It's lovely to see so many great posts from like minds! I'm so glad to have found this group.
Mine is kind of a long story, so here's the short version.
I grew up with what I call "minimal" feet - soft structure, low arches when standing, pronation, low ankle mobility. The moment I took my first step the orthopedist clapped me into hard, "supportive" clown shoes. I had to wear bars at night as a toddler. My feet did not develop well. I took up ballet and eventually had a career in it. It helped somewhat.
I ran track in high school, but that hurt too much, so I stopped when I got to college.
Now I'm a Pilates instructor, thanks to a decade-long back injury that put a stop to my dancing for a while. I teach fitness and restorative styles.
About a year or so ago I was doing some on-line research and found links to barefoot running sites. Then I found Daniel Lieberman's research. I was intrigued, but never thought I'd ever be able to run with my "inadequate" feet sans shoes. (Podiatrists have laughed at my feet. Really.)
A year later, not only are my shoes off, but I'm running. It took me a long time building and mobilizing my feet to get there. I have no interest at all in competition, just in the joy of moving. I live in San Francisco where I see glass and other nastiness on the sidewalks and streets all the time. When I'm out and about I wear VFFs. At work I'm either barefoot or resting my feet in Dansko clogs. I enjoy running at a local track or beach barefoot and hope to find other places where I can leave my shoes off. More often than I'd like I have to wear the VFFs on the YMCA treadmill at odd hours since I'm also a busy mom.
I am currently working on a project on rebuilding "minimal" feet, re-evaluating healthy gait patterns, and training towards walking and running barefoot based on the work I've done on myself.
I just wrote the long version of my story on my blog: http://mommajenskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/moving-through-world-larger-picture.html
Thanks again. I look forward to reading everyone's posts. Happy running!
Best,
Jen
Mine is kind of a long story, so here's the short version.
I grew up with what I call "minimal" feet - soft structure, low arches when standing, pronation, low ankle mobility. The moment I took my first step the orthopedist clapped me into hard, "supportive" clown shoes. I had to wear bars at night as a toddler. My feet did not develop well. I took up ballet and eventually had a career in it. It helped somewhat.
I ran track in high school, but that hurt too much, so I stopped when I got to college.
Now I'm a Pilates instructor, thanks to a decade-long back injury that put a stop to my dancing for a while. I teach fitness and restorative styles.
About a year or so ago I was doing some on-line research and found links to barefoot running sites. Then I found Daniel Lieberman's research. I was intrigued, but never thought I'd ever be able to run with my "inadequate" feet sans shoes. (Podiatrists have laughed at my feet. Really.)
A year later, not only are my shoes off, but I'm running. It took me a long time building and mobilizing my feet to get there. I have no interest at all in competition, just in the joy of moving. I live in San Francisco where I see glass and other nastiness on the sidewalks and streets all the time. When I'm out and about I wear VFFs. At work I'm either barefoot or resting my feet in Dansko clogs. I enjoy running at a local track or beach barefoot and hope to find other places where I can leave my shoes off. More often than I'd like I have to wear the VFFs on the YMCA treadmill at odd hours since I'm also a busy mom.
I am currently working on a project on rebuilding "minimal" feet, re-evaluating healthy gait patterns, and training towards walking and running barefoot based on the work I've done on myself.
I just wrote the long version of my story on my blog: http://mommajenskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/moving-through-world-larger-picture.html
Thanks again. I look forward to reading everyone's posts. Happy running!
Best,
Jen