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New York Marathon 2013

All in Natural Running Style, 4h20 of running for 5h00 of commuting and waiting to get to the start and then 2 hours to get out and back to my place. That's so NYC! But worth it. My first time with sore legs, probably because of my short training (I started the real training only when my left Achilles's was healed, i.e. beginning of October) and because of the active spring leg usage all the way (not a single heel strike for the all 42 km). By the way, running properly for 4h+ actually fixed my back and hip pains.

27 Octobre 2013, Long Run along the Arve River with my future running fellows of the Paris Marathon 2014

Deborah, Kristof and Barefoot Pat Very muddy but no rain. Uneven trails alongside the Arve, nice for ankle training and to keep springy calves. Perfect test for my new Zero-Drop Trail Shoes, the Inov-8 TrailRoc 235. I tested them already in mountains trails in Le Salève last month and they are awesome, unbelievable grip whether uphill or downhill on very muddy and slippery mountain trails, amazing barefoot-like feeling with no pain when stepping hard of sharp pebbles. With these shoes you can keep a springy and natural stride for hours on any terrain without even thinking about it. Works also with Brooks PureGrit And Nike Free Run

The Eiger Ultra. My 1st Mountain Trail. 12 hours and 14 minutes of pure joy !

The preparation was too short (2 months). My left Achilles' tendon was getting too inflamed. I was prepared to drop out of the race at any time. Instead, everything worked fine, and after a little metabolic weakness at the 9th hour, I could recover, and for the last hour (11 to 12), I tossed my old-fashioned trail shoes to finish in Huaraches. I even passed 5 runners in those sandals. At the finish line, I knew that I will try to run trails as often and as long as I can. All the rest, i.e. Marathons and Triathlons, are just for fun and for training now.

The 1st Edition of the Eiger Ultra... I am in !!!

I just registered to the first edition of the Eiger Ultra Trail. http://www.eigerultratrail.ch/en/trail-e51.html This sounds insane but my cardiologist told me that I could aim at longer races with lower heart rates. So I registered for the "short" course. Still, 51 km and 3100 m altitude difference may be a tad brutal. That is why I enrolled two of my friends, Dani and  Kristof Together, we will run as the team "Tarahumara Spirit". What this means is that we will run this trail without time goal. Our only goal will be to enjoy every step and to feel blessed to be able to run,...during 10 hours, or more. The point is to feel that, if you forget the competitive aspect, Running is indeed an essential part of the human nature and that you can run for long distances without getting hurt and with a long-lasting feeling of oneness, and a big smile, before, during and after. As for my 1st marathon in Chicago in 2009, I will develop

2013 Geneva Half: 21 kms in Huaraches

On May 5, 2013, for the Geneva Half-Marathon, I tested a "long run" in Huaraches, the running sandals of the Tarahumara people. I was not sure whether my legs and especially my calves were strong enough and springy enough to caress the ground for 21 km so I estimated my time between 2h and 2h30. The result was 2h06, i.e. exactly 10 kph and a big smile during and after. This is another step towards a full Marathon in sandals. And before this running "shoes" become a standard, I can seriously show off and the color of the soles and laces attracts girls. They cannot resist asking me where I got my sandals and if they can have the same color. Note the perfect match with the t-shirt I got at the 20 km of Lausanne just a week before.

Fine tuning of my Huaraches

In March, I found a setting to tie my Huaraches and avoid the string rubbing! I noticed that even though I have a neutral and silent stride and can run miles barefoot, I could not solve the issue of the rubbing of the string between my 1st and 2nd toe. In fact, the blisters came after 5-8 k, and not between the toes, which would be a sign of overstriding, but BELOW the toes. Plus, I also made a terrible flapping sound when running. So I checked my stride on video and found that I dorsiflex a lot, i.e. my toes are bent a lot upwards before landing. When I do that when still, I can clearly see the strings touching hard the skin far below the 1st and 2nd toe. OK so that explains the rubbing and the huge blisters in some cases. Then, I checked on internet photos of sandals worn by the Tarahumaras. Shit, if these guys can run 100 miles in sandals, there must be a solution. And in some photos I noticed that they wear their sandals with the string between the toes attached more forward

My Cardio Stress Test is OK !!!

This morning I had my annual bike stress test to check my heart. Same as last year, 260 W, 164 bpm, residual ascending ST depression, less than 1 mm, not increasing with HR. So, on with the training, with shoes or barefoot, on roads or trails, on flat surface or in mountains, on bike, in water, rivers, lakes. Next events to come in 2013: Geneva Half, Annecy Tri, NYC Marathon. And for 2014, Ecotrail Paris ? Marathon Paris ? Marathon Londres ? Trail de l'Ardeche ? Patrick

After 15 days without running

Tuesday 5 March 2013 First run (9 km) after 15 days of forced rest because my huge blister did not heal fast enough. I had to run with a Compeed, that went off only after in the shower. The good news is that I can run now, with shoes. The epiderm is slowly forming. But it is several weeks from now before I can run barefoot.

Last attempt with the string between the toes

Last Sunday, just before my 54th birthday, I tried one last tying style with my Huaraches. The goal was to find a lacing with minimal rubbing of the string between the toes. Also, I forgot totally about speed and concentrated on light, easy and sound-less stride. It was beautiful outside but quite chilly. I checked every 2 kms or so whether my string was creating a blister. Last time I tried, after 8 km in melted snow, I had a tiny blister on each foot. Nothing serious but I aimed at eliminating ALL rubbing for longer runs. I did not feel anything and could not see any blister, so I decided to go for my usual 12.4 km (always with shoes before). When I came back home, I found out that I had 2 huge blisters, one on the right foot, all swollen with blood, one on the left foot, with the skin peeled off. From the shower after the run until today (tuesday 19), it hurts as bad as it looks. I did not feel anything probably because of the cold weather (around 0°C). I did not see any