Training Shake-up

Blessings from Mother Earth before
my first Paleo Shoes workout.

I use the word "running" loosely. It's more like the goal rather than what's happening with my training right now. I've downloaded a million tracking apps and beginning running apps to help me run more miles. However if there is anyway for me to take something simple and make it overwhelming complicated - I am always up for the challenge!

The voice apps dictating how many walking / running minutes I need to do just didn't work for me. What do I do about street lights? Waiting for cars? Do I stop the app? When do I start it again? Is it valid now?!?!?  Plus I really don't like being told what to do. I have a *bit* of a gypsy soul. (Link: "Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac).

5 years of Walk/Jogs

What I really love about running is that it is an individual experience rather than a team one. No one has to depend on me and I don't need to depend on someone else. However it's also something you can do individually with a lot of people. My individual gypsy soul can be part of a communal moving meditation.

Right now I am using the Nike tracking app. There is a lot I wish it had but I also hate the idea of starting all over after all the miles I've logged.   Seeing the cumulative miles does something for me psychologically. And last Saturday I reached 500 miles! Six of them were in Paleo Shoes and more to log this week!  The app is really simple. I set the pacing notifications for every half mile to assess where I am at in my workout. I also really enjoy mocking the "atta girl" messages at the end of the run from athletes I don't know. Sarcasm motivates me but deep down I appreciate them.

First Workout in my Paleo Shoes!

In my first Paleo Shoes run I realized I could use the half mile notifications in a different way. Kind of the like the walking minutes / running minutes apps.  I've decided the first half mile is walking, the second half mile is running as much as I can and repeat. The goal is building up distance and actual running time. Hopefully I will connect more of the running half mile segments together. Like individual legos coming together and building a glorious structure of full running miles.  I can tweak with it down the road changing  run / walk orders and frequency. Plus it is really simple for my complicated brain!

Barefoot Running in a Skirt

Seize the day!  I wake up every morning and mean to workout. But not everyday do I really mean it. Today was one of those days until.... LOW TIDE! My favorite surface to train on is flat wet sand. It's a dream! For me it seems to be the most supportive surface while I'm transitioning to a barefoot style of running.

Today I decided to go with the wind and heed the siren call of  the low tide sea. No worries about not having my double layer socks and running shoes with me. No worries about getting sand in my shoes while walking to the packed sand. Just me and my toes. I was bummed I didn't have my Paleo Shoes with me but the joy of training in a barefoot running style is that your options are wide open.

Today I made do without my Paleo Shoes because I wasn't too worried about protecting the bottom of my feet. As long as I didn't step on the stingray who made a poor life decision today (see picture above), I would most likely be ok. Let's take a moment to pause and reflect on the lesson  he/she taught us about misjudging the direction of the tides in our lives....hummm.... Ok! It's time to move on! It still amazes me how much more I enjoy running / jogging / walking with free toes. I really, really, REALLY hate hot sweaty feet.

With the freedom of my toes, is the freedom from my dependence on workout clothes. Don't get me wrong, ideally I'd like to have them. But if I'm wearing a skirt it doesn't mean I can't run. I'm 100% inspired by the Rarámuri in Mexico. The women run in their sandals and skirts. They don't need coolmax shirts or lululemon pants to run. It doesn't stop them.  It doesn't need to stop me either.

2 more miles

I'm still amazed that getting ready to run is so simple. No double layer socks. No shoe laces. I tried a trail yesterday. I still had to stop and adjust my sandals. Right now I'm experimenting how tight I like the cords and where I want the cord lock to be on the top of my feet. While running today I never realized how much I hate having hot sweaty feet. And an added bonus was a beautiful sunset! 

Most Improved

I’m not what you would call a “dedicated athlete”.  I’m more like a “dedicated napper.”

My running journey is a stop and go adventure. I’ve never been  a leader of the pack kind of runner. And I’m not a middle of the pack kind of runner either. I’m somewhere in the back kind of walker / sometimes jogger. Which means at races the gummy energy blocks are always gone by the time I get there. I was also the kid who got “most improved”. From “oh dear god help that poor girl!” to just “oh dear”.

Western States 100 Course - Early 80s
Dad finished running it under 24 hours in this picture 

I grew up around runners. Not just marathoners - but ultramarathons. My dad was an ultrarunner about  30 years before it was more commonly known.  I remember crewing (really my mom did the crewing aka “Mom the Crewing Saint”) and we waited for him at different aid stations along the Western States 100 Miles course.  Dad ran 100 miles in the High Sierras once under 24 hours and once under 30 hours. Because my dad "ultrabob" rocks.  I also remember countless marathons sitting on curbs with my sister waiting for dad to finish while watching a sea of legs running by on their 26 mile journey.  So my perspective on running distances is a bit skewed.  Yet, running a mile and half eluded me.

In Junior High I was the last girl in my grade level at the district Cross-Country meets -  once in 7^th grade and once in 8^th. There were about five of us from the district whose ONLY running goal was not be the last. I remember sizing up the competition and picking out the girl who looked the slowest. I focused on trying to beat her. And I was really pissed when she passed me.

At the the finish line my coaching would be yelling, “Szekeresh! Come on Szekeresh!"  I think he was trying to motivate me. However drawing attention to being the last one was not my idea of motivation. I had some words for him too but I was too breathless to say them.

Honestly it was miraculous I actually made it to the finish line. The course went right past my house and I was tempted every time to run home. And stay there.  

I only ran cross country because you had to try out for all sports to get your letter.  Everyone automatically made Cross-Country and Track. At the age of 12 I assessed my sports skills and I knew (1) I really didn't like sports and (2) I was really bad at them.  I decided Junior High was going to be the pinnacle of my sports and running career.

Also I wasn’t a big fan of sweating in general.  I for sure was not a big fan of the searing pain in my lungs trying to suck down air the first ¼ of the lap. Of course maybe if I had actually completed all the practices and didn’t hide behind the handball courts and wherever else I could – I might have done better.

The end of eighth grade was the end of my running journey, until I was 19.