Haven't Run Yet and Micheal Sandler . . .

I still haven't gone running since the 18th.  Crap.  At this rate, I'm gonna be sloggin' through the SVHM.  I still have my goal of two and a half hours for the run.  I can probably do it, too.  But I'm gonna have to start running again. It's not because I'm lazy, I just don't want to hurt my foot any more than it is.  It hasn't really been bothering me much the last few days, so I'm taking that as a sign of good times on the trail.

Also, my cousin called me last night.  She told me that she wants to start running with me.  She hasn't run . . . ever.  I've downloaded and printed the SVMH Beginner Pre-Training sheets.  That's what I used last year to get me started on the endeavor.  I'll be giving her tips to make her running more comfortable so she doesn't go the the pain I did last year.  She wouldn't be considered fat anywhere.  But she does have a bit of padding she'd like to reduce.  And I believe it'll give her the energy she wants.  Though the way she runs her kids and her life, I don't ever see that problem.  She's a firecracker and one of the few people I know that I truly admire.  She has her shit together.  Single mom and all.

Also, last night, the local REI in Marina had a guest speaker, Mr. Michael Sandler.  I've read about him before.  I'm pretty sure he wrote about it in his book (which I bought and had signed), but his method of transitioning into true barefoot running is not recommended.  Before he started, he was an avid cyclist and rollerblader.  A professional in both sports.  He couldn't run because he had plantar fasciitis.  He even calls himself Mr. Plantar Fasciitis.

So in I think he said in '06, he was training for a Rollerblade sponsored trek across the US . . . in rollerblades.  Because of the pf, he was concerned about how to go about it without the debilitating pain.  He was saying that he had so much cushioning, arch support and stability control in his shoes that he was wearing very tiny shoes to prevent the arch from causing him the excruciating pain he was so used to having.  And they STILL hurt.

So . . . he's out rollerblading one day and he stops to contemplate somewhere and he comes up with the idea that'll it'll all work itself out.  Unfortunately it did.  As he begins haulin' ass on the bike path he was on, he comes upon a blind curve.  As he turns into it, he spots a father teaching his daughter to walk, but the father had stepped onto the bike path.  He had a choice of either nailin' the father and kid or try to get safely off the bike path.  He thought to himself, nobody hits a baby.  So he goes flying off the bike path . . . and ends up shatttering his leg.

I can't remember all that went wrong, but the femur missed the femoral artery by millimeters and he lost the ACL in his knee.  He pretty much has a titanium hip and leg now.  He was told he'd never be able to run again.  He was, as he said, broken.

Anyway, the point is that he did some learning and discovered for himself that he could run barefoot.  It took him about three months because he did it truly barefoot.

And boy, I'll tell you something . . . I'm not gay or anything (not that there's anything wrong with that) and I don't really check out other guys legs . . . but holy crap!  I took another cousin of mine because my brother (who I'd signed up) flaked on me, said what I was thinking . . . "Goddamn! Check out those guys quads!"

I mean seriously, he was a skinny guy!  Check out his pics online, but this guys legs were ripped man!  Not muscle man ripped but incredibly toned and defined.  You can even see where his ACL is missing on his left leg.

And he is one of the biggest hippies you'll ever meet.  And I don't mean it in a derogatory way either.  I mean this man is very spiritual and he truly believes that things happen for a reason.  I guess he believes in destiny and all that bunk.  I can't fall for that shit, but I respect the man because his faith makes him a rock!  And anyone that has that much faith is a man to be feared and/or admired.

He's a man to be admired.

GD