New neat barefoot running site and running in the Outer Banks

I was reading the Sunday paper and lo and behold there is an article on barefoot running. If you get a chance, look in the July 4th edition of the Greenville News on page 4D. The article has input from both the believers and non-believers. In the article they mention two really good websites to visit. One is from Harvard University (www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu) and the other is from a person named Ken Bob (www.therunningbarefoot.com). Both are good websites. The Harvard one has a lot of good videos about heel striking as compared to mid-foot and forefoot striking. According to the study, most people that run with shoes on tend to heel strike and many that run barefoot tend to mid-foot and fore foot strike. According to the studies the barefoot impact has less force than the shod foot impact. Of course this does vary with the person and the shoes.
At this point in my bare footing career I can't tell whether I prefer barefoot or shod. Due to my rash of recent heart troubles, my running frequency has dropped. I did have a decent running week at the Outer Banks.
During my family Outer Banks visit we stayed on Roanoke Island in a little resort village named Pirates Cove. They have condos and houses for rent. We rented a little cottage on the canal. It was a great week of relaxing. On Sunday I did a quick 3 miler with my Nikes near the cottage we stayed in. The weather was very humid so I was sweating profusely at the end.
Tuesday I drove down to Nags Heads Woods and did a 4 mile trail run with the Vibrams. This turned out to be more of a complete aerobic work out involving all muscle groups because of the deer fly harassment. I forgot to bring bug spray and was literally attacked for the duration of the run. I call these little buggers deer flies, some people call them yellow flies. Whatever they are, they have a very painful bite! They tend to fly around your head and enjoy actually bumping into your head. Of course when they bump into your head you tend to smack yourself while trying to hit them. I am sure I looked a little crazy running through the trail dodging and weaving and hitting myself in the head. Because of the frenzied running I missed my turn and actually ended up on a dirt road for about 2 miles, I doubled back and completed my run. As far as the Vibrams went, I had a good run. The trail was very sandy in some areas and was difficult to run through. My pace was a little quicker than I had anticipated because of the attacking deer flies.
Thursday I went for a "dock" run. The Pirates Cove village is cool because they have canals all throughout the village. On each side of the canal there is a continuous dock. I actually did a 4 mile run mostly on the docks. The views are beautiful and the run was fun. The joke about taking a long run on a short dock doesn't work there.
I had planned to do a beach run one day but I just ran out of time. I have not run on the beach in years. We returned home from our vacation on July 3rd.
On the 4th I went out for a long run to see if I could still do it. I have not gone over 4 miles for about 3 months! I decided to try it. I made it about 7 miles before I pooped out. My pace was 9 minute miles and I ran that with my Nikes.
To get back into the barefoot grove I have been taking easy 1 mile runs with my daughter. She has taken an interest in running and I really enjoy jogging around our neighborhood with her. She is doing great and progressing well. I have been wearing my Vibrams during these runs.
Well I better stop writing now. I have some more interesting heart stuff to talk about but I need to learn more from my doctor about it. I will be wearing a heart monitor for a while starting next week. More on that later.

Have a great day and God bless you.

Gary