Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to practise less eversion and landing flatter. It seemed to help last night. Cheers, Paul .
Not really unless I land on a small stone/rock then I go !*$@^&%@. Once in a while maybe once every six months I soak my feet in very hot water(as hot as my skin tolerates) with epsom salts for about 20 mins and file away and I am good for another six months.
At the moment, I can definately say that I don't have any discomfort from mine. Thus, until they cause any sort of discomfort, I have reason to worry about them.
I think it's in fact easier to maintain good form at higher velocities, as the body is forced to become as efficient as possible to conserve energy. Many endurance runners/trainers incorporate speed work for this very reason, to improve running economy. Leathery skin is also a product of pressure and/or abrasion, so you're doing well, at any age, if you're callused in areas you'd care not to mention! The problem with the barefooter's thick/leathery-skin-is-not-a-callus thesis is that we then have to posit two different physiological adaptations to different kinds of pressure and/or abrasion, rather than than just saying that it's the same physiological adaption, with different results depending on the degree or kind of pressure and/or abrasion. Sort of like how strength training and slouching in one's chair will lead to different adaptations/results, one good, one bad, even though they involve the same principles of neuro-muscular adaptation to habitual stimuli. I've been a casual barefooter for quite some time, and I think it's perfectly normal if certain points on the plantar surface, such as the balls of feet, outer edge of the big toe, or heels, are a little thicker and more "callus-like" than other parts. It seems silly to think the pressure and/or abrasion of foot-landing will be evenly distributed, when the foot was in fact designed to 'roll' through the different phases of landing, shock absorption, elastic recoil and release or push-off (also known as one-legged forward hopping). If there are spots that are particularly abraded or blistering, then yes, that's a problem, but it's also something that will most probably be self-corrected via the wonderful proprioception afforded by barefoot walking/running. Not looking for an argument, not claiming any special expertise, just putting in my two cents.
This may be true, but it could be hazardous to beginners. A coworker, a middle aged woman, tried to take up running. It "felt so good", she tried going faster and broke her leg. Some things you have to work up to.
Tru dat. And the same applies for running slow over longer distances, which can bring its own list of problems. Gotta ease into things regardless. Fast can be relative, like just taking a minute per mile off the pace for just a block or so, repeat and build on speed and distance as adaptation occurs.
I had an uncomfortable callus, in exactly that spot, Paul. I realized the callus was aggravating a nerve under there, on both feet. It prevented me from running comfortably on pavement. That's why I switched to trails 2 years ago. http://www.footdoc.ca/plantar nerves.jpg Eventually, I didn't want to drive to the trail every time for a run. I figured that the calluses were due to how I was landing. I tried changing my landing. My right foot got a lot better. My left foot, which had the more severe bunion, did not. I eventually came to the conclusion that my landing was dictated by my foot structure. After a lot of trial and error, my foot structure has improved, and my left foot is pretty good, now. http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/151886 I still have calluses in those locations, but they are thinner and more spread out. I also conceptualize in my head, to try to land in the center of my forefoot pad, near the third toe. I suspect that in reality that I still land near the fifth toe, but don't put as much pressure on it. Good luck!
I'm getting very close to my barefoot marathon, having done my second 20 miler today. Correct me if wrong, but if I were a shoddie, might I not already be looking at black or falling off toenails? Other than thickening of my forefoot I haven't noticed any other visible change.
The word I'm looking for is keratinized, which seems to have a more positive (or neutral) connotation related to healthy adaptation for a barefooter. Callus has a more negative connotation. Callus tends to be associated with words such as "painful". Barefoot running shouldn't be associated with pain. Thanks to Ahcuah! http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/163413
I'll also sometimes distinguish between "callous", the broad keratinized thickening, and "a callous", which is really more like a corn, is often painful, and is susceptible to getting ripped off (more pain) if you catch it wrong.
If you guys were string players, you wouldn't have any of these negative connotations with the word "callus". Plus, I've always enjoyed having somewhat callused palms from lifting. Kind of a badge of honor. Must be a ex-shoddie phobia to avoid "callus" (n.) and "callous" (adj.) at all costs . . .
Well, I used to play clarinet, and there was this one callus on my thumb . . . [PS. callous. noun noun: callous; plural noun: callouses 1.variant spelling of callus] And yes, it was always getting ripped because of the way it stuck out.
It's what I got when I typed "callous" into google. But I agree that most accepted usage (one dictionary I saw called it a mispelling) has "callous" as the adjective and verb, and "callus" as the noun. In fact, in its usage note, my American Heritage Dictionary says [Yes, I deliberately misspelled "misspelling".]
Yes, I'm quite thankful that my body developed calluses as an protective response to mass produced, ill-fitting shoes. Who knows what damage those shoes would have caused otherwise!
Use a cream with urea in it. Two good possibilities are Flexitol Heel Balm and Gold Bond Foot Cream. Both are available at Walgreens (and probably other drug stores). The Gold Bond is a greasier formulation, if you like that sort of thing. The Flexitol goes on drier; I prefer it. I find I rarely have to use it any more, but still do occasionally. One of the things it does is make the harder, keratinized skin into Corinthian leather (obligatory Ricardo Montalban reference). Or you could just pee on your feet in the shower.
