Most of the readers of this blog have probably attended an “Expo” preceeding a race. Typically, Expos are held in a large room where vendors of various kinds of running-related wares display their products, hoping to make sales or at least gather leads for future sales. Usually the larger the race the larger the Expo. I recently ran the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon. There were 21,000 runners. The Expo was held in the Philadelphia Convention Center. It was huge.

Running Expos are very similar to trade shows in other industries. Over the years my job has required me to participate in numerous capacities at trade shows in my field (transportation technology). I’ve setup and broken down booths, staffed booths, or just attended in order to learn about the latest “stuff”. Typically vendors have something to giveaway, or a contest, or some other gimmick designed to make sales, develop leads, or just make a “splash”.  Giveaways can be just about anything from pens to stuffed animals to USB sticks to coasters to mugs.

When my kids were younger they liked it when I went to a trade show because I typically came home with various giveaway items.  After awhile my wife and I dubbed these items “treasures” because they had nominal value but made great little gifts/toys for the children.

So where am I going with this you ask.

Recently, there was a small Expo (and a lot more) in conjunction with the NYC Barefoot Run.  The Expo was held at the South Street Seaport.  There were vendors of minimalist shoes (note I didn’t say “barefoot running shoes”;  the subject of a coming rant) and toe socks.  There were authors of many of the popular books on barefoot running, including McDougall, Howell, Barefoot Ken Bob, and Michael Sandler.  There were even vendors for wine and beer.  I said hello to the authors and grabbed a few items like refrigerator magnets, etc.  I entered a contest or two.  But the table that I really wanted to visit was the Merrell table.  The reason was that I have been reading about one of the shoes in their upcoming new lineup, the Road Glove.  I’ve read some really good reviews about this model but I didn’t know when they were going to be available.  I was hoping it was soon because I’m looking for something to wear this Winter when barefooting isn’t possible.

Unfortunately the Road Glove won’t be out until Spring.  So unless a pair drops out of the sky I’m out of luck.

But all was not lost.  The nice lady at the Merrell table was giving out free “running metronomes”.  The purpose of the metronomes  is to give an audible beat at a selectable rate, or cadence.  Much of the literature about running form suggests that running at a fairly high cadence, around 180, improves running efficiency and makes it easier to run “lightly”.

I’ve used a number of cadence tools over the last couple years.  I have a couple of iPhone apps that play songs from my iTunes music collection that have a beat close to 180.  This is nice but it requires that I take my iPhone and earphones on the road.  The Merrell metronome is MUCH simpler.

Once you turn the metronome on you can select the cadence you desire.  The sound is a chirp, the volume of which can be controlled.

There is also a phone jack so you can practice stealth cadence listening. 

The bottom of the unit is a clip making it easy to attach to the collar of your shirt, close to your ear.

And if all of this isn’t enough, this little diddy has another feature that I now put to good use.  It has a “beat” function.  This function changes the chirp sound after a selectable number of counts.  I use this feature to practice my breathing cadence.  I usually breath with a 3-2 pattern, three strides inhale, two strides exhale.  Thus, I set the beat to 5 and then I know that I should start the breathing cycle whenever the special chirp comes around.  I’ve taken this little “treasure” out on all my runs since the NYC event and I really like it a lot.  I’ve been much more successful at maintaining a constant cadence and breathing pattern.  Not surprisingly, on a 5-miler earlier this week all 5 mile splits were within 2 seconds of each other.

I haven’t been happier about something free in quite a while.  Thank you Merrell!

So while I’m still going to be looking for a shoe to try during the Winter months here in the Northeast at least I’ll have a good way to keep whatever shoe I find moving at the correct cadence.

I put together a video/slideshow of the NYC Barefoot Run.  Hope you enjoy it!

(Originally posted at the Run Smiley Collective)

A three-way conversation in my head during a run early this week:

Me: This should be fun. It’s not as hot as last week.

through the revolving door and down the steps in lower Manhattan…

Me: Ugh, its still humid.
Smiley Angel: Oh come on, this’ll be fun anyway. Just take it easy. Enjoy the morning! You’re bound to see something interesting or beautiful.
Me: You’re right. I’ll make this a SSS. Short, Slow, Sweet.
The “Other Angel”: Yeah right. Every time you say that you end up turning it into negative splits at tempo speeds. But nothing wrong with that. Who cares?
Me: No, I have a big meeting later today so I really should take it easy and slow.

reaching to push start on my Garmin…

The “Other Angel”: Good job, let’s get to it!
Smiley Angel: Now what would your friends in the Collective think? You should have left that thing home today.
Me: I’m not going to look at it during the run. I just want to log the miles. You know, the 10% rule and all.
Smiley Angel: Uh huh…. Well, why don’t you make an effort to really sense your surroundings. Try to notice things you’ve never seen here before. Maybe strike up a conversation with someone.
The “Other Angel”: Yeah, I’m sure there are plenty of friendly people out here this morning…. NOT

past the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, entering Battery Park. Around the corner and then headed North along the path. Passing some older men with about a dozen fishing poles in the Hudson River…

Me: I wonder if they know that there was a fire at the sewage treatment plant a couple miles upriver and the water is off limits.
Smiley Angel: Smile and say hi!
Me: “Good morning guys”
Fishermen: (something about no zapatos, not directed at me)
The “Other Angel”: I bet they catch a lot of fish today. The fish probably want to get OUT of the water.

settling into an easy pace…

Me: OK, check out the form. Light steps. Midfoot. Think Groucho. Is the cadence fast enough? Probably not. OK, shorter strides. Don’t lean forward you dope.
The “Other Angel”: Yeah, you dope. You’re not breathing correctly either. Where’s the 3-2 pattern? No, that’s 2-2. Slow it down. Concentrate.
Smiley Angel: Look at all the runners out this morning. Probably because of the cooler weather and it’s Monday. The Monday guilt after the weekend festivities. Make sure you say hi. Smile. Be friendly.
The “Other Angel”: Friendly? Ha! These are New Yorkers!

a 20-something guy in $250 shoes glides by at about 5:50 pace…

across the plaza next to the World Financial Center… passing a group of middle-aged women runners…

Me: “good morning ladies”
Smiley Angel: Good job!
One lady: “morning”
Other ladies, quietly to each other: “no shoes… crazy… I could never…. in NYC?”

2 mile mark, approaching a decision point…..

turning out onto the pier….

reaching the end of the pier where a few people are doing Tai Chi. Standing at the railing…

headed back at a medium pace… I notice a runner with Vibram Five Fingers running the other way

past the little area where the million dollar yachts are parked, then further South, through the plaza, and then shaded “boardwalk”, as a senior lady runner approaches going the other way…

past Fort Clinton and the launching point for the Statue of Liberty tour boats…. then past the war memorial…

rounding the final corner….. waving to the (former marine) guard at the gate to the Coast Guard station…

walking past the Ferry Terminal, dozens of people looking at my feet as I cross the street and reach the entrance to the gym.

through the doorway into the locker room….

http://www.capflyer.com/article/20110624/NEWS09/706249903/experts-teach-airmen-to-run-injury-free

Includes a Doc who is BFR favorable and does it himself.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/jun/21/barefoot-running-39545-vi-29790/

(This was cross-posted at the Run Smiley Collective.)

This last week my sister came to visit from California. She still lives in the San Diego area where we grew up. She has only been out here (NY/NJ) twice in the 20 years since I moved east. So this was a big deal.

I took the week off from work. We took her to see “Jersey Boys” on Broadway. And the “Top of the Rock” (top of the Rockefeller Building).

And Times Square. And the Statue of Liberty. And Ellis Island. And rode the subways. And Buses. And Boats. And Trains. And even a pedicab down Broadway during rush hour traffic. (And lived to tell about it)

We ate out a lot. Sardy’s. Cracker Barrel. Starbucks. Even the Peanut Butter Company, which is a little place in Greenwich Village that has great PB&J sandwiches, among other “light” fare. My sister LOVES PB so we had to go there. Had to.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the week. I also found a little time to whip the garden into shape. And stay up late to talk and play games and generally NOT be at or think about work. Everyone had a great time.

But. I. Only. Ran. Once.

Between the heat, rain, long days in Manhattan, and all of the family fellowship time, I only headed out for a 4 ¼ mile jaunt. I also walked the same route with my sis but that didn’t count.

So I can’t wait to get back out there! I will figure out a way to get a run in tomorrow somehow no matter what. The weather forecast is good so it looks like I’ll have a number of options, either in Manhattan or here in Jersey.

Why the excitement?

Are you kidding me?

The feel of my feet on all of the various surfaces. Warm. Cold. Rough. Smooth. Wet. Muddy.

The alive feeling of my heart rate consistently within 20 percent of max.

The moment that I first break a sweat and feel the evaporative cooling kick in.

Synchronizing my breaths with my cadence. Three steps in. Two steps out.

Enjoying the looks on people’s faces as I cruise by. Or go by them silently, sometimes inadvertently startling them.

Not knowing how far I’ll end up going, leaving it up to how I’m feeling.

Stepping on a pebble and quickly shifting my weight to minimize the impact. Marveling at the sensory functions built into this thing called my body.

Getting rid of that I-feel-lousy-and-lazy-and-know-I’d-feel-better-after-a-run feeling that starts two days after the last run.

Knowing that I’m doing something that is good for me, makes me happy, and therefore makes me easier to work with and live with.

Boy have I missed it. Stay tuned for a report on all the running goodness…

Well, all of you in my vast audience out there (all 3 or 4 of you) know I’ve been AWOL since about January.  I’ve been healthy, and running, and happy.  Just not inspired to write and really busy at work.

But something last week got me back in the saddle.  The Run Smiley Collective:

I won’t go into how the Collective started.  Its a great story that involves another blogger, Chris Mcdougal (“Born to Run” fame), and an eclectic group of like-minded running bloggers who talk about how running for them is more about fun, and joy, and laughter than it is about numbers, and PRs, etc.  To learn more click on the Collective Logo above.

Anyway,  I became a member of the Collective yesterday by publishing the following post on their site:

Last week, as I made preparations to run my first barefoot 10K, I coincidentally followed the formation of the Run Smiley Collective.

I’m 52, and have been running since high school. Running, with the exception of a few years when my kids were young, has always been part of my life. Why? Well, not because I’m fast. I never made the varsity cross country team. JV was my lot. Maybe to lose weight? Hardly. When I run more I tend to eat more, continuing to carry around about 5-7 pounds more than I’d like. For health reasons? Well, yes, but there are plenty of other activities I enjoy that keep me fit. For camaraderie? Nope, I almost always run alone, although I do enjoy the spectacle of organized races.

In short, I don’t think I’ve ever really completely answered that question for myself. Why DO I run?

So last week I did all the things I normally do before a race. Watched what I ate. Drank extra fluids. Gentle stretches. Tried to get enough sleep. Reviewed the race website about the course, the anticipated weather, parking access, etc. I charged up my Garmin GPS watch. I went on Saturday to pick up my number and t-shirt. I reviewed my previous 10K times. I got out two rubber bands to put around my ankle to hold the D-Tag timing chip (two in case one broke). My 10K PR was about 5 years ago. Since I was running this one barefoot I didn’t have any illusions that I’d come close to the PR, but hey, you never know…….

But as the race came closer, and I read and re-read the Run Smiley posts, I began to see this race, and perhaps all future races, and runs for that matter, differently.

I am generally a very happy, contented person. But it often doesn’t show on the outside. My parents used to tell (over and over again….) a story about taking me to an amusement park when I was little. After I rode the roller coaster they said I looked sad and asked me why I didn’t like it. I deadpanned back that I loved it, and rode it many more times that day, loving it each time.

For whatever reason, I’m not a smiley person. But as I thought about the Collective, I realized that running is one of the things in my life that I really should smile about. There are very few other activities I enjoy as much. It’s hard to find the right words. It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. It’s freeing. It makes me feel more alive. It reduces stress. It’s cheap (especially now that I run barefoot). The list goes on and on.

And most importantly, all of those things are true, whether I’m doing 6 miles at 9 minute pace, or a Sunday afternoon LSD at 11 minute pace, or ¼ mile repeats at 7 minute pace. It also doesn’t matter whether I’m running near my home in Jersey or in Lower Manhattan during lunch. And it doesn’t matter whether I’m the only person for miles or I’m one of 4,000 runners in race.

So like the other members of the Collective, I came to realize in a new way that racing, numbers, PRs, and the like are not bad in and of themselves, but they pale in comparison to the pure joy of just simply putting a smile on your face and moving down the road. Or trail. Or track. Or even, gasp, the dreadmill.

So when the gun went off Monday morning and I crossed the starting line you can bet there was a smile on my face. And while I’m sure that smile wasn’t there the whole 6.2 miles, I was certainly smiling on the inside the whole way, and when I finished, a full four minutes slower than my PR. I enjoyed this race perhaps more than any other. I laughed when a volunteer at a water station saw me and joked: “no shoes, no service”. I slowed to chat briefly with a wheelchair athlete that had been sidelined by a flat tire. I chatted with other runners that asked me about my unshod feet. And I even noticed a spectator that I hadn’t seen in about 10 years and said hello with a big smile, twice (once per loop). During most races I don’t even notice the spectators at all.

While I was running the race one thought that crossed my mind was that members of the Collective should be called something. I thought of two candidate terms:

“Smilers” – Get it? Mile? With an S and rs? Oh never mind….

“Funners” – I know, pretty cheesy. But true.

Anyway, as a member of the Run Smiley Alliance I will do my best to be a worthy ambassador to the running world. I’ll do it with the best outside smile I can find and always with an inner joy regardless of the situation. I’ll report back here and on my blog Downtown Runner.

OK, sinus infection over.  Back to downtown running.  At 11 am I checked the weather for Manhattan:   34 Degrees, no wind, 10 percent chance of precip.

PERFECT!

I headed up Broadway, through this famous intersection.

Further north I turned to the east and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge.  My feet were just slightly numb, mostly because I had to stop at a couple red lights.  Standing still allows more heat to escape from your feet.  But it felt great to be outside running barefoot again after a couple weeks of having to run on the dreadmill (because off the blizzard) or not at all (because of the sinus problem).

The looks on the faces of the people on the sidewalks were priceless.   One of these days I have to figure out a way to rig my camera so I can take a video of the people as they notice my unshod-ness.  If I hand hold the camera they just don’t react the same way because they know they are on camera.  Surprisingly no one said anything to me as I passed by.  Normally at least one rowdy New Yorker will yell something like “you’re crazy” or “you forgot something” or “you’re an animal”.  I haven’t figure out whether being an animal is a good thing or bad thing in a New Yorker’s mind.   (NOTE:  I am NOT a New Yorker.  I was born in California and live in New Jersey.  I only work and run in NY)

Once you get part of the way up one side of the bridge the pavement ends and the pedestrian walkway changes to wooden planks.  The planks are about 3 inches wide with about a half inch between each one, running perpendicular to the direction of travel.  This is a little bit of a pain to run on but the trade off is that the wood is much warmer than the concrete. 

I got to the other side of the bridge and stopped to memorialize the trip:

On the way back it was more crowded on the sidewalks because it was well into the lunch hour.  I had to get into Manhattan Trail Running mode, bobbing and weaving in and out of groups of people.  What a great workout for my feet!!

In all it was only 3.75 miles at pretty slow pace (and stops to take photos).  I would have liked to go much further but a meeting back in the office spoiled the fun.  Hopefully there will be some more days this Winter with dry “warm” conditions like today.

My trip on a map:

(Note how the Garmin GPS struggles in among the tall buildings.  I didn’t really run over them)

So I haven’t posted in over 2 months. So I didn’t follow through on some promised content. So I’m a miserable failure. Go ahead, say it, you’re a miserable failure! Well, here are four, um, reasons why:

1 – Huaraches

I’ve been perfecting my tying technique. This is more art than science and I want to get it just right. Like fine wine, it takes time and patience.

2 – New Minimalist Shoe Designs

It seems the major shoe manufacturers have been jumping on the minimalist bandwagon. Well, at least to some extent. So I’ve been researching. reading reviews. Trying some for myself. I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to wear when it gets really cold, when I just can’t handle an unshod
run. This takes time as well.

3 – Blogs

I’ve been too busy reading other blogs. It seems the quantity and quality of running blogs, and particularly barefoot/minimalist running blogs, have been increasing rapidly. It seems every time I sit down to write, I look around at the blogs I read and discover another new one. I go read all of that content and never get to mine. I learn a lot from these other sites though. So I blame these other runner-bloggers for my failure. They
have gained and kept my interest. Here is a sampling of the culprits:

Barefoot Josh (This guy is wacky and entertaining)

Running and Rambling (This is the Go-To place for reviews on shoes and other running stuff. You can learn a lot here)

Runner Dude (One of the best out there. Great interviews and other info)

Maine Runner (Great looking blog. Lots of good graphics of his runs. I’m jealous of the surroundings!)

Freyed Laces (A lady “Ironman”. Great site)

Abby Normally (Love the title. Can’t be anything wrong with a runner that’s passionate about Theology and Philosphy)

Barefoot Fresca (This lady’s blog is getting better and better)

Barefoot Running University (Jason is one of my barefoot running heros…… except for the kilt part…)

Two Feet Two Wheels (Someday I want to meet Richard. Cool guy!)

Trail to Wellness (Ewa is a really strong woman and great blogger)

Runto the Border (A Canadian living in Kansas City. What more can you say?)

Barefoot Journey (Alan is an inspiration to me. I’m glad he’s back)

If you’re not familiar with any of these sites I urge you to try them out. But I warn you, it might be addicting. You might end up being a deadbeat like me.

4 – Daydreams

Every time I sit down to write I end up dreaming about running through the Copper Canyon.

Or finishing my first barefoot marathon.

Or running in a kilt.

(all three of which are probably equally unlikely)

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

But in reality, while I have been busy with a large, highly visible project at work and with other distractions, I have no good excuses. And its time to fix it. So I’m “re-launching” Downtown Runner this week. I’m planning some things I hope will make a contribution to the runningblogosphere and provide a smile or two. Along the way I’ll continue to share my love of running and barefooting. So those of you that have stuck with me through my absence, thank you. I will try to do better!
(and tell a friend)