I remember liking my runs more when I was lighter, in shape and not carefully running to avoid injury to my feet and ankles. I ran three more times this past week in barefoot sandals and just couldn’t shake feeling like heck. I felt worse than heck, but this is a family blog, so there you have it.

I ran Marshall Mesa this week with Shelly. I felt best running uphills, but I couldn’t quite shake the tightness I felt in my left ankle. My forefoot hasn’t really adjusted to running barefoot yet and I have a some discomfort with the straps on the sandals. The other two runs I had this week were on the Boulder Creek Path and much easier (albeit, less fun) than trail running. I have been considering keeping a history on my running progression, to see if there is a departure from sanity or potentially something positive that helps keep me accountable and on track.

It is also not recommended to run in Luna Sandals and mess up the way you tie the lace around the forefoot. Luckily my wife is patient and waited for me while I messed with the laces. Eventually I sat down and retied my right lace and realized I wasn’t securing one of the ankle laces. Nice YouTube video clip of how to tie your huaraches:

I broke down and ran on a treadmill today at a hotel in San Fran. Dang was that fun. I ran fast(ish) and long(ish). Any distance over 5K for me right now is long. I actually had fun running and tried to get some video on my iPhone of running on the treadmill while I was holding the camera. After almost falling on my face a couple of times and watching the kids in the pool laugh hysterically at me, I gave up. I was a little sad that I enjoyed the treadmill so much, but the softness and convenience are hard to beat.

I still wear my flip flops around as much as possible to toughen up my feet and build up my arches. It must be helping because I am not as sore when I am back in TKD.

Side note: I have been reading some pretty inflammatory blogs about barefoot runners being nutters. Interesting reading, but I am not much of a fan of ranters, regardless of the topic. It seems like people should be entitled to their opinion, but should realize how crazy they sound when they are calling everyone around them crazy. Anywho, off to the biking part.

Dave, smiling after an uphill at Hall Ranch

Shelly: AKA Deer, Tornado, Hot Stuff, My Girl

My wife and I have been riding with friends and family a lot lately. The pace is a little slower sometimes, but overall the social and casual atmosphere has been really enjoyable. My great friend Dave is becoming a biking nut, he is smiling away after riding the uphill section of Antelope on Hall Ranch very well. This is not how he rode this ride last fall, turns out watching calories and working out all the time is a good thing. I ought to follow his lead.

Waiting with me after I broke my derailleur

Bike trail maintenance tip number 1, learn to work on your bike so you can cobble it together if you break it and still enjoy the ride back home. I broke my rear derailleur hanger and was able to fix it so I could enjoy the fast, fun ride down Hall Ranch on the way back to the truck. It beats walking out in the dark everytime.