A Passion for Running

Welcome to the home of Mark aka The Running Blogfather – a 40 year-old dad, husband and marathon runner who's beaten injury and is on the comeback trail!

good practice & a thank you

passion for running category: barefoot running,pose running method,running on Friday, May 6 2005

Aaron and I went down the running path behind his place toward the Edmonton High-Level Bridge and ran around Ezio Farone Park for about 35-40 minutes.

It’s a pretty central location where quite a few runners, walkers and bikers pass through. We got lots of weird looks while we practiced our pose drills and running. We even had a couple people stop us to ask what the heck we were doing.

Oh…did I mention we did the entire practice in our bare feet? :D

Aaron tried the barefoot thing for the first time on Monday and really liked it which makes me happy since I won’t be the only person in Edmonton getting the kooky looks and comments. ;)

Seriously though, we really like the bare foot thing because you can feel everything. The difference between running with good versus poor form is striking and immediate. It’s really helping to reinforce our learning of the pose method of running.

We are going to do a lot of this barefoot stuff I imagine.

There is a really sharp, long hill leading out of/into Ezio Farone Park. We ran about half way down it and then, after explaining our barefootedness to a couple of young, running chick-like runners, headed back up. MAN, I tell you – that hill was NOT THERE! The pose makes running up hills WAY easier!

Unbelievable.

Thanks to all of you who commented on my little video clip. You guys have no idea how good those comments make me feel because learning the pose is tough in the sense that I don’t relate very well to most runners right now. I can barely run 5 minutes in this new form. A veteran runner who can only run five minutes at a time isn’t very inspiring I’m afraid. Plus, it’s hard to read about other runner’s speed and distance conquests and here I am at the beginning!

Oh well. One day, I’m gonna come back a screamin-fast-pose-speed-monster.

Look out world. :D




10 Comments

3990

Comment by susan

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

“The hill was not there” That must make the Pose method worth everything! And about others: Mark do you remember what you told me 10 months ago? Don’t compare yourself to others, only yourself:) You are on your way to a cool new place in your running life.

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Comment by Adeel

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

You could’ve also made a gradual transition into barefoot running/the H streets, although transitioning to POSE isn’t the kind of thing you can do halfway.

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Comment by Mark

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

Yeah. I actually started barefoot running about a month ago. Pretty much exactly one week before I went to the POSE clinic. I’ve integrated some barefoot running into my pose practices too. BF running is highly regarded in the pose community for facilitating one’s adoption of the pose method.

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Comment by Mark

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

I don’t think I quite got what you said the first time I read your comment Adeel. Yes, you cannot just pose half way. A tough part of all this is resisting the urge to revert back to the old shitty form I used to have just for the sake of distance.

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Comment by Sophist

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

Barefoot running sounds lovely. (And it must be great to live in an area where it’s safe to do so. :-) There are too many drug needles in my ‘hood to do the barefoot thing!) “The hill was not there” is definitely inspiring… I live in San Francisco and would love to flatten those hills. Reading your blog has convinced me to finally go get that Pose book and give this thing a try.

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Comment by beverly

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

Before I read Susan’s comment, I was going to remind you about the advice a certain Blogfather also gave to me about comparing me only to me …. hmmmmm ….

This is an exciting adventure for you, and it’s great to read about it. That in itself is inspiring.

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Comment by BD

Saturday May 07, 2005 @

I’ve learned much through your adventures. I know that I don’t have good POSE technique but I’m working on improving my technique. I too have found that POSE principles make hills easier!

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Comment by Marie

Sunday May 08, 2005 @

Way to go! I can barely walk barefoot – never mind run…

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Comment by Barefoot Ted

Sunday May 15, 2005 @

I only run barefoot. Most of the high-heeled, orthotic boots that they sell people do more damage than good (heel-striking).

By learning how to run barefoot, you learn how to run correctly. You won’t run far or long barefooted if you are running poorly.

Study it. Learn all you can about it. You will be free.

Best, Barefoot Ted

PS. I did the Palos Verdes Marathon in 3:31 yesterday…barefoot. My second marathon. 2 years ago, I couldn’t run longer than an hour. Shoes were killing me.

BarefootTed.com

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Comment by christine

Monday June 27, 2005 @

Fhe hill didn’t seem to be there? Wow the hill is allways been there for me!!! I’m thinking of this barefoot thing expecally cause my shoes are starting to hurt. Oh and I guess my form does need a little work!
For the love of running,
Christine

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