The Planet is Fine

To celebrate Earth Day, I watched this video.

Have a great day!

Caballo Blanco Found Dead

If you've read "Born To Run", you know the name Caballo Blanco. In fact, you probably have some respect or reverence for that mysterious character. Well, so do I, and I was shocked to read this story about his death. I wish it was an April Fool's joke, but it's not. Rest in peace, Caballo.

Water Bottle Wars

Have you bought a water bottle lately? Then you've probably seen the words "Non-BPA" on some labels. These products are supposed to be "safer" for you to drink from because they don't conain the "dangerous" chemical bisphenol-A. Thank goodness the water bottle manufacturers are looking out for your welfare, right? Well, more accurately, the manufacturers are reacting to intimidation tactics by powerful environmentalist groups. You know, the ones that would have us all living back in the stone age.

Yesterday the FDA rejected a petition by one of these groups to ban BPA. What? Don't they know how dangerous it is? Yes, they know exactly how dangerous it is - not very. The FDA reports there is not enough scientific evidence to demonstrate harmful effects at the levels people are being exposed to. You can read more here or do your own research. Just make sure what you read is recent. The internet carries a lot of baggage!

So here's the score in the water bottle war so far:
FDA Scientists 1,
Activist Lawyers 0.

Barefoot Running Update

After running barefoot a little over 3 miles on the road this morning, my feet are not bleeding and sore. In fact, they're not even dirty! It was a nice run. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this.

Barefoot Running - Week 4

This week I experimented on a couple of different surfaces. Conclusion? I'm not ready for that yet!

Monday: 20 minutes on blacktop with about half a mile on wood chips. I thought the wood chip trail would be soft but no, many of the chips and sticks were painful. I bent my knees more to make myself light. Also tried to stay on the (mostly) dirt beside the trail.

Wednesday: Ran pretty fast. 20 minutes on dirt with a sprinkling of small gravel and some larger rocks. I thought the dirt would be soft...but you've already heard that story!

Saturday: My feet and legs were sore after Wednesday's run, so I took an extra day off. Today's run was slower, and I warmed up first on my mountain bike. 25 minutes barefoot running on blacktop.

After 4 weeks, it still feels awkward to run barefoot. Not natural. I never know how to move my feet or legs. Am I doing this right? This is going to take some time...

Don't Look Down!

We've all heard this running advice: Don't look down! Eyes forward! Head follows eyes! Head up!

Alright already, I'm working on it! Looking down is a hard habit to break, especially on rough trails.

 This fossil shark tooth I found on a San Clemente trail is proof  that my form still needs work.

Barefoot Running - Week 3

At the beginning of the week, both soles felt a bit tender around the ball and under the big toe. No soreness in my achilles, calf muscles, or anywhere else. My runs for the week:

Monday: 15 minutes barefoot running in the rain. The road was cold and the soles of my feet felt numb.
Wednesday: 15 minutes barefoot running - well almost. About halfway through, my right calf cramped terribly which forced me to walk a while. The street was wet and cold. My soles felt a little numb. Since I couldn't really feel what my feet were doing, maybe I was not putting my heel down all the way. After a little massage, I was able to start running again by focusing on putting weight on my heel immediately after touching down on the ball of my foot. 20 minutes total on my bare feet.
Friday:  My calf was still sore today, so I warmed up 5 minutes on a stationary bike and took it real slow. 20 minutes barefoot running.

This week my runs were about half on the road, half on the sidewalk.