mud, and a creek crossing. It was so great to run on a soft surface again with trees on either side of me.

I also noticed how different uneven terrain feels like on the ankles. It is quite a different workout for the lower legs to run on rocky, slippery, and generally uneven ground. I marveled at how sore my ankles were shortly after the run. I'm glad there was no pain, just a happy muscle soreness.

Eventually, I'll move off the sidewalks for almost all of my runs and get back to the fantastic trail system around my town.

90 BPM Metronome Run

2010-03-18T10:37:00.003-06:00

The other day, I tried running with a metronome beat in my ears while running to try to increase my cadence to 90 steps per minute (from the same foot). The biggest difference I noticed while running at 90 BPM compared to my very consistent 84 BPM is that it is REALLY hard!

Before my little experiment, I thought there wasn't that big a difference between 84 and 90 BPM, I was incredibly wrong. The faster cadence felt way too fast for my sluggish legs. I made very tiny steps. I felt like I looked really silly. My heart rate felt like it was in the 190s. I also found it really difficult to relax, I was running with a lot of tension in my shoulders and muscles in my upper legs.

Some positive things I noticed were that my arms dropped to a 90 degree angle all by themselves (usually I have to think about it). I also ended up going much farther than usual. I've been running 4 minutes and walking 30 seconds times 5 intervals along the same out-and-back route for a while now and end up in about the same place every time, this time I ended up turning around much farther than my usual spot. And I only ran the higher cadence for 3 of the intervals.

Some things I'll try for next time will be to try and relax my shoulders and quads as much as possible. I'll also bring a heart rate monitor with me so I know what the difference is between my comfortable cadence and the faster one. I also think the HR monitor will help me track my progress as I practice the new cadence.

I think running at 90 BPM will help my running in the long-term so, although it's difficult for me now, I know it will get easier with more practice. And who knows, I might even end up getting faster. :)

Long Review - Soft Star Rambler

2010-03-18T10:08:00.004-06:00

I wrote the long review for the Soft Star Rambler late last Fall and it is now up on the Living Barefoot website.

You can check it out at: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/03/review-soft-star-rambler/

In short, they are great shoes for slipping on and doing short errands just about anywhere. They're at my back door for any trips outside I have to do while waiting for the grass to get green here (I'm allergic to dry, dead grass and get really bad hives on the soles of my feet if I walk on it in that condition so no barefooting for now). The Ramblers keep my feet warm in cooler temperatures and are comfortable with or without socks.

I took some extra pics of them recently so I thought I'd add them here. They're about six months old in these pics.

VFF Performas = Perfect Tai Chi Shoes

2010-03-13T18:31:00.003-07:00

I took up daily Tai Chi exercises again in an effort to help my injured low back and sore SI joints. I remember one of the issues I had with it before was a lack of traction. Tai Chi requires a lot of balance, strength, flexibility, and fluidity in addition to the occasional massive amount of weight on one leg at quite a distance from centre requiring VERY good traction.

I used to do Tai Chi barefoot but found that I didn't have enough traction to relax into some of the weight-bearing stretching exercises. Then I tried my Classics but found that there wasn't enough freedom of movement with my toes (I like a lot of toe wiggling while doing Tai Chi) and my toes are a little compressed in the Classics I have now.

This time around, I tried my Performas and they are PERFECT! They have just the right amount of traction on the carpet (where I will be stuck doing Tai Chi until the grass turns green here) and just the right amount of foot freedom. I am so happy that I have finally found the answer to this minimalist footwear dilemma. I can now relax into all my Tai Chi exercises without fear that my feet will slip or holding myself tense in an effort to keep a grip on the floor. Performas are turning out to be my favourite indoor minimalist footwear.

Long Review - Kigo Star

2010-03-08T11:28:00.003-07:00

The Living Barefoot site has released the long version of my review of the Kigo Star.

To read it, click on: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2010/03/kigo-star-review/

As I've mentioned before, these shoes really saved my feet during my vacation to Cancun. They are super comfortable and I'm so grateful that I have them.

Here are some extra pics I took of them. I'm still practicing taking pictures of footwear. :)