Gorge-ous Rio Grande!

I had a blissful run along the rim of the Rio Grande river's gorge North of Taos. A feast for my feet witha  variety of pumice lava rock, packed and lose dirt. It was incredible fun, and I've never run anything that flat for that long (15 miles round trip). Actually did an average of 7:40 minutes per mile. My average at home is 9:20 minutes per mile - so the lower altitude combined with level terrain combined for a about an 18% increase in speed. No wonder it was so fun!

Primal Running Form

I was intrigued by these shots of me running. It's one thing to try and run a certain way, and a completely different thing to then see pictures of that form in action.

Two things here: first is the clear preparation of the foot for an outer forefoot strike (just behind the pinky toe; second is the way in which one foot is right in front of the other. For me, it creates a straight line about an inch or two in from the inside edge of my feet. When I had to wear snowshoes, it felt really strange and hard to have to walk with a wider stance.

Shoe companies would have us believe we need support and protection; however, this shot clearly shows my left foot's arch (AKA windlass mechanism), at full load. That kind of compression is supposed to happen (it absorbs shock of landing, and returns close to 20% of that energy back to your next step). Any arch support prevents this natural mechanism from functioning at all. Arch support does nothing but weaken the foot, send unnecessary shock up through the leg, and make the whole body work harder to propel itself forward.

Run with abandon!

What a Fantastic Retreat!

Alpineglow from the cabin's deck. 

A friend gave me the gift of a retreat and pilgrimage with him. We spent a week at another friend's remote cabin around the Spanish Peaks near LaVeta, CO (Thank you!). Depending on the temperature and recent snow fall, I either ran in my moccasins or in my moccasins with snowshoes (which my feet really rebelled against, as the straps chaffed them raw a few places).

It was a grand test of my ear plugs, as they got quite a workout, with the long drive, in a new home with various noises, and then more long drives and even a few restaurants. They and I did wonderfully well, and the continued gifts and slurry of baby-step improvements from the Blood Type Diet, Primal Running, and Buteyko Breathing are clearly evident. Still waiting for my memory and cognitive capacity to improve. Perhaps with time and more running!

I did lose a few days to "short circuiting" -- requiring time to recover because of cigarette smoke in our non-smoking room at one hotel (apparently there's no such thing as no smoking rooms in even a brand new Casino. Who could have guess that one? Sardonic grin).

Running is cognitive therapy...

Since the first glimmer that I might be able to run again (last spring, so coming up on one year ago), I've intuitively known that primal running would be an integral part of my ongoing recovery for my bludgeoned brain. I had no idea of the extent (By God's grace, I still don't and this is just the beginning!).

For the past week, I've been testing out going for a run when my brain is fatigued. I'm not at all sure what prompted this, because it feels incredibly counter intuitive to my lived experience. But running has become so efficient for me, that I return from a run with more brain energy than I left with. I have no idea what the limits of this are, but I'm in the process of testing them out.

Yesterday, I ate something on my "avoid" blood type diet (4-5 bites was all). I asked my wife if it was on my avoid list because it just either tasted funny to me or I was beginning to feel "off." I dropped rapidly last night (perhaps I should have immediately gone for a run?! I may get brave enough to test that extreme at some point) and was still recovering this morning. It was a "hard" brain day. So I decided to test it out. I could barely make it out the house, but once I was running, I was doing better. Inertia limits the ways you can fall, so my brain was less panicked about that (at least that's the part of the equation I've figured out so far). I ended up running 5k, though it felt like 30k. (brain injury has a way of making life seem that way -- the expenditure of an ultra-marithon to accomplish a walk around the block.). I even "hit the wall" 3/4s of a mile in, and felt my body shift to fat reserves by 2.5 miles. Arrived home and I'm more at a "medium" day in terms of brain fatigue. Amazing stuff! And I owe it all to primal running and primal (Buteyko) breathing!

Baby Step Miracles!

Bathed in gentle alpine glow after a night's snow, this view looks down Ute Pass.

As I connect with, learn, and live the basics of "God's engineering" I am deeply humbled by how great we are made and how much we try and do things our way and simply gum up the works.

What do I mean by "God's engineering?" I mean that God, through evolution, designed us to be the most beautiful and efficient and gifted creature on the planet: mind, body, and soul. Learning how to listen to our body and what it's trying to tell us can make everything in life better. Two cases in point:

Primal Running:
When I first began going barefoot (last spring), my feet tingled as the blood rushed in, grew new tissue, woke up dormant neural connections and created new ones. My feet began giving the rest of my body input about where I as compared with the ground. My brain no longer had to struggle to figure this out. My body (from my navel down) just knew. As this awareness and reflex grew, I realized I could run. A few more months and constant testing to see if I still needed the 4 pound walking sticks, and I've shifted to 8 oz. trekking poles (Thank you, Mountain Chalet!). I'm now running and moving faster and more efficiently than ever (including before my brain injury!). I'm hopeful that running will help grow new connections and help me recover even more over time (studies show mice grown thousands of new brain cells when they run compared with when they don't).

Primal Breathing:
Using the Buteyko breathing method, my breathing is now keeping the maximum amount of accessible oxygen in my blood, increasing my body's efficiency throughout. I've even been able to run more in the afternoon and once in the evening (Mornings are my best "brain energy" time). I feel better more, have more brain energy, and my sinuses are not a constant presence in every moment of life. I suspect this new efficiency deeply contributed to my being able to go to lighter sticks, as it provides a better, more consistent oxygen supply to my brain.

Baby step miracles by way of learning how to listen to my body and the way God created me to breathe and move and eat (Blood Type Diet). I wonder what other aspects of life I take for granted that I'm actually doing things counter to how God created me? How else can I go primal? The search continues... Grin.

Plus 43.6 (Yes, I've been negligent in reporting them!)
Total mileage: 519.5 miles