...but barefoot running is still very important part of running. Last summer I tried running with merrell road gloves. It was the most horrible running experience I have had in past few years. Well, maybe running with fractured bone in the foot was worse, but not much. Anyway, running with road gloves felt very boring because there were no ground feel and also very painful because of that arch support. I wouldn't probably continue running if it were such boring or painful as it was with road gloves. But with good minimalistic shoes, running is mostly ok.
Also I have been thinking about goals of running and how I should run to get better at running. Well, I tried having a goal and using running program lately, but lasted only 1½ weeks. It wasn't physically too hard program, but mentally it felt like being a dog in very short leash, running as fast and far as master does... Having a just exact speed and distance while running has no room for spontaneous stuff, like if it feels like barefooting at the halfway, or there would be some nice trail or just feeling like going slower or faster, longer or shorter, or while barefooting if it restricts speed, such would kind of ruin result of that run. While it's not really a catastrophe, still trying to accomplish something that is written in program makes one not so easily try anything spontaneous or it may feel disappointing at some level to not follow program exactly. And that's just stupid. So, why the hell I would restrict myself like that? Getting better is nice, but changing running something like serious work feels just plain stupid. Best parts of running is flow and feel and just being free in the forest on trails. Speed and endurance are not really so important that training to improve them should ruin other aspects of running. Meaning of endurance is to be able to enjoy running bit longer daily and speed helps a bit with flow. And both come handy in orienteering. But still, training is daily, so training runs are the most important thing, not events or goals. If running and training become a chore, endurance and speed become just abstract statistics. Or something like that.
Well, in the end I didn't abandon running program thing altogether, decided that I just try to run one tempo and one long run in the week and all the rest is free..
Anyway, it feels like barefooting kind of represents all the fun stuff of running, reminds what is really relevant in running.
Thanks. Others have said the same thing, that if it wasn't for the RW BFR forum, er uh, that other place, they wouldn't have given barefoot running any thought. Because they found BFR, they were able to resolve a lot of the problems, pain and injuries, they were having running in shoes. Means a lot to me. To know I made a difference in the lives of others. Thank you for letting me know.
