God I want to drink that Kool-Aid

On Monday night the gang gathered at Running Central. Greg and Blair were there. Team RC is putting a crew together under Coach Greg and Blair to race Huntsville in December. Many of us are currently running Greg and Blair's program and seeing good results. Blair does the VO2max tests at Proctor and Greg uses this information along with the frequent time trials to help determine how the fitness is coming along. Based on my initial estimate, we should have at least a dozen of us going to race at Huntsville. The women coming should really help increase the teams visibility as we have some really strong girls interested this year.

Greg is putting a plan together tailored for each individual but based on the same race day. The biggest thing to keep in mind about having a coached plan versus a self-designed one is you HAVE to be committed to and maintain an open dialog. Trust in Greg and Blair and you will hit your goals. I know from experience. This plan allowed me to break 3 hours last year.

Patrick Arnold, our local mileage junkie, is seeing some serious results already. Greg has him "throttled" back to only about 90 miles a week.

"I would encourage any of you to try using the schedules that Greg can set up. It is hard work but it is a better schedule than anything I have tried before. I enjoy my training more than I did with Pfitzinger and I think it will pay off."

My biggest problem however is I'm still in the middle of my barefoot transition. Transitioning to barefoot is not at all about tough soles. If you hope to develop soles that are as thick and tough as shoes you will be disappointed. It ain't gonna happen. You need to learn a whole new way to run. Barefoot, I am landing with my legs bent much more than I previously had and landing more softly than I ever did before. I have to. Even in the Vibrams, I find myself reverting back to my pre-barefoot running style. You just cannot substitute for bare feet if you really want to learn how. I've noticed the change in stance means I don't yet have enough hip strength for long distances. This is tough for me as I am still struggling with the ostietus condition from the spring. Currently, my mileage and pace have taken a big hit. I am unable to run the BDI program successfully. Unable yet to drink the Kool-Aid. Man does it look tasty!