Keep Running Free

Benefits of Barefoot Running and Disadvantages of Shoes

Before completely understanding the benefits behind barefoot or minimalist running, you need to understand the disadvantages to shod running. As discussed in The History of Running with a Barefoot Edge, modern running shoes began to appear in the 1970’s. Before this time, much of the available shoes were racing flats; however, before this time completely, people ran with no shoes at all or with little...

What is Barefoot Running, Actually?

You can view his actual research here: Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners You can also take a look at an article about his research at Nature here.   Video Notes: 1. Daniel Lieberman is a Harvard professor studying the evolution of running. As he researched, it was obvious that barefoot running was very common as early human feet began evolving...

The History of Running with a Barefoot Edge

Early History Although seemingly obvious, running did not originate in a blink of an eye. According to fairly new research conducted by two professors, Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman, it was discovered that running played a large role in the evolution of the human body. Millions of years ago, as humanoids began evolving away from apes, running began to take shape. Over many years of evolution,...

Review: adiPure Trainer

  Have you ever been to the gym, the weight training gym, and found that your large and bulky trainer shoes tend to constrict your movement rather than help your exercise along? Box jumps, squats, pushups, and so many more exercises in the gym rely on your shoes to bend and flex around the toe area and the ball of your foot. Nearly everyone knows about the Vibram Fivefingers today, and many know...

Review: Reebok RealFlex Optimal

The Reebok RealFlex Optimal is comfortable, flexible, supportive, and stylish. Reebok did a great job with the design of these shoes, but more importantly, they did a fantastic job designing the performance based features of the shoe. Amazon – Reebok RealFlex Optimal Appearance The RealFlex Optimal is designed with a mesh upper that allows for breathability and a light weight shoe. The most...

Training Alone Vs. In Groups

In a lot of aspects, training alone and training in groups can be preferred based on your past training experiences and how you prefer to train, but there are concrete benefits and disadvantages to both. Training Alone Pros: Setting Goals: When training alone, it is easier to set goals for each running or training session. Setting goals for yourself can be one of the most motivational helpers throughout...

Training for a Race: Warming Up on Race Day (part 6/6)

This is the final post in the Training for a Race series. You can view the first post here: Training for a Race: Training Plans (part 1/6) In my experience, there are two types of warm-ups you can perform before a race, a training warm-up and a performance warm-up. Generally, the training warm-up pertains to shorter races up to the 10k because it involves extra running that can hurt your performance...

Training for a Race: The Mock Race (part 5/6)

This is a part of a series of posts entitled Training for a Race. To view the first post of the series, you can find it here: Training for a Race: Training Plans. While training for certain races, generally any race up to a 10k, it can be helpful to perform a mock race a couple of weeks before race day. A mock race is a sample run where you will prepare as if you are going to race, you will run as...

Training for a Race: Stay Motivated (part 4/6)

This is part of a series of posts about training for a race. To view the first part of the series, check out Training for a Race: Training Plans (part 1/6). While training for a race, whether it is a 5k or a marathon, midway through training can sometimes bring to the table some motivational problems. Finding excuses to not complete the full workout or not complete the workout at all is a very common...

Training for a Race: How to Taper for Any Race (part 3/6)

This post is part of a series titled Training for a Race. Read part one here: Training for a Race: Training Plans (part 1/6) Whether you are training for a 5k or an ultra-marathon, it is always important to be well-rested come race day. During weeks or months of strenuous training, your body’s stored glucose levels (glycogen) will fluctuate constantly, sometimes causing you to “hit the wall”...