excersice

5 recommendations for running barefoot

/ Dennis Ripoll / Leave a comment

Trail running in campagna

Barefoot running is not the perfect cure for previous injuries; not even the perfect preventing method for staying out of pain. As soon as I started to run barefoot I got myself two major injuries –major because of the pain they cause and the time they take to heal-: plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. Once you start to run barefoot you feel so good that you think you can do anything, like covering the same distance at the same pace like if you had your 30mm height shoes on. Well, happens that it is not a good idea and that you will have to consider these five recommendations:

  1. Go back to running by time, not distance, like if you were beginning to run again –which is completely true, by the way-. Start by running no more than 20 minutes per day.
  2. Run by feel and not guided by the ideal pace you´d like to have. That means staying away from your smart watch. This will force you to pay attention to the seeds of any injury that may be taking life while you run.
  3. Run one day; recover the day after.
  4. Be really, really patient.
  5. Enjoy your runs, they will give you life; in time, they will make you stronger and confident and, thanks to mother earth, they will give you joy, peace and wisdom.

 

The beauty and the beast

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Relaxing on the top of the mountain

Some trails are hard to run, especially when they are rocky. So we tend to protect ourselves with spikes, with those impressive 200 dollars running shoes.

Some trails are so beautiful that they pretend to stop us and leave us breathless. So we tend to cross these trails with hurry, blind, deaf.

Think about it. Perhaps these are not conventional race trails. Maybe they are waiting for us to “walk” respectfully through them and, from time to time, make a stop to celebrate their toughness or their beauty.

Why do we have to run all the time? Are we really that sick and disconnected?

Trail-life perspective

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A female trail runs in the fog and snow of winter.

The way is made of ups, flats and downs. If you have been on the trails you probably know that you have to run each section in a different way. It´s not an intellectual issue; your body will show how to manage each segment if you pay attention and listen to it. Life is not dissimilar as it has the same ups and downs structure but, in that life, yours, who do you listen to? What do you focus on? And, what do you do as a consequence?

I wish you love. I wish you blue birds

Breath

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healthy lifestyle fitness sporty woman running early in the morning in forest area, fitness healthy lifestyle concept

I adapt my pace to the rhythm of my breath. Energy comes from all around, from our center, from  mother earth, from the sun, but it goes out through our mouths and noses. A tranquil, deep inhale will take you to a long way; a quiet, slow exhale will take you to the end. Breath.

Perfect running form

/ Dennis Ripoll / Leave a comment

Running - woman runner jogging at sunset. Fitness spot girl training in sunny sunshine with flare and sun glow. Aspirations workout image with asian jogger.

I tried to land under my center of mass. I also did my best to open my chest wide, to lean forward, to land as soft as possible in each stride. I loaded a program in my mind that said all these things and a lot more in order to become an efficient runner and staying out of injuries and, suddenly, I had enough of it all. The program certainly helped me for a time of pain and injuries, but then I did not need it. I started to run barefoot and it all happened in a smooth and natural way. I didn’t have to focus on my running form anymore, which was so fatiguing for both, my mind and my body. I said it already: I run for two hours or more and, at the end, I still feel joyful, complete, present, strong. Not because I´m a better runner but because of the energy that comes from above, from our mother; because running has become an indispensable part of my spiritual growth and not a boring, repetitive movement of arms and legs or another ridiculous, puerile way of calling the attention of others.