Feet feel fresh today. I can tell it's going to be a good running day when I spend the whole day breaking into a run at every opportunity.. the cafe, the bank, the car, the post office.

Just about to head out for my evening run.I was thinking of running in my recently arrived black KSO Treks, they have a black suede upper (very cool) with a much more trail specific sole & tread. Of course they are heavier and some proprioception will be lost but for TNF 100K they will make life a little easier.

Hopefully Team FiveFingers will all be sporting the new KSO Trek Sport by raceday. Hot off the press. Same hardcore sole with a kso style upper made of coconut fibres. Hard wearing, anti bacterial and seriously funky. Thanks Vibram.

Of all the things to get worked up about..

A well known Australian physiotherapist showed me a funny website today. Funny peculiar more than funny ha,ha I guess. It is called runningbarefootisbad(.com)

I spent about half an hour reading what the guy had to say, and the I realised all he had to say was that running barefoot is bad. No worries. Wear shoes, be happy I guess would be my advice to him.

There is no one group with a monopoly on defensiveness, negativity or tunnel vision. I think it was Gladstone who said all news is biased. All we have is our opinions to share with an open mind. I love running, my Vibram FiveFingers work for me and help me get the most out of my training. I know great runners/friends who swear by those Salomon trail running shoes. Not my bag but they look cool though. So what! Anyone ready to invest so much negativity normally has an agenda. The (anonymous) writer on the anti-barefoot site says he has no affiliations to shoe manufacturers. No alterior motives then.. except for the online running shoe store that is part of the site. Nice work!

Kidding apart I just hope the (anonymous) guy wakes up to himself, gives up the barefoot bashing and goes out for a nice stress free run (in whatever you want, Brooks Beast and a wetsuit for all I care!).. Running is fun. I love it, that's the point. Max

This week's training schedule..

Did an easy couple of Ks this AM. BOF still a little tender but it worked well as a training tool, reminding me to keep the knees soft, the hammies pulling and the landing soft.

The plan this week is:

Tues AM: 60 x 100m/60sec repeats Tues PM: easy 7Km
Wed AM: kettlebell sess Wed PM: 30Km fartlek - up tempo on all uphill sections
Thurs AM: rest, maybe easy 8km in the PM (work allowing)
Friday AM: swim, Friday PM: 10 x 500m hill sets (silly steep)
Sat AM: easy 10Km
Sunday AM: 25Km (hilly)aim to av. 4min/Km

Total week's K's: 94 :)

TNF100 training run Glenbrook to ..?

Sunday morning,5 am start. Picked up the rest of the crew and got to Glenbrook at the foot of the Blue Mountains by 6.30.
Struggled to find the start of the Oaks fire-trail, and even now I'm not exactly sure what trails we ended up on. Still.. Loved the forest tracks, even though the rocks embedded in the earth were deceptive. The bigger ones were no worries, but the almost invisible little ones occasionally hit my 'weak spot'. flush in the centre of the ball of the foot (BOF) between the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal. Grrr, every time it happens I stiffen up and have to force myself to relax.

Still this became my thought for the run. The more rocky the trail the more I have to flatten my BOF landing to protect my 'weak spot'and make it easier to roll my weight off a rock before any damage is done. Flat footed landing, very bent knees.

Final score 24.6Km, averaged at 5.40min/Km. so took it pretty easy but apart from a tender BOF I felt fresh and hammered the last couple of Ks.

Next trail run has to be 30Km +

Max