To my one and only subscriber, thank you for all of your support with my barefoot project over the past year. Your comments and advice have been invaluable in making this little blog of mine better for everyone.
See the link below, Oliver Wilson wore VFF's instead of traditional golf shoes on day 1 of the Dubai World Championship last month. 
I’ve just returned from a fabulous weekend at Bab Al Shams with my wife where we had a 3-day taster of the PTX Ultimate Wellness Retreat (http://ptxdubai.com/index.php/the-ultimate-wellness-retreat/). This is the first camp of its kind in the UAE, and their core principals are fitness, nutrition and performance. This 7-day camp is run by ex-professional athletes who bring passion, enthusiasm and knowledge to the training, which is designed to be functional, mainly bodyweight exercises that everyone can do, regardless of equipment. 
1,000m in 180 seconds, so 18 seconds for each 100m, which is 20km per hour. That didn’t sound too bad. I’ve been nervous about trying to do any speed work since the fractures, but this morning the gym was empty, and I decided it was time to give it a go. I’m not sure if its cheating starting from a running treadmill, but I cranked it up to 20km per hour and jumped aboard.
I’ve never been a fan of supplements, probably due to the way these products are advertised. Walk into any sport nutrition shop and you’ll be surrounded by pictures of blokes (always tanned and hairless) who look like they’re about to explode. It’s enough to put you off your breakfast. But if you want to add lean muscle it’s recommended that you eat at least 1 gram protein for every pound you weigh. I’m 11 stone (154 lbs), so I need over 154g of protein, which is the equivalent to around 6 chicken breasts or 24 eggs per day. No chance. This is where protein shakes come into their own, since a single shake can pack in 20-50g of protein depending on the brand. 
I’ve never had any aspirations to be a writer, but one of the things I love about writing this blog is watching the statistics of who has viewed this, and when, and where from. I’m totally fascinated, especially since I’ve done very little to advertise this site, other than a few mentions on facebook and a write up in Men’s Fitness Dubai (see below).
You’d think with living in Dubai I’d be bored of beaches, but yesterday my best man and I jogged along the coast from Tynemouth to just before St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay and back. About 9 miles we think, certainly the furthest I’ve run since my injury. It was delightful. The tide was out so the beach was wide, the weather was perfect, and it was great seeing loads of people outside. Families together with sand-castles and picnics, people walking their dogs, footballers in pre-season training, everyone it seemed enjoying the day. And the air, full of the smells from seaweed to fish ‘n chips, was rejuvenating in itself. It was one of those runs I’ll think about when I’m back in Dubai and it’s too hot to go outside. 
As the barefoot debate rages on, here's an excellent feature in Men's Fitness (Dubai) July issue.
Fitness in Dubai features reviews of all the latest fitness programmes and local gyms, such as The Circuit Factory, 24 Fitness and CrossFit LifeSpark, as well as reviews of fitness fads, fitness tests and fitness equipment, from Vibram Five Fingers barefoot running shoes to VO2 Max testing. Ultimately, this fitness blog - as featured in Good Taste, Men's Fitness, Time Out and Shape magazines - contains everything you need to know about fitness in Dubai, UAE, in the Middle East. Bookmark it now.
So, I gave the VFFs a couple of days off and went to the gym instead. Yesterday I was desperate to get them back on and hit the road – not that I’d fully recovered – and the first few minutes were bloody painful until I warmed to my five-mile loop of the Marina. This time also running a stretch of the beach, too (purely to avoid those bloody cobblestones!). It was early, the sun was rising, the beach was empty and it felt really good. Though running on sand is hard work regardless of your footwear. 
Two days ago I tried my VFFs out on the treadmill for 10 minutes. There were no problems and my calves felt fine. Then, yesterday, I decided to take them outdoors and went for a jog around my local marina. Totally different feeling to the treadmill, and much more enjoyable. The shoes force you to think more about what you’re doing outdoors, and I found that the time passed really quickly. I’d only intended to be out for 20 minutes, but I was for 35 minutes. I felt great. My stride shortened, and I noticed that when I’d been messing around with the office shoes my heel never touched the floor, but today out on the roads was much more natural. I wasn’t heel-striking, but my heel did touch the floor on each footfall. Whether this is right or wrong I’m not sure, I’m no coach, but it felt good. Going uphill was a breeze, you notice how light your feet feel, but coming downhill was odd. I’m too used to over-striding and landing heel-first on the way down.
I coasted round the Marina and then came to ‘The Walk’ along the Jumeriah Beach Residence area. For those who don’t know Dubai, The Walk (maybe one mile long) is about the only outdoor stretch in Dubai intended for walking. It’s even got footpaths! But for some demented reason the architect (or arsehole, depending on your point of view) decided to adorn everywhere on the Walk with Victorian torture devices otherwise known as cobblestones. Why the do they still exist? Fair enough, in historical places, but there’s fuck-all history in Dubai Marina. It’s less than 10 years old. Anyway, those bastard stones hurt. So if anyone reading this lives in JBR and heard someone at 5am shouting, “Which silly arsehole put cobblestones here?” it was me. Sorry.
So I’ve got my new shoes on (cue Paolo Nutini). I’d ordered the KSOs (see ‘About VibramFiveFingers’ page above for more details on the Vibram FiveFingers range) – and thankfully they’re a great fit. Since Vibram FiveFingers are designed to fit each individual toe it’s very important that you measure your feet properly. Place a ruler or tape measure on the floor with one end against a wall, and then stand on it, making sure your heel is pressed against the wall. I’m usually a GB size 8, and when I measured my feet they were slightly over 10 inches long and my second toe is slightly longer than my big toe. Using the guide on the Vibram website (http://www.vibramfivefingers.it/eng/default.aspx#) I was recommended to buy a size 40. It worked, though I would like to try on a 41 just to be doubly sure. When you mail-order something from thousands of miles away you want to be sure to get the right size first time.
I was too excited to wait for the Vibram FiveFingers (VFFs) I’d ordered so, around 3 weeks ago, I went down to the gym in my apartment building early one day before anyone else was there, and tried running barefoot on the treadmill. I started out in socks, but I could feel a blister forming so I took them off. Then I managed about 12 minutes before the soles of my feet felt like they were on fire. Later that day my calves were killing me. I could see this trainerless training was going to take a bit of getting used to.
