First run in FiveFingers

Today I did my first run in almost bare feet - 3.5K - with an average of 4m45s per K. Not fast, not slow, but I must admin it was an eye-opener.

Only 3 days after my marathon, I am still a little tired - but I wanted to do my first run to get started again. And why not try something new. I am currently in the midst of reading "Born To Run" - an excellent book about running and why we run.

A fair amount of the book talks about bare-foot running - and I must admit the idea is appealing. So I have borrowed a pair of 5-finger-Vibrams from one of my friends to test if I should incorporate a "feet-strengthening" module to minimize risk of injuries.

Goosh, they look stupid - almost like monkey feet - I was a bit concerned about the comfort and if your toes would be hurt after a longer run.

But they feel very comfortable and it was actually a great experience to run without traditional running shoes.

I definitely understand when Bare-Foot Ted says that you are more present and focused when running without shoes.





The first 10 mins I focused very much on running "correctly" to make sure I did not hurt my feet. This was very tough to run this way, so I started to relax more and find a good rhythm. I had decided not to run very far to push my legs further after the marathon. But I will definitely try to run a longer run (7-10K) to experience the feeling of running more naturally and relaxed.

But I can only recommend every runner who want to try another running experience to put on the Five-Fingers and go for a short run - it is a new experience.

Copenhagen Marathon 2010

Yesterday I finished CPH MT 2010 in 3h26m58s - a little disappointing result, but after a Spring with a lot of disappointments, I think the result is pretty fair. And today I am OK, and is considering to do a small training pass later tonight to see if I can recover quicker.

CPH MT had a new route this year - the marathon has grown to 12500 participants, and they has to find a new starting and finishing area to hold all these runners and spectators. So they redesigned the route and with fair amount of success - there was a couple of sharp 90 and 180 degree corners, but we passed more beautiful areas and tourist attractions and there was definitely more people cheering along the route. The latter could have been due to better weather this year. So all in all Sparta had done a good job in planning this race. Looking forward to next years race - and if you are considering to do a marathon, CPH MT should be on your consideration list.

One of my friends decided a couple of days ago to start in this year's race - she has not been practicing for the marathon specifically, but she is in good shape, so I had good faith she would make it. And she did a great race. Finished in 4h08m and ran a negative split - very impressive for a runner not used to these long distances - I must mention, it is her second marathon, but the last one was 10 years ago. Very impressive - Congratulations Lone !!

Next big event is going to be Storebælt Naturmarathon (http://www.naturmaraton.dk/) on June 20th.

Barefoot running

My neighbour came over some time ago with a book on running: "Born To Run" - he was very hyped about this book and said that I had to read it. Normally I never get very enthusiastic about books recommend by a lot of people - I tend to get disappointed when read these books.

But I must admit that I did get inspired by this book - first by the many interesting people the book describes - runners that are not motivated by money or prestige - runners motivated by the challenge and the search for the "right way" of running and living.

Secondly I found the aspect of barefoot running very interesting. The concept is very appealing. and in the last couple of days I've spend a little time to investigate and get wiser on the subject.

My own experience is that in the past 5-6 years where I've been running, I have been fortunate not to have any serious injuries - only smaller pains in knees, thigh, and feet. But nothing I have not be able to cure by not running as intense for a limited period, and nothing that has prevented me from running a planned race.

But I have had an increased concern about my selection of shoes and running style. In the beginning I ran in "neutral" shoes, but has to select Asics Gel Kayano (slight pronation) and I have a suspicion that I have to select a shoe with more pronation. If something gets worse, it is not a lasting solution. Barefoot running is suppose to strengthen your feet and legs to a more natural running style where heal-landing is not an option and where you run more like fore-foot runners.

It is definitely something I will try to explore over the next couple of months - so if there is anybody out there with some experience or want to try the same, please reply to me, so we can share experience.

By coincidence I found that Bare-Foot Ted is running at Copenhagen Marathon tomorrow - It would be great to have a talk with him tomorrow if possible. But with 13.000 runners at the start line, it is probably not going to be likely.. :-)