Barefoot Hill Interval Training

Sept. 19, 2019
3 K: 17:13.34
Rest: 1:01.22
3 K: 13:44.39
Rest: 1:00.65
2 K: 11:26.64
Total 8 K: 44:26.24 

I had interval training scheduled last night. But I was so sleepy when I got home from work that I postponed it till tonight.

Thanks to a good rest on the previous night, I felt recuperated, up for a challenge. I hit the road in bare feet, heading for the hilly 1 K shuttle course  2 K from home.

After jogging 3 K, I rested for a minute. When the short break was over, I set off for a 3 K fast run, which consists of 3 laps of a 1 K hilly stretch. (See below.) The target was 13:30.  

I finished at 13:44, falling short of the target. 

I was just going to do one 2 K run, and one 1 K run, but then when the first 3 K run was over, I felt my right toe had swollen. There was a dull pain there too. To be on the safe side, I cancelled the remaining two fast runs, and jogged back home. The swelling seemed subsiding as time went by. When I got home, the pain was almost gone. It had been slightly damaged in the race this past Sunday. And I'm afraid I made it worse by overusing it before it fully recovered. I should either wear shoes when I do fast runs, or avoid fast runs and spend my time doing LSD until it's fully healed. 

Double Training With Barefoot Hill Intervals: 6 Sets by 1 K @ 4:30

July 3, 2019

I started my day with a solid 30-minute workout in the morning. It mainly consisted of jogging, tire throws, tire runs, and sprints. It's a quick workout. But nonetheless it's quite intensive in terms of resistance and endurance. 

＜Morning Workout＞
1K jog: 6:15.30
60 tire throws: 8:51.57
1K jog: 6:23.62
Tire run: 30 sec by 2 sets
180 M sprint: 35.17
Rest: 45.16
180 M sprint: 34:33
Rest: 45.22
180 M sprint: 34.61
Rest: 45.33
180 M sprint: 34.01
Rest: 44:86
180 M sprint: 34:67
Rest: 46.68
Total 30:24.62

Later in the day I hit the road to do intervals. It was raining slightly, but the condition is favorable for a barefoot run. The rain decreases friction between the sole and the road surface.

I chose the hilly shuttle course above to do the intervals. The target tonight was 4:30/K with a 1-minute rest between sets. The results are shown below:

＜Evening Workout＞

Warm Up 3 K: 17:35.92
1st K: 4:34.58
Rest: 1:00.17
2nd K: 4:11.08
Rest: 1:00.16
3rd K: 4:23.52
Rest: 1:00.42
4th K: 4:21.88
Rest: 1:00.17
5th K: 4:32.71
Rest: 1:00.21
6th K: 4:09.58
Warm Down 3 K: 18.11.92
Total 12 K: 1:07:02

Though I didn't come under the target in two of the six sets, the whole session felt fairly manageable. To make it challenging, I may need to consider increasing the challenge by either making the rest shorter to 45 seconds, or making the target more challenging, like 4:20/K, though eventually I would like to do both.

Barefoot Hill Intervals

May 8, 2019
3 K: 18:42.67
<Hill Intervals>
1st K: 4:52.77
Rest: 30.15
2nd K: 4:32.96
Rest: 30.25
3rd K: 4:29.98
Rest: 30.27
4th K: 4:23.86
Rest: 30.44
5th K: 4:19.62
2.1 K: 6:48.30
0.9 K: 3:37.64
Total 10 K: 53:48.91

I was in a mixed feeling. I felt too lazy to just jog. But I wasn't motivated enough to do solid speed-focused training. Every time I feel this way, my recent solution is just to start running without deciding exactly what to do. Sort of like a go-with-the-flow kind of approach.

 I left home at a snail pace, jogging along the first half of the 6 K shuttle course.

Much of the first 2 K of the course has good road surface. It's well-paved, and it feels good on the sole. Then the last 1 K is hilly and the first downhill has a rough road condition. I carefully minimized landing shock to protect the sole.

By the time I reached the halfway point of the 6 K shuttle course, I felt warmed  up enough to do some fast runs. I turned around and picked up pace to go back where I came from for a 1 K fast run. There is a long downhill in the first half, and there is a steep uphill in the latter half. Friction suddenly increased between the sole and the road surface. It took a while to figure out how to run fast without much discomfort. 

The first time was well over the target of 4:30. But from the second rep on, I slowly got accustomed to running fast in bare feet. I did 5 fast runs, but finished the last one at the best time. 

I headed back home, jogging, but then with about one kilometer remaining, I felt like running faster again, so I injected pace and continued on that way till I reached home.

It was a solid 10 K run with a lot of change of pace, and rich in undulation. It was a very satisfying one too. It's quite unexpected. I wasn't so motivated at first. But as I went along, I felt better and better. A fast run feels tough at first. But there is always a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when it's done. It fuels my motivation further. And before you know, you have become a fire ball that keeps on rolling, unstoppable!