Recovery post HD/2

Ok, almost totally cured now. I ran 32' last Wednesday, 58' this Sunday and 40' today, Monday. I can still notice a very slight feel at the ankle, but nothing while running, just after, when it cools down. No pain, just a feeling of being there. So I have to plan for another half marathon. It is a pity to have missed the HD/2 but let's look at the future. I should run a race soon. Problem is I have lots of traveling in the coming months.
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Post HD/2

So, that is it, I did not run the famous Heidelberg half marathon. It is really a pity, I am so disappointed. The HD/2 is really a nice course, a tough one, with two famous hills that are really hard, but the people, the atmosphere around it is so beautiful, so cheerful, that you feel really good when you finish it, whatever your time. It is a pity because I had prepared very well, I think. I felt like I could run below 90 minutes.
Anyway, useless to keep self-pitying. Let's look at the future. And there are many many race around Heidelberg, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find one in the next future. I went running yesterday, Wednesday, for only 25' at a low pace and my ankle seemed to be fine. I will go again this weekend for an hour. If my legs and feet are fine after that, I will pick my next race that will be the first one I will run 5Fs. I am looking forward to it.
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Heidelberg half dropping out

Friday morning, my left ankle slightly hurt. That is exactly why I went running short and slow yesterday, just to see how my feet will react. Well, it reacted fine, but not fine enough. This morning I can feel that it is not ready. No pain, but a faint feeling that it is just not there yet. I just went for half an hour very easy pace yesterday. So unfortunately, it is clear that I won't be able to run on Sunday. I am very disappointed but it would be too risky.
It is important to state here that I don't think this is related at all to the 5Fs. It is just bad luck to have slipped like that 2 weeks before the race and could have happened with normal shoes. I think so.
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4 days to HD/2

Quick update at 4 days of the HD half. It is getting better. It is still slightly swollen, but almost nothing, and it feels like I could run, I want to run. I will thus take my place at the start line and then we will see how it goes. Initially, I would like to take it easy, not to take the risk of injury, but you know how it goes. I know myself and will probably try it anyway, because I will feel good. We will see.

On the other side, after a couple of weeks of slowing down and a week of complete rest, my legs are feeling full. You known this feeling, when you body is asking you to go out.  I feel like I could run a full marathon now. So, the HD half is not turning out too bad, the next step will probably be a full marathon.

See you on Sunday on the starting line.

Thursday, Day - 3, I went for a short and easy run this morning, just to check my feet. I think it will be alright. You can barely make out the swollen now and it felt good running. So I guess Sunday will be ok. See you there.

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40th birthday 16k practice race and twisted ankle

That is it, I just turned 40. And the day after ran a 16 km race to celebrate it.
Everything went fine, total barefoot again, no problem at all.

The following day, I just ran an easy 13 km with colleagues. It felt good, but towards the end of the path, I slept and slightly twisted my left ankle. Shit, just two weeks before the half marathon. How will I cope with that? Will I heal? I do hope so.

So far, I am with a support band, I will go buy some anti-inflammatory cream. I am supposed to run a 24 km race this weekend with a friend. I don't know, may be I skip it to be safe for the half. Shit.

That is it, I put a lot of anti-inflammatory cream on the inner part of my left ankle. I do have a slight stretched ligament there, slightly swollen. I will not do anything at all until the half and see how it goes. Anyway, I am supposed to be tapering now.

Here is the chart of my training then:

Next stop: Heidelberg half

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HD/2: Second training run

Done, was good, enjoyed it. I did it barefoot. Have run the 16 km, in 1h15', up and down hills, partly in the woods, including the famous Phylosophenweg opposite the Heidelberg castle. First time the complete path 5Fs, so I didn't push it. Next time, I will try to push it a bit to lower the time in preparation for the 5 extra kms on the complete one. Seems possible to do the complete HD half-marathon below 1h30 this time.

The day after, Monday, just did the Monday run, 13 km, on a normal 58', not best time, but satisfying one. I felt really good all along. That is probably one of the biggest discovery for me running barefoot. I clearly enjoy more the running and the post-running. It feels good all along and even after.
Clearly because there is more less shocks or much more absorption of them. I could feel my calves being tired. Calves are clearly more important barefoot than shod. And to answer one recent comment I received, one of the reasons I am probably not too injury prone is that I have pretty good calves. I used to play a lot of ice hockey when I was young. For skating, you need good abdominal and calves. My early skating might be associated to a smooth transition to barefoot running.

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I feel good (HD/2 - 5 weeks)

Feeling very good. I just completed another Wednesday run with 5Fs, 15 km in just 67'. That was good and feet are feeling really well. I still have to learn to relax and worry less on the downhill parts. It is looking good, I am already much faster than initially, but I am still careful with stones, and not relaxed. I also feel that I am pulling on my back to slow down, thing that I clearly shouldn't do. I need a couple more practice run and I should be OK. The problem is that the HD half marathon has lots of hills, including the last one, from the castle to the old town, really step and fast. I need to learn to speed it up if I don't want to loose much time there. Anyway, my feet and legs are feeling good. One point that I feel important to mention is that previously, with shoes, I always felt completely worn out. My joints ached, my legs and back felt bad ... I was happy, feeling good about running, but could felt the impact on my body. Definitively NOT what I am feeling with barefoot. On the contrary, it feels good all over my body. The feet, which have receive directly plenty of impacts are just feeling wonderful. I feel like an animal that was hold in a cage and could only move in a limited space to which you suddenly open the door and can now run without limit on huge space. I know that's a little excessive but that is the image I use to represent what I feel. In short, I feel really good after running barefoot, unlike what I use to feel with shoes. Until the race, in five weeks, I will try to run only barefoot, including two practice run, one this weekend, one two weeks before it, and including 24 km in Belgium one week before HD. Should be nice. Let's see how it goes.
But definitively, for the new comers, the sole of 7mm makes a big difference. The Bikila LS are very very nice, very comfortable and just enough protection below the feet. See a new beginning post I also think that starting to run barefoot in the woods, with lots of branches, small stones, irregular path is not ideal, but well, too late, I have done it. New barefoot runners should definitively start with enough sole, 7 mm and ideally on concrete.
Here is my practice log.

As I said, the following bars should all be green.


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