The Emperor Has No Shoes

Because I'm a running shoe guy; and have been for over 25 years, friends and strangers often ask me what I think about this whole barefoot running thing. Is it really going to take off?
"I dunno" I say. "But you should go for it, and let me know how it works out for you".
Of course, I already know how it will work out for Fred and Wilma, but I think it is important for everyone to try something new from time to time and experience things for themselves.
I have found from my years at Everyday Athlete, no one style of shoe, and no one running technique is right for everyone. We sell roughly 35 models of training shoes and we like to think they are the best of the best. At my last count there were well over 300 different styles on the market. Most of them however are not functional running shoes. For instance the Nike Air Shox Turbo +9 is listed as a running shoe but no specialty retailers in the country sell it. The only people running in that shoe are folks who stumbled into a mall-store and thought $115 would get them a decent shoe. Oh well, live and learn. If everyone bought their shoes from me, Lance, Len, Greg, Shelby Steve, Scott, Chet, Ben, Cindy, or Miguell, then injury rates would be much much lower.
Anyway, back to barefoot running.
Barefooting may be great for some people, but it will certainly be disaster for others. Have you had bunion surgery? Steel plates in your ankles? Are you overweight? If so then you probably don't need me to tell you that exercising barefoot could be a bad idea. I also know that there are literally millions of runners who get their favorite Asics or Brooks every year and happily put hundreds of miles on them before shelling out another $100 for the latest update. I doubt even the most ardent barefoot running (BR) supporter could convince them to try something new. And why should they?
All the books, articles, and web sites regarding BR leave me nodding and scratching my head at the same time. The basic tenants of taking shorter strides and not landing on your heels have been standard coaching mantras for decades. Why all the fuss now?
Christopher McDougall, in his book Born to Run, touts the strength and health of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and attributes it in part to the fact that they don't wear expensive running shoes, rather, thin home-made sandals. The book goes on to explain how running "barefoot" teaches you to run correctly. But do the Tarahumara run barefoot?
As stated by the barefoot purists, "instead of each foot clomping down as it would in a shoe, [a bare foot] behaves like an animal with a mind of its own - stretching, grasping, seeking the ground with splayed toes, gliding in for a landing like a lake-bound swan". The barefooters say the sensitivity of your feet allow you to adapt to the grounds contours, firmness, and texture. But your swans -- I mean feet -- can't possibly splay and feel and grasp when they are inside a racing flat, or even a Huarache sandal. I am left to wonder, is it the thin sole that helps us run correctly, or is it the skin's contact with the ground that helps us, or is it the lack of an elevated heel? Which is it? It can't be all of them because you can't have a thin sole and skin contact with the ground at the same time.
Minimal shoes are referred to in the webliture as "transitional" shoes. But one danger of using these pseudo-barefoot shoes (like the Nike Free or the Newtons or most racing flats) is that they have just enough cushion to allow you to over-stride and yet they don't have the support necessary to compensate for the resulting heel strike. You just end up with two sore Achilles tendons and some fallen arches.
I would think that if you want to train your feet and legs to land lightly, you either go barefoot or wear a super thin (and fairly wide) shoe that allows your feet to feel the texture of the earth.
Needless to say, it's a tough sell for the BR's. Considering our society's passion for shoes -- all kinds of shoes -- one would think these crusaders might start with something simpler like peace in the Middle East or ending poverty. I admire their perseverance in the face of social, cultural, meteorological, and medical obstacles. Maybe if they can get rid of shoes, world peace won't seem so hard.
As a retailer I am of course interested in how this could change my industry and business model. I have a hard time imagining all my customers running without shoes. If a revolution does occur, what we will likely see, for good or for bad, is a proliferation of low profile racing type shoes, sandal shoes, or good old fashioned Keds (!?). But none of this is new. Nike made a cool shoe called the Huarache years ago. Spike-less spikes and racing flats have been around for a hundred years. And the Shoe Pavilion has a great selection of Keds right now -- and they come in lots of colors! All this is right at our fingertips but consumers sem to want more.
Maybe people LIKE to pay more for shoes. They have already shown a willingness to pay $100 for minimal shoes like the Five Fingers and Frees, (or $180 for Newtons) so the running specialty stores might not change much after all. Is BR just another side of our materialism? Instead of teaching yourself to run properly, BR's suggest you just take off your shoes then everything will naturally fall into place! It is as fast and easy as buying an orthotic. I think people just want a simple solution. Can't Merck invent a barefoot pill?
Finally, there are a couple interesting sociological aspects to this BR-polooza. First, with as much press as the barefooters get, you would think there would be more of them out there. Their websites are full of testimonials, and the apostles say it is spreading around the world (like a virus?) but alas, I have seen exactly one in the last five years. It all smacks of AstroTurf buzz generated from Knopf the publisher of Christopher McDougall's book. I think there might be something more significant going on here though which leads to my second concern.
What does it say about all of us who nod our heads in agreement with the less is more argument? Are we all so dissatisfied with our current shoe selection that we are ready to dump the whole lot and go sans shoes? Where does this restlessness come from? I think we feel disaffected because running is supposed to be an escape from a life filled with technology, and shoes have become too tech-y. The library is full of books about Americans' love/hate relationship with technology. I think Born to Run is another such book.
This schizophrenia can be seen in other sports as well, such as the proliferation of fixed gear bicycles downtown, in FINA's ban on full-body swimsuits, and the popularity of wool and silk as "high-tech" fabrics for the discerning outdoors-man.
In a different vein, I find that as we cling to our active lifestyles of 15 and 20 years ago, the cry of the snake-oil salesmen promising a fountain of youth sounds mighty enticing. Who wouldn't listen to someone who promises injury free running -- even if it means tip-toeing down the street with big callouses on our soles.
Finally, some BR's hint at a shoe industry cabal designing shoes that injure us so we buy ever more supportive and more expensive shoes. We all love a good conspiracy. Especially if it involves an industrial giant like Nike. I know lots of shoe designers and developers and I can guarantee that they earnestly are trying to make the best shoes for runners feet. But they know that if they stopped making cushioned supportive shoes, participation in running would plummet as fast as it exploded in the Seventies (when heel wedges were first introduced).
So the question remains; will large numbers of people try barefoot running or running in flats? I have no idea. If they do, I assure you retailers like me and the big shoe companies will modify our lines accordingly. Change is in the air in this era of Obama. I am just not sure if runners are poised on the edge of a cliff, or merely stepping between to boats? (Equally dangerous I would suggest). Are shoes going to the dogs, or are we slipping free of our shackles?
Stay tuned.

First Annual Kirkland Long Course Triathlon

It's three months and counting till the first annual Kirkland Long Course Triathlon.

On July 11, 2010, one or more crazy souls will swim from Juanita Beach to Waverly Beach and back, then ride to Monroe via Redmond, Fall City, and Carnation, then return the same way, and finally run to the Sammamish River trail then to Kenmore, and back the same way .

The event is free, there is no on-course support provided, it's draft-legal, and no times will be taken. It's all just for fun.

People can come and do one, two, or all three events. They can do part of the swim, then all of the bike, or visa-versa, or any combination they wish.

My hope is people will start the swim so they will be done just before 8am, so everyone can start together on the bike and do most of the 112 miles in a peloton going around 19 mph. The course travels through Carnation at 35 and 75 miles where the group will stop to refill bottles.

So mark your calendars and don't miss a one-of-a-kind event, if you think you're up to it!

You Can Do That

As a coach I often work with athletes who need a little extra motivation or encouragement. People look to their coach for some confidence to counter their self doubts. It is hard to know however when people need some kind words of encouragement and when they need a kick in the shorts.
I have to admit that sometimes it can be hard listening to people complain about their lack of motivation. I have had the privilege to know and work with several wheelchair athletes over the years and those experiences have made me a big admirer of people who decide to put their disabilities behind them and simply make the most of what they have. It's inspiring because that is exactly what we all do as we pursue our athletic goals. The fact that I may not be as tall as the swimmers I compete against should not be an excuse for me to be satisfied with last place, rather it is a motivation for me to work just a little bit harder so that I can beat them with my endurance or technique.

We all have limitations. Sometimes it is our busy schedule. Sometimes it's an old recurring injury. If I ever start to feel sorry for myself and my inability to meet my own expectations I remember those athletes I've met with a real excuse and who face every challenge with a smile. The one thing you will never hear at a wheelchair track meet is complaining. It simply doesn't exist.

There have always been people with disabilities in the public sphere that inspire us. The two icons everyone will recognize are Helen Keller and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These remarkable people were however the exceptions that proved the rule. For most of history disabled people in our society have lived in the shadows and behind closed doors, cut off from our world by stairs, gravel, curbs, and other mundane obstacles.

Federal legislation (the American Disabilities Act), improvements in prosthetic designs, and funding for diverse organizations like the Paralympics, Disabled Sports USA, and the Special Olympics, all of which got going in the US in the 1960's, did not bring disabled people and disabled athletes into the public consciousness as much as a single twenty-one year old Canadian man in 1980.

2010 is the thirty year anniversary of Terry Fox's incredible run across Canada, his "Marathon of Hope".

If you were over 12 years old in 1980 then you know Terry Fox's story. For the rest of you, Terry Fox was a young athlete from Vancouver B.C. who lost his leg to Osteosarcoma in 1977 and while still in the hospital recovering, decided to run across Canada to raise awareness and money to fight cancer.

Terry Fox was not just about overcoming a disability. He was not just an incredibly determined athlete who ran a marathon every day for 143 days. He was a humanitarian, an advocate, and a hopeful idealist. His courage and optimism in the face of a malignant, crippling, and ultimately fatal disease, set a standard of courage that will not likely be matched by any able or less able athlete ever again.

In recent years the Lance Armstrong Foundation with the help of Nike and and army of PR professionals has raised more than $200 million for cancer research and patient services. These days the LAF is leading the way in Cancer awareness and fundraising.

Or is it?

29 years after his death, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $400 million through hundreds of annual "Terry Fox Runs" all over the world. The Marathon of Hope continues thirty years after Terry's marathon ended nine miles outside of Thunder Bay Ontario. In keeping with Terry's policy during his run, the Terry Fox Foundation has no corporate sponsors. Terry felt it would be improper for anyone but cancer patients to benefit from his name or his story.

Terry Fox has become a transcendent figure in sports and culture. Everyone who has participated in or benefited from the work of groups like Team in Training, Joints in Motion, Team Transplant, or Team Challenge, owe a nod and a bow to Terry Fox. All of these groups started well after Terry made is remarkable run into the worlds consciousness.

The second annual Can Do 5 and 10K is unique in that it puts all the able bodied walkers and racers like you and me in the same event with special needs athletes and their families. Obviously once the gun fires things string out pretty quickly but that doesn't detract from the unique quality of inclusion and community that race director Betsy Grieb has worked to create.

"As the name of the race suggests," says Greib, "the goal of our event is to bring into focus what individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities can do". She adds that "many runners struggling to finish the 5K last year were inspired by these remarkable individuals."

The Can Do 5 and 10k benefits "Northshore Special Families", a parent-led program of the Center for Human Services that aims to increase opportunities for social inclusion for children with special needs and their families. But the event serves a second purpose perhaps just as important. As one mother of a special child said at the event last year, “It was great to see the whole community come together and for us to feel supported. The smile on my daughterʼs face as we crossed the finish line together said it all.”

There are plenty of things you "can't" do in your life. Maybe you can't date a movie star, or afford a three month vacation in Europe this summer. But you think you can't ride your bike 100 miles or run a Half Marathon? Bull S!*t.

The silliest words in the world are, "I can't do that". Terry Fox proved that.


The 2010 Can Do 5K/10K is on Saturday, March 27 at the Seattle Times North Creek Facility in Bothell. For information on this event, go to www.CanDo5K.org.

The Swan-Song of W. N. Praeger

Let us go and do a Tri'
When the morning has massaged the sky
like an athlete laid out upon the table;
Let us go through nameless dark deserted streets
With goggles, cap, and cleats,
After restless nights in one-night cheap motels
And fans with beers and tin cow-bells.
Competitors that follow like a tedious argument
With drafting his intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question ...
May I ask, "Where is T2?"
or "Mind if rack here next to you?"

On a day when athletes wait to "go"
Talking of Sram and Shimano

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the sani-cans
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the sani-cans
Licked its tongue into the corners of the morning
Lingered in pools behind registration
Carried on the backs of volunteers from the "Y"
Wafted over the lake as if to steep
And seeing that it was a soft July day
Curdled my chocolate milk, and fell asleep

And God willing there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides behind the tent
Rubbing its back upon the sani-cans;
There will be time, there will be time
To get my wetsuit on and then to go get wet;
There will be time to warm-up ... then cool down
And time for all the words and directions too
That lift and drop a question that I own;
Time to pump and time to tape.
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions of my division.
Before the final plunge and pee.

On this day when athletes dive and go
Talking of Sram and Shimano.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I care?"
Time to wander back and get into my car.
Not so bold as perhaps the others are -
(They will ask: "Why are you not so thin!")
My legs are shaved, my waistband showing just a little skin,
My kit is modest but held together with a safety pin
(They will say: "But eww, his arms and legs are thin!")
Do I dare
Put life into reverse?
In a minute there is time
To toe the line and challenge the whole universe

For I have seen them all already, seen them all-
Have seen the swimmers, runners, cyclists too,
Boast of their superhuman VO2;
I hear the voices of my family give a call
Beneath the music in my training room.
So how should I resume?

And I have known the lies already, known them all-
The lies that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, fussing with my pin,
When I am stretching out my quads and glutes
That's when I shall begin
To lie like a dog about triple workout days.
Then how they will presume.

I wish I had a pair of Hed Jett wheels
And arms and legs as strong as iron springs.
....

And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the gels, the smoothies, the Nuun,
Among the frozen bottles, and talk of lecithin.
Would it have been worth while
To have bitten off the Power Bar
To have squeezed every drop of Gu from the foil
And rolled it gently down my throat,
And then to say: "I am Macca, back from the dead,
Back from Kona to tell you, to tell you all" -
Then Chrissy, smiling sweetly all the while
Should say; "That is not what I do at all.
That is not right at all."

No! I am not Alexander, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant coach, one that will do
To swell the masses, start a race or two,
Advise the team; sometimes a little cruel,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and felicitous
Full of high sentence, but way too obtuse;
Most times, indeed downright ridiculous-
Almost, at times, a tool.

I grow old ... I grow old
I hope my thermal tights keep out the cold.

Shall I head out for a swim? Do I dare leave the beach?
I shall wear a full length wetsuit, and float like a peach.
I have heard the dolphins calling, each to each.

I sure wish they would swim with me

I have seen them racing seaward through the waves
Climbing the white caps of the waves blown black
Red caps bobbing like buoys blown back

I have struggled long in the confines of the pool;
Run a thousand hills, Ridden my bike up and down.
Ride, and run, and swim, or you'll drown.


Apologies to Mr. Elliot.

Train Like You are a Forest, not a Tree

The "experts" say that athletic fitness has three components; endurance, strength, and flexibility. They say that different sports require different measures of each. For instance marathoners may have tons of endurance, but not much strength and flexibility, while a weight-lifter has lots of strength and flexibility but no endurance. While the ratios may change, all three are required in some measure to be successful, and the more of each that you have, the better athlete you will be.

This is a nice little formula that works for school administrators when evaluating P.E. curricula, but it doesn't come close to capturing everything it takes to improve as an athlete.

Trainers and sports researchers have now added speed, balance, and core strength to the original three metrics mentioned above. If endurance, strength, and flexibility are the building blocks of an athlete, then speed, balance, and core integrity are the mortar holding it all together. Neither group is worth anything without the other.

Besides musculoskeletal strength, an athlete must also prepare mentally. An athlete will need motivation, resilience, and good technique in order to keep pushing when life and training don't go according to plan.

And of course everyone agrees that training your muscles and your brain aren't worth a darn if you have a lousy diet.

As if that weren't enough, there are many intangible qualities possessed by successful athletes. Athletes must have a healthy sense of humor, understand the importance of sportsmanship, and strive to maintain a good balance between their personal, professional, and athletic lives.

Often times I see people try to tackle this list in a systematic or mechanical way. Long rides for endurance -- check. Pilates for core strength -- check. Push-ups for strength -- check. And so on and so on.

That is not the way I do things and here is why.

As training methods get more "scientific" they also get more specific and focused. I suggest however that your body and brain respond better to more general and holistic stimuli. Just like a team, or a corporation, or a forest, or any other complex system in the world, an athlete's performance is equal to more than the sum of its parts. So instead of trying to compartmentalize all of your training, you should strive to work on several, if not all, elements of fitness at every practice. Instead of doing lots of indoor bike training where you might maximize your optimal-power-output-to-heart-rate-ratio, you should do most of your riding outside where you can not only strive for optimal power, but also learn to climb, take corners, build endurance, stay focused in a wind storm, and sprint for all the city limit signs.

I understand that addressing each individual component seems rational and efficient, but it is that same kind of "rational and efficient" ethos that turns rivers into reservoirs, workshops into assembly lines, and schools into young adult factories. There is of course a place for the scientific application of basic principles, but to do so at the cost of a holistic approach is I think a mistake.

To illustrate I have to make a confession. I like to play golf. And that game is a good example of what I am talking about. To get better at golf you could go to a driving range and hit a thousand balls, then putt for hours on a practice green, then try chipping over lawn furniture in your back yard and in the end think that you have mastered the skills of the game. But when you are out on the course and you have to hit over a little patch of tall grass between you and the hole, your mind will start to play games with you and that easy chip chunks right into the hazard. Of course good golfers will practice their skills but they realize it means nothing without the ability to put all the pieces together on the course. Everyone knows Jack Nicklaus, but no one knows the national long-drive champion. That's because no one cares. Hitting the ball far is not golf. Similarly, high power numbers on a stationary bike will never win you any races.

"You idiot," you may say, "The science of sports performance has advanced tremendously in the last thirty years so it would be down right republican of you to ignore the empirical evidence and cling to the old sloppy ways of training." "Advanced?" Thirty years ago the New York Marathon was won by Alberto and Grete, both of whom ran FASTER than this years winners Meb and Derartu. (Alberto beat Meb by four seconds, and Grete would have won by three minutes). Similarly, the times at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii are remarkably similar to the times posted twenty years ago when aero handlebars were first introduced. The course record set this year by Chrissie Wellington was 17 years old and all but one of Mark Allen's six first place times would have toasted Craig Alexander this year. So what is an athlete to do? Work on everything all the time. You won't be alone. Many world class athletes still train this way. Sure, they do lower intensity workouts in the winter; then ramp things up as the racing season starts; but it is not much more complicated than that.

Save the rocket science for firing rockets. Training is something completely different.

I just "bought" a 40 year young Columbia tandem from a woman at my Dad's condo. It is just like the picture accept for some rust, dust, and lots of that furry dirt that builds up on old greassy chains. It came with a brand new u-lock which is probably worth more than the bike.
Single speed and a coaster brake. Perfect for riding around Kirkland and the surrounding hills. Mine has the original everything. Including some awsome red and white comfort sadles. No ugly white covers on my baby. I'll keep you posted on how the refirb' goes.

Every summer some poor soul is found up in the Cascades at the bottom of a huge cliff where he fell to his premature end. I have always wondered; how does someone accidentally walk off a cliff? After my Team in Training practice yesterday I think I now know how this happens.
I gave everyone a map of the Redmond Watershed with arrows directing them on a 4.5 mile loop. Well, everyone missed the first turn 2 miles into the run. The trail ended at some neighborhood cul-de-sac and even though it was highly unlikely that there were giant homes in the public watershed, everyone just kept running. Out onto the streets, then onto the highway, then God knows where else.
Besides blaming myself for making the assumption that people could run and follow a map at the same time, I blame Audra and Cat. they were leading and at the point when they realized they were lost, instead of turning around and finding the true course, they just kept going. The reason I think they did this lies in some ingrained human frailty. Because they were the "leaders" turning around would have put them in an awkward or shameful group situation. The "followers" were not totally without fault either. Some of them must have sensed or known that they were off course, but they kept silent and just kept following.
So back to my lost hiker. When you are lost in the woods, (or anywhere I suppose) panic sets in and though it may not result in running in circles screaming, it can however make you walk mindlessly on. Instead of spending energy on actual route finding one's mind spirals off in many directions including everything BUT route finding. The poor hiker feels alone, desperate, and ashamed, and the view from the top of the cliff is obscured by his fear, and tears, and many furtive glances over his shoulder.
I feel that in the spirit of public service I should advise people that when you are lost; Stop! Go BACK to a place where you know you were not lost, then proceed again paying close attention to clues for the proper route. It's quite simple but not at all obvious at the time.
When you are lost, walking or running mindlessly on will sometimes lead you right off the edge of a cliff.