Back with a vengeance

Needless to say, I stopped running for a period of time was fat and out of shape with cigarettes to go as well. Fortunately, I snapped out of it and have been running regularly since  mid Feb 2012.

Am in good shape now with a recent 3hr run.

Targeting 3h15m for this year's Singapore Stanchart  Marathon on Dec 2.

Update on current form and condition

Apologies to all my friends and fellow barefoot running enthusiasts for not updating for a long time due to some injuries, poor form and longer than expected time to run in with my 'new shoes'(barefeet).

The bare feet are indeed the best coach that you will ever have. But they take time to run in for most of us city folk and especially so for me. I was happy to be even running at all and am glad I persevered.

Am currently running 9.8km twice daily at a decent pace and estimate my weekly mileage to be about 100km now. I do not have a fixed rest day as there is no 'killer' speed workouts or long runs at the moment, so I rest only if needed.

Too much, too soon?

I had some pain on the top of my left foot after Saturday's run. As this has happened before, I thought that resting for 2 days should solve the problem.

During my run on Tuesday, there was discomfort in the left foot again but at different areas. Pain occurs at the back of the left heel upon pressure being exerted by the foot surface.

I also had some mild contusion(blue-black) on the ball of my left foot many days ago, but that felt good enough to continue running the next day. However the pain came back again, possibly because I exerted too much pressure at the ball due to the hurting heel.

Might be a small technical defect of the landing of my left foot. It's probably not gentle enough, and the problem surfaces after multiple days of running. Muscles at the (left?) foot are not strong enough yet. Probably a combination of several reasons.

So now I am down again for another 2 days and not recovered yet. Hmmm.....

Zola Budd's Story - By Steve Friedman

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13308-1-1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8X9X10X11-12,00.html

The sad, touching yet inspirational story of the most famous female world-class barefoot distance runner in the world. At 42, she still runs a good 5k cross country race in sub 18mins. Wishing her great joy and peace in her return to competitive running, and of course victories too!

I wonder if she still races barefoot? hmm

Gordon Pirie

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18228/Gordon-Piries-Running-Fast-and-Injury-Free-ultimate-edition-240307

I was deeply inspired after reading the life story of British distance runner "Gordon Pirie" and hope that he may be an inspiration to whoever reads this too.

Gordon is a fine example of an ordinary man who did extraordinary things just because he had a strong belief in himself. He did not have great talent like many top athletes did, but he made up for it by training more and harder than probably any other man on earth. At his peak, he was running 12,000 miles annually. That translates to 400km PER WEEK of varied pace running in addition to weights training and cycling.

Progress is not measured on the training track, or by the number of miles logged each week. Progress is determined by what happens when an athlete races. - Gordon Pirie (1931 - 1991)

Getting the hang of it.

Had difficulty getting back into rhythm after Borneo marathon due to loss of fitness and glad to finally find my form again.

November marks the beginning of daily running without resting and I started the week with some minor discomforts. I was cut by a small bit of glass probably, twice over the week and it felt mildly uncomfortable running through it. But as all barefoot runners know, the soles heal at an incredible rate and there was zero pain by weekend.

Week 1 of 9 months base phase ended very comfortably and I am looking forward to 80km next week. Will try to run a little lesser @ 7km once weekly as a form of rest day and at the same time, give my dog some exercise. She is getting bigger at 13 months and a pale shadow of her former aerobic fitness level when I used bring her for runs up to 20km.

Base Phase

At first glance, most would get the impression that I am going for a "long holiday" for 9 months during this period of easy running. I beg to differ.

This is a time where I will be increasing the mileage constantly, and will be running more than I ever did before soon. To top it off, I will not be resting a single day till I am done. By March, the mileage will be too high for single sessions and I will have to train twice daily.

This is where I am hoping that by running barefoot exclusively and at a moderate pace, my legs will be able to withstand running at high mileage without sustaining any injury.

By God's grace, I should in the best aerobic condition of my life at the end of Base training and possibly 2kg lighter than my normal racing weight.