1st Barefoot race Jingle Jog 5k, Atlanta GA

Had my first barefoot race today. The 5k Jingle Jog in the perimeter area of Atlanta. All in all it was a bit of a mare. Both Sophie and Ian were also running in the 1k version of the race. Noah my nephew was going to help out and run with them. In all the muddle getting to different starts etc I ended up have no warm up time and it was freezing.

The race was starting as i approached the line. So i took off in the Merrell’s with very cold legs and feet. Far from ideal and to top it off i’m starting from the back of the pack and the GPS would not start up.

So here is 2 miles of my 3 miles:

http://runkeeper.com/user/simonjcole/activity/62495631

My overall race time was 28:15, so my pace i think was pretty good. I started toward the back and so it took me a couple of mins to reach the start line as everyone shuffled off, The section missing from the runkeeper above was also down hill. So i would hazard a guess that my overall time was probably in the 8:40 mi/min range.

Finishing up though the i might have hurt my left foot. Running off when it was cold and not warmed up, it does not feel good at the moment. Lets see how its doing tomorrow morning for my run then.

Back to sneakers today, ohh dear

Image via Wikipedia

I thought i would give my feet a break after reading a bunch of posts on taking it really slowly moving into barefeet running over at Runners World. Using the opportunity to have plenty of sponge under my feet i was planning on putting in some serious mileage, that did not go to plan.

http://runkeeper.com/user/simonjcole/activity/60769403

After the 4th mile i was not feeling it. I don’t know why exactly but my legs were heavy and tired and i never really got into my groove. Not sure if it was the heavy sneakers compared to my Merrell Trail Gloves, my lack of eating this morning beforehand or trying to run in a correct form in sneakers, maybe some of all the above. Either way it was not a good run.

I’ll be back to the Merrell’s tomorrow or Thursday.

Related articles

• RW Holiday Running Streak: FAQs (trainingdaily.runnersworld.com)
• Cold barefeet? (ask.metafilter.com)

2012 Race Calendar

So here is my 2012 race calendar. Not complete but certainly something to work on and start booking dates and times. So i’d love to see you out there running with me, so let me know who is in and when?

Warrior Dash Central FL – Jan 21st (Register here) 5k

Run Road Atlanta – Jan 21st (Register here) 10k

Run the Reagan – Feb 18th (Register here) 5k & 10k +Kids

Run for Your Lives, Zombie Run – March 3rd (Register here) 5k

Spartan Race GA – March 10th (Register here) 5k +Kids

Publix GA Marathon – March 18th (Register here) Half Marathon

Spartan Race NC – March 24th (Register here) 5k +kids

Warrior Dash Kansas – May 5th (Register here) 5k

Warrior Dash GA – May 19th (Register here) 5k

Muddy Buddy – June 11th (Register here)

Ultimate Mud Run – Aug (Register here)

Down & Dirty Mud Run – Oct (Register here) 10k

Rock n Roll Marathon – Nov 3rd (Register here)

Bold are confirmed runs

March is going to be a crazy month and add to that my first half marathon into the mix. I’ll keep adding to the list as additional runs come available.

Note: The Warrior Dash for NC is on the same weekend as the GA one this year.

Related articles

• Filthy fitness: ‘Mud runs’ soar in popularity (today.msnbc.msn.com)
• Filthy fitness: ‘Mud runs’ soar in popularity (today.msnbc.msn.com)

Barefeat a Father and Daughter Journey into Barefoot Running

Welcome to Bearfeat. This blog is about the running journey my daughter and i will be taking as i transition to barefoot running. The “Feats” we will achieve and races we will run.

For reasons of heart health i needed to up my exercise and so i started running to add to the soccer i played each week. To be honest i don’t really enjoy pounding out mile after mile on the blacktop so i needed to find some motivation to keep me going. I found this inspiration in the  form of the Warrior Dash (www.warriordash.com) A fun weekend in the north GA mountains with a muddy 5k in the middle of it all. I loved it running and jumping through the mud and obstacles took me back to being a kid again. I was hooked and mud runs we clearly the way to keep me motivated.

Since then i competed in the North Carolina Warrior Dash and the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run (www.downanddirtymudrun.com) The later being a 10k which i came in 27th on my age bracket with a time of 1 hour 10 mins.

It was around my training for the Merrell Mud Run that i started to get into the concept of barefoot running. I have been a heel strike walker / runner all my life. A look at my shoes wear patterns will show that straight away. Looking at my running calendar i have a break of about 2 or 3 months before my next mud run over the holiday period. I have decided to use this time to start all over and correct my running technique. So my 9-year-old daughter and i will be starting out our barefoot running journey together . We have both got a pair Merrell Trail gloves’ and are raring to go and learn to run all over again!

Sophie and Simon's new barefoot Merrell Trail Gloves

Related articles

• Merrell Trail Glove Review (moaimartialarts.com)
• Warrior Dash: My Couch to 5k Success Story (kdstern.wordpress.com)
• BLOG POST: Barefoot Running (totalrunningperformance.com)
• Don’t transition with an ankle injury (runbarefootrunhealthy.com)