Presentation of a newbie

Both take some time and

Both take some time and persistent practice to get used to. Small, rounded pebbles (when they are used, for example, as a pathway material - lots of them together) were much easier for me to get used to. Small, sharp gravel is still no fun for me, but so long as it's all together en masse, I can handle it slowly. Large, sharp rocks will never be on my plan of "things to get accustomed to." And any small rock, rounded or sharp, is still painful when it is sitting alone on top of concrete or asphalt.

There are some runners here who say wonderful things about gravel. I'm not sure if they're crazier or just that much more dedicated than me. I'm not a fan of gravel, and I HATE small rocks that lurk on hard surfaces.

I think the old cobblestones near the house I lived in when we lived in Germany would be fun to run on, but would require very careful foot placement and constant attention to protecting the toes. The more worn down the street is, the better it would probably be. I don't know if you have any cobblestone options near where you are.

And if you get too redundant, TJ (who's really the boss here) will politely merge your thread with some others and redirect everyone to a single place to continue the discussion. She's a very good boss.

See, I no longer am bothered

See, I no longer am bothered by the small pebbles or other debris for the most part on hard surfaces. I am still bothered by sharp pointy gravel though. If it's just one rock on a sidewalk, no problem, but a gravel pathway hurts so bad. I think it really has to do with how much you train on it. I mostly only run on sidewalks so I am able to handle small pinecones, pebbles, small branches and twigs, and even the occasional chunk of gravel.

Gosh I can't see how that

Gosh I can't see how that would be easier. On a hard surface you can adjust your weight accordingly so that lone rock or debris doesn't take the brunt of your weight. On a surface like a gravel path there is no adjusting your weight differently because any direction you try adjust to there's another sharp pointy rock there. I don't know how you all do it and I'm in awe. Someday when I get to start running without a stroller I will get out on the trails more and hopefully learn how to deal with a gravel path.

Ah, grasshopper - when we can

Ah, grasshopper - when we can take the pebble from TJ's foot...

Ashi:I hope your running is

Ashi:

I hope your running is going well. Just haven't seen any posts from you lately. Hopefully that's because around the rest of your busy life, you've been busier BFRing than writing. Happy Wednesday!

Glad you're doing well, mon

Glad you're doing well, mon amie. I've also experimented with different shoes for colder weather, including the Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) KSOs, and the Altra Adam (AA - they also make a women's model called the Altra Eve, AE). The AAs are basically VFFs without individual toe pockets. I'd always rather run barefoot, but that just isn't always possible. I can't decide which I like best if I have to wear shoes. I like the better toe protection and foot freedom of movement that the AAs provide, but I like the glove-like fit of the VFFs. Both are unfortunately expensive (around 70 Euros) But the AAs and AEs are on sale on their website at the moment - when you put them in your shopping cart it automatically takes 25% off the price - here's the link:



Hey guys time to get out and try out a pair of The Altra Adam or Eve.

We have a special offer this holiday season with 25% off.

Check out http://bit.ly/tB4JsH



This was posted in our "Gear and Footwear" forum by an Altra company representative a few weeks ago as a special deal for barefootrunners.org members. These won't keep you very dry, but they will provide much better footing and traction.

Happy running, et bonjour en la France!