Jim's Blog

It has been busy the past couple of weeks leaving little time for writing. We just returned from four days in Dallas where Jakob got to go to a gymnastics camp. The top 12 kids from our region spent several days working and playing together.

On the running front, training continues to progress. This week I believe I will hit 50 miles. In the past, this has been a difficult hurdle to get past. Not only does it demand a substantial amount of time on the road, 10 hours per week or more, I usually start to pick up many nagging joint aches and pains. It should be interesting to see if my recent choice of minimal footwear and changes to form will allow me to do more. The last time I ran this much on a weekly basis I was wearing regular footwear and was still a heel striker.

I did my first truly barefoot run while in Dallas. 3 miles on an asphalt path similar to our Greenways trails here. I have been tossing the idea around in my head for quite some time but had never taken the plunge. Then I see this television show with a guy walking around barefoot in the snow and decided I could handle a couple miles on warm dry ground if he could do that. I have to admit, it was outstanding! It feels light and fast and surprisingly soft. I intend to start incorporating barefoot miles into the week slowly. I don’t know if I will reach a point where I could do all my runs totally shoeless. While I can handle pavement without any issue, gravel and rocky trails would take a lot more conditioning of the sole.

The heat of summer is truly setting in. It seems like it’s a constant battle to remain hydrated. I drink as much throughout the day as I can handle and still have times where I have difficulty maintaining weight. I can always tell when I haven’t had enough as I begin to get headaches that will not go away until I have drank a couple bottles of water.

Week of May 31 – 46 miles on foot, 64 bike
Week of June 7 – 25 miles on foot, 48 bike