Last fall, I started barefoot running. I was just getting my soles conditioned when I overdid it on some soft ground and hurt something in my low ankle. By the time I was back to normal, it was cold, then the cold ground inhibited my training. I know some people BFR in the cold, but I'm just not there yet. (Maybe ever).
So it was a cold wet spring and I bought some Fivefinger KSOs. I started running in them. For me it's not enjoyable as barefoot, but better than real shoes. I also found trails. I love running my local trail barefoot-- it's super non-technical and I can manage it without shoes, but it's short. Unfortunately, because of all my winter wimpiness, by the time the weather warmed up, my plantar skin had lost all of its toughness and I couldn't go more than half a mile on streets BFR. I got into a pattern. Run the .75 miles to the trailhead in my KSOs (a very crappy craggy pebbley section of town), then sit down, take off my shoes, run a mile of trails, come out, put my shoes back on and come home the long way. Three miles, give or take, a little barefoot, it was a workable plan.
But it wasn't as barefoot as I'd like to be. I had begun to feel like an imposter, calling myself a barefoot runner, but rarely being truly unshod. So yesterday I set out for a quick run with no shoes. I figured I wouldn't get more than a mile in, so I set out a pair of gray cotton shorts and my husband's Spider Man t-shirt that I'd been wearing all day. I added my Garmin and a ball cap just for good measure and started off (towards the part of town with better streets, of course).
Then something strange happened. The street didn't hurt my feet. The sidewalk didn't hurt either. The rocks that came out of people's driveways, did, however. Those are really pointy! Also, my right calf wasn't too tight -- it's been bothering me lately, in my VFFs. I ran half a mile, no pain. Next thing I know, I'm over a mile away and I had to turn around to come start dinner. If I hadn't had a time crunch, I could have run farther. It was great! I guess all that wandering around town without shoes has actually made more difference than I thought.
And just like that, I'm a barefoot runner again.
So it was a cold wet spring and I bought some Fivefinger KSOs. I started running in them. For me it's not enjoyable as barefoot, but better than real shoes. I also found trails. I love running my local trail barefoot-- it's super non-technical and I can manage it without shoes, but it's short. Unfortunately, because of all my winter wimpiness, by the time the weather warmed up, my plantar skin had lost all of its toughness and I couldn't go more than half a mile on streets BFR. I got into a pattern. Run the .75 miles to the trailhead in my KSOs (a very crappy craggy pebbley section of town), then sit down, take off my shoes, run a mile of trails, come out, put my shoes back on and come home the long way. Three miles, give or take, a little barefoot, it was a workable plan.
But it wasn't as barefoot as I'd like to be. I had begun to feel like an imposter, calling myself a barefoot runner, but rarely being truly unshod. So yesterday I set out for a quick run with no shoes. I figured I wouldn't get more than a mile in, so I set out a pair of gray cotton shorts and my husband's Spider Man t-shirt that I'd been wearing all day. I added my Garmin and a ball cap just for good measure and started off (towards the part of town with better streets, of course).
Then something strange happened. The street didn't hurt my feet. The sidewalk didn't hurt either. The rocks that came out of people's driveways, did, however. Those are really pointy! Also, my right calf wasn't too tight -- it's been bothering me lately, in my VFFs. I ran half a mile, no pain. Next thing I know, I'm over a mile away and I had to turn around to come start dinner. If I hadn't had a time crunch, I could have run farther. It was great! I guess all that wandering around town without shoes has actually made more difference than I thought.
And just like that, I'm a barefoot runner again.
