What other "conventional wisdom" do you throw out the window?

[Dirty Toes Joe]

Back when I first started going barefoot back in 2009 I noticed that in addition to shoes we (the BF community as a whole) seemed to buck a lot of other "conventional wisdom." There were a lot of good conversations around a lot of different issues.

*Shoes are bad
*Stretching before runs isn't always necessary and can be hurt your performance.
*Avoiding Gluten - in 2009 this was pretty much anti-conventional wisdom. The first I ever heard of this was on the BF forum (maybe Barefoot MandyBee? Or similar? It's weird because I remember her "character" just not her name.)
*Chia as a running food

Anybody have anything else? Have I missed any new developments in my absence?

 

[Gordon]

Well, since they became conventional wisdom, I've given up avoiding gluten(I fixed some gut issues and it no longer makes any difference) and I've given up on the idea that chia is a superfood. I still eat it, but I've come to realize that there is no such thing as a superfood.

 

[trevize1138]

The biggest, most misleading, most harmful "conventional wisdom" in my mind when it comes to running:

* Hard surfaces cause injury

You see that every time someone says "you shouldn't run barefoot on concrete." The whole existence of padded running shoes perpetuates the myth. "Well, obviously hard surfaces must cause injury otherwise why would running shoes have cushioning?"

When I run my vertical oscillation can be measured in inches. My stride length is measured in feet. My horizontal movement is an order of magnitude greater than vertical. That fact alone illustrates just how off-the-mark the "conventional wisdom" has been.

It's not the hardness of concrete that's the problem. It's the grip. Even a pair of Vapor Gloves has way more grip than bare skin. Add some nice socks to prevent blisters, tie them up good and snug and now you can engage in damaging, inefficient, horrible horizontal braking forces in comfort. You're blinded to the damage going on further up the body because your feet don't feel all that jarring against the ground in front and you're encouraged to grab at the ground harder and push off harder setting you up for that next harsh over-stride.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Barefoot Angie Bee She no longer posts here, unfortunately. People grow, people go.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

The biggest, most misleading, most harmful "conventional wisdom" in my mind when it comes to running:

* Hard surfaces cause injury

You see that every time someone says "you shouldn't run barefoot on concrete." The whole existence of padded running shoes perpetuates the myth. "Well, obviously hard surfaces must cause injury otherwise why would running shoes have cushioning?"

When I run my vertical oscillation can be measured in inches. My stride length is measured in feet. My horizontal movement is an order of magnitude greater than vertical. That fact alone illustrates just how off-the-mark the "conventional wisdom" has been.

It's not the hardness of concrete that's the problem. It's the grip. Even a pair of Vapor Gloves has way more grip than bare skin. Add some nice socks to prevent blisters, tie them up good and snug and now you can engage in damaging, inefficient, horrible horizontal braking forces in comfort. You're blinded to the damage going on further up the body because your feet don't feel all that jarring against the ground in front and you're encouraged to grab at the ground harder and push off harder setting you up for that next harsh over-stride.

Love this.

 

[Tedlet]

Reckon the one I’d throw would be: ‘...it’s all about speed...’
I remember speaking to an ultra runner a year or so ago and she said that one of the things she noticed once she started doing ultras was that instead of repeatedly being asked ‘how fast did you go?’, or ‘what time did you get?’ (which seemed to be the favourite enquiry at shorter distances), people would just ask after an ultra-‘... did you finish?...’
Even though I’m light years away from being able to run an ultra, I like that change of emphasis....

 

[Dirty Toes Joe]

The biggest, most misleading, most harmful "conventional wisdom" in my mind when it comes to running:

* Hard surfaces cause injury

You see that every time someone says "you shouldn't run barefoot on concrete." The whole existence of padded running shoes perpetuates the myth. "Well, obviously hard surfaces must cause injury otherwise why would running shoes have cushioning?"

When I run my vertical oscillation can be measured in inches. My stride length is measured in feet. My horizontal movement is an order of magnitude greater than vertical. That fact alone illustrates just how off-the-mark the "conventional wisdom" has been.

It's not the hardness of concrete that's the problem. It's the grip. Even a pair of Vapor Gloves has way more grip than bare skin. Add some nice socks to prevent blisters, tie them up good and snug and now you can engage in damaging, inefficient, horrible horizontal braking forces in comfort. You're blinded to the damage going on further up the body because your feet don't feel all that jarring against the ground in front and you're encouraged to grab at the ground harder and push off harder setting you up for that next harsh over-stride.

Yes! My favorite part:

"Add some nice socks to prevent blisters, tie them up good and snug and now you can engage in damaging, inefficient, horrible horizontal braking forces in comfort."

 

[trevize1138]

Reckon the one I’d throw would be: ‘...it’s all about speed...’
I remember speaking to an ultra runner a year or so ago and she said that one of the things she noticed once she started doing ultras was that instead of repeatedly being asked ‘how fast did you go?’, or ‘what time did you get?’ (which seemed to be the favourite enquiry at shorter distances), people would just ask after an ultra-‘... did you finish?...’
Even though I’m light years away from being able to run an ultra, I like that change of emphasis....

Even if you don't finish here's what you should look forward to when running an ultra: meeting new friends! You're out there running all day long. Might as well chat it up with folks. It can be just a great time.