Virtual Marathon day? International barefoot running day? How bout both?

About a month ago I came across some link I think link from Barefoot Angie's blog proclaiming that May 1st would be Virtual marathon day.  Hmmm?  I like running marthons, and I don't like spending money on them.  I marked the day on my calendar (yeah right I just looked over my shoulder  and my calendar still says March).  It was an intriguing concept, everybody runs a marathon on their own and  reports back to the site.  I was totally in, although I have not reported back to the site yet but probably will when I finish this post. (what a slacker I have become)

Then I found out a few weeks ago that May 1st was also International Barefoot Running Day.  Sweet.  I was planning on running Barefoot anyway.  At first I wanted to make some sort of event out of the occasion but I could only think of one person stupid, I mean strong enough to join me.  My good buddy Christian Burke .  On International Barefoot Running day it would be cool to cross some boarders but alas Mexico 120 miles away and Canada a wee bit farther.  I guess we're gonna run where I always run,  where people have been running barefoot for years and did'nt even think they special or weird for doing so.

Vamos a la Playa

Hermosa 24

The Hermosa 24 was only about 8 weeks away and I needed to get as many miles on the soft sand as I can.  Last year Christian set the record with just over 83 miles in 24 hours.  If have any hope of beating that running 26.2 should be a piece of cake right.

Our plan was to meet at the beach at 10 a.m. and bust out a relaxed slow soft sand run not worrying about the clock at all.  I packed up a cooler with vegi's fruit and beer. (something I never do for a run but this somehow seemed like a special occasion)  

The Sun was shinning brite and I knew it was gonna be a good day.  I had my Garmin on so it didn't matter what course we ran, we would know when we hit the mark

Old video of mine

At first I thought we should run between the Hermosa  and Manhattan piers (i.e. The Hermosa 24 course) but then thought it was such a beauftiful day might as well traverse the sand from the end of Manhattan to the end of Hermosa roughly  9 miles if we ran from jetty to jetty,  this way we could enjoy all the scenery although are necks may be a little sore by the runs end.  All we had to do 3 laps and we'd pass thew cooler 5 times for refreshments.

On the first lap we ran slow.  Starting at Longfellow  we headed North to Manhattan before hitting up Hermosa. along the way we ran into many of our fans

Of which Christian has a ton (maybe 2 tons)

as for myself

How did she know to bring that sign to the beach?

Well we kept running through Hermosa near First st. I ran into my nephews who ran with us to break wall and back.  I told them we'd be back in a few hours.

1st nine miles done body felt great I was moving slow.  The comradery was good and I knew my neck would be sore the next day

Lap 2

The sand was burning hot. If we stayed on the soft sand I would blister by days end (blisters are just temporary pain)  I could deal with it.  Christian was feeling the heat more than I was and at about mile 11 we switched terrain.  I did'nt need to move down to the hard pack but it was smart decision.

wussy

Since we decided to be wussies and run on the hard  pack (something I never do) to told Christian we must switch our run from 26 miles to 50 kilometers. (maybe more).  He agreed and are speed started to pick up on the firmer ground.  During our second lap we my buddy Ryan joined us. I promised him some beer if he stuck it out till  mile 18 and he couldn't resist.  When I passed my family on Lap 2 one of my nephews wised up and stayed with his friends while his younger brother age 7 showed us the sprinting out in front of us as we ran.  I was stoked he joined us and I think he was proud of his efforts.

Thank you to the kind people at Stone. 

 I could care less about a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I all I ask is for a beer at the end of my run. (well maybe another beer in the middle of my run as well)

After our second lap we stopped briefly to down some ale. to help rejuvenate  our mindless aspirations.

18miles down and it felt like we had just started running.  As the day progressed more and more friends began to show up at the beach.  Every seemed like every 2 seconds we had to either stop, wave, or kiss a baby. at one point I had some little kid I didn't know begging me to bury him. I didn't really know the protocol for this situation so kicked a few grains of sand his way before taking off.  

(I guess this will good practice for when I run for the presidency in 2016)

and once again my nephew joined us for a few steps.

Marathon completed 27 miles in the books.  We decided to run Manhattan one more time.  We had been running pretty slow all day. Why not speed things up a bit?  Perhaps going fast would use different muscles and make it easier.  We got to mile 31 and we were still 2 miles away from our beer.  I decided to push to tempo and start running sub 8 minute miles ( I could still run 6's if I had to).  I felt like I was dragging an anchor, Christian was pretty beat but his credit he battled through it and the final 2 miles were our fastest of the day.  For some reason Christian made me promise I would not run any more miles after stopped (ego trip lol) the thought hadn't even crossed my mind till he said something.  I obliged but would I listen to myself?

Garmin stats

Time for another Beer.

I had a great time running with Christian and seeing a bunch friends and family on the sand.  It was a great day and a great run.

I had some business to take care of home but once that was done. I thought  maybe a few more steps on the sand would do me some good.  Since I had wussed out earlier I needed to get back on the soft sand plus it was going to be beautiful sunset.

(that thought goes through my mind everyday)

I called Christian up giving him fair warning of my intension's asking if he wanted to join me.  His response was a kind hearted.

"You Bastard."

During my five mile sunset run  I passed Christian on the beach playing Volleyball with his daughter.  Defiantly a better decision than running more miles with my Dumb Ass.

Life is good!

Next up Born 2 Run 100k  Barefoot

5/14

Beer Footed at the Carlsbad 10k

Well  I guess Racing season has begun.  Ideally my goal is to be competitive at any distance at any time. Sures some races are more important to me (i.e Hermosa 24) but why limit myself with goals. You never know whats gonna happen tomorrow and I am ready to embrace uncertainty.

Last week my body felt good and my confidence was high coming off Ragnar and the Bare Burro race.  The sun shined all week my garden was starting grow and optimism began to take over.

Life was good and getting better.

The kind People at the Stone Brewing Company had promised to fill my car up with beer (should I bring a snorkel?) if I drove down to Brewery. (how could I say no?)  I love going down to brewery and bistro (I recommend everyone do it!) but the drive is about 90 miles  to Escondido from my home in the South Bay. (ouch) In the past I have made such ventures into mini disc golf road trips. 

Well on this particular week I was itching to run another race. After a quick google search I found a 10k in Carlsbad about 15 miles from the Stone brewery (perfecto).  Bib pick up was on Friday so I figured I would hit up Stone for lunch grab a room at motel 6 in Carlsbad for $50 and run the race in the morning.

Wait a second. I'm a responsible dude how can I get drunk at the brewery and then drive?

Hmmm?

(I called up my sister)

"Hey sis, do you wanna run in a 10k down in Carlsbad?"

(her response)

"uum Okay."

(my thoughs)

Sucker! :)

Well there we go trip planned.  

Wait a second I need to play disc golf

Lucky for me a new course just opened up at the Goat Hill Ball golf course in Oceanside

Plan

Leave around 8 a.m. play some golf , go have lunch and drink some good craft beer.

(tough life huh)

$4 to play around $10 with a cart = bargain

We arrived at the course around 10a.m. the weather was nice and the wind was starting to pick up.  My game wasn't very sharp but I was having a fun time. I was the only person playing golf barefoot.

(what a surprise)

I even had a chauffeur

My sister had never drove a golf cart. She was giddy the whole time and didn't even crash twice.

To the Brewery

Kind of like Disneyland for Adults except Mickey is a kick ass Gargoyle.  The food is awesome and instead of paying $6 bucks for diet Coke you have  the choice of around 100 different beers! You don't have to pay $60 wait in line for an hour to sit inside Dumbo. They have complimentary  tours of the brewery and you get to sample the finest ale known to man for FREE afterwards.

We arrived at the brewery at about 12:30.  I really wanted my sister to take the tour and she seemed pretty excited.  (I also wanted the beer) To our dismay the 2p.m. brewery tour was filled and we would have to wait till 4 p.m. oh well.

Let's go have lunch

The Stone Bistro is a special place

check out this letter from the Ceo of Stone explaining their 

philosophy

And

on Monday's their menu is entirely meat free lowering their carbon imprint on the world and helping teach people that every meal does not have to be a carnivorous one.

My sister does not drink like i do.  She drinks about 1 beer month and likes it fizzy and yellow variety.  I forgot what we ordered for her it was a little stronger than she was used  to but she downed it before I finished my Oaked Arrogant Bastard

Instead of meal we shared a bunch of appitzers at the Bistro

Brussell sprouts, Artichoke Hummus, fried garlic mashed potatoes and some pretzels.

We grubbed down pretty good  and the Beer hit the spot.

While we eating we were met by Community Relations Manager Chris Cochran.  He's a totally cool dude, a really positive guy with a can do attitude.  He told me their was beer waiting for me when I leave and he even got us into the 2 p.m. tour.

Thanks Chris your the best.

We had  a few minutes  to kill so we took a walk through the garden,

I totally should have rented a U-haul.

The tour takes about 20 minutes and is pretty interesting even for somebody who has taken it a few times before (like myself).  Each time I learn something new.  What I learned today was that "If a beer  gains over 1% alcohol from a cask is taxed up the wazoo by the state of California." Most beer is not put into casks but Stone owns a bunch of Bourbon barrels that they have be known to use from time to time on a small level..

The tour was fun and as usual we were each given 4 Stone Ales to sample afterwards.  Me being the good brother that I am. (always looking out for my sister.)   I sacrificed my sobriety and drank her beer so that she would not have to drink and drive

(I'm a giver)

.

I was feeling pretty good.  If only I had something to lean on?

Ah, life is good

Carlsbad 10,000

also called the

Earth Day 10k

Time to go check in for the Race.  

We picked up our bid numbers and timing chips and everything seemed pretty well organized.  The race only cost $20 and instead of giving out shirts they gave out little plant your own tree kits from the $1 store. 

(not a bad idea )

We checked into our beautiful 1 star hotel room got a wink and half of rest (either crackheads or vampires had the room above us) and were ready to go bright and early the next morning.

The dudes at Stone were kind enough to kick me down a couple of green shirts to be more festive for Earth Day

I wasn't quite sure how much competition there would be.  I know the Carlsbad area has some really good runners but how many of them would show up for this tiny 10k?  Seeing that my number was in the 500's there was bound to be at least a few.  

San Dieguito 5k

Sure enough one of the first guys I saw was the winner of the San Dieguito 5k (the dude behind me to the left in this photo) .  He kicked my butt at San Dieguito and was just coming off a third place finish at the La Jolla 1/2 marathon the week before. 

The set up for the race was pretty shabby at best.  The people in charge had only expected about 40 people (not 10 times that amount or so they claimed).  No roads would be closed and we would be running in the bike lane  on a there and back 3.1 mile  stretch of highway along the coast.  I was a bit skeptical about this but it ended up being fine for me.  They had 2 porta potties and the line to use them was about 70 people strong 10 minutes before the race.  There was even a line to pee in the bushes. ( mostly women).  The people in charge did a very poor job, which would be acceptable if they were raising money for charity.  It may have been Labeled an Earth day 10k but this race but nowhere did I see or hear any sign that any of the money went to a good cause other than someone's wallet.

Hopefully I'm wrong! If so please tell me.

but

 If i'm right I think it's pretty scummy of the people in charge to use Earth day in the title for their own profit.

I would not recommended this race to anyone next year for that reason.

On to the race itself

I have no f'n clue what type of runner I am I thought if I ran well I'd be somewhere in the 34 minute range (well off my pr but respectable).

Id be running in my Luna sandals (as usual) Cep sleeves, and use my Garmin 310XT (best gps watch on the market)

Right out the gates the guy I expected to win flew out in front of me with another dude.  I ran in third for the first mile before another two track guys passed me plus one other dude and I was in 6th (doh)  I was running hard (listening to my body) the win at all cost mentality definitely was not flowing through my blood.   I'm not sure if injuries have made me soft, slow or smart but whatever they have done to me I need a different strategy for success. 

(at least in these shorter races)

The Course was pretty flat with views of the almost the entire time.  It took me over 11 minutes to run my first 2 miles and that really cost me.  While I tried to find a groove I was a minute slower than I should have been. Running at the speed would be okay for a marathon but not for a competitive 10k without hills.  I continued at a very similar pace  a finished the race in 6th place with an official time of  35:09.

The winner by the way ran an amazing 30:53 My hat goes off to him.

I can't say i was ecstatic about my speed but it is what is.  I need to run the like the rabbit being chased and go back to my old strategy.  

Jump out in front at the start going as fast as I can and if someone catches me, RUN FASTER!

Garmin Stats

Although it wasn't my day there was still hope for my sister.

My sister was coming off a nasty achilles injury (which had sidelined her from the L.A. Marathon).  She had been feeling pretty good of late but I was still a bit concerned that something might flare up.  I had seen no water stations on the course and I knew my sister wasn't carrying a bottle (something she usually does).

After I crossed the finish line I ran straight the car to grab my camera and a bottle water for my sister.  I sprinted back out onto the course about 1.5 miles before catching up with her. (no time to hydrate myself)

I was stoked to see a smile on her face.  She was running strong and didn't want any of my water. (Fine then)

Quickly I began to get her nerves (that's what little brothers are for I thought).  I tried pushing on her back to make her run faster.  (she didn't like that)  So I tried pulling on her shirt (she liked that even less)

If I'm gonna carry this bottle of water I might as well use it.  Maybe if I pour some on her she would run faster.

( I am such a good brother)

Anyone need a pacer for their next 100 mile run these are the kind of services I can provide.

I guess the threat did the trick.  She was off and flying

See ya at the finishline

Even though she ran out in front there was still a mile to go.  I kicked it into gear and got to the finish line in what I thought would be a few minutes before  her.  When I looked at the clock it read around 56 minutes. She might break 1 hour! (prior P.R. 1:03)   It was gonna be close.

But when I turned around she was right on ass (shows what I know)

Good Job Sis!

She finished so fast she had time to catch her breath and join her Dumb ass brother for a photo before the official clock hit 1 hour.

People dug the Stone shirts I even saw one guy wearing the same one as me  and my sis said she got a few Hoot's from dudes yelling "Stone" 

(nice)

  I was really proud of my sister, she has always been there to support me and being there to see her achieve her best was a pretty awesome way to finish the trip.

I'm not sure what's up next

but

It's gonna be fun few weeks.

Cheers!

Bare Burro 5k My first Naked Win

THE OLIVE DELL RANCH HAS NEW OWNERS.

AS OF NOW I CANNOT RECOMMEND VISITING!

I DO NOT RECOMMEND PARTICIPATING IN THIS RACE I ONCE LOVED

1997

Straight out of High School and before Junior college I went to school to become a massage therapist.  While I was interning I had the opportunity to go  to Olive Dell ranch (nudist resort) to  give out  free massages during National Nude Weekend.  

Sure why not.

I even lined up a cute girl to head out there with me but at the last second she chickened out (Oh Well).  My buddies girlfriend wanted to go (awkward) but he cool with it. (so was I) We had a great time,  I think I only gave one massage (thats what happens when your working tips) and spent the rest of the trip enjoying the specticle of humanity.

That was my first and last foray into the world of nudism 

(other than the occasional skinny dip in the Pacific or streak around the block)

People come in all shapes and sizes and no place is that more evident than at a nudist resort.

(we are all animals)

Fast forward to last summer.  While trolling through some Barefoot forum on the Runners World website I came across a link to a website that contained a list of all the nude races across the country. Obviously it was the natural next progression of my career as a runner.  The only race within 500 miles of me just happened to take place at the Olive Dell Ranch.

I did not want to miss this opportunity.

I could have preregistered but just in case something happened at  ragnar I held off.

Race day sign ups started at 8:00 a.m. The the actual race began at 10:30 a.m.  I woke up early in the morning the weather perfect and I made the 90 mile drive to Colton C.A. (Near Riverside) and arrived by about 8:05.  

I think I was the first non regular to show up.  I parked my car off in the boonies and was not sure if I should strip down or if I should wait?. 

I decided to stroll up to registration in my board shorts with my backpack on carrying my sandals and a towel.

As I was signing up I noticed some chick painting numbers of people's right thighs.  

(Nowhere to pin a bib.)

Time to get Naked I thought.

I stripped down to my birthday suit and next thing I knew I had a naked lady bent down in front of me painting my number on.

(If only every Sunday could be so glorious)

I still had about an hour and half to kill before the race.  The sun was shining bright and parts of my body were feeling it's rays for the very first time.  I started to lather up with sun screen. ( it felt a little odd touching my junk in public but I really did not want to get burnt.)  The paint was still wet on my leg which kept me from putting any protection on the top of my thigh.  I thought I would later but I forgot. 

 (more on that at the end of this post)

People were starting to show up and I began to size up the competition.

 (Not like that)

Get your mind out of the gutter!

I wasn't there to sword fight. I was there to run.

About 100 or so people showed up to run and about 15 to 20 looked like they could give me some competition. Astoundingly out of this small group of people about 12 of them had also just run in the Ragnar relay.

I recognized one dude from some ultra races and then minutes before the race started up strolled my buddy Eric Clifton , one of Southern California's best Ultra runners and former winner of Badwater. He had just come from Ragnar as well.

I hadn't really planned on running into anyone I knew at this race. For about 30 seconds it was awkward talking to my naked friend but life's way to short to worry things like that and it was nice to have someone I knew there.

As for the ladies in the race. There were lots of lovely human beings,  some lovely than others ;) .  The presence of even just one beautiful naked woman can bring inner peace to so many. 

 (probably pretty therapeutic for my health as well)

In no way was their any kind of sexual vibe going around.  But that's not to say I wasn't walking around with a smile on my face.

The Olive Dell Ranch owns a 126 acres of land

The course took place on an old burro trail created by  herds of wild  burrows, descendent's on mining animals long ago. 

The terrain was pretty much 1.55 miles straight up a few steep hills and then back on gravel filled trails with a  single back trails on the steeper parts of the course.  

I had wanted to run barefoot but my legs were pretty fatigued and the course was somewhat technical.  Because I was tired my reaction time to adjust my weight if I stepped on something uncomfortable would be much slower.  I decided the smart move would be to lace up my Luna Sandals figuring I'd have a greater chance regretting being barefoot than in Huaraches. For this race I wouldn't even wear a watch.

Can you find me?  I'll give you a clue I think I am the tannest and also the most butt white (literally) runner in the group.

I'm pretty comfortable being naked around others but that's when I have my own personal space.  The stating line was a little strange as we all corralled in tight like a package of hot dogs.  I couldn't wait for the air horn blow and I stormed out of the pack behind 2 other runners.

Running Naked felt good and I quickly found a rhythm as I ran out of the resort and to the hills in 2nd place.  I theorize that because I am a forefoot striker my twig and berries stay at that same pace as my feet. when I strike the ground my feet are directly below my torso resulting in very little floppage.

As for the the shoe wearing heel striker I cringe at the thought.  When the foot lands way in front of the body. a dudes dangling participles gain inertia,  they begin swing out of control in a pendulating motion. Eventually their nads dangle so far they may  slap the runner in the face.

Perhaps I had an unfair advantage running is huaraches.  What do you think of the new slogan for Luna sandals I just  came up with.
"Footwear for dudes that don't like nads slapping them in the face."
(I'm guessing thats a pretty big market)

my fans were everywhere :)

This is how I choose to remember it.

About a 1/2 mile in I took  the lead and there was no turning back.  I expected my legs to be more tired but they felt great.  I ran exhilarated by the freedom my nakedness.  By the time I got to the midway point (the highest point on the course) I had a 1 or 2 minute lead.  I ran smart and steady on the way back.  The return was pretty fun passing all the Naked people climbing the hill.  I think many of them were surprised that the dude in sandals was in lead.  It was just a 5k and the race was over in what felt like 5 minutes.  I crossed the finish line in first place a few minutes in front of second place establishing  a new course record by aout 4 minutes.
(only the 2nd year of the event)

My first win of the year.

Here I am Posing with one of the female winners. 

 Good thing I won an award.

The womans winner with her Husband

They were a really cool couple and both ran the race in Vff's they both ran the L.A. marathon and doing their 1st Ultra next month.  They recognized me from the Naked Tour event  that we both attended the week prior.

(Its a small world aint it?)

Eric Clifton and I

Pretty classy huh?

We were at a nudist resort, might as well document the day a ridiculous photo.

After the race they had a short awards ceremony.  They opened up the bar, I grabbed a beer and then went for a short hike.

This was one one of the hills we climbed during the race

View back down 

It was a tough path to navigate.

At places like this it's easy to go primal.

Is that Bigfoot?

I think this dude got stuck in quicksand during last years race

I was even lucky enough to come across a herd of wild burro's.  They were well aware of my presence, I was on their land and although I wanted to go say hi  I let them be.

I'd prefer the award to have some naked people but it is kind of cool that it has a foot in sandals. 

Everyone I met at the Olive Dell Ranch was really nice!  When you shed your clothes you get  rid of the pretentiousness that we all carry  (some more than others)     Everyone is defenseless.  And when you let your guard down  It's easier to embrace the kindness and positive energy that unites us.

I think I could of put that more eloquently but I hope you get may drift.

The whole day was a great experience and I think everyone could benefit from shedding their inhibitions once in awhile.  

I hope to do Bare to Breakers next year.

I said I'd come  back to this later

the only part of my body that got burnt

For the next week or so you can refer to me as #3

In 2012 I came back to defend my title 

Here is the race report.