On Sunday, August 15th, I ran the fourth half marathon in the New York Road Runner's 5-Borough Half Marathon Series, this time up in the Boogie Down Bronx. I have never really walked around in The Bronx, so I was looking forward to touring a bit of the borough. Wake-up call was at 5:20am, about 40 minutes later than most other of the past outer-borough races since it was just a short hop north on the 4/5/6 line. I munched on my bagel on the crowded train uptown, and felt ready for the 13.1 miles ahead of me.

I spotted a few fellow Vibram Five Fingers wearers as I walked to my corral, but didn't talk to anybody for the 20 minutes before the 7am start. However, there was a woman named Elizabeth who said a quick hello to the one and only Barefoot Benny right after we crossed the starting line, so that was pretty cool. Within the first mile, I was passed by a speedy barefoot runner who looked like he was moving slowly but was actually cruising at a 7 minute mile pace. My plan was to catch up with him and say hi, but he got way too far ahead too quickly.

The course started weaving through a bunch of side streets with parked cars on both sides, and then opened up in a 3-lane road for a bit. There was a turn around only a few miles in, so I got a glimpse of the leaders flying down the course. Those guys friggin' run so fast it's unreal! I don't even think I could sprint and keep up with them!

I felt great for the first few miles, but was worried about hitting a wall at mile 6, much like I did at last month's Queens Half Marathon. The weather today was only 70 degrees and cool, opposed to 90 degrees and humid for the Queens, so that was working to my advantage. Surprisingly, I felt great after mile 6, and before I knew it, I was nearly at mile 9! I like when 3 miles go by without even realizing it!

I decided to kick it up a bit after I passed mile ten, telling myself all I had to run was a 5k and I'd be done. At another turn around I passed a guy named Tait who I met at two previous half marathons, so I gave him a quick shout out as he flew by the other way. I bumped into him post-race on the way home, and he said the quick shout out gave him a boost of energy and an extra kick.

The last few miles I tried to keep pace with an older out of shape guy with a headband that said "JIM" on it, but he was just too fast for me, and all I could hope for was to keep him in my sights. I had to remind myself to run my race, and not get caught up in running faster than I wanted. The worst case would be to pace with someone 30 seconds faster per mile than me and run out of steam and end up walking.

I kicked it up a notch for the last mile, since I still felt great and nothing hurt or ached. I made sure to concentrate on my form since I felt my hips and core giving out a bit. It's very important to run with a straight back with the chest high, and I feared that I was bending forward at the waist. The barefoot runner who passed me in the first mile came into site, and I caught up with him after a couple of minutes. I asked him if he got his shoes at CitySports, and he laughed at my corny joke. He said the bottoms of his feet were fine, but that his legs were kind of sore. He then saw me wearing the Vibram Bikilas, and informed me about a barefoot runners group in NYC. I said I was aware, told him to keep it up, and proceeded to pass him for the last half mile. I straight up sprinted the last 200 meters or so, and crossed the finish line with a new personal record of 1:39:55 (7:38 minute pace)!

I was extremely happy with the whole run, and loved that I felt great and not really tired at all during the course. The weather was perfect, the course was well laid out and fun with some good hills mixed in, and I just had zero complaints (well, the train ride back too a ridiculously long time, but oh well.) The Staten Island Half Marathon is the last race in the series, and I should be rocking that in October. When I first set the goal to do all 5 half marathons this year, I didn't think my body would hold up, but with only one race left, I feel confident that I'll achieve it.

This past Saturday morning I ran (suffered through) the New York Road Runners Queens Half Marathon, the third in the 5 Borough NYRR Half Marathon Series. I woke up at 4:40am and was out the door twenty minutes later for the commute out to Citi Field/Arthur Ashe stadium out in Queens. While waiting for the 7 train at Grand Central, my VFF Bikilas sparked the interest of two women who asked me if I ran on pavement in those things. We spoke for a bit, and one of the ladies actually owns a pair that she exclusively uses for trail running. I told her I like running on pavement better since you get more feedback and ground reaction, but was impressed she ran in them at all. I asked her why she wasn't using them for today's race, but she's still entrenched in using sneakers. I gave them my Barefoot Benny business cards and was happy to speak to people familiar with minimalist running.

By the time I arrived at the start in Queens by 6:15am or so, it was already in the 80's and quite humid. Uh oh. I hoped my huge pasta dinner and bagel and banana would be enough to get through the race, but the repetitive warnings over the speakers about taking it easy got me worried. While waiting the corral for the race to start at 7am, I chatted it up with another VFF runner. He was like, "Are you Barefoot Benny?" After I confirmed his suspicion (I was wearing my Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness shirt) he told me that I always pass him at these NYRR races. Then I remembered somebody screaming out "Barefoot Benny" at the Wall St. Run the other month and started laughing. Must've been this guy, my new friend Yeung.

The race wasn't nearly as crowded as the other ones I've done (only under 3,700), so I got off to a fast start without all the congestion. The first few miles were hot, but I had fresh legs and kept a 7:30 minute mile pace. I think I hit a wall around mile 6 or 7, where my legs felt tired but my face and head felt really hot. Not good. I made sure to stop more often at the water stations and to enjoy the heat's brief reprieve at the water spray misters. My running form deteriorated big time around mile 8, and I felt the bottoms of my feet getting a bit warm. I like to think of them as raw ground beef, getting molded into the pavement's grooves with each step.

Once mile 9 finally came, I was able to compartmentalize the race into a mini run of only 4 miles. With each passing mile I got happier and happier that I was only running a 5k, then a 2 miler, and so on. My speed declined to over 8 minute miles (I'm assuming) which negatively affected my form no matter how often I actively forced my body to thrust my hips forward and concentrate of the pull and the lean. At no point (save for a hill or two) did my breathing ever get labored and force me to mouth breathe, but by the end of the race I was so overheated and my body so tired that I had no kick left to the finish, beyond the last 110 meters or so. Usually I can pick it up for the last half mile, but not on this hot day.

I crossed the finish in 1:44:46, which is just under my goal of 1:45. The temperature was probably around 90 degrees by then with very high humidity, and all I wanted to do was sit in the shade and rehydrate. I know that if I had breathed through my mouth at all during the race I would've dried up like a raisin and gotten dehydrated very rapidly. As I was milling around in a daze, Gatorade in one hand, bagel in another, and a banana in yet another, I was approached by yet another "Hey, are you Barefoot Benny?" I ended up speaking with Tate, whom I had met during the Brooklyn Half Marathon over a month ago. After a few minutes of catching up, I dragged my sore calves and hot body (not the sexy hot, the oven hot) toward the subway and headed home.

Or so I thought. In my daze I hoped on the first train at the station, which just happened to be going in the wrong direction. I realized this just as the doors were closing but didn't care because I was sitting in the cool AC. Ahhh. And right next to me, some guy named Dan (I think) started talking to me about my VFF's. He complained that he was always in pain when he ran, and that he always wanted to speak with someone with VFF running experience. Boy did he sit next to the right guy. I spoke with him for the minute long ride to the next and final stop, and handed out yet another business card. Man those come in handy!

The rest of the ride back was uneventful, except for the few common stares at my feet. The next day my legs felt like dead weight, and I had pain in both of my knees. This was the first half marathon I ran with pose-race knee pain, and I can attribute that to the breakdown of my running form, which I blame solely on the heat. I hope they start feeling better soon, because I'm running the Bronx Half next month on August 15th.

I saw about 5 other VFF shod runners during the race, one who flew by me right at the end. I need to coordinate a VFF/minimalist/barefoot running NYRR group so we can chat a bit pre and post race. I need to get on that.

I enjoyed the course in Queens, and really like passing Citi Field where the Mets play, and running by the old World's Fair sculptures. The park outside Arthur Ashe stadium was gorgeous, and overall it was a very peaceful and clean environment. Two thumbs up to Queens, zero thumbs up for the bazillion degree weather.

Last week the "Today Show" filmed a piece for a story that aired Thursday morning talking about the booming shoe industry.  Part of their story had to do with the barefoot and minimalist running movement, so they filmed the Barefoot Runners NYC club in action.  The creator of the club, John Durant, had invited me to participate in the run last week, but I unfortunately had to teach a kicktush Barefoot Benny Boot Camp at the same time.  Knowing the segment was being filmed on the other side of Central Park kinda tore me up inside, but my clients needed me!  Duty called!

Check out the segment and try to imagine me somewhere in the background between the shoeless guy and the other shoeless guy!

Last Tuesday evening I had the incredible opportunity to attend a barefoot running clinic hosted by the legendary Barefoot Ken Bob. Ken Bob is the authority on barefoot running, as he's been doing it for over 10 years now! He's run over 75 marathons...barefoot, and seems to have no aches or pains at his age now of 55. He is very laid back, quite funny, and has a passion for the benefits of barefoot running. He truly enjoys going out and dancing on pavement and being one with the outside world.

He began the clinic by telling us his lengthy discovery of barefoot running, and then began to explain the basics, such as keeping your knees bent, landing on the ball of your foot, and taking smaller steps. Ken Bob has a much different teaching style than Michael Sandler, in that he's more about letting you figure out the feeling, rather than telling you what precisely your legs should be doing.

I think it's amazing that Ken Bob is going across the country giving out barefoot running lessons totally free, and I thank him very much for his visit to Central Park. I can't say that I learned much about the mechanics of barefoot running more than I already knew, but I took away his passion for running naturally and the idea that running doesn't have to be a competition or a race, and that it's all about the love of movement.

For a great introduction into barefoot running and lots more information, check out Ken Bob's website.  If you're interested in getting some hands-on barefoot running and minimalist running training, sign up for one of my barefoot running clinics!

Bonus: Try to find me in the picture! (Hint, my eyes are closed.)

For all you runners who don't have an expensive $500 GPS watch that uploads data automatically to a site like dailymile.com, check out this do-it-yourself map website from RunningMap.com. All you have to do is find your route on the map, and drag and drop lines along your route that will calculate your distance. Now get out there and get running (barefoot, of course!)

One of my old fraternity brothers, Sox, alerted me to this article from dailyfinance.com about the perils of running shoes.  I liked this article because it went into a little bit more depth via scientific study about the jolt shod running puts on your joints, especially the knees.

"Overall, the study finds that while today's running shoes do a good job of protecting the foot, wearing them dramatically increases pressure in three lower-extremity joints -- the hip, knee and ankle -- when compared to running barefoot. For example, researchers note that wearing running shoes while running leads to an average 54% increase in what's called hip internal rotation torque, pressure that may increase the risk of osteoarthritis in the hip joint.

To put things in perspective, walking in high heels -- long considered a joint-busting exercise -- increases knee joint torques (a pressure measurement) by no more than 26%, while the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques while running leads to up to a 38% increase, the researchers say."

This upcoming Sunday I'll be running my second half-marathon, and the first of five in 2010.  If you're an earlybird and don't mind cold weather, come out to Central Park as I run two laps in my VFF KSO's.  I'll be sure to give a full report not only on how I did, but also on if I spotted any other minimally shod or completely barefooted runners.  Until then, exercise smart!

Actually, dance with naked feet.  Sorry for any confusion.  My friend Lila recently sent me the website to a group of New Yorkers, called Barefoot Boogie, who attend dancing events in their bare feet!  The atmosphere is very welcoming, and the music ranges from R&B, rock, techno, funk, and other genres.  Here is how they describe themselves:

"The Boogie is a freestyle dance which happens twice a month in New York City. We offer a relaxed, smoke- and alcohol-free environment where folks can freely express themselves in movement.
People of all ages, families and kids are welcome. Come alone or bring your friends. You'll find folks at the dance moving solo, with partners, and/or in groups. Dress as you wish, but please leave your street shoes at the door before hitting the dance floor. The Barefoot Boogie is a not-for-profit, cooperative and volunteer-run venture."


They definitely sound like a fun group to dance with, and I plan on checking out one of their events in the next couple of months.

Tomorrow night at 7:30pm will be one of the last Barefoot Benny Boot Camps of 2009, and it will probably be the best weather for it too!  The first ten people to sign up will get to attend free, so send me an email at benny@barefootbenny.com and I'll let you know where we're meeting.