Am I in Shape or Not?

As some of you know, Melissa and I have been doing P90X for the last couple of weeks. I think we are doing pretty well all things considered. We even managed to wake up early one day to get the Plyometrics workout out of the way before work so we could go to a great documentary later that night after work. The movie was "Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead. " I will talk more about the film in a later posting.

As far as P90X is concerned we are mid way through week 3 and so far have been bringing it hard. We are still sore although maybe not quite as much as during the first week. The workouts are pretty intense and require some serious self motivation to push through. But I am certain we will see results that will help us in many aspects of our lives so I continue to bring it. There is research suggesting that resistance training is not only good for the mind but can also ward off dementia. The way things are going for me, I need all the help I can get in that department.

In addition to doing P90X everyday, we are also doing small amounts of running mostly on the weekends and I did manage a 3.5 hour mile bike ride on Sunday in addition to a 2 mile barefoot run on the gravel track plus our 1 hour of StretchX. It is a lot for sure and so far I have enjoyed all the workouts and feel like I am in great shape. That is, I felt like I was in great shape - until this morning.

This morning, I threw a new workout into the mix. I woke up at 5Am to go to my first ever coached swim class. The class was tough-very tough. I thought I was in decent shape but clearly I am not. The other swimmers in the class were graceful, fast, strong, near perfect. I on the other hand was the opposite. The coach has me doing "Catch Up" which is a particular swimming drill. I feel so uncoordinated and 1 gulp of water away from drowning. And my heart rate races and my lungs heave as I make my way through the water. Picture Michael Phelps who I believe is pictured above. Now picture the opposite. That is me. Twenty minutes into the workout I questioned what I had gotten myself into. Here are some of the thoughts that went through my head.

"Do I really want to be a swimmer?"

"This is too hard."

"Forget this!"

"No way can I do this."

But at the end of the training session, I gave the coach my $130 dollars so now I am in. She is a great coach and gave me immediate feedback and corrected my mistakes. One thing is for sure. I am going to have to practice if I want to make it through these swim sessions. People in the class told me it would all seem easy soon enough. And the coach said I would see big improvements with each class. And finally my lovely wife gave me some very encouraging words later in the day when I told her about what I was thinking about the workout.

She was in the same position I was in when she started swimming with this coach. And I must say, seeing her all suited up with her swim cap and goggles, getting ready for the 7AM session was also nice encouragement. I probably would have been more down about the workout but seeing her and getting her words of encouragement later in the day were a huge help.

The best part of the swim was the effect it has on my knees. They felt great afterwards and have felt great all day. Strange how a certain type of exercise benefits my knees. Of course, that is one big reason I decided to swim in the first place.

After swimming and working all day, Melissa and I came home and did our P90X Shoulders and Arms workout followed by Ab Ripper X. We are now thoroughly pooped.

If you think you are in shape, go swimming and find out if you really are.

Barefooting in the Park

In my last post, I mentioned that I was interested in becoming a barefoot runner. Since that post, I have done some more research on barefoot running and have found out that my notions about how to transition from running in shoes to running barefoot did not quite match the recommendations of other barefoot runners. I have been running in what some call "transitional shoes" -my Vibram Five Fingers. However, all of the barefooting blogs and magazine articles I have read suggest not using "transitional shoes" at all. They recommend going pure, that is, totally barefoot. Also it is recommended that one starts out on hard surfaces rather than soft surfaces. In fact, one particular article I read suggested starting out by standing and walking on sharp gravel. The idea is that even transitional shoes will mask the feedback that your feet are trying to give to the rest of the body and mind. Running on grass also deprives your body of feedback from the feet. It is suggested that running barefoot on hard surfaces will better teach your body how to run with proper form.

Of course running on hard surfaces will make the transition from shoes to barefoot take a little longer but in the end should yield better results. In case you were not sure what my goals are here, let me tell you. My goal with running barefoot is to improve my form, decrease injuries, and also make it more fun. It actually is fun to run barefoot!

After reading all of this, I decided that I would go ahead and take the plunge and follow the advice of accomplished barefoot runners. I started last Saturday with a run around a gravel track at a nearby middle school. The gravel was pretty soft as far as gravel goes with pretty small stones. Melissa and I walked about half a lap-me barefoot, her with shoes. Then we went ahead and starting running. Right away, I noticed a difference from running totally barefoot and running in my VFFs. My form was different. I had faster turnover and better posture. We ran at a relatively slow pace and ended up running one mile with a 400 meter cool down walk. My feet held up pretty well. They were a little tender especially on the balls of my feet but no blood or cuts or anything like that.

After this initial barefoot run, I took a couple of days off. Then today, at lunch I went out again. I went to Dorey Park and started my run on the pavement. I ran about half a mile until I got to a gravel path and then made my way down the path. This gravel was different than the gravel from the middle school track. It was sharper and had bigger rocks. I only ran about 25 yards before I had to walk. But that's ok. It is a gradual process. I walked on the sharp rocks for about 10 minutes before returning to pavement and running the rest of the way back to the car.

When I got back to the office, my feet felt pretty tender. And after examining them, I noticed that the ball of my left foot was pretty tender. In fact, it was just shy of becoming one big blister. But again, that is ok, it is a gradual process. I will let it heal and try again in a couple of days.

Also for the record, the picture above is not my foot. It is Melissa's foot about mid way through our 125 mile, 7 and half day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. Her shoes were old and it was wet everyday and the blisters just kept coming and coming. One thing about running barefoot is that over time, blisters are no longer a problem. Also if I do get to the point where I can run ultras, I won't have to worry about another problem that ultra runners face. Black Toe is a common problem many ultra runners have. Here is a gross picture for you showing a mild case of Black Toe.

So that about brings you up to speed on one of my new projects. It will be a gradual undertaking but with time and patience, I think I will benefit. Thanks for reading.