Yesterday I had a very pleasant run. I am very happy about the fact, that already this early in the year, I can do 9 km (~5.5 mi) barefoot, some of it on quite rough terrain. 
I started barefooting last year around this time and it took me more than half a year to build up some confidence and adaption. In October I finally felt fine and had my mileage on asphalt up to 12 km (~7.5 mi). But I still wasn't able to do forest trails like the one yesterday. Too much large and sharp gravel there. Very tough.
The winter was very cold and I couldn't do without shoes. So I feared that I might have lost most of my barefooting abilities, but that does not seem to be the case. The first barefoot km I walked on a very warm day in February and realized, that the confidence was still there. Since first of March I am barefooting as often as possible and making faster progress than I expected.
So yesterday I surprised myself with these 9 kms. The first third with lots of this large, sharp gravel, that slowed me down, but couldn't stop me. Last two thirds on asphalt, but there was still a considerable amount of the small, pointed grit left over from winter, and that is somewhat difficult to cope with, too. But just the fact, that I was able to cope with this, made me laugh and a bit proud, too. Hey, I can jog barefoot, where most others can't even walk! I think that is quite an achievement.
Although yesterday's run was rather slow, I am still very pleased with it. That's what I like about barefooting, too. It's not only distance and speed, that count.
So curious how far I can get this year. Maybe I can even reach the point, where I enjoy these gravelled trails...
I started barefooting last year around this time and it took me more than half a year to build up some confidence and adaption. In October I finally felt fine and had my mileage on asphalt up to 12 km (~7.5 mi). But I still wasn't able to do forest trails like the one yesterday. Too much large and sharp gravel there. Very tough.
The winter was very cold and I couldn't do without shoes. So I feared that I might have lost most of my barefooting abilities, but that does not seem to be the case. The first barefoot km I walked on a very warm day in February and realized, that the confidence was still there. Since first of March I am barefooting as often as possible and making faster progress than I expected.
So yesterday I surprised myself with these 9 kms. The first third with lots of this large, sharp gravel, that slowed me down, but couldn't stop me.
Last two thirds on asphalt, but there was still a considerable amount of the small, pointed grit left over from winter, and that is somewhat difficult to cope with, too. But just the fact, that I was able to cope with this, made me laugh and a bit proud, too. Hey, I can jog barefoot, where most others can't even walk! I think that is quite an achievement. Although yesterday's run was rather slow, I am still very pleased with it. That's what I like about barefooting, too. It's not only distance and speed, that count.
So curious how far I can get this year.
Maybe I can even reach the point, where I enjoy these gravelled trails...
