Original project.
Attempted again with the hopes of capturing the shadows of my body movement along with the RGB LED attachments.
I'll be retrying this again tomorrow. This time, I'll do actual yoga poses and use the LED long exposure trail to showcase how to move into a pose.









The Macgyver'd set up

We went looking for the rope swing, only to find it has been removed and turkeys were busy eradicating the area of crickets.

With a small group of friends, we spent the weekend putting together a neat little story while curtailing tech problems. Every project is a time to learn... a lot. And have your heart stop a few times in worry.  Hopefully this will turn out to be a decent 5 min short. Not sure what its future contains.

After researching every aspect of my ITBS injury, I determined that my shoes are the problem. The Asics Fuji Racer 3, though comfy, did not work with the way I strike and caused me to heel strike more than I wanted. I was wobbly, using the wrong muscles to stabilize myself.

After my coworker Stratton mentioned his barefoot running switch, I decided to look into that further. I discovered that running shoes are generally NOT good for natural running form. In fact, they cause you to put more pressure on areas - like the hips & IT Band - that just cannot handle it long-term.

I hadn't run more than 4 miles without intense pain and weakness in my knee and leg. So I stopped. Pool running and the elliptical became my source of exercise.

Until the other morning. I decided to test the barefoot running. I drove myself to a park nearby with a big soccer field and ran it's perimeter until the pain came back. But it didn't come back. I ran 3 miles, fast, barefoot in grass... without pain! I was striking the ground on the ball of my foot, letting my heel land only a split moment afterward, and my toes splayed out to stabilize my forward thrust.

The pain came later in the calves. Clearly I haven't been using them in shoes.

I ran another test a few days later at a larger soccer field. This time, I ran 5 miles with some sprints mixed in. The ITBS pain flickered towards the end, so I stopped. However, it stopped hurting completely. Typically, after a run or workout, the band would hurt or feel awkward/weak for hours or days after.

Not with barefoot running.

After some more suggestions from Stratton, a seasoned runner who swears by barefoot running now, I purchased minimalist barefoot shoes called the Merrell Trail Glove 3. I ran 5 miles, then 6 a day later. Flying up hills, though some ITBS pain on the downhills... these shoes are the beginning of a new (or ancient, as Christopher McDougall suggests) running form.

I'm thankful to be running again, but my injury hasn't fully healed.

All things with time & patience.

It's easy when your model is gorgeous!