20 mile run in Vibram FiveFingers & barefoot

Today’s 20 mile training run proved to me the aphorism “always train the way you intend to race” is ABSOLUTELY great advice!

I was feeling strong and holding a steady 12 min/mile pace in my Vibram Five Fingers through the first 11 miles around Hazel Green. Then at about 11.25 miles, the middle toes on my right foot went numb. I took off the VFF’s and shed the Injini toe socks I’d added to prevent blisters, rubbed the feeling back into my toes, and continued. I made it another mile in the bare VFF’s before I had to stop again. Best I can figure, as my feet slowly swelled with the mileage, somehow the VFF’s were crimping the nerves in my toes. I slowly made my way to a Sonic restaurant, stopped for about 20 minutes to refuel, massage and elevate my feet, then continued on.

I felt better, still in VFF’s, and pressed for more mileage. Up until about 17. Then it got bad; the numbness struck again and it felt more serious. I shucked the VFF’s and started to call my wife to ask if she’d bring me my Nike Free Runs. I’ve done several 20 milers in them without issue, and I wasn’t about to quit at mile 17 unless I was limping or bleeding.

I got out my cell and as I was about to dial, I realized my bare toes could feel the asphalt.

“Hey, I have feet that work!” And plan B was implemented.

I ran miles 18 through 20 barefoot, without experiencing any numbness. All in all, a little scary, but a highly educational run! Thanks, all my running buddies! If that VFF numbness had occurred during a full marathon, I undoubtedly would have pushed on, and might have caused myself serious damage.

Lesson learned? Aways listen to your friends, pay attention to your body, and don’t lock yourself into preconceived limitations 🙂

With my wife before a race, wearing my VFF Bikila’s

Sonic Runs

Heading for the nearest Sonic for a Powerade refill of my CamelBak.

I run 20 mile circles around a Sonic.

No, I don’t own stock in the company, and I’ve never worked at one. But I love the Route 44 Diet Cokes with Diet Cherry added. I won’t say I’m addicted, but, taking into consideration my love for this particular restaurant chain, and adding it to my compulsion to run, plus a dash of type 2 diabetes thrown in that makes me have to watch my sugar levels carefully, and the mixture leads me inevitably to run around a Sonic Restaurant.

Once I’m acclimated to the heat and humidity of summer running in Alabama, I can comfortably go my first 3 miles with no water. After that, I suck fluid from my Camelbak like a skinny tick on a fat dog. I’ll go through 20 ounces or more during every hour I run, and after the first hour of running, I need electrolytes added to my drinks. My Camelbak is a lightweight 1.5 L pack, easy on my back during a long run, but hardly the capacity I require.

A run of this magnitude, lasting about 4 hours and covering 20 miles or more, therefore requires planned hydration stops that can replenish both the water and electrolytes I’m sucking down. The simplest solution to my hydration needs (both real and my imagined addiction to those 44 ounce cups) is to loop by a Sonic every 8+/- miles. Two passes–two pushes of that beautiful red button that beckons a girl on roller skates to fulfill my 44 ounce addiction–and I’m good for the long run.

If your own long-run hydration needs are not being met by your water bottles, or Camelbak, do take into consideration why the order button at Sonic is red: It’s there to push in case of hydration emergencies 🙂

(Note: If you run topless, as I often do, please carry a shirt with you to put on when you order from the patio. Sonic is a family restaurant, after all. LOL)