Hello everyone, I'm 38 years old and live in Dunellen, NJ. The reason I joined this group is because my wife thinks I'm a "nutjob" and I want to find other barefoot "nutjobs" near me. If not, at least I can read the forums and continue to learn about what's out there for barefoot runners.
I've been running minimalist/barefoot for a little over a year now. I started running in sneakers about 5 years ago after having my second kid, as a way to stay in relatively good shape so I could enjoy spending time being active with my kids without having them wear me out. Nowadays, my kids will usually run out of gas before I do.
I started out wearing 5 fingers after a friend of mine loaned me the book "Born to Run". When I first started running minimalist I had two injuries. This really sucked, because I had never sustained an injury while running with sneakers. First ever running injury was May 2010 from an extended trail run with a buddy of mine who is a seasoned triathlete. I ended up with stress fractures in my right foot which took me about six weeks to recover from. After recovering from that injury I ended up with a stress fracture in my right tibia in September 2010 while transitioning to running completely barefoot. After sustaining the second injury I swore to myself if I had a third major injury while running barefoot I would give it up completely.
Despite sustaining two fairly substantial injuries running minimalist/barefoot I still LOVED running barefoot. Both of my injuries were sustained due to my stubborness to ease into running barefoot while making the transition from running in sneakers. I feel that through my own personal experience with these injuries I have learned a lot about my own limitations with my body and running in general, but I still have tons to learn. I've now been running completely barefoot since April 2011 and I always let me body tell me when I've had enough. Somedays I run 2 miles and feel great, somedays I throw in the towel after 1/4 mile because it doesn't feel right on that particular day. I really feel like barefoot running has done more for my mental state than my physical being. I'm much more patient and relaxed than I used to be.
I don't have a lot of "smooth" asphalt near me, but my feet have adjusted to most surfaces. I do have a nice rubberized track near my house that feels wonderful when running barefoot. Like I said before, I'm really hoping to find another barefoot runner in my area to train and learn with. Looking forward to hearing from some of the more experience barefooters out there.
I've been running minimalist/barefoot for a little over a year now. I started running in sneakers about 5 years ago after having my second kid, as a way to stay in relatively good shape so I could enjoy spending time being active with my kids without having them wear me out. Nowadays, my kids will usually run out of gas before I do.
I started out wearing 5 fingers after a friend of mine loaned me the book "Born to Run". When I first started running minimalist I had two injuries. This really sucked, because I had never sustained an injury while running with sneakers. First ever running injury was May 2010 from an extended trail run with a buddy of mine who is a seasoned triathlete. I ended up with stress fractures in my right foot which took me about six weeks to recover from. After recovering from that injury I ended up with a stress fracture in my right tibia in September 2010 while transitioning to running completely barefoot. After sustaining the second injury I swore to myself if I had a third major injury while running barefoot I would give it up completely.
Despite sustaining two fairly substantial injuries running minimalist/barefoot I still LOVED running barefoot. Both of my injuries were sustained due to my stubborness to ease into running barefoot while making the transition from running in sneakers. I feel that through my own personal experience with these injuries I have learned a lot about my own limitations with my body and running in general, but I still have tons to learn. I've now been running completely barefoot since April 2011 and I always let me body tell me when I've had enough. Somedays I run 2 miles and feel great, somedays I throw in the towel after 1/4 mile because it doesn't feel right on that particular day. I really feel like barefoot running has done more for my mental state than my physical being. I'm much more patient and relaxed than I used to be.
I don't have a lot of "smooth" asphalt near me, but my feet have adjusted to most surfaces. I do have a nice rubberized track near my house that feels wonderful when running barefoot. Like I said before, I'm really hoping to find another barefoot runner in my area to train and learn with. Looking forward to hearing from some of the more experience barefooters out there.
