Meniscus Tear Rehab Midnight Barefoot Jog on Grass / 半月板損傷リハビリ芝生裸足走

Oct. 14, 2022

It was originally cycling day. But I canceled it and made it run day. For a couple of reasons. One, I was bushed from a late-night lecture. Two, I had an early start on the following morning. A quick run, I thought, was better. 

What I like about running is its simplicity. You throw yourself into running gear, and off you go. No maintenance costs whatsoever for mechanical gear. Shoe-clad runner will have to buy shoes every once in a while. And shoes these days are quite dear. But barefoot runners have no need to do that. All you need is yourself, shorts, and a shirt. 

The midnight grass of the park was wet and pleasantly cold on the sole. It buffers landing impact, unlike asphalt roads. The park was deserted, except that there was a lonely man cuddling his dog. It was whining in his arms. It sounded as if knowing its owner's loneliness and sharing his pain. 

Because I called it a day before feeling exhausted, I had a good night's sleep and woke up afresh the following morning. 

 

Wednesday Afternoon Barefoot Jog

Aug. 10, 2022

It was a beautiful sunny day today. I had a 5-hour seminar to teach between 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. After that, I hit a nearby park to refresh myself. 

There were a number of like-minded athletic people of all ages in the park. Some kids were practicing soccer with their moms sitting in the shade under a tree, watching their boys play while chatting. 

Quite a few elderly people, both men and women, enjoyed walking. Some had walking sticks in both of their hands. Others walked at a quite brisk pace for their ages. 

I started off at a little slower than 6-min/K pace. I ran a 500-M track twice counterclockwise to run 1 K and timed. Then I ran the same track this time clockwise twice and timed. 

I felt fatigued after running 5 K. I thought of calling a day. But I changed my mind in the last minute and carried on. But I slowed down a bit to warm down. 

When I ran 5.5 K, I had a choice: Will I stop? Or will I carry on? I carried on for another 500 M because a slow lap allowed me to refuel my legs. But I decided to make it my last lap for the day. This lifted my motivation slightly and allowed me to pick up a pace just a little toward the end. 

All in all, it was a pleasantly pain-free barefoot session. I feel increasingly confident that sooner or later I can run a race again in bare feet. But I will take baby steps. I will also keep in mind that resting at my age is as important as pushing myself. 

I am still trying to figure out a weekly training regimen that is sustainable. But the process of thinking about what works best for me is so much fun. And that's what keeps me going.   

Recent Training: 6 K Barefoot Jog

I hadn't run since 17th. The reason is, as I might have mentioned in one of my previous posts, a slight discomfort in my right foot. It somehow seemed to have eased, but not completely gone. I had a choice. One is of course avoiding running for another week or so. The other is going for a short run to see how it goes. I took the latter.

Aug. 25, 2020

I ran slowly and carefully not to injure the foot. It was good for realigning my running for as a matter of fact. What's painful in one K can be almost unrecoverably destructive. As I ran, I came to learn that the best running form for the foot is taking short strides a little quickly, but without kicking too much. I think former World Athletics Champion Hiromi Taniguchi's form is a good example. His running form is somewhat unique because of his head slightly tilted to one side and one of his arms shaken as if he was arm-wrestling. But his cadence is a whopping 210 or thereabout per minute, and his up-and-down movement is almost non-existent. His locomotion is ideal for long-distance running. I kind of mimic Eliud Kipchoge in terms of his upper body movement, because it's so beautiful, but as far as his lower half is concerned, his strides are too wide, and his entire movement seems a little too bouncy. Only he can run like that because of this talent and effort. I'm an average citizen runner. Maybe I should use someone more down-to-earth as a role model. Hence, lower body movement wise Hiromi Taniguchi is my role mode for the time being, with Kipchoge still being the role model for upper body movement. The question is, "Can they mix?"

<Midnight>

6 K: 37:47.08

Aug 26, 2020

It's been a while since I ran in the morning. I hit the road between 8:30 and 9 am. The sun was already strong, but the road wasn't too hot to run on. Many cars on their way to work passed me from behind, with some drivers giving me a puzzled glance because I had no shoes on. "Did he lose his job because of the corona pandemic and go insane?" I say in my mind, "You don't know what you are missing."

<Morning>

6 K: 35:05.96

After having two short runs very slowly, I have concluded that I can run if slowly. At the moment my hunch says keep on running at this pace for a while without increasing pace nor distance all of a sudden, and other than that, follow your instinct.