Another week

Total weekly miles: 25 miles.

Total BF miles: 6 miles.

Barefoot Sessions: 4

Terrain: Ran a wide range of terraine this week. I hit trails, gravel, and asphalt. (More on that below)

My barefoot miles are purely barefoot at this time.

Weather: Warm week with one day of rain.

Condition of Feet: TOFP is gone, finito. The four days rest took care of it all and my feet are very stronge now. However the tendonitis-shin splint injury in the left leg is beginning to cause problems. It is forcing my left foot to lag somewhat and causes a knot in the foot that is not going away. Not TOFP really, but needs to be taken care of.

Comments: Smiles and polite interest. On a trail run a woman asked me if it hurt.

Nasty things: Ran in the rain and so almost stepped on lots of snails, slugs, and worms.

Changes in Running Style: My barefoot form has come along very well this last week. I am listening closely for foot slaps on asphalt, and picking those tootsies up. I think this has contributed to being free from TOFP.

Injuries: Pain left part of foot and shin splint-tondonitis acting up. I think I have figured out why. I was running in some sandals yesterday, not working out, just grabbing something from the car and I noticed my weak left leg will allow me to heel strike if the heel is covered. I never noticed this before and believe I am doing this in my shod miles, maybe affecting the condition.

Wisdom McNuggets: I incorporated as many differing surfaces into my BFR this week. If I felt my form was inefficient, I stayed on asphalt. If I felt my soles were softening and getting a little too comfortable on the asphalt, I hit the gravel roads. If I noticed my concentration was off or just wanted more fun, I hit the trails. Three different skills for BFR that can only be developed by different surfaces. I urge all BFR transitioners to do this.

I still do not care for gravel, but I can do it.

I am going to try to BFR full time again. I am pretty sure the shod miles are interfering a little, but really I need to cut back on miles to allow my splint-tendonitis to heal. I figure this is a good excuse to make the switch. This will be hard for me as this week I finally nailed the whole center of gravity thing and improved my speedwork from 10:03 to 8:39. That is a once in a lifetime improvement. I will get there again I am sure with BFR, but not this year. I will probably slip the shoes back on at least once more to run the whole island from top to bottom once this season.

Injury prevention and patience. I know, we all learn this lesson. 1. Rest if it hurts 2. Stay focused 3. Rest if it hurts and finally 4. Running is a lot funner if it does not hurt.

I will rest if it hurts now.