Duct Tape Running Sandals

"What the hell are those" somebody said as I ran by. "Those are awesome!" their friend said. They may be awesome, they may be trash, they're actually kinda both.
The busted blisters in between my toes from the long sand run this weekend were healing slow but I needed to get out for a cruise. Grinding dirt and road crime into my wounds seemed like a bad idea so I opted for a little protection. I didn't feel like putting on the old Nikes but I didn't have an alternative. So I had to make one. I found invisibleshoe.com had good instructions on making huaraches. I didn't have the materials that would make the classic huaraches but what I did have was a junk drawer.
A little cardboard, some nylon twine and old roll of silver duct tape was all it took to fashion these bad boys. The trash sandals worked surprisingly well and the same run that killed my feet last week was a breeze today. They are a temporary solution but if I need to 'resole' them a little more duct tape should do the trick.

Happy people flood gorgeous beaches

Fourth of July weekend and the beach is going crazy. People are having fun and spending time with friends, families and neighbors. Truly a beautiful day. On my barefoot run down the beach across channel islands Harbor I saw adults and kids alike buried up to their necks in sand, skim boarding, playing in the surf and relaxing under umbrellas. I spent most of the run in the soft sand but after a few miles the skin in the small of my toes was 'sandblasted' off, blistered and throughly painful. It must be the coarse sand squeezing between my toes. They say that sand diminishes your productivity by as much as 60 percent. So if I ran about five miles I guess that means I ran more like 11? I felt great and could have kept going but the skin of my toes was telling me to pull back into the beach party for a cold one. Gotta love the summer in California.

O.k. so my feet are sore...

It turns out I miscalculated the milage on the last few days (I went a little further than I thought). This might explain why my feet were pretty sore today (or maybe it was the asphalt). Since I started reading the post on the minimalist runners group run by Barefoot Ted, I see that some people have problems withe TMTS (too much too soon). This inspired me to dial it down a little this evening. Sunset in the surf is hard to beat. The tide was exceptionally high and the splashing my way a couple miles through the incoming swell gave me a pretty good workout. The sand crabs are feeding like crazy and you can feel their little sharp faces poke your feet when you hit the tide just right. A nice float in the ocean to cool down is a great reward.

Bath House to Hammonds Meadow to Bird Refuge high tide loop

I was running into the sun along Biltmore beach through the waves when it happened. Relaxation washed over me and each breath seemed to stroke my heart and created a physical, mental and spiritual sense of intense joy. Maybe it was the view or the endorphines, or the beautiful sun and water but whatever it was is a priceless experience I never been granted by a material object.

This was a high tide run at about 6 pm June 28, 2011. The tide was high enough I had to rock hop for the entire stretch below the cemetery. It was slow but seemed like a natural ankle stabilizing workout. There was a dead seal some segulls were picking at that was incredibly stinky and really illustrates how amazing the difference being 'downwind' has. I didn't realize the run was almost 4.5 miles. For most of the beach portion of the run I was running in the ocean. The tide pulls and pushes on your feet and if you look down the ground seems to be rushing out to sea. If you want to keep a running pace you have to memorize when rocks are sticking out of the sand so when the wave rushes in you don't smash your toe on one. Otherwise It's a great exercise in focus stability and it's refreshing too. The joy was dampened when my bare feet hit the concrete on Channel Drive but pondering Ty Warner's mansion is a good distraction. My feet were sore from the rough road on the hike up Tunnel trail yesterday but I didn't want to rockhop the high tide again. Going downhill past the Santa Barbara Cemetery and around to the bird refuge was a little rough but staying in the car lane (when there's no cars of course) seemed to be the smoothest for the tender bare feet. The loop around the bird refuge is gorgeous.

My mental notes for for the day. Relax and keep your spine straight, almost feel it curve around your butt to point down. Keep your feet under your body. Don't lean forward with your head or throw your feet way out infront of you. Place them just infront of you, just past your chest but not past your knee. Then push back so they are like a lever propelling your forward. Then quickly and relaxed, almost like a whip, slip them back under your body. When you get the rhythm just right wou can feel your torso riding almost motionless a top your legs and enjoy looking around. Also it can help to focus (with your eyes) on something. Another thing, you can mentally slip into a drudge and it happens easiest when you just space out, if you do, find something and focus your eyes on that item, describe the details of it and notice it. If your head is bobbing around your form is bad and if your form is bad you can't easily focus because you head is bobbing around. Stop the bobbing and your form gets better. Also, relaaaaax, only your legs need to be working so take deep breath, stretch your neck a little, roll your shoulders, it can help release any unintentional tension.


Distance: 4.4 miles
Time: Who cares

Surf and Turf

Who would have thought a day that was almost entirely consumed by an angry computer would lead into one of the most complete outdoor Santa Barbara evenings. I wandered to my van unsure and uninspired only knowing one thing, I needed to be outside. I pulled the van over to park on Cabrillo Blvd. The soft fluffy green grass was too much to resist so I ran barefoot a couple length of the ovesized palm laden parkway as a warm up. Then quickly cooled down with a nice open ocean paddle next to Sterns Wharf. The ocean water was perfect not too cool not too warm. After the workout I jumped back in just to float and watch the Brown Pelicans dive bomb the unsuspecting fish too close to the surface. It was glorious and inspiring but I drove away from the beach feeling like I needed more, then it hit me: I'll go for a hike. It was already after 7pm but Inspiration point at the top of Tunnel trail was calling my name. "I might make it to the top before dark," I thought. Santa Barbara Barefoot surf and turf was on.

When I arrived the sun was streaming glorious warm golden beams across the chaparrel and wildflowers blanketing the mountains that make up the Santa Barbara front country. Groups of happy hikers we returning from their hikes as I made my way up. Ocassionally people would comment on the crazy dude running up the trail in barefeet (that's me). The red clay and well worn trail made for a pretty comfy barefoot hike as well as a gorgeous canvas for the wildflowers along the trail. The dark black skeletons of oversized chaparrel burned in the Jesusita fire scatter the hillside like a ambitious Cristo installation. Getting to the top is a rewarded. A view worth a million dollars but free to each and every person willing to look. A view is an amazing thing. Everyone can use it and it never wears out. The sun had just sent behind the mountain range and multi-colored sky created a provided a celestial blanket to compliment the absolute perfect temperature. Apparently going barefoot wasn't enough. I took off my shirt and imagined for a moment what the Chumash four thousand years ago must have experienced, Eden. The smell of bay laurel and sage brush mix in the air to create an elaborate perfume that is sweet and earthy. The birds chatter as they capture their last meal for the day and a large barn owl lands high in sycamore to start the evening hunt. Crickets saw out a few chirps like a violinist tuning their instrument before the symphony, but the frogs don't wait for anything before firing up the whole chorus. Quiet 'oneness' eliminates my thoughts as my feet pad down the trail rubbing the dirt reminding me I am of this earth. This evening: perfection.

From Barefoot in Santa Barbara

Downtown to Old Mission barefoot loop

The shortest but most challenging barefoot run so far. It's only 2.5 miles but almost entirely concrete and asphalt a pretty solid uphill jog to the Riviera then steep downhill back. Maybe I started too late and the weather was uninspiring or I ran a flat grass pace up a concrete incline or I just didn't eat enough today but these were the most uncomfortable few miles yet. Maybe the shortness of the trip or changing pace of uphills and rough road never gave me a chance to get in the groove. Thank goodness for the nicely manicured lawns and grassy parkways along the way to give my tender little baby feet a soft cool moving pit stop along the way.

distance: 2.5 miles, uphill and downhill.
speed: about 10 minutes a mile

Harbor to La Mesa Park

It was gorgeous sunny afternoon the city of Santa Barbara. As I embarked on my third barefoot run in Santa Barbara a cool breeze stirred up the pungent sweet salty seaweed air and dragged a massive fog bank up over the Mesa behind it. The cool air was relaxing and gave life to the chorus of halyards performing their chattering melodies on the aluminum mast of the catamarans sleeping on the beach below. This run seems an even mix of sand, grass then concrete. I must of passed a dozen runners going the opposite direction and maybe they were running faster or further than me but they all looked driven and possibly pained by the experience. It may not be my bare feet that are make me feel so chipper when running but maybe the distraction of slightly different sensation each foot placement takes my mind off the monotony of pounding down the pavement. And once you get into a rhythm you can really just relax and look around.

Distance: 3.75 miles (round trip)