Okay, that being said, the book also had me thinking quite a bit about barefoot running. Prior to reading Born to Run, I simply thought barefoot runners were a few cans short, if you know what I mean. I've since changed my mind somewhat and wonder about the real benefits. Unfortunately, these thoughts are purely selfish in nature as I've read articles and research papers and believe the benefits for many are real. That's great, but will it help me. As I stated in my last post, I'm extremely happy with my Newton Gravitys and All-Weather Newtons. I've never felt better running...but could I feel even better without shoes?
Last Saturday, my marathon plan called for an easy 4 miles. It was pretty windy outside and I had to run in the morning so I chose the treadmill. In my infinite wisdom, I figured I could run 3 miles with shoes and the last mile barefoot. Great idea right? Partially! Once I took the shoes off, the running actually felt pretty good. In fact, I didn't even feel like I had to alter my form all that much (I've really been concentrating on not heel striking the last 5 months). I was actually starting to crank up the pace quite a bit since it felt...well, right. Unfortunately, I severely underestimated the toughness of the skin on the bottom of my feet, which apparently have the durability of a 2 month old baby. Oh, that's not to say I didn't run the entire mile barefoot...I'm not a quitter! In hindsight; however, I should have been a quitter that day. The instant I finished my mile it felt like I was walking on a slightly cooled pizza oven.
This was a confusing moment for me - I felt great from the barefoot run, but felt horrible from the barefoot run. I went upstairs to cool off a little (feet included) and proceeded to lance the several blisters that had grown quite large in such a short time. The wife did not find this amusing, but I was relieved to get rid of that pressure. Needless to say, I walked very gingerly for the next few days.
We were heading up to Loveland to visit my mom that afternoon and of course, I wore shoes. Learning from my morning mistake, I asked Teresa to see if any stores in Loveland or Fort Collins carried Vibram Five Fingers. I had already done a little research on these and thought I should at least check them out. We found a store that carried them and checked them out...in fact, I ended up purchasing a pair.
After getting over the fact that when I wear them, I look like a gorilla that just escaped from the zoo, I really began to enjoy wearing them. Number one...they breath quite well, which for me is a must. Also, the look was kind of growing on me. So, I decided to perform the same test on my Sunday long run and try the last 1 of 7 miles in the 5 fingers. Again, this was on the treadmill as I really didn't feel like bucking 35 mph winds outside.
The resutls: Great! I really did feel quite comfortable in the "shoes" and didn't have any pain other than the blisters and a little bit of a sore arch, which is to be expected. Where to now? Well, my mileage for the May 9th marathon is increasing pretty rapidly and I want to take the almost barefoot running transition very slowly. I will probably continue to throw them on in the last portions of some easy runs until I'm sure I won't cause an injury to throw off my training. I imagine this may be a continuing topic in the coming months.
Thanks for reading.
- BT
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