Getting back to it with the little ones this time around...

triing · Mar 16, 2012

It's been 3 weeks post-op. (I had a ski injury Jan 2, lateral meniscal tear, right knee, therapy for 6 weeks, had my surgery Feb 20, just as I was getting back into running shape). I haven't done much running in over 3 months. I decided I had to start over.

So, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to start my boys (10 and 7) on the barefoot path! The missus has not intervened yet. My daughter, 13, is well beyond my jurisdiction already, but I still keep trying.

There's a gravel trail around a park near home. Tiny loose gravel chips on dirt. It's tougher than most road surfaces. I decided it would a good place to get their tender feet conditioned. We've been going every day of the week, this week. We started with a mile of light jog. Yesterday, we went up to a mile and a half. The boys decided to sprint the last bit. They left me in the dust

Any advice, concern comments would be greatly appreciated.

Barefoot TJ · Mar 16, 2012

My 9-1/2 year old loves to run with me barefoot (although we've been out-of-commission since my surgeries). He got up to about six miles. We walked about a mile to a mile and a half the other day, and he demanded to go barefoot. We live in a neighborhood with some pretty sharp chip-n-seal. He loves it though. He lets loose and just runs. He moves in the same way he does when he is running on grass. Carefree. Joyful. I try to remind him to use his eyes as well, so he lessens his chance of stepping on anything. At their age, I don't know if they're as keen to looking around as we are, since they haven't learned "those" lessons, so it's a good idea to remind them once in a while.