Good Run Yesterday!
I looked up a possible running route by looking at some bicycle trail maps online and then went out to see if they were runnable. I've wanted to find a decent route from Vancouver across the river into Portland. The routes I have tried in the past were not all that great. This one looked promising so I decided to give it a go.
It was mostly very barefoot friendly, except for a couple of sections. I was glad for our heavy rainfall this past week because it seemed to have helped wash a lot of the ice sanding grit off, giving me some smooth pavement where it usually would be very sharp and difficult.
One section of sidewalk was covered by a large puddle about 2 inches deep and twenty feet wide. It was under the freeway where beggars congregate. One of them saw me splashing through the water and said "THAT's what I like to see!" Huh??
At one point a police car came by, and the officer slowed down to look at me. Probably wondering if I was a danger to myself or to society. I smiled at him and he drove on.
Once I had traversed the out-going part of my planned route, I was needing to find a bathroom. Knowing I would more likely find one if I kept on running, I kept on running. Several places said they did not have facilities open to the public, so I kept on running. Finally I found a place that would let me in, much to my relief, and I was ready to turn around for my return trip.
I took a few different turns on the way back, one of which crossed over an industrial road that had the worst wear on it from all the big rigs driving on it. I just sucked in it and ran smoothly over one of the worst surfaces I've ever encountered. Luckily it was only across about four lanes of road, so it was quite short.
The run back seemed much easier than the run out for some reason, until the last mile or so. I think my mindset has something to do with how well I ran. As long as I felt I had a long ways yet to go, I just settled in and ran easily. When the end of my run got near, I anticipated being finished a little too early, and so my body said "Done!"
My total distance, according to www.runningmap.com, was 12.25 miles. It was mostly over very wet surfaces, including some water puddles and one section of soft slick mud. I was lucky it had stopped raining for most of the run.
All in all, I'm very pleased with this run!
Ryan
12 Mile Run - Vancouver to North Portland
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
BTW: Happy New Year
Saying happy new year is kind of trite. What else are you going to say? Crappy new year?
It fits in the same category as people telling me "Hey - you don't have any shoes on!" (like I don't know?) ((I thought something seemed different ... holy crap! where'd my shoes go?))
So, at the risk of sounding trite and obvious, happy new year to anyone reading this lonely post. I hope my saying it makes your day, or year!
Ryan
Saying happy new year is kind of trite. What else are you going to say? Crappy new year?
It fits in the same category as people telling me "Hey - you don't have any shoes on!" (like I don't know?) ((I thought something seemed different ... holy crap! where'd my shoes go?))
So, at the risk of sounding trite and obvious, happy new year to anyone reading this lonely post. I hope my saying it makes your day, or year!
Ryan
Another Minimalist Shoe Idea
I heard about some kind of shoe/slipper made by a company called Zemgear. http://www.zemgear.com/
They are less expensive than Vibrams, more expensive than water shoes. They come with different colored stripes, and they have a high ankle model. I got a low ankle pair and tried them out. Fantastic for cold weather running! I chose black on black. My wife calls them my duck feet for some reason.
Easy to put on, easy to take off, fit is superb, feel is great, extremely light weight, nicely warm, and I can easily stuff them into a fanny pack without feeling like I'm lugging a bowling ball around. I really like how they hug the arches of my feet. Their design is so simple, I believe I could replace the sole myself if it wears out. In fact, by turning them inside out, it would be easy to duplicate the size and shape of each component part and just make me some new ones out of any material I choose. I think I would like fleece; or maybe felted wool.
My only problem with them is they soak up moisture like a towel. Not good for wet weather running. This means not good for about 80% of my runs up here in the northwest! But considering I only got them for running during the most extreme frigid weather, they should work out just fine. We only get a few days of truly frosty, sub-freezing weather here. I can run in everything else without any foot coverings. I'm not sure how they would do on icy surfaces yet.
Happy running to you - in any temperature!
Ryan
I heard about some kind of shoe/slipper made by a company called Zemgear. http://www.zemgear.com/
They are less expensive than Vibrams, more expensive than water shoes. They come with different colored stripes, and they have a high ankle model. I got a low ankle pair and tried them out. Fantastic for cold weather running! I chose black on black. My wife calls them my duck feet for some reason.
Easy to put on, easy to take off, fit is superb, feel is great, extremely light weight, nicely warm, and I can easily stuff them into a fanny pack without feeling like I'm lugging a bowling ball around. I really like how they hug the arches of my feet. Their design is so simple, I believe I could replace the sole myself if it wears out. In fact, by turning them inside out, it would be easy to duplicate the size and shape of each component part and just make me some new ones out of any material I choose. I think I would like fleece; or maybe felted wool.
My only problem with them is they soak up moisture like a towel. Not good for wet weather running. This means not good for about 80% of my runs up here in the northwest! But considering I only got them for running during the most extreme frigid weather, they should work out just fine. We only get a few days of truly frosty, sub-freezing weather here. I can run in everything else without any foot coverings. I'm not sure how they would do on icy surfaces yet.
Happy running to you - in any temperature!
Ryan
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Observation
For the past year I've had recurring problems with a very old ankle sprain. I suspect the ligament never healed quite right. Periodically it starts to flare up, feels puffy, burning sensation, and I have to be careful of it. Its not enough of a problem to prevent me from running, its just something I need to watch out for.
I was concerned for my half-marathon run last Saturday that my ankle might not take that distance. It had been sore for the prior month or more. It didn't bother me at all during the run! Not only that, but yesterday and today, I've noticed that the ankle feels completely well - no nagging aching going on at all. I also feel like my legs are relaxed and limber, with more pep and bounce in them than usual. Is this the result of going on a long run??
Maybe I'm more ready to run a full marathon than I think.
Saturday I wasn't trying to make a fast time. I was just plodding along at a steady pace - no 'racing' going on at all. Yet I still managed to come in just over two hours. A friend of mine ran her first-ever marathon in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago. She did it in 6 hours.
6 hours! I realize that if I had kept up my pace from last Saturday for a whole marathon, I would have been done in less than 4 1/2 hours. So maybe I've just got to target a marathon run some time and give it a go.
I've wanted to do the St. George Marathon in October, for several years, but never made the commitment. Is this the year??
Ryan
For the past year I've had recurring problems with a very old ankle sprain. I suspect the ligament never healed quite right. Periodically it starts to flare up, feels puffy, burning sensation, and I have to be careful of it. Its not enough of a problem to prevent me from running, its just something I need to watch out for.
I was concerned for my half-marathon run last Saturday that my ankle might not take that distance. It had been sore for the prior month or more. It didn't bother me at all during the run! Not only that, but yesterday and today, I've noticed that the ankle feels completely well - no nagging aching going on at all. I also feel like my legs are relaxed and limber, with more pep and bounce in them than usual. Is this the result of going on a long run??
Maybe I'm more ready to run a full marathon than I think.
Saturday I wasn't trying to make a fast time. I was just plodding along at a steady pace - no 'racing' going on at all. Yet I still managed to come in just over two hours. A friend of mine ran her first-ever marathon in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago. She did it in 6 hours.
6 hours! I realize that if I had kept up my pace from last Saturday for a whole marathon, I would have been done in less than 4 1/2 hours. So maybe I've just got to target a marathon run some time and give it a go.
I've wanted to do the St. George Marathon in October, for several years, but never made the commitment. Is this the year??
Ryan
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Here I Am Again
Wow, I haven't posted much lately!
I've been trying to run (barefoot) more regularly, even if that means doing a lot of shorter runs. I found that I was doing about 2 runs a week, pushing each one to around 8 to 11 miles, and then having to rest in between.
So about 2 months ago I started going on more frequent runs, doing 4 miles one morning, 5 miles the next, etc., and trying to get a run in close to every day. This meant I had to get up earlier and do some early morning runs. I usually don't like running in the mornings, but this time it wasn't so bad.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I was on a longer run and cut my foot on a hidden piece of glass in the river beach. Not a bad cut, but I figured I better let it rest a few days. It persisted to bother me, plus our weather got nasty, so I ended up taking more time off from running than I planned. Then, last Sunday, I came down with a head/chest cold which took me out of running all week long. I had signed up for a 10K on Saturday (yesterday), which I was determined to do even if I was sick. But I had problems registering online for this run and that got me a little pissed off at the race sponsors, so I finally just said 'Forget it!'
Yesterday they had an annual event here in my city called the Discovery Walk. It is for walkers, with distances of 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K, plus bike rides and swims. At the last minute, I decided to sign up for the 21K, and intended to run it, sick or not.
So with very little running the past two weeks I got up Saturday morning, ate a light breakfast, and went down to the starting location. Since it wasn't a timed event, you could start any time you liked within a 2 hour window. It got really chilly overnight so I wanted to wait and leave as close to 9 AM as I could, to catch as much warmth as I could. It was still only about 45 degrees outside when I arrived.
I got my starter's card punched and they gave me a map to use, and I was off at an easy pace. None of the route was coned-off from traffic, so there were frequent stops to wait for traffic lights - chances to stretch and visit with some of the walkers. They changed the course from last year, and I was apprehensive about some of the areas the new course would go through. There were three checkpoints along the route where walkers are supposed to get their card's marked for "credit" towards their Volkswalk points. I didn't care that much for points, but it was nice to get the water and orange slices they offered. Those were the only watering holes along the route.
The first part of the run was very familiar to me -- courses I have run many times. Around mile 1 it turned into a neighborhood I had never run through. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the road was - new pavement. This took us directly to the Deaf School, the first checkpoint, around mile 3 or so. I knew a lady and her son who were volunteers there. When I got to the checkpoint another volunteer was just telling my friend about some barefoot guy who ran the half-marathon last year -- and then I ran up just at that moment! She got a big laugh over the timing of my arrival. Drinks, orange slices, some conversation, and I was off.
The course became weird after this - all new territory for me. It cut through the Deaf School's back lot over grass and gravel, out through more residential neighborhoods, and ended up going to a very rough patch of road. This road was at the bottom of a ravine, heavily shadowed by dense trees, hardly any shoulder to speak of, and cars traveling fairly quickly. No part of the road was coned off for our event, and the shoulder was strewn with gravel and lots (really lots) of broken glass. I tried to run on the roadway as much as I could, all uphill, but the frequency of cars zooming down the hill towards us forced me to jump into the glass and gravel too much. I finally noticed that there was a strip of washed-up pine needles on the outer most edge that provided quite a bit of padding, so I ran on it as much as I could.
I came up to a group of Russian walkers. They were so impressed that I was barefoot that they wanted me to stop so they could take my picture, then they wanted to be in the pictures with me. I obliged, smiled, posed, and then handed out some of my barefoot running cards that explain who I am and why I run barefoot. I continued up the hill and eventually back into civilization (sidewalks).
The route took us across some major roads where I had to stop and wait for traffic a lot. It reached a paved trail that we followed for a couple of miles. The first half of the trail was pretty decent, asphalt strewn with a fair amount of gravel to avoid. The second half was cement with a corrugated surface that was not pleasant. There was a smooth strip on the side about 4 inches wide that I followed. I passed a lot of walkers along this trail, and heard a lot of comments about my bare feet. This was around mile 5 of the course.
The route turned onto a street that took us right past the local hospital surrounded lots of doctor's clinics. There was a check point somewhere around there, but for some reason I didn't see it. This was too bad because I could have used the water and orange slices. I forged onward, to a road that led mostly downhill towards the Columbia River. This road was very rough. I tried running on the sidewalk, but it was just as bad or worse. I ended up aiming for the white paint stripe on the edge of the road, but it wasn't much better. I had to just run gingerly along this road into a very ritsy neighborhood near the water. The roads through here were just as rough.
The route followed a very old road that was mostly cement with quite a few asphalt patches on it. The road itself was very smooth, but the shoulder was the roughest, worst stuff I'd seen the entire run. I couldn't even stand to walk on it. I ran on the roadway as much as I could, but again, traffic was a problem. I could see a long ways ahead so I could plan accordingly. I saw a long stretch of vehicles coming, and not willing to stand and wait for them, I decided to slip on my flip-flops I carried for just such an occasion. I only had to wear them for about 100 yards. Traffic disappeared and so did my flip flops.
The route crossed some railroad tracks, went over a short stretch of gravel, and then down to Wintler Park -- an area I have run very often. From here on out I was on familiar paths. I was near mile 8 - about 5 miles to go. The sidewalk through this area was brand new last year and had lots of very sharp edges on its corrugated surface. Thankfully the surface had worn down over the year and was not too rough. My feet were starting to feel sore by this time, but I knew that the rest of the route was mostly easy. I noticed a painted marker that said 4 miles to go. 9 miles down and 4 more to go -- I can handle this!
About a mile later I came to the final checkpoint. I was glad to find some water and enjoy some orange slices. I wolfed them down because I wanted to keep going and get this thing done!
I kept thinking that the first walkers left at 7:00 a.m. - two hours before me. I wondered if I might catch up to them. There was no way of knowing who was 'first' - it was just something on my mind as I thought about finishing the 21K. I passed a few more walkers, and then it got eerily empty. Nobody but me. I thought I might have taken a wrong turn or something. Nope, I found a route marker. Huh! Maybe I had overtaken the earliest of the 21K walkers after all. I ran on and on, through very familiar country. I could go on automatic from here on out. After a stretch of easy running I noticed another marker on the sidewalk that said 1.75 miles. I had gone from 4 to 1.75 without hardly noticing. Sweet!
At this point two routes converged. The 21K and 42K routes overlapped the 5K and 10K routes for the last part. I came upon a family I know from church. I stopped and gave them high-fives, congratulations and such. Then on my way. Of course there were a ton of walkers from here to the end. I was zigging and zagging through groups of people. At one point it was so crowded that I called out: "Make way for the barefoot runner!" Lots of turning heads, lots of stares, and like magic - a path opened up through the throngs. I felt like Moses.
My feet were sore from those rough patches I had gone through earlier on and I was ready to be done. One mile to go. I was just coasting, focusing on form as the sidewalk passed underneath the I-5 bridge to Oregon. Here the cement was that nasty corrugated stuff, the worst in all the route. Having run on it many times, I knew it felt worse if I slowed down to walk on it, so I just kept lifting my feet and landing them as squarely as I could. The rough part was short-lived. Only 1/2 mile left to go. Soon I was on some of the milkiest smooth cement sidewalks I've seen. The last two blocks were so filled with people and strollers that I gave up trying to run any more. I walked behind everyone else to the hotel where the whole thing started.
The hotel was having some kind of convention, and there were lots of people dressed up in very nice business attire, trying to impress all the other folks attending. I stopped to talk to some cashier people for the convention to find out what it was. 'Pre-Paid Legal' was the answer. I smiled and told them I'm an attorney, in kind of a loud voice so the people in line could hear. A lot of stares after that! I had to walk past a bunch of them -- me, sweaty, thirsty, hot, tired, dirty bare feet -- and them, hoity-toity penguins and ladies in stiletto high heels looking down their noses at me. I didn't care. Not only was I an attorney, I was proud to have finished a half marathon barefoot! So I held my head high as I walked past them all to the part of the hotel where the walking course had its final check-point.
This event did not have a 'finish line' or anything. You just moseyed in to the hotel and showed them your participation card with its checkpoints marked, and they gave you a nice little ribbon with a medal. No snacks, no water, nobody saying 'Yay you made it!' It was kind of a let down. I wanted my ego stroked a little bit. I looked around for something to drink or eat, because I was feeling kind of weak by now. I found a vendor's booth that had tid-bit samples of their energy bars. I grabbed a tooth pick and started loading up on them. All flavors. I had energy bar shish-ka-bobs! One of the ladies working the booth said she had seen me running barefoot sometime last summer and was happy to finally meet me in person. Okay, ego pumped! I gave her one of my barefoot running cards. Then it was out the door, past the hoity toity bunch, and out of the hotel. By now clouds had formed, the temperature was dropping and it was raining. Time to get out of there! I gingerly walked the 3 blocks to where I had parked my car and headed home.
Mission accomplished! Time: 2 hrs 15 minutes. I claim 2 hours because there was a lot of time wasted on the course at checkpoints, stopping to wait for traffic, and working through some crowds.
Ryan
Wow, I haven't posted much lately!
I've been trying to run (barefoot) more regularly, even if that means doing a lot of shorter runs. I found that I was doing about 2 runs a week, pushing each one to around 8 to 11 miles, and then having to rest in between.
So about 2 months ago I started going on more frequent runs, doing 4 miles one morning, 5 miles the next, etc., and trying to get a run in close to every day. This meant I had to get up earlier and do some early morning runs. I usually don't like running in the mornings, but this time it wasn't so bad.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I was on a longer run and cut my foot on a hidden piece of glass in the river beach. Not a bad cut, but I figured I better let it rest a few days. It persisted to bother me, plus our weather got nasty, so I ended up taking more time off from running than I planned. Then, last Sunday, I came down with a head/chest cold which took me out of running all week long. I had signed up for a 10K on Saturday (yesterday), which I was determined to do even if I was sick. But I had problems registering online for this run and that got me a little pissed off at the race sponsors, so I finally just said 'Forget it!'
Yesterday they had an annual event here in my city called the Discovery Walk. It is for walkers, with distances of 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K, plus bike rides and swims. At the last minute, I decided to sign up for the 21K, and intended to run it, sick or not.
So with very little running the past two weeks I got up Saturday morning, ate a light breakfast, and went down to the starting location. Since it wasn't a timed event, you could start any time you liked within a 2 hour window. It got really chilly overnight so I wanted to wait and leave as close to 9 AM as I could, to catch as much warmth as I could. It was still only about 45 degrees outside when I arrived.
I got my starter's card punched and they gave me a map to use, and I was off at an easy pace. None of the route was coned-off from traffic, so there were frequent stops to wait for traffic lights - chances to stretch and visit with some of the walkers. They changed the course from last year, and I was apprehensive about some of the areas the new course would go through. There were three checkpoints along the route where walkers are supposed to get their card's marked for "credit" towards their Volkswalk points. I didn't care that much for points, but it was nice to get the water and orange slices they offered. Those were the only watering holes along the route.
The first part of the run was very familiar to me -- courses I have run many times. Around mile 1 it turned into a neighborhood I had never run through. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the road was - new pavement. This took us directly to the Deaf School, the first checkpoint, around mile 3 or so. I knew a lady and her son who were volunteers there. When I got to the checkpoint another volunteer was just telling my friend about some barefoot guy who ran the half-marathon last year -- and then I ran up just at that moment! She got a big laugh over the timing of my arrival. Drinks, orange slices, some conversation, and I was off.
The course became weird after this - all new territory for me. It cut through the Deaf School's back lot over grass and gravel, out through more residential neighborhoods, and ended up going to a very rough patch of road. This road was at the bottom of a ravine, heavily shadowed by dense trees, hardly any shoulder to speak of, and cars traveling fairly quickly. No part of the road was coned off for our event, and the shoulder was strewn with gravel and lots (really lots) of broken glass. I tried to run on the roadway as much as I could, all uphill, but the frequency of cars zooming down the hill towards us forced me to jump into the glass and gravel too much. I finally noticed that there was a strip of washed-up pine needles on the outer most edge that provided quite a bit of padding, so I ran on it as much as I could.
I came up to a group of Russian walkers. They were so impressed that I was barefoot that they wanted me to stop so they could take my picture, then they wanted to be in the pictures with me. I obliged, smiled, posed, and then handed out some of my barefoot running cards that explain who I am and why I run barefoot. I continued up the hill and eventually back into civilization (sidewalks).
The route took us across some major roads where I had to stop and wait for traffic a lot. It reached a paved trail that we followed for a couple of miles. The first half of the trail was pretty decent, asphalt strewn with a fair amount of gravel to avoid. The second half was cement with a corrugated surface that was not pleasant. There was a smooth strip on the side about 4 inches wide that I followed. I passed a lot of walkers along this trail, and heard a lot of comments about my bare feet. This was around mile 5 of the course.
The route turned onto a street that took us right past the local hospital surrounded lots of doctor's clinics. There was a check point somewhere around there, but for some reason I didn't see it. This was too bad because I could have used the water and orange slices. I forged onward, to a road that led mostly downhill towards the Columbia River. This road was very rough. I tried running on the sidewalk, but it was just as bad or worse. I ended up aiming for the white paint stripe on the edge of the road, but it wasn't much better. I had to just run gingerly along this road into a very ritsy neighborhood near the water. The roads through here were just as rough.
The route followed a very old road that was mostly cement with quite a few asphalt patches on it. The road itself was very smooth, but the shoulder was the roughest, worst stuff I'd seen the entire run. I couldn't even stand to walk on it. I ran on the roadway as much as I could, but again, traffic was a problem. I could see a long ways ahead so I could plan accordingly. I saw a long stretch of vehicles coming, and not willing to stand and wait for them, I decided to slip on my flip-flops I carried for just such an occasion. I only had to wear them for about 100 yards. Traffic disappeared and so did my flip flops.
The route crossed some railroad tracks, went over a short stretch of gravel, and then down to Wintler Park -- an area I have run very often. From here on out I was on familiar paths. I was near mile 8 - about 5 miles to go. The sidewalk through this area was brand new last year and had lots of very sharp edges on its corrugated surface. Thankfully the surface had worn down over the year and was not too rough. My feet were starting to feel sore by this time, but I knew that the rest of the route was mostly easy. I noticed a painted marker that said 4 miles to go. 9 miles down and 4 more to go -- I can handle this!
About a mile later I came to the final checkpoint. I was glad to find some water and enjoy some orange slices. I wolfed them down because I wanted to keep going and get this thing done!
I kept thinking that the first walkers left at 7:00 a.m. - two hours before me. I wondered if I might catch up to them. There was no way of knowing who was 'first' - it was just something on my mind as I thought about finishing the 21K. I passed a few more walkers, and then it got eerily empty. Nobody but me. I thought I might have taken a wrong turn or something. Nope, I found a route marker. Huh! Maybe I had overtaken the earliest of the 21K walkers after all. I ran on and on, through very familiar country. I could go on automatic from here on out. After a stretch of easy running I noticed another marker on the sidewalk that said 1.75 miles. I had gone from 4 to 1.75 without hardly noticing. Sweet!
At this point two routes converged. The 21K and 42K routes overlapped the 5K and 10K routes for the last part. I came upon a family I know from church. I stopped and gave them high-fives, congratulations and such. Then on my way. Of course there were a ton of walkers from here to the end. I was zigging and zagging through groups of people. At one point it was so crowded that I called out: "Make way for the barefoot runner!" Lots of turning heads, lots of stares, and like magic - a path opened up through the throngs. I felt like Moses.
My feet were sore from those rough patches I had gone through earlier on and I was ready to be done. One mile to go. I was just coasting, focusing on form as the sidewalk passed underneath the I-5 bridge to Oregon. Here the cement was that nasty corrugated stuff, the worst in all the route. Having run on it many times, I knew it felt worse if I slowed down to walk on it, so I just kept lifting my feet and landing them as squarely as I could. The rough part was short-lived. Only 1/2 mile left to go. Soon I was on some of the milkiest smooth cement sidewalks I've seen. The last two blocks were so filled with people and strollers that I gave up trying to run any more. I walked behind everyone else to the hotel where the whole thing started.
The hotel was having some kind of convention, and there were lots of people dressed up in very nice business attire, trying to impress all the other folks attending. I stopped to talk to some cashier people for the convention to find out what it was. 'Pre-Paid Legal' was the answer. I smiled and told them I'm an attorney, in kind of a loud voice so the people in line could hear. A lot of stares after that! I had to walk past a bunch of them -- me, sweaty, thirsty, hot, tired, dirty bare feet -- and them, hoity-toity penguins and ladies in stiletto high heels looking down their noses at me. I didn't care. Not only was I an attorney, I was proud to have finished a half marathon barefoot! So I held my head high as I walked past them all to the part of the hotel where the walking course had its final check-point.
This event did not have a 'finish line' or anything. You just moseyed in to the hotel and showed them your participation card with its checkpoints marked, and they gave you a nice little ribbon with a medal. No snacks, no water, nobody saying 'Yay you made it!' It was kind of a let down. I wanted my ego stroked a little bit. I looked around for something to drink or eat, because I was feeling kind of weak by now. I found a vendor's booth that had tid-bit samples of their energy bars. I grabbed a tooth pick and started loading up on them. All flavors. I had energy bar shish-ka-bobs! One of the ladies working the booth said she had seen me running barefoot sometime last summer and was happy to finally meet me in person. Okay, ego pumped! I gave her one of my barefoot running cards. Then it was out the door, past the hoity toity bunch, and out of the hotel. By now clouds had formed, the temperature was dropping and it was raining. Time to get out of there! I gingerly walked the 3 blocks to where I had parked my car and headed home.
Mission accomplished! Time: 2 hrs 15 minutes. I claim 2 hours because there was a lot of time wasted on the course at checkpoints, stopping to wait for traffic, and working through some crowds.
Ryan
Friday, January 08, 2010
Northwest Running Hazards
Forget the common fears over glass, rocks, needles, pinecones and animal poop --- one of the things that worries me the most on barefoot runs, especially at nights, are these big beauties:
This is a slug I found outside my back door a few years ago. Its not even considered all that large!
If you step on one of these barefoot, expect to go down hard!
Ryan
Forget the common fears over glass, rocks, needles, pinecones and animal poop --- one of the things that worries me the most on barefoot runs, especially at nights, are these big beauties:
This is a slug I found outside my back door a few years ago. Its not even considered all that large!
If you step on one of these barefoot, expect to go down hard!
Ryan
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Turkey Leftovers Soup
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
* 4 cups vegetable broth
* 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
* 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
* 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Directions
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine turkey, broth, canned tomatoes, green chiles, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and lime juice. Season with cayenne, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Stir in avocado and cilantro, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Spoon into serving bowls, and top with shredded cheese.
Its great with crumbled tortilla chips added!
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
* 4 cups vegetable broth
* 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
* 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
* 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Directions
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine turkey, broth, canned tomatoes, green chiles, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and lime juice. Season with cayenne, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Stir in avocado and cilantro, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Spoon into serving bowls, and top with shredded cheese.
Its great with crumbled tortilla chips added!
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Cry-mary
My wife and I are volunteer teachers in a class at church called the Nursery. The Nursery is a part of the larger Primary organization. Children start going to Nursery when they turn 18 months and they graduate into the Junior Primary when they turn 3 years old. Many of the new children go through a period of adjustment when they start out, which means a lot of crying and missing their parents.
So it occurred to me that we are Primary workers in the "Cry-mary" class!
Ryan
My wife and I are volunteer teachers in a class at church called the Nursery. The Nursery is a part of the larger Primary organization. Children start going to Nursery when they turn 18 months and they graduate into the Junior Primary when they turn 3 years old. Many of the new children go through a period of adjustment when they start out, which means a lot of crying and missing their parents.
So it occurred to me that we are Primary workers in the "Cry-mary" class!
Ryan
Excellent Rumination On Running
I found this very nice posting by barefoot runner extraordinaire Ken Bob Saxton that says some things exactly the way I would want to say them! Here is what he posted on his website, http://runningbarefoot.org/
Ideally, if we could run without ever touching the ground, we would eliminate all running injuries – except for the odd, being run over by cars, falling off clifs, etc..
Seriously, puncture, abrasion, impact, etc., virtually all running related injuries are the result of the forces, the friction, and impact of our feet interacting with the ground.
Most of us do remove our feet from the ground, by wearing shoes. But, that simply moves the ground forces, to the bottom of our shoes, which are attached to our feet, which are attached to – well, you get the idea… And we continue to pound, skid, twist, push, etc., barely aware, that we are pounding, skidding, pushing, etc..
The next best thing to keeping our feet off the ground, something a bit more attainable, would be to barely touch the ground, to reduce, if not eliminate friction – skidding, excess pushing, twisting, slipping of the feet. If we could distribute the forces across our entire sole, our foot landing on the road at precisely the same speed and direction as the road is traveling underneath us, perhaps even decelerating our foot, as it touches the ground, just like a space shuttle docking with the space station.
The difficulty, of course, is that we are rarely aware of these problems. Most of us run in a kind of dazed condition, not really paying attention to these ground forces.
Some of the wealthy, or elite runners could have coaches watch, and let them know when their running technique is getting sloppy. For most of us, this sort of personal coaching is far too costly. And even if we could afford it, for many of us, it takes a bit of repetition before we learn something, and make it habit – as soon as the coach is gone, we go back to our old, sloppy ways of running.
If only we could have a coach, who worked very cheap, maybe for food, and could be with us constantly, someone to remind us, emphatically, perhaps by hitting us on the palms of our hands with a ruler or something, with each and every step, when the ground forces change, so we could make adjustments, and keep on running gently.
Maybe, something like those shoes with computer chips that change the tension in the springs depending on how hard we are pounding our feet into the ground? If only we had something like that, but even more sophisticated (hey, as long as we’re dreaming, let’s go fully sci-fi!), built into our body – a complex system of sensors, maybe concentrated on the soles of our shoes, in direct contact with the ground, sensing every little detail, of each and every step, and some sort of very complex computer (the most powerful ever built) attached to those sensing devices, to process the information, and maybe a way for that computer to communicate directly to our muscles, so we could make the necessary adjustments to the way we run.
Then we could step more gently, like we’re sneaking up on someone. We might actually start running more efficiently, more gracefully, more “naturally” (oh the irony!), like, maybe, in some ways, better than, any other running creature on this planet.
We could even shift our weight, instantly, when we stepped on sharp pointy objects – if we could figure out a way to implant these sensors in our skin, we might even be able to run, dare I say it –– BAREFOOT!
And with this kind of instant, and continuous interaction, we might just find running more stimulating, exciting, maybe even, FUN!
But, of course, that’s all science fiction. We’ll have to wait until scientists perfect artificial intelligence before we could have anything like that.
If only we had a brain!
I found this very nice posting by barefoot runner extraordinaire Ken Bob Saxton that says some things exactly the way I would want to say them! Here is what he posted on his website, http://runningbarefoot.org/
Ideally, if we could run without ever touching the ground, we would eliminate all running injuries – except for the odd, being run over by cars, falling off clifs, etc..
Seriously, puncture, abrasion, impact, etc., virtually all running related injuries are the result of the forces, the friction, and impact of our feet interacting with the ground.
Most of us do remove our feet from the ground, by wearing shoes. But, that simply moves the ground forces, to the bottom of our shoes, which are attached to our feet, which are attached to – well, you get the idea… And we continue to pound, skid, twist, push, etc., barely aware, that we are pounding, skidding, pushing, etc..
The next best thing to keeping our feet off the ground, something a bit more attainable, would be to barely touch the ground, to reduce, if not eliminate friction – skidding, excess pushing, twisting, slipping of the feet. If we could distribute the forces across our entire sole, our foot landing on the road at precisely the same speed and direction as the road is traveling underneath us, perhaps even decelerating our foot, as it touches the ground, just like a space shuttle docking with the space station.
The difficulty, of course, is that we are rarely aware of these problems. Most of us run in a kind of dazed condition, not really paying attention to these ground forces.
Some of the wealthy, or elite runners could have coaches watch, and let them know when their running technique is getting sloppy. For most of us, this sort of personal coaching is far too costly. And even if we could afford it, for many of us, it takes a bit of repetition before we learn something, and make it habit – as soon as the coach is gone, we go back to our old, sloppy ways of running.
If only we could have a coach, who worked very cheap, maybe for food, and could be with us constantly, someone to remind us, emphatically, perhaps by hitting us on the palms of our hands with a ruler or something, with each and every step, when the ground forces change, so we could make adjustments, and keep on running gently.
Maybe, something like those shoes with computer chips that change the tension in the springs depending on how hard we are pounding our feet into the ground? If only we had something like that, but even more sophisticated (hey, as long as we’re dreaming, let’s go fully sci-fi!), built into our body – a complex system of sensors, maybe concentrated on the soles of our shoes, in direct contact with the ground, sensing every little detail, of each and every step, and some sort of very complex computer (the most powerful ever built) attached to those sensing devices, to process the information, and maybe a way for that computer to communicate directly to our muscles, so we could make the necessary adjustments to the way we run.
Then we could step more gently, like we’re sneaking up on someone. We might actually start running more efficiently, more gracefully, more “naturally” (oh the irony!), like, maybe, in some ways, better than, any other running creature on this planet.
We could even shift our weight, instantly, when we stepped on sharp pointy objects – if we could figure out a way to implant these sensors in our skin, we might even be able to run, dare I say it –– BAREFOOT!
And with this kind of instant, and continuous interaction, we might just find running more stimulating, exciting, maybe even, FUN!
But, of course, that’s all science fiction. We’ll have to wait until scientists perfect artificial intelligence before we could have anything like that.
If only we had a brain!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Talking Feet??
I'm intrigued with the idea of talking feet. Barefoot runners are often advised to "listen" to our feet, because they can teach us to run with better form.
Even though I'm almost 56 years old, I think my feet are still teenagers. They have a very limited vocabulary. They just don't like to get into meaningful discussions with me. If they aren't ignoring me outright, my feet mostly just mutter and grumble. I can put up with that for a pretty long time.
Its those occasional blood curdling screams that really get to me. Almost give me heart attacks! I have to stop and comfort them for a while, telling them "That's okay, that's okay, you'll be fine. There's nothing to be afraid of." They usually sob and shudder for a few minutes but then settle down. At those times, you'd think they were still little babies! That's also when they start to whine and pester me. "Are we there yet?" "Soon." "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "Shut up! I'll tell you when!"
I hate it when they talk back and argue with me. Hey! I'm the boss -- you'll do what I tell you and you'll appreciate it! Problem is, they usually end up getting their way no matter what I say, impertinent things! But I feel I have to at least try, for principle's sake.
But when they argue with each other? Don't get me started on this! Its incessant -- "I'm first!" "No, I'm first!" "No - I'M FIRST!!" It just goes on and on and on. I swear - they can argue 180 beats a minute sometimes.
Sometimes we get along pretty well! What's really nice is when they laugh or even sing. That really makes me smile. Its a little embarrassing around other runners, though. Me, grinning like a Cheshire, my bare feet pouncing along briskly. I suspect those other runners can feel the good vibes because some of them smile back.
So, some words of advice. Listen to your feet. Its uncanny how much they really know. Why, you might just learn something from them!
Ryan
I'm intrigued with the idea of talking feet. Barefoot runners are often advised to "listen" to our feet, because they can teach us to run with better form.
Even though I'm almost 56 years old, I think my feet are still teenagers. They have a very limited vocabulary. They just don't like to get into meaningful discussions with me. If they aren't ignoring me outright, my feet mostly just mutter and grumble. I can put up with that for a pretty long time.
Its those occasional blood curdling screams that really get to me. Almost give me heart attacks! I have to stop and comfort them for a while, telling them "That's okay, that's okay, you'll be fine. There's nothing to be afraid of." They usually sob and shudder for a few minutes but then settle down. At those times, you'd think they were still little babies! That's also when they start to whine and pester me. "Are we there yet?" "Soon." "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "Shut up! I'll tell you when!"
I hate it when they talk back and argue with me. Hey! I'm the boss -- you'll do what I tell you and you'll appreciate it! Problem is, they usually end up getting their way no matter what I say, impertinent things! But I feel I have to at least try, for principle's sake.
But when they argue with each other? Don't get me started on this! Its incessant -- "I'm first!" "No, I'm first!" "No - I'M FIRST!!" It just goes on and on and on. I swear - they can argue 180 beats a minute sometimes.
Sometimes we get along pretty well! What's really nice is when they laugh or even sing. That really makes me smile. Its a little embarrassing around other runners, though. Me, grinning like a Cheshire, my bare feet pouncing along briskly. I suspect those other runners can feel the good vibes because some of them smile back.
So, some words of advice. Listen to your feet. Its uncanny how much they really know. Why, you might just learn something from them!
Ryan
Monday, October 05, 2009
Goodbye, Doran
My oldest brother, Doran, passed away on September 26th in Denver, Colorado.
He logged more than 65,000 miles bike riding, 22,000 of those were climbing mountains. He biked up Pike's Peak several times, border to border across Ohio and Kansas. He biked the Rocky Mountains in Montana. He biked up Sandia Peak in Albuquerque.
On June 15th he was out for an early morning bike ride before work in Denver, Colorado. At about 5:30 a.m. he was almost all the way across an intersection when a pickup truck broadsided him, throwing him almost 100 feet. He was conscious when paramedics attended to him, giving them the phone number of his wife so they could contact her. But on the way to the hospital his internal injuries bled out so much his brain was oxygen starved and he never regained consciousness.
After 3 months of hoping and praying for a miraculous recovery, his wife and we all knew that this was the best he was going to recover, so the decision was made to pull the plug. He died just four days later, on September 26th.
His funeral was last week in Denver. We estimate that over 500 people attended it. He was a very loved and respected church and community leader where he lived!
He was a steady, shining example of plain old goodness, humor, generosity, love, and support. He will be sorely missed.
Ryan
My oldest brother, Doran, passed away on September 26th in Denver, Colorado.He logged more than 65,000 miles bike riding, 22,000 of those were climbing mountains. He biked up Pike's Peak several times, border to border across Ohio and Kansas. He biked the Rocky Mountains in Montana. He biked up Sandia Peak in Albuquerque.
On June 15th he was out for an early morning bike ride before work in Denver, Colorado. At about 5:30 a.m. he was almost all the way across an intersection when a pickup truck broadsided him, throwing him almost 100 feet. He was conscious when paramedics attended to him, giving them the phone number of his wife so they could contact her. But on the way to the hospital his internal injuries bled out so much his brain was oxygen starved and he never regained consciousness.
After 3 months of hoping and praying for a miraculous recovery, his wife and we all knew that this was the best he was going to recover, so the decision was made to pull the plug. He died just four days later, on September 26th.
His funeral was last week in Denver. We estimate that over 500 people attended it. He was a very loved and respected church and community leader where he lived!
He was a steady, shining example of plain old goodness, humor, generosity, love, and support. He will be sorely missed.
Ryan
Friday, May 01, 2009
Places I Like to Run Barefoot - Portland
These following pictures are taken of a beach on the Portland side of the river, where the Columbia River joins with the Williamette River. This is an area I sometimes go in between my longer runs where I can just take it easy in the sand and water and give my feet some relaxing therapy.
To the left is the beginning of a trail from the parking lot through the woods to the beach. This is a nice surface of hard sand. This area is known to have a lot of stinging nettle, so I don't venture off the established trails! This is a favorite area for people to brings their dogs and let them run free on the beach. Often I bring some dog biscuits to hand out, just because I love dogs.
This is a grassy area used for group picnics and parties. Sometimes I run through here just for the fun of it. To the north of this area is the Columbia River. To the west is the Williamette River. The two rivers converge near this park.
This is looking north onto the Columbia River at the beach entrance.
This is the beach along the Columbia River. Laying on the log is a fisherman "hard at work." The river was at high tide this day, so the beach is really narrow. When the tide is out, I sometimes find these bad rusty wires and spikes in the sand. One time I got a nasty gouge in my foot from one of them. This area is not well maintained at all. I have spent a little time trying to pull the metal out and move it some inconspicuous place up in the trees where nobody will ever come across it. In the distance is a port where they sometimes load and load cars from large ships.
This is looking south on the Williamette River shore. Off in the distance is some industrial shipping port. Near that port is the 'beginning' of this little beach. It is about 1 1/2 miles from the beginning point to the end point on the Columbia beach side, so one up-and-back run is 3 miles. I sometimes double that to get in six miles on this beach.
Just up from the beach front are woods with some trails in them that lead up to the parking lot. As long as I stick to the trails I can avoid the stinging nettle that grows in the area. In the Spring there are edible mushrooms called Morrells growing in these woods, and I see quite a few people foraging for them.
This is looking towards the south end of the beach, on the Williamette River. There is usually a ship docked there getting filled with grain or something. Those look like grain elevators.
More trails in the woods leading to the parking lot.
More trails and logs to leap over. Some wimp put up some cross-boards. Too lazy to leap, I guess.
Trail in the woods.
Beach looking north next to the Williamette River.
My footprint in the wet sand.
Wide trail leading back to the parking lot.
More of the same trail.
These following pictures are taken of a beach on the Portland side of the river, where the Columbia River joins with the Williamette River. This is an area I sometimes go in between my longer runs where I can just take it easy in the sand and water and give my feet some relaxing therapy.
To the left is the beginning of a trail from the parking lot through the woods to the beach. This is a nice surface of hard sand. This area is known to have a lot of stinging nettle, so I don't venture off the established trails! This is a favorite area for people to brings their dogs and let them run free on the beach. Often I bring some dog biscuits to hand out, just because I love dogs.
This is a grassy area used for group picnics and parties. Sometimes I run through here just for the fun of it. To the north of this area is the Columbia River. To the west is the Williamette River. The two rivers converge near this park.
This is looking north onto the Columbia River at the beach entrance.
This is the beach along the Columbia River. Laying on the log is a fisherman "hard at work." The river was at high tide this day, so the beach is really narrow. When the tide is out, I sometimes find these bad rusty wires and spikes in the sand. One time I got a nasty gouge in my foot from one of them. This area is not well maintained at all. I have spent a little time trying to pull the metal out and move it some inconspicuous place up in the trees where nobody will ever come across it. In the distance is a port where they sometimes load and load cars from large ships.
This is looking south on the Williamette River shore. Off in the distance is some industrial shipping port. Near that port is the 'beginning' of this little beach. It is about 1 1/2 miles from the beginning point to the end point on the Columbia beach side, so one up-and-back run is 3 miles. I sometimes double that to get in six miles on this beach.
Just up from the beach front are woods with some trails in them that lead up to the parking lot. As long as I stick to the trails I can avoid the stinging nettle that grows in the area. In the Spring there are edible mushrooms called Morrells growing in these woods, and I see quite a few people foraging for them.
This is looking towards the south end of the beach, on the Williamette River. There is usually a ship docked there getting filled with grain or something. Those look like grain elevators.
More trails in the woods leading to the parking lot.
More trails and logs to leap over. Some wimp put up some cross-boards. Too lazy to leap, I guess.
Trail in the woods.
Beach looking north next to the Williamette River.
My footprint in the wet sand.
Wide trail leading back to the parking lot.
More of the same trail.
Where I Run Barefoot -- Vancouver Pics
I decided to go out and take some pics of some parts of my favorite running routes in and near
Vancouver, Washington. (The OTHER Vancouver! The OTHER Washington!)
These pics are of the areas I run when I go from my work. You can click on any of t
hem to really see the details. Depending on which shortcuts I take or don't take, the
distance can be anywhere from 4 to 12 miles. Most of the run is on cement sidewalks,
with a sandy river beach at the far end - if I go that far.
The following is small city park about 6 blocks from my office. They have a small wading
pond where lots of parents bring their kids to splash and play on hot days. One day I
stopped to dip my feet into the water to cool off. I got a lot of strange looks from people.
They probably thought I was some kind of weirdo, so I haven't done that again!
The following is looking the other way from the city park, looking south, in front of a
new Hilton Hotel. This part of the sidewalk is the smoooooothest section of my run.
I love it! Its about a 1/4 mile from here to the Columbia River which separates
Washington from Oregon. When I get to the river I can go up onto the bridge and go
over to Portland or I can turn and run along the river-side sidewalk that takes me to a
nice park with lots of beach sand.
The following is on the river front sidewalk, about mile 1 from work. It has a grass
border available in case my feet need a soft change of pace. I try to just stick to the
cement for training and toughening purposes. Some sections of the sidewalk have
a corrugated pattern scratched in which can be a real challenge. In the Spring these
trees drop this nasty little seed casings that have some kind of goo on them. They
end up sticking to my feet and act like flypaper - everything ends up sticking to the
glue-like tar which requires me to stop and try to scrape it off frequently. It takes
days to get the black gunk off my skin after I run on those things.
The following shows a foot bridge I sometimes cross. It goes over a freeway and some
train tracks. Its very nice. The surface is weird -- something between packed dirt and
cement. Its mostly very smooth, sometimes with sandy grit in places.
The following is looking at the path on the other side of the foot bridge. This is the
historic Fort Vancouver site. The path makes a bend to the right and connects up
with "Officer's Row" on Fort Vancouver.
The following is Fort Vancouver, on the right, taken from the foot bridge.
I reversed my direction and came back down to the river front. The following is
looking eastward on the river front sidewalk.
The following is looking back towards the I-5 bridge that crosses the Columbia
River. Washington on the right, Oregon on the left. I have crossed this bridge and
run around different parts of north Portland.
The following is approaching mile post 2 on my run of a rough sidewalk that goes
past a bunch of condominiums and some fancy restaurants. I run this when I want
to really give my feet a hard workout (and when I feel like 'showing-off' because
the restaurants have outside tables where I always get a lot of curious stares from
diners.) At the far end of this row of buildings I can either veer to the north and
eventually connect back to Fort Vancouver and return to my office to complete
a nice 4-mile run, or I can continue eastward to eventually get to the parks and
beaches along the Columbia River.
The following is taken at the beach near Marine Park. This is a little past mile post 3 on
my run. The river was at high tide, so there wasn't much of a beach to run on this day.
The following is further up the beach, looking east. In the distance is the I-205
bridge that connects Washington and Oregon. That pole in the water has an
osprey nest on top. Every Spring there is one or two fledglings in the nest. There
is always one parent or the other baby-sitting them. The other parent is always
close by.
The following is another sidewalk along the water's edge. It goes past a bunch of
new condominiums and takes me to Wintler Park, just beyond the little spit you see
in the distance. I can run on the beach a total of about two miles in each direction,
making a total 4-mile beach leg to my run. Its a great chance to experience a change
of surfaces and some cool water. While I am on the beach I always do my civic
duty and pick up any pieces of glass and deposit them where they won't hurt anyone
or any animal. If the tide is low enough, I run on the sand you see on the right. This
day the tide was too high.
The following is the view to the east and right of this sidewalk. It shows the Portland
International Airport tower sticking up in the distance.
The following is looking further east from the spit. Usually this is a wide sandy
beach, but it was high tide this day. This is probably my favorite part of the entire
run. This beach goes to a public beach called Wintler Park and on past a bunch of
million dollar homes. I've had home owners thank me for picking up glass from the
sand in front of their homes. I wish the beach went all the way to the I-205 bridge.
That would be a fun extension to this run. The bridge is almost two miles from WA
shore to OR shore. When I run to the end of this beach and back to my office, it
makes it a 10 mile or 12 mile run (depending on if I add any extension loops along
the way.)
While I was on the spit taking photos, I noticed this animal swimming close by. I
think it is a beaver, which is odd because they usually aren't seen during broad
daylight. I see a lot of places where the beavers have gone up on shore , chewed
off branches and dragged them across the sand to the water. Odd thing is, I have
never seen any beaver dams anywhere.
The following is of a couple of other water friends I saw along the way. These two
were actually quite close to me. The geese I have seen are usually very comfortable
being around me. Perhaps my white baseball cap looks like a bird-bill to them and
they think I am just some weird, big bird. Or else they think this ridiculous guy with
no shoes on cannot really pose any kind of threat to them!
I decided to go out and take some pics of some parts of my favorite running routes in and near
Vancouver, Washington. (The OTHER Vancouver! The OTHER Washington!)
These pics are of the areas I run when I go from my work. You can click on any of t
hem to really see the details. Depending on which shortcuts I take or don't take, the
distance can be anywhere from 4 to 12 miles. Most of the run is on cement sidewalks,
with a sandy river beach at the far end - if I go that far.
The following is small city park about 6 blocks from my office. They have a small wading
pond where lots of parents bring their kids to splash and play on hot days. One day I
stopped to dip my feet into the water to cool off. I got a lot of strange looks from people.
They probably thought I was some kind of weirdo, so I haven't done that again!
The following is looking the other way from the city park, looking south, in front of a
new Hilton Hotel. This part of the sidewalk is the smoooooothest section of my run.
I love it! Its about a 1/4 mile from here to the Columbia River which separates
Washington from Oregon. When I get to the river I can go up onto the bridge and go
over to Portland or I can turn and run along the river-side sidewalk that takes me to a
nice park with lots of beach sand.
The following is on the river front sidewalk, about mile 1 from work. It has a grass
border available in case my feet need a soft change of pace. I try to just stick to the
cement for training and toughening purposes. Some sections of the sidewalk have
a corrugated pattern scratched in which can be a real challenge. In the Spring these
trees drop this nasty little seed casings that have some kind of goo on them. They
end up sticking to my feet and act like flypaper - everything ends up sticking to the
glue-like tar which requires me to stop and try to scrape it off frequently. It takes
days to get the black gunk off my skin after I run on those things.
The following shows a foot bridge I sometimes cross. It goes over a freeway and some
train tracks. Its very nice. The surface is weird -- something between packed dirt and
cement. Its mostly very smooth, sometimes with sandy grit in places.
The following is looking at the path on the other side of the foot bridge. This is the
historic Fort Vancouver site. The path makes a bend to the right and connects up
with "Officer's Row" on Fort Vancouver.
The following is Fort Vancouver, on the right, taken from the foot bridge.
I reversed my direction and came back down to the river front. The following is
looking eastward on the river front sidewalk.
The following is looking back towards the I-5 bridge that crosses the Columbia
River. Washington on the right, Oregon on the left. I have crossed this bridge and
run around different parts of north Portland.
The following is approaching mile post 2 on my run of a rough sidewalk that goes
past a bunch of condominiums and some fancy restaurants. I run this when I want
to really give my feet a hard workout (and when I feel like 'showing-off' because
the restaurants have outside tables where I always get a lot of curious stares from
diners.) At the far end of this row of buildings I can either veer to the north and
eventually connect back to Fort Vancouver and return to my office to complete
a nice 4-mile run, or I can continue eastward to eventually get to the parks and
beaches along the Columbia River.
The following is taken at the beach near Marine Park. This is a little past mile post 3 on
my run. The river was at high tide, so there wasn't much of a beach to run on this day.
The following is further up the beach, looking east. In the distance is the I-205
bridge that connects Washington and Oregon. That pole in the water has an
osprey nest on top. Every Spring there is one or two fledglings in the nest. There
is always one parent or the other baby-sitting them. The other parent is always
close by.
The following is another sidewalk along the water's edge. It goes past a bunch of
new condominiums and takes me to Wintler Park, just beyond the little spit you see
in the distance. I can run on the beach a total of about two miles in each direction,
making a total 4-mile beach leg to my run. Its a great chance to experience a change
of surfaces and some cool water. While I am on the beach I always do my civic
duty and pick up any pieces of glass and deposit them where they won't hurt anyone
or any animal. If the tide is low enough, I run on the sand you see on the right. This
day the tide was too high.
The following is the view to the east and right of this sidewalk. It shows the Portland
International Airport tower sticking up in the distance.
The following is looking further east from the spit. Usually this is a wide sandy
beach, but it was high tide this day. This is probably my favorite part of the entire
run. This beach goes to a public beach called Wintler Park and on past a bunch of
million dollar homes. I've had home owners thank me for picking up glass from the
sand in front of their homes. I wish the beach went all the way to the I-205 bridge.
That would be a fun extension to this run. The bridge is almost two miles from WA
shore to OR shore. When I run to the end of this beach and back to my office, it
makes it a 10 mile or 12 mile run (depending on if I add any extension loops along
the way.)
While I was on the spit taking photos, I noticed this animal swimming close by. I
think it is a beaver, which is odd because they usually aren't seen during broad
daylight. I see a lot of places where the beavers have gone up on shore , chewed
off branches and dragged them across the sand to the water. Odd thing is, I have
never seen any beaver dams anywhere.
The following is of a couple of other water friends I saw along the way. These two
were actually quite close to me. The geese I have seen are usually very comfortable
being around me. Perhaps my white baseball cap looks like a bird-bill to them and
they think I am just some weird, big bird. Or else they think this ridiculous guy with
no shoes on cannot really pose any kind of threat to them!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Simple, Inexpensive Health
Just as running barefoot is a simple, inexpensive healthy way to exercise, so I have discovered two other very simple, inexpensive ways to enjoy good (perfect?) health.
Last month, February, my wife had an orange size tumor removed from her colon. It was adenocarcinoma of the colon. She didn't want to do post surgical chemotherapy because of some other health concerns she had. So we went on a search to find what other natural cures there might be for her cancer. We found two things which are extremely simple, inexpensive, and effective. Each one has evidence of 90-95% success rate (compared to chemo's 50% rate). Not only do they each help eradicate cancers of all types, but they help to remove all kinds of diseases, pathogens like fungi, yeast, bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
The first one is called "MMS" which stands for Miracle Mineral Solution. It is a low dosage form of administering chlorine dioxide, commonly used in water purification systems. It is made at home by combining Sodium Chlorite with a food acid like lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid. The acid releases chlorine dioxide, a gas, which can then be taken with water or juice. Chlorine dioxide is a pathogen specific oxidant. It leaves healthy, good cells alone, but it explodes bad cells or molecules it comes in contact with. You can think of it as a pathogen vacuum cleaner. It has been shown to heal malaria, anthrax, cancers of all types, flu, colds, bacteria, viruses, hepatitis A B & C, AIDS, Candida, among many other things, plus it chelates heavy metals out of the system. Its cost is only $25 to $50 per year, and it leaves absolutely no trace residues in the body.
The other one is called the Budwig diet. Dr. Johanna Budwig was a German scientist who worked on the effect of healthy fats and oils on the body. She discovered that flaxseed oil has some very powerful properties that help cells respirate (transport wastes out and nutrients and oxygen in). However, being an oil, it has a hard time passing by the cell membranes. Dr. Budwig discovered that by combining it with the food-based sulphur found in cottage cheese, the oil molecules chained with the sulphur and became a water-soluble oil. This made it possible for the oil to be used by cells much more easily. Dr. Budwig has used this protocol with terminal cancer patients and reversed their disease in just a couple of months. The list of diseases, including cancer, that the Budwig protocol has healed is very long. Interestingly, Multiple Sclerosis is among them! It costs about $9 per bottle of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese is less than $3. That averages to be only $12 every month or so.
We figure that these two diet protocols, each with 90% and better healing records for cancer, will do a lot more for my wife's health than chemotherapy could. Chemotherapy destroys the body's immune system, which is why it is so hard on people, especially people who may have immune systems that are already compromised by autoimmune disease. Plus the drugs used in chemotherapy are known to be carcinogenic by themselves. Many times its the chemotherapy itself that kills people. MMS and Budwig both enhance the body's immune system, and enable it work to its peak proficiency, with no side effects except better health.
I have posted links to each of these protocols on my sidebar. There is a lot more information available on the web.
Ryan
Healthier Than Ever in Vancouver
Just as running barefoot is a simple, inexpensive healthy way to exercise, so I have discovered two other very simple, inexpensive ways to enjoy good (perfect?) health.
Last month, February, my wife had an orange size tumor removed from her colon. It was adenocarcinoma of the colon. She didn't want to do post surgical chemotherapy because of some other health concerns she had. So we went on a search to find what other natural cures there might be for her cancer. We found two things which are extremely simple, inexpensive, and effective. Each one has evidence of 90-95% success rate (compared to chemo's 50% rate). Not only do they each help eradicate cancers of all types, but they help to remove all kinds of diseases, pathogens like fungi, yeast, bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
The first one is called "MMS" which stands for Miracle Mineral Solution. It is a low dosage form of administering chlorine dioxide, commonly used in water purification systems. It is made at home by combining Sodium Chlorite with a food acid like lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid. The acid releases chlorine dioxide, a gas, which can then be taken with water or juice. Chlorine dioxide is a pathogen specific oxidant. It leaves healthy, good cells alone, but it explodes bad cells or molecules it comes in contact with. You can think of it as a pathogen vacuum cleaner. It has been shown to heal malaria, anthrax, cancers of all types, flu, colds, bacteria, viruses, hepatitis A B & C, AIDS, Candida, among many other things, plus it chelates heavy metals out of the system. Its cost is only $25 to $50 per year, and it leaves absolutely no trace residues in the body.
The other one is called the Budwig diet. Dr. Johanna Budwig was a German scientist who worked on the effect of healthy fats and oils on the body. She discovered that flaxseed oil has some very powerful properties that help cells respirate (transport wastes out and nutrients and oxygen in). However, being an oil, it has a hard time passing by the cell membranes. Dr. Budwig discovered that by combining it with the food-based sulphur found in cottage cheese, the oil molecules chained with the sulphur and became a water-soluble oil. This made it possible for the oil to be used by cells much more easily. Dr. Budwig has used this protocol with terminal cancer patients and reversed their disease in just a couple of months. The list of diseases, including cancer, that the Budwig protocol has healed is very long. Interestingly, Multiple Sclerosis is among them! It costs about $9 per bottle of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese is less than $3. That averages to be only $12 every month or so.
We figure that these two diet protocols, each with 90% and better healing records for cancer, will do a lot more for my wife's health than chemotherapy could. Chemotherapy destroys the body's immune system, which is why it is so hard on people, especially people who may have immune systems that are already compromised by autoimmune disease. Plus the drugs used in chemotherapy are known to be carcinogenic by themselves. Many times its the chemotherapy itself that kills people. MMS and Budwig both enhance the body's immune system, and enable it work to its peak proficiency, with no side effects except better health.
I have posted links to each of these protocols on my sidebar. There is a lot more information available on the web.
Ryan
Healthier Than Ever in Vancouver
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
More on Barefoot vs Shoes
This is an ongoing blog posted discussion at PopSci about someone's new design for running shoes. I got a response from someone with the label meowmix4jo from Las Vegas, Nevada, who said:
"Ryan, if I understood right, you are basically saying that if they flattened All Stars more they would make better running shoes? "
I replied:
I don't know if flattening All Stars would make them better running shoes. What I am saying is that its odd for a shoe maker to claim their shoes promote a "more natural" running style, yet they include so many un-natural characteristics in their design.
What is "natural?" I think bare feet are the most natural thing we have for running. It stands to reason that shoes that try to come close to natural should be true to bare feet -- no artificial curves, curls, arches, uneven surfaces, pinching, fat bulbous spots, and they should be lightweight with flexibility. I think simple aquasox might be better shoes for running in than the hyped up expensive versions we see.
In fact, I told a 65 yr old retired dentist about my barefoot running. He had to stop running because his knees were giving him too much pain. He tried wearing aquasox, practiced the barefoot running forms I taught him, and he was able to resume running again. In just a few weeks of practice, he could run from two to three miles per run, three times a week. He was ecstatic that a simple pair of aquasox did more to help him run successfully than the thousands of dollars he had spent on chiropractors, podiatrists, orthopedic doctors, massage therapists, and on the many various shoes and orthotics he had purchased.
Some of the best runners in the world are the Tuharamara Indians of the Mexican highlands. They run races that last up to three days and nights and cover 150 miles. Their choice of footwear are simple flat sandals they make themselves, called Huaraches.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
Monday, March 09, 2009
On "Natural' Running Shoes
Someone on the Running Barefoot discussion group (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningBarefoot/) mentioned an article on the Popular Science website about some newly designed running shoes that were supposed to be much more natural. (See it here: http://www.popsci.com/node/32702) I watched the video and read the report. Then I just HAD to leave my comment about what I saw. This is what I said:
Someone on the Running Barefoot discussion group (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningBarefoot/) mentioned an article on the Popular Science website about some newly designed running shoes that were supposed to be much more natural. (See it here: http://www.popsci.com/node/32702) I watched the video and read the report. Then I just HAD to leave my comment about what I saw. This is what I said:
I look at these shoes from the perspective of a true barefoot runner. I have been running exclusively barefoot for almost five years. So I have some questions about this 'natural' shoe.
Why does the toe-box curl upwards? Natural feet rest flat on the ground. What does the upward curl do to the natural movements of the foot? I can only believe forcing the toes of the foot up like that will constrict their natural movements, and will create an artificial stress in the arch of the foot.
Why do those shoes have such a large, built-up heel on them? Natural feet have the heel resting at the same level as the toes and the mid-foot. The video claims there is no need to heel-strike with these shoes -- so why have the big balloon on each heel? Having the heel built-up like that almost guarantees that it will get in the way, almost forcing a heel strike.
What kind of arch support do these shoes have in them? The arch of the foot is designed to flex, contract and expand with each step. If there is an "arch support" in the shoe, then it will interfere with this natural movement and weaken the foot's arch action and strength. Since I have been running barefoot, my arches have become more pronounced because I am actually using them when I run.
I am fascinated by the shock absorption claimed by the little pockets in the forefoot. How much shock can they really absorb? When I run barefoot, I have the benefit of my natural shock-absorbing arch in my foot, my Achilles tendon and calf muscles, plus I have the benefit of up to many inches of bending in my knees if necessary. From my perspective, that little bit of shock absorption contained in about 1/2 inch of space or material just doesn't compare. Proper running technique uses all of the body's natural shock absorbers, making the 1/2 inch of artificial absorption in the shoe unnecessary.
I would be much more interested in a shoe that had no heel whatsoever, and a flat, flexible sole. If they could whack off that bulbous heel, and flatten out that toe box, I might be interested in giving the modified shoe a test run. But - would I BUY it? I run naturally for free - it costs me absolutely nothing to prepare my feet for running. Those (modified) shoes had better offer me something really impressive to make me want to fork out $70-80-90 or more for them.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
Monday, February 09, 2009
Answer to a Question
Someone on a discussion board I visit asked, "Has anyone considered whether shoes actually cause over-pronation?"
I thought about this and came up with my own answer. Here it is:
I agree that shoes can be the cause of either over-pronating or under-pronating, depending on the way the shoe was built. I noticed that running shoes are made with pre-assumptions that people's feet need correction. So they make them with corrections built-in, thinking that will satisfy most of their buyers. In fact, there are very few shoes that do NOT have some kind of 'compensation' factor built in them!
Imagine this:
Suppose every time you took a step, someone next to you gave you a shove. Always in the same direction.
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Let's name that evil guy "Shoe."
At first, this would tend to throw you off balance. Over time, you would learn to anticipate and compensate for the constant imbalance that Shoe was causing you.
If you finally had enough of the rude guy named Shoe, you might just get rid of him at some point.
[Murder not advocated.]
The problem with many people, is they get rid of Shoe, only to replace him by Shoe2, and then by Shoe3, Shoe4, etc. Each new iteration of Shoe still likes to shove you in one direction or another with every step you take, and you learn to anticipate and compensate for each one, after an initial 'break-in' period.
(You might think you are breaking Shoe in, but Shoe thinks he is breaking You in!)
Let's say you just get rid of Shoe completely. Even though he has quit shoving you around, you might still find yourself anticipating and compensating the shoving, just out of habit. Without the actual shoving taking place, you would once again be off-balance by your own compensating actions. Eventually you would get used to Shoe's absence and you would be able to walk and run completely naturally again.
This is one reason why it is almost impossible to learn to run barefoot by only running barefoot part-time! A Very Wise Man once said, "No man can serve two masters." This ties in with that.
So, as good looking as Shoe looks, or as helpful as he claims to be, he still wants to shove you off-balance with every step you take. You can't learn to run barefoot while continuing to let Shoe push you around.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
Someone on a discussion board I visit asked, "Has anyone considered whether shoes actually cause over-pronation?"
I thought about this and came up with my own answer. Here it is:
I agree that shoes can be the cause of either over-pronating or under-pronating, depending on the way the shoe was built. I noticed that running shoes are made with pre-assumptions that people's feet need correction. So they make them with corrections built-in, thinking that will satisfy most of their buyers. In fact, there are very few shoes that do NOT have some kind of 'compensation' factor built in them!
Imagine this:
Suppose every time you took a step, someone next to you gave you a shove. Always in the same direction.
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Step, (shove).
Let's name that evil guy "Shoe."
At first, this would tend to throw you off balance. Over time, you would learn to anticipate and compensate for the constant imbalance that Shoe was causing you.
If you finally had enough of the rude guy named Shoe, you might just get rid of him at some point.
[Murder not advocated.]
The problem with many people, is they get rid of Shoe, only to replace him by Shoe2, and then by Shoe3, Shoe4, etc. Each new iteration of Shoe still likes to shove you in one direction or another with every step you take, and you learn to anticipate and compensate for each one, after an initial 'break-in' period.
(You might think you are breaking Shoe in, but Shoe thinks he is breaking You in!)
Let's say you just get rid of Shoe completely. Even though he has quit shoving you around, you might still find yourself anticipating and compensating the shoving, just out of habit. Without the actual shoving taking place, you would once again be off-balance by your own compensating actions. Eventually you would get used to Shoe's absence and you would be able to walk and run completely naturally again.
This is one reason why it is almost impossible to learn to run barefoot by only running barefoot part-time! A Very Wise Man once said, "No man can serve two masters." This ties in with that.
So, as good looking as Shoe looks, or as helpful as he claims to be, he still wants to shove you off-balance with every step you take. You can't learn to run barefoot while continuing to let Shoe push you around.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Word to a New Barefoot Runner About Technique
I've been thinking about what you said about lack of absorption of shock when your ankles are compressed.
I noticed how my feet react to my bent knees that last time I was out running, and I noticed some things:
My old paradigm for running was basically: "Propel the body into the air and wait for it to come crashing down on my fully extended leg so it is all caught by my one foot. Then do it again with the other foot." Hence the perceived need for padded heels in shoes, etc. (Boy, was I proud of my knotted, tight calves, that were used for the launching, springing part!)
My NEW paradigm for running is more like this: "Lean body forward beyond its balance point, swing rear leg forward with knee bent, start to bring fore leg down towards ground before body weight is committed, touch down with forefoot as body passes over, whole foot then engages ground as body weight transfers to down leg and rear leg starts its swing forward, repeat."
Its hard to put in words what is going on, because so much of it is done simultaneously. I actually 'feel' as if my legs are doing a circular peddling motion, as Ken describes, and that my foot and ankles are doing a front to rear, or forefoot to heel, transfer of weight - like they are working in the opposite direction from what my body is moving.
Its like this: In my old running ways, my body was moving forward while at the same time, my weight was caught by my heels and transferred forward to the front of my feet, which then propelled the weight forward again. It was all forward, forward, forward.
But now, even though my body is moving forward, my weight is 'caught' (actually only a portion of it is caught at first!) by the front of my foot, and the weight is transferred in the opposite direction -- from the front of the foot towards the rear. So its: body forward, weight transfer backward! This cannot be done with the leg fully extended, the knees must be bent. The weight transfer is not a one-time crashing down all at once moment, but it is partially caught as the forefoot touches down, then increases across the whole foot -- so it is spread out a little bit. The heel may touch down, but not so much in a load catching way. Its more of a 'set the spring' mechanism within the Achilles tendon, so when you are ready to lift and swing the leg forward, the natural spring effect helps lift the leg. I guess there is a Yin/Yang effect going on: body forward, feet backward (overly simplified).
I don't know if any of this is making sense. I'm trying to describe how it feels for me to run barefoot. Someone else noticed that running barefoot requires "running from the core." To me this means your feet are not the focus of your running; that is, we don't think about 'landing' on the forefoot, etc. We think of moving the core of the body forward, and the arms, legs, feet, hips, shoulders, etc. all engage in satellite activities towards that end.
Enough postulating for now -- I hope this helps!
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
I've been thinking about what you said about lack of absorption of shock when your ankles are compressed.
I noticed how my feet react to my bent knees that last time I was out running, and I noticed some things:
My old paradigm for running was basically: "Propel the body into the air and wait for it to come crashing down on my fully extended leg so it is all caught by my one foot. Then do it again with the other foot." Hence the perceived need for padded heels in shoes, etc. (Boy, was I proud of my knotted, tight calves, that were used for the launching, springing part!)
My NEW paradigm for running is more like this: "Lean body forward beyond its balance point, swing rear leg forward with knee bent, start to bring fore leg down towards ground before body weight is committed, touch down with forefoot as body passes over, whole foot then engages ground as body weight transfers to down leg and rear leg starts its swing forward, repeat."
Its hard to put in words what is going on, because so much of it is done simultaneously. I actually 'feel' as if my legs are doing a circular peddling motion, as Ken describes, and that my foot and ankles are doing a front to rear, or forefoot to heel, transfer of weight - like they are working in the opposite direction from what my body is moving.
Its like this: In my old running ways, my body was moving forward while at the same time, my weight was caught by my heels and transferred forward to the front of my feet, which then propelled the weight forward again. It was all forward, forward, forward.
But now, even though my body is moving forward, my weight is 'caught' (actually only a portion of it is caught at first!) by the front of my foot, and the weight is transferred in the opposite direction -- from the front of the foot towards the rear. So its: body forward, weight transfer backward! This cannot be done with the leg fully extended, the knees must be bent. The weight transfer is not a one-time crashing down all at once moment, but it is partially caught as the forefoot touches down, then increases across the whole foot -- so it is spread out a little bit. The heel may touch down, but not so much in a load catching way. Its more of a 'set the spring' mechanism within the Achilles tendon, so when you are ready to lift and swing the leg forward, the natural spring effect helps lift the leg. I guess there is a Yin/Yang effect going on: body forward, feet backward (overly simplified).
I don't know if any of this is making sense. I'm trying to describe how it feels for me to run barefoot. Someone else noticed that running barefoot requires "running from the core." To me this means your feet are not the focus of your running; that is, we don't think about 'landing' on the forefoot, etc. We think of moving the core of the body forward, and the arms, legs, feet, hips, shoulders, etc. all engage in satellite activities towards that end.
Enough postulating for now -- I hope this helps!
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Sick
I have a very strong constitution and have only been truly sick a couple of times in my entire life. Last week was one of them. I got a GI bug that really laid me down hard with all the yucky symptoms you'd expect. It even made me pass out at one point. That was different!
So its been about five days of nothing but listen to my insides slosh and boil. I wondered how long I should go without eating or drinking anything. By day 3 my logical side said 'eat!' So I did - a little. Lot of good it did me. I found I really like tonic water with quinine.
Today I'm finally starting to feel like normal, appetite coming back, holding things in a little longer. Wanting to go out for a run! That's the real mark of recovery for me.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
I have a very strong constitution and have only been truly sick a couple of times in my entire life. Last week was one of them. I got a GI bug that really laid me down hard with all the yucky symptoms you'd expect. It even made me pass out at one point. That was different!
So its been about five days of nothing but listen to my insides slosh and boil. I wondered how long I should go without eating or drinking anything. By day 3 my logical side said 'eat!' So I did - a little. Lot of good it did me. I found I really like tonic water with quinine.
Today I'm finally starting to feel like normal, appetite coming back, holding things in a little longer. Wanting to go out for a run! That's the real mark of recovery for me.
Ryan
Vancouver, WA
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