20 mile training run - barefoot

The following words started out as a reply to a comment Meredith from Virginia Beach has left on the “About” page but has now made it way to becoming a full on blog page.

Thanks for the kind words. You have me reflecting on some good memories about my barefoot journeys. I did not have Vibram Five Fingers when I started this journey. At the time Barefoot Ted McDonald was just experimenting with running in Vibram Five Finger classics. So I was barefoot to shod and back to barefoot as a cool down. It was also my introduction to really enjoying running on paved surfaces. Which just beat me up when I ran in my shoes. My desire to make me a pair of Huaraches was driven by my love of running trails.

However, in my quest to run a marathon barefoot, the huaraches were becoming both a physical and metaphysical crutch. I had to face my fear of running the chip seal of the St George Marathon, and getting over the fear of moving forward after the shutdown of my businesses, and the splitting up of my family (divorce).

From that point in the desert, where I buried my huaraches, I ran everything I could barefoot. Sometimes not the wisest idea as I found myself running some gnarly trails and pebble strewn road surfaces. After I ran the marathon I was given a gift certificate for a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I fell in love with them, sewed them up, and put over a 1000 miles on them before I gave them to my son when he asked if he could have them.

Yea I buried these in the desert.

I been wanting to build another pair of huaraches, but was having difficulty in finding the braided hemp cord that I love so much. Even Ted McDonald could not get it in for a while. So the short of the long of this story is that I have been running and training in either KSO’s or Bikila’s almost exclusively. I am finding that to run a marathon barefoot for me at 6’6+ and 255lbs I need the protection to keep my feet fresh. As you know running a marathon is more about technique and body strength than it is  having toughed feet.

I am just about to do another repair section on the pair of green and white bikila’s that I have been running in. The inside toes are completely worn through.  In the pic below you can see how the heavy rubber of the Bikila pushes the big toe towards the inside fabric against the second toe.

Almost new Vibram Bikila's - Winter Run

My first KSO’s saw over a 1000 miles, I do not think my Bikila’s will last more than 400.

I am ready to get back to running in Huaraches.

Sorry for the long reply. I have have not sat down to hammer out post to my blog for a while, and it felt nice to put down a few words about barefooting.

Regards,
Michael Carroll

PS. check out my barefoot running and racing project site – theminimalistrunner.com its beta and the database needs more records, so if you have a race that you would like listed please send me a note.

On days when I did not quite know how I was going to fit into this world, I could set out on a personal adventure and often find clarity of thought.

On the first of February I was reflecting upon my run that day. It was on the old Temple Quarry Trail right next to the St George Airport that closed down two weeks ago. It was a ghost town. No aircraft landing or taking off and almost empty tarmac. It was quiet — all one could hear was the sound of my breath, the wind, and my feet landing on the sand and gravel of the trail. The air was crisp, clear and clean.

This post is actually part of a letter that I sent to Sara Wilson of the Fresh Air Fund. I like what they are doing a lot and wanted to get the word out about what they are doing.

They help young kids living in New York City to experience what I get everyday.

Check out their site and see if they match up with your philanthropic efforts.

See you on the trail….

Michael Carroll

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 35,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 8 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 39 posts. There were 20 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 7mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was January 28th with 716 views. The most popular post that day was 350 Miles on Vibram Five Finger KSO’s.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were runnersworld.com, birthdayshoes.com, naturallyengineered.com, randonner-leger.org, and funbeat.se.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for minimal shoes, vibram five fingers kso, vibram five fingers, fivefingers kso, and vibram fivefingers kso.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

350 Miles on Vibram Five Finger KSO’s March 2009
38 comments

900 Miles on Vibram Five Finger KSO’s October 2009
9 comments

Repaired My Vibram Five Finger KSO’s March 2009
3 comments

Another 50+ on Five Finger KSO’s May 2009
9 comments

Southern Utah Terrain in Vibram KSO’s April 2009
4 comments

Just ran my second Marathon, and for the second time, ran it barefoot. My focus has been on doing crossfit as new training paradigm. I set a new PR. I ran only one 20 mile run with out shoes, all other training was done wearing the new Vibram Bikila’s. Love them! Also my weekly mileage averaged somewhere between 8 to 12 miles since July.

I felt strong and recovered in hours compared to my first barefoot race. I believe this is because of the crossfit training.

I was shooting for a sub four hour time. When I got to the half way mark I was on schedule and stoked as I was feeling strong, fast, and comfortable. However, my intestines decided that we needed a break. I had skipped the last porta-potty and was now regretting it. The sides of Hwy 18 are covered in thorns and I was not that desperate. Short story is that I lost 1o minutes.

I also did not get my nutrition dialed in and was cramping in my upper quads and hamstrings. Shave another 20 minutes and it equals my PR of 4:21.

My thanks goes out to all of the spectators that cheered me on for the last 6 miles. Wow did I need that!

Oh yea — the coke at 3 miles to go was amazing.

Cheers,

Michael Carroll

When I met Steve Hooper for the first time we talked about running up to the top of Pine Valley Mountain. I was still trail running in Solomon GTX’s and pretending to run like the Taraumara. So Up to the top of PVM was a shod goal, a barefoot marathon, and other adventures were still a few years ahead of me. As many of you know Steve is quite famous here in St George as a capable ultra-runner / marathoner and the owner of the St George Running Center. On my 41^st Birthday I set a goal for myself to run up to the top of Pine Valley Mountain Barefoot. I remember telling Michelle that I was going to do this but was unsure if I could. I then forgot about this goal.

Two weeks ago, Steve says to me, “Hey do you want to run up to the top of Pine Valley Mountain and do research for an Ultra here in St. George?” “Yes!” was my answer.

June 2^nd 2010 we took off from Steve’s house to the Oak Grove Camp Grounds. I had on my Vibram Sprints as my feet were quite tender from the training I have been doing. “Yea I don’t think I will be doing this barefoot this morning” I said to Steve. “Good idea” he replied. We set out on the trail at a relaxed conversational pace, my body still working to get used to the starting elevation around 6000 feet. For two weeks I have been dreading this run as I was not sure if my body was ready. I have lost about 10 lbs and I am picking up the pace for my 6 and 12 mile runs, but for some reason the climb made me a bit nervous.

I ran for about 15 minutes, my Calves and Achilles burning, and then I got a rock in under the pad of my foot. I took off my Vibram Sprints removed the debris and pondered for a second, and then decided the make the run barefoot. My Calves stopped burning, my speed increased, and I was smiling from ear to ear.

Except for the rattlesnake on the trail, I had a blast playing catch up to Steve who was burning up the trail.

When I got to the top I remembered my goal of doing this run barefoot. It was quite an emotional feeling to be on top of the world, checking of a significant achievement for myself, and to do it with Steve Hooper. YES! Wow what an incredible feeling.

Incredible view – Steve to the left and me on the right.

Yes it is always required to do pushups at the top. AARUGHA!

YES! It felt good.

Steve looking at the trail going over into the town of Pine Valley completely snow packed. If we do do an Ultra here it would have to be in the Fall.

Listen to what Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle of competitor radio have to say about the event:

http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2010/05/eric-abbott/

“Hardest run course anywhere” – Chris McDonald in his pre-race interview: go to 9:54 to hear the snippet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1TTeVLdG0k&feature=player_embedded#!

Also from what I heard from the rumor mill the race had the 2nd highest DNF of any Ironman event.

Can It Be Done Barefoot?

I have always wondered if an Ironman event could be done barefoot. Ever since I set my sights on running a Marathon barefoot it has been in the back of my mind. I first heard about Ironman races back in the eighties when I was in high school. Big athletic bodies moving out of the water on national television to mount bicycles (Just like in Breaking Away ) and then to run a Marathon (Just like Bill Rogers and company). For a tall skinny kid, the Ironman, in my mind was the ultimate athletic warrior event. No anorexic marathoners did these kinds of events. You had to be strong, you had to be big. It was little wonder that I found my way into the Marine Corps right after high school. I was off on a great adventure to Washington DC to learn how to guard the president. Along the way I found a set of original manuscripts by a Navy Chaplain, Ray Willian Stubbe, who wrote the history of the Marines 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. I was so motivated by this manuscript, that I could think of nothing else but getting invited to join this unit, and so began my journey.

On the corner of Marine Barracks 8^th and I streets you could find me on most mornings in an intense callisthenic workout announcing to the world where I was going. I ran, and I swam like I was possessed. My body began to resemble those mighty runners that I watched on ABC wide world of sports running in Kona. My focus was not going to Hawaii but to take the entrance test for one of the most elite fighting units in the world. At the pre-qual event I was selected to move on to the selection test. “The best we have seen in the water to date” wrote one evaluator. I continued to train. Five others from Marine Barracks joined me on this quest.

80 kilometers
Pack full of sand
on a Solo March
Quantico Virginia in February
Snowing
3AM Swimming
2 Miles of Frigid Water
ICE breaking against my head
Leaking Holy Neoprene
Shivering
3 Hours of Sleep
Hungry
Go Go Go
Wait a Minute Bushes
Map is Gone
100 Pushups the Cost for
a New Map
Run, Run, March
Push, Push, Push
Stay in The Woods
Do Not be Seen
I Am First
6 Hour Gap between
The Next Marine and me
Fastest to Date

AARUGHA!

I was in!

Soon I was married and traded in my adventures to be a Family man.

In 2005 I suffered a severe kidney infection and renal failure that put me in the hospital for a week and in severe pain.

In 2006 I could barely run up a hill 500 yards without feeling like I was dying.

Run a Marathon? Not even in my frame of reference.

Run it barefoot? Not even plausible.

Fast forward to 2010 and here I am watching one of the greatest sporting events ever designed. Ironman! It was here in my town – St. George Utah.

I found a terrific spot, with my four of my children, to watch the bike and run sections of the event just above the corner of Bluff and Sunset. The twins where hooked up to their harnesses and were fascinated by the riders screaming down the long downhill section on their bikes. We got there just in time to see first, second and third place finishers for both the men and women pass by us and starting their first loops of the run course.

WOW!

I kept looking over at Steve Hooper with his family. He had the same glint in his eye. You could tell just by his look that he was signing up for 2011. So was I!

I was inspired, I was stoked, but there was a knot in my gut.

If I ran the St. George Ironman, I would have to run it barefoot!

“I want to do this race.” I repeated in my mind, alternating that affirmation with questions such as: “Can I do it barefoot? Can I drop the enough weight? What do the rules say? Will my feet be in strong enough for a Marathon after the run and swim? And so on.”

The feelings going through my body brought me back to when I decided to run the St George Marathon barefoot. I knew I could do it, but at the same time both fear and adrenaline where pumping through my body.

When I got back home I read through all of the official rules and nowhere did it say that shoes were a mandatory piece of equipment.

That night Michelle and I watched Ironman competitors continue to cross the finish line. It was inspiring. Some breaking down into tears as they reached the last 20 yards to cross the line knowing they achieved something extra-ordinary. Chills went up and down my body. Walking back to our car that night my wife Michelle asked me what I wanted to do, knowing that I was aching to compete in an Ironman. “RUN THE ST. GEORGE IRONMAN BAREFOOT!” I screamed!

It was out. I declared it to the Universe, and Michelle said that I had her full support to do this.

The following day – Sunday – I was just beginning the final hour of my church meetings when I could no longer take it anymore. I had to go and drive the run course. So I quietly left the meeting, jumped in the car, drove the 5 minutes to the start of the run course, and then drove the course. I stopped at the Elks Lodge and got out. Super rough pavement – just one short section though, and not any harder than the St. George Marathon – “Yea I can do this!” I said out loud. I met Michelle and the rest of my family coming out of Church. I was smiling from ear to ear. “Yea it’s doable” I said to Michelle.

2011 St George Ironman – I will be there, sans shoes, with a number scribbled on my arms and legs.

Michael Carroll

Some pictures of local heroes, and a link to a story
about the guy (Jeff Rodes) who crashed and finished.

Lindsey Merrill – Local age group favorite ends up with 2^nd place finish

Lindsey Merrill on the bike

Lindsey Merrill – 2^nd place age group

Steve Olson – Another speedy local –Should have been ahead of Lindsey – Hmmm.

Jeff Rhodes is the hero of the day!

So here we are watching the top pros go by, then the top age groupers, and then we see this guy all bandaged up running up 18 in his first loop of the marathon. He is getting huge applause and chills are running up and down my arms and neck. With speeds that we were seeing from cyclists coming down 18 you know this guy has crashed at high speed. Somehow he has climbed back on the bike and made it to T-2 and refuses to give up. Seriously this guy is an Ironman in the full sense of the word. I wonder what he said to the paramedics who patched him up. We could only guess whether he finished or not, my bet was that he did.

This morning I found the full write up for the rest of the story for this champion:

t

http://ironman.com/columns/ironmanlife/kevin-mackinnon-catches-up-with-three-men-who-truly-embody-the-spirit-of-ironman

Dang! I just think about this story and I get chills.

The twins – future triathletes – completely wiped out!

Last Note

From an organizational standpoint I was blown away by how clean the race was. “Leave no Trace” was certainly the word of the day.

When my son saw the edit he said that it looked like you were walking. What the video does not do very well is show how steep the terrain is. As I was finishing my run I smacked my big toe on a piece of lava rock – which would explain the blood at the end of the video. Running in this kind of terrain demands focus. Holding a camera off to one side is just enough to get hurt. LOL!

http://redrocksbluesky.com/fivefingerfinder

This is my first attempt at putting video up on the blog. Let me know what you think?

It has been raining like crazy. My feet finally healed up enough to have a bit of fun. Running barefoot in the mud is the only way to go. YES!

I am standing in my backyard (January 2010) after a mud run and having a blast. Yes those are shoes. My foot had split in three places, barefoot running in mud was out of the question, and so I threw on my old trusty Solomon GTX trail shoes (inserts removed) on. To much fun…

It takes me back to the glory days of Friday Fun Runs in the Marine Corps, except I was covered in mud from head to toe. Yep! good memories both now and then. Urrugah!

Michael Carroll