It is one year I am running barefoot in Hong Kong. Last Sunday, I decided to join a competitive running 10 kilometers race. With this first 10K barefoot race, it was an occasion of pitting myself against other runners, although, of course, there was not much for me to put up against runners capable of completing 10 k in half an hour..
Shek Mun: a very nice running environment
Shek Mun, where the race took place, is located near Shatin. As such, the race course took us alongside the harbour for a lovely flat and easy race track. At the beginning, I was right at the back of the pack, so things did not get easier as the race began at a walking pace. Most people behind did not really expect to put up much of a performance, so the start was pretty slow. And so did start my first barefoot race, with about 1 minute passed getting to the start line…
With several hundreds participants, the race elongated itself nicely.
Pacing oneself
The big challenge in a race, is not wanting to go too fast too quick. My goal, in this respect, was to keep a reasonable rhythm during the first half of the race, then to gradually increase speed to finish fast(er).
My speed kept around 6.10 to 6.21 min/km for the first 5 kms, and my heart rate around 165/168 bpm (borderline to the intense range). After the fifth km, when we turned around, I started increasing my speed slowly and gradually, as some runners were starting to fall behind.
No sprint, but constant acceleration
I kept running at a regular rhythm, trying to avoid sudden rushes or boosts, in order to keep my heart rate within control. I however increased my cadence and my relative speed, my best speed being 5.33 min/km, at which point, I was already maxing out on my heart rate.
I finally arrived to the end, having pushed my running to the fastest I could, short of sprinting.
Over the last few kilometers, many volunteers gave me the thumbs up. Strangely enough, not one runner talked to me. You would think that as with the majority of the population, this would elicit curiosity, but apparently, no.
No, I did not make it to the podium…
Despite the picture above, no, I did not make it on the podium or anywhere near the 8th place… But it was a fun experience, not so much because of the “communal” experience, but rather because of the test for your own capacities. In a race, you must try and give your best and then some… And that’s what I tried to do.
I already registered for another 10k race in January, in order to keep the incentive for training. Hopefully, within the next six months, I can also run a 20 kms race…. But that’s another story!
Hiking home after the race…
After the barefoot race, I went back to Shatin to meet my local friend, Matthew. We had breakfast and then starting hiking back towards my home.
While it was initially dry, the rain intensified during our hike. Eventually, we got totally drenched, but being barefoot, we were as comfortable as ever. I ran some portions down on Jat’s incline, as it was also a way of keeping warm.
We kept encountering people commenting on how they knew that hiking barefoot was good for health, but that they were too scared to try it themselves… So, being out there, hiking barefoot also encourages people to try it (at least you can hope so).
The interesting part is that, at the end of the day, I did not feel sore at all. I was tired, but it was quite a “good” tiredness. Running/hiking barefoot seems way less tiring than with shoes (probably because of the “massage effect”).