The Yo-Yo of Discouragement vs. Encouragement

My feet hurt. That's why I'm going barefoot. Do my feet stop hurting when I am barefoot? Nope. But they are gradually (very gradually) hurting less and they are no longer getting worse. The roads around my home are gravel. The gravel hurts. The closest asphalt is just over a mile away. The roads are undulating, hilly. Even the “level” surfaces are sloped. When I run barefoot I'm typically running 13 minute miles. Discouraging. My husband wants me to wear shoes to protect my feet from the gravel. One day last week I wore shoes to run 4 miles with him. My feet and tailbone and ankles were sore for two days. After wearing shoes with him, a few days later, he ran a mile barefoot with me. A rock bruised my arch, an ugly purple bruise. Earlier this week, in a five mile run, I walked almost half of it. The gravel hurts. I realized (decided?) that day that I was not going to be able to run barefoot on the gravel. Ever. I can't wear shoes and I can't run barefoot. I can't run! At my husband's encouragement (insistence?) I ordered some NB Minimus shoes—scheduled delivery today. He is hoping those will allow me to run on the gravel. He is hoping they will be a workable compromise between traditional running shoes and barefoot running. While my feet were recovering from Tuesday's battle with the gravel, I read Mukharji's Run Barefoot Run Healthy. I closed the book last night thinking that maybe I don't want those shoes. We had a lot of rain this week. I walked some letters out to the mailbox, and standing at my mailbox looking at the road . . . . I started my watch and started running. My first mile was marvelous! I love how the wet ground works to protect my feet from the worst of the rocks. I ran my first mile in under ten minutes! My four mile total was a full minute and a half less than my shod run last week. My best run since taking off my shoes. My best run ever for the level of foot pain—even with the gravel! Wonderful. So maybe I can keep running.