People's reactions when you run

This was from last weekend while I was running on the boardwalk in Rehoboth. As I passed a lady who was walking I heard her say "wow, barefoot". Then she loudly exclaimed to some people who were nearby, "Barefoot, I don't know how he does that". I turned and yelled "Practice". That was a rare moment when the proper response came to me immediately and not a half hour later as is more usual.

 

Yes! I rarely wear shoes now when I run or walk in my neighborhood. Neighbors, friends and even strangers will be surprised when they see me with shoes on.

 

Reviving an "oldie but goodie" thread.

This morning, I was running facing traffic as I usually do when I noticed a car on the opposite side of the road going my direction slowing way down. There was no traffic coming at me so I didn't know why the car was slowing down. I looked over and the driver was taking a picture of me running. I waived but probably too late for the picture.

 

Not neighbor, but I was running at Mission Bay park which has an ocean shoreline but no waves for surfing. It's not uncommon for people to be barefoot there. I was running barefoot and I ran by an elderly woman sitting on a bench and she said, "Running barefoot. Good for you." However, since I was running by and me not knowing her well, I could not tell if she was being sarcastic or if that was her normal speech cadence.

 

I can't run anymore, but walking is fine. I walk about two miles barefoot everyday, even in winter if the sidewalks are dry. Anyway, two weeks ago a doctor's appointment took me close to St. Paul's largest lake, Lake Phalen, so I walked around it after the appointment. I used to run around this lake 1-3 times once in a while during my running days. They have a new Chinese shrine and a rehabilitated waterfall now.

Anyway, I crossed paths with an old barefoot guy holding his flip-flops. He said, "Oh, another barefooter." Then he added, "I was just talking to them about it," as he pointed a hundred feet in the direction I was heading, to two middle-aged women. He concluded, "You should talk to those girls." But they were going about the same pace as I was, and then got in their cars at the next parking lot. Not sure what I was supposed to say. I would assume he gave them the basic spiel about health benefits, adapting, etc.

I mostly walk in my neighborhood, and I guess everyone's used to me now, so I don't get many comments. There's even a fellow barefooter up my street. But a week ago another dog walker I've chatted with a bit at times asked, "How about them acorns!?" To which I replied, "You've got to embrace them!"

 

Hilarious!

 

It was probably not sarcastic since so many of the elderly grew up barefoot themselves. A lost generation.

 

This cracked me up for some reason…

"Oh, another barefooter."

 

I hardly ever come across barefoot people (except by the sea or at the pool).
It happened to me once on the banks of the Seine in Paris, on the cobblestones on my way down from the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir to the Petit Bain, a barge and concert hall moored at the Port de la Gare, where my brother works.

Although I was minshoed at the time, I had to open my eyes and gape.

 

Been getting my walk in close to first thing in the morning these days. There's a different crowd of dogwalkers then, and they aren't used to me, so I've been getting more barefoot comments again. Today's:

Wow, your feet are tough!
Me: You just have to get used to it.

How about those acorns?
Me: You have to embrace the different textures.

Still barefoot, isn't it cold?
Me: No, I'm fine.

 

Minesota is renowned for its mild winters. "Me? Cold feet? Never!"
I ask to see.

Or it's like in some places in Japan: there are heating pipes embedded in the sidewalk to prevent black ice from forming.

 

Yah, and it was only upper 40s (F), 7-8C. The sidewalks felt pleasantly cool. I put on my rubberized socks when it gets to be minus 5-10C, under dry conditions, or around 5C above if there's moisture. I just walk these days. When I could run, my tolerances improved by about 10F, 5C.

But I think under any conditions, you have to embrace the elements!