Giving Minimalist Running A Try

If you open up any running magazine these days there is a pretty good chance it will contain an article on barefoot running.  It’s a growing trend with many runners claiming it has helped them to run in a way they never have before. This being said, just because you ran a marathon last week doesn't mean you can kick off your shoes and do another one in Vibram Five Fingers, barefoot or a minimalist shoe.

The biggest component of barefoot running is giving yourself enough time to adapt. When you first started running you probably were not able to run at the mileage you can currently, and this is how you have to view barefoot running. You have to progress gradually so that the muscles in your feet and lower legs can strengthen. 

For a beginner, a single mile of barefoot running, is roughly equivalent to running 3 miles in traditional running shoes.  You should be adding no more than 10% distance per week. In the beginning look to include barefoot running as part of a warm-up or cool-down.  As the body adapts gradually increase the load by including minimalist running while performing faster paced efforts.

Performing basic balancing exercises on wobble boards or bosu can make the transition to minimalist running much easier.  If you’re unable to perform the exercises in this video you are not ready for barefoot running!

How do you know if you are doing too much too soon?

Simple, if your sore in your lower legs, hips or even lower back this is a sign that you are doing too much and you need to decrease the amount that you are doing. Remember to stretch your calves often and massage your achilles as barefoot running can put a lot of stress on these areas.

-mike

Marathon Training Continues

We just did another session of Cross Fit 204 followed by a run to prepare for the Las Vegas Full. It was a great workout today, we did: a warm up, followed by the workout which consisted of: Frog Leaps across the gym and then doing walking lunges across the gym carrying a weight overhead, for 8 mins. We then did the second part of the workout which consisted of: Ten squat thrusts followed by 20 kettle bell swings. I would like to take this opportunity to point out what a crazy athlete Mike Booth is. He ramped it up by using more weight than anyone in the group, and did more rounds in the workout than anyone! I was pretty blown away. Its worth joining us at cross fit 204 on sundays mornings at 9 AM just to see this guy in action!  Big thanks to Ryan from Corss Fit 204 for the great workout. We then took our run starting in Assiniboine Park down Wellington Crescent and back. By the end we were definitely feeling it, so hopefully we can massage tomorrow...
Lisa

 Lisa here letting you know how our last run went. On Thursday we did about 18 miles, and boy was it a "long run"! We kept it interesting by running from our clinic on Waverley to downtown so Mike could pay some bills. Gas is expensive these days so we thought we could kill two birds with one stone. From down town we went to the forks then around Osborne and around the Pembina area. It was mine and Kelsey's first time to run this distance so we were a little nervous. She killed the run, and the run almost killed me! I'm hoping it was one of those bad running days we all get now and then because if not I'm in trouble!  I'm glad I'll have some motivation on the day of the marathon- which is not getting taken off the course by the shuttle bus... the shuttle bus of shame! After the long run we had to re-carb which we did by going to the pancake house; I think we deserved it!
On Sunday we did a cross fit work out which was a great upper body workout. Thanks to Crystal from Cross Fit 204. After that we did a run to add to the workout. We have about six weeks left so we have to be as fit as possible come race day! That is assuming we are doing the full marathon :)

Las Vegas Here We Come! (We hope)

Well Mike and I (Lisa) and our friend Kelsey are headed to Las Vegas to do the full Las Vegas Marathon! Or so we hope... Turns out we are not the best at putting together a trip in which you are also doing a marathon. We have our hotel booked, our flights booked, and we are registered- oh wait we aren't because the Full Marathon is sold out! Since we realized this Mike went right to work using his old race fame to try to get us in! And we might have a chance! Marathon or not we are still training with the hopes we will get to run in the full. All in about 6 more weeks.... This may not be a big feat for Mike, but for Kelsey and I-  we are just trying to not get taken out by the 4:30 time limit. Oh, did I mention that this is our first full marathon? With such a short time line in which to train we are trying to amp up our training a little bit by adding some intense workouts in with our running. This morning Mike and I went to Cross Fit 204 to get a work out in - and thats exactly what we got. Thanks Mike Warkentin! After that we even got a run in to work even harder.
We'll keep you posted on our training and if we even get into the marathon...
-Lisa

Massage Athletica: Barefoot Running - What is the debate?

Massage Athletica: Barefoot Running - What is the debate?: I was recently guest blogger for http://natalieduhamel.com/ Here are some of my rants :) Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run , i...

Massage Athletica Blog Grand Opening

Well, it is officially fall and and we know what that means... most of us must abandon our beloved summer activities and migrate indoors. What so many of us are left with is our lingering aches and pains. Thats where we come in! We are Massage Athletica. We are a group of 4 Registered Massage Therapists (and currently 1 student) who strive to help all athletes and anyone facing chronic injuries help to get back to their pre summer state! We hope to use this blog to inform people on how they can stay fit - and healthy while doing so, as well as just letting you know what we're up to! 
Heres our line up:
Mike: the boss
Lisa
Jolene
Howie
Jamie (the student for now...) 
To see a little bit more of what we're about you can always find us on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr!