In the northwest, temperatures rarely get above 60º. That means it's time to hibernate my bare soles, and break out my dress shoes (and eventually dress leather winter boots). One thing worries me, though. I don't want to lose my progress. I worked hard toughening my soles, and strengthening my (flat, weak) arches. With barefoot not even an option indoors (much too cold), how do I maintain the toughness of my soles and not let my arches weaken? I will have a few occasions where I can remain barefoot besides when I'm asleep, but those occasions will be few and spread.
Keeping feet tough over winter
- Thread starter Barefootconservative
- Start date
Some German chapter members have used self-built wooden containers filled with gravel or prickly outdoor doormats as underground for walking or running in place indoors during winter to maintain their sole conditioning. Jumping rope on these areas might also be fun ;-) ...
However, don't you have any heating indoors? <slightly worried> ... OTOH, indoors, in dry conditions, without wind, anything down to about 30 F / 0 C should be absolutely OK as long as you keep moving ... it's indoors! no danger whatsoever, if your feet get too cold, you can always stop and put on socks or get into a hot shower
... just try it! You will find your feet can do much more than you think.
However, don't you have any heating indoors? <slightly worried> ... OTOH, indoors, in dry conditions, without wind, anything down to about 30 F / 0 C should be absolutely OK as long as you keep moving ... it's indoors! no danger whatsoever, if your feet get too cold, you can always stop and put on socks or get into a hot shower
... just try it! You will find your feet can do much more than you think.
You'd be amazed at how your feet can adapt to the cold. I found I could run in 27 degrees Fahrenheit as long as it was dry outside. I'm not advising you do anthing close to this right off the bat, but you can acclimate your feet over a period of time.
If you wear minimalist shoes 100% of the time you're shod your arches and other structural benefits from barefoot aren't going anywhere. I wear Lems in the office during the colder months and Z-Treks when it's warmer.
As for foot "toughness" I'm finding this isn't as much of a necessity if you're correctly running light on your feet and not pawing back with each step. When I first did barefoot that's how I ran: harsh forefoot strike with a secondary harsh push-back. Once I finally figured out how to just focus on lifting my feet off the ground the second they touched the ground I was able to run long barefoot miles without pain because I was no longer scuffing my feet. My mileage overall doubled as well because I was now finally running much more efficiently and not pounding my energy away with each footfall or scraping it away with each takeoff.
And I live in MN where it gets damn cold in the winter. I'm going to give barefoot sub-freezing a try this winter, though, just for the adventure of it.
As for foot "toughness" I'm finding this isn't as much of a necessity if you're correctly running light on your feet and not pawing back with each step. When I first did barefoot that's how I ran: harsh forefoot strike with a secondary harsh push-back. Once I finally figured out how to just focus on lifting my feet off the ground the second they touched the ground I was able to run long barefoot miles without pain because I was no longer scuffing my feet. My mileage overall doubled as well because I was now finally running much more efficiently and not pounding my energy away with each footfall or scraping it away with each takeoff.
And I live in MN where it gets damn cold in the winter. I'm going to give barefoot sub-freezing a try this winter, though, just for the adventure of it.
I use a treadmill during the winter. Since it is mine, I don't have any problem with using it barefoot, however, I think it is a problem in many (most?) fitness centers. I still lose a lot of thickness in the soles of my feet, even running regularly on a treadmill. Tough soles are only part of the story though. Some strength in the feet can be maintained through yoga or other stretching.
You could try pushing your tolerance for running outdoors in the cold or even snow. I live in Minnesota, and, I will try to keep running outdoors for as long as possible. I will do snow, but, only if the air temp is 28 F or higher. I prefer trails with packed snow over loose fluffy snow.
The final thing is to try not to miss those rare days when the temps are far above normal. Even in Minnesota, temps in the 40s in December can happen now and then. Try to take advantage of those days.
The thing you have to accept is that you are going to lose some ground in the winter. Take that into account when the weather warms up, and be cautious for the first few runs. I also try to schedule any races I enter for June or later. That way, I don't lament the loss of strength and sole thickness, nor do I rush things trying to get back to where I was near the end of the previous season.
You could try pushing your tolerance for running outdoors in the cold or even snow. I live in Minnesota, and, I will try to keep running outdoors for as long as possible. I will do snow, but, only if the air temp is 28 F or higher. I prefer trails with packed snow over loose fluffy snow.
The final thing is to try not to miss those rare days when the temps are far above normal. Even in Minnesota, temps in the 40s in December can happen now and then. Try to take advantage of those days.
The thing you have to accept is that you are going to lose some ground in the winter. Take that into account when the weather warms up, and be cautious for the first few runs. I also try to schedule any races I enter for June or later. That way, I don't lament the loss of strength and sole thickness, nor do I rush things trying to get back to where I was near the end of the previous season.
Thanks everyone. First, let me clarify that wearing dress shoes is my choice, because I like how they look (plus I'm just way too cheap to buy minimalist shoes while I have a lot of dress shoes already, about twelve pairs, a few of which I only wear seasonally), and I know I can remain barefoot indoors in winter, but despite our great heating, the floor is always cold, so I remain shod.
I feel you pain! I'm a Canuck and my feet don't do well in the cold, so I turn to either my neoprene water shoes or my Altra Superior's when it gets cold out. I find that come warm weather, it doesn't take my feet long to toughen up.
That's kind of what I found this summer, after I did a tiny bit of barefoot prior to, but it was enough to get some toughness. I guess we'll see how tough they are after winter.
Btw, really cute dog in your profile picture. I just love dogs, that's why I had to bring it up.
Thanks! He was my running partner for the last 7 years until he passed away from cancer a few weeks ago
Oh yeah! I agree! No way I can run barefeet with snow on the ground. Today was 8C, nice and warm, was going to run barefoot, but there's too much salt on the roads, sidewalks and bike paths.
