Sunny (except for today) Tucson

I am in Tucson with Kamal, Tyler, Derek, Adam, Matt & Amber for a training camp. The flight was OK, and so was the drive from Phoenix to Tucson, until Adam and I got kind of lost looking for a Trader Joe's... Good thing we wrote down the instruction to get to the house because my phone (with the GPS) died and we didn't have a map.

The training camp started yesterday with a good day of training, easing them into it. It has been raining on and off all day today... Lucky for me it started after the swim, so I didn't get totally drenched while standing on pool deck! An easy run followed the swim and they are headed out for another (hard) run very soon. Hopefully the sun will come back out, as we are all in desperate need of some vitamin D.

I forgot to charge my camera before the camp started, so I don't have any pictures of day one. Kamal took a bunch of them though, so I am sure they will make an appearance on his blog at some point (he already uploaded them on facebook!). Here are some pictures from day #2.

Kamal & Derek before this afternoon's run...

25 yard pool... 

The barefoot running bandwagon...

If one more person asks me about barefoot running because of all the media attention the topic received lately, I am going to throw a tantrum. I am absolutely serious. Its not ground breaking news people... and I'm getting a bit sick of hearing about it like its a new concept. 

We started running barefoot on sand dunes when I was 14. That was 14 years ago... and I suspect that wasn't a new thing at all back then either. The main reason was for strength development. To a bunch of 14-16 year old kids, the barefoot part was because it was more fun... It was all about having fun and running fast!

I think that too many people run in shoes that have excessive support. I think most people have allowed their feet to become weak and lazy. I think a lot of people have pretty bad posture when they run. Does all of this point towards running barefoot? Not necessarily... There are many pieces to this puzzle and you need to look at the whole picture and consider individual variability/circumstances before you jump on the barefoot running bandwagon because of some recent media hype and a recently published book (which is, I would admit, a well written one... something that may add to the danger of everyone jumping into something they may or may not be able to handle).

There are so many factors that come into play... you can't read an article as take it as is. Be critical. Think. Ask for help. I didn't think I would have to say this again so soon, but here goes: IT DEPENDS...