A Post to my buddy from Down Under on the Barefoot Topic

Aus, everything I am reading, and I am reading a lot, states you ease into this slowly and even if you never go 100% au natural, you train a few days a week nude from the ankles down to strengthen those atrophied ligaments and muscles that have had all that shoe support.

Today I am starting to really track this on my blog and create another resource for people wanting to try this old way of running.

Here are some links I found useful
Barefoot Ted is sort of my hero in a “he is so freaking out there” sort of way. He is just the type of guy I could relate to
http://barefootted.com/

This is one of the origional Barefoot sites. Lots of marketing but hey, peeps have got to pay the bills.
Good resource
http://runningbarefoot.org/

There seems to be a faily decent group on runners world forums.
Runnersworld

and Last Facebook has a nice group talking about this.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/gr…5952786&ref=ts

Believe it or not, this is an entire sub culture I didn’t know existed and it is growing fast.
The data is there, Nike refuses to comment if running shoe will or will not prevent injuries or even make you better athlete.
They will not back their product. And they have come out with several minimalist shoes. Another sign they only follow the market and the $$ and care little about what is really effective. Vibram created the VFF to use on sail boats but Barefoot Ted called the President of the USA and said he wanted to test them for running. The president of Vibram, a distance Runner, thought this was stupid but gave them a try and fell in love with going minimalist. Minimalist isn’t all the way bare, but almost. Once trying them, he sponsored Ted to run in the Boston Marathon on VFF’s and the rest is history.

My plan is to run bare when OI can and minimalist when the road gets overwhelming. I encourage you to test and make your own decisions. I may be headed down a path fraught with disaster but the path I have been on hasn’t been such a smooth road. Another though, I need a tetnus shot. It has been a really long time.

Well, I ate my Pinole and drank my Chia slime, er I mean Gel, Yes I am going all the way. Now I am headed out for a nice long bike ride after that, I will get that old dusty Blog up to date.

Ciao

Barefoot Walk into a run

I went out for a little walk barefoot on an asphalt walking trail to build some toughness. It felt so good that I broke into a jog and then a pretty steady run and ran for a mile. I was completely surprised how effortless it felt and the lightness of my feet minus the several lbs of rubber and gel. I could have went for miles and I never even broke a sweat or started breathing hard. I only stopped due to common sense. the bottoms of my feet haven’t seen road since I was a kid. I didn’t want to develop blisters. I’ll take this slow.

I did notice that I was up on my toes and forefoot and off the heels. Just like I suspected and the video shows. Exactly the result I wanted.

Then I was thinking, I have hiked a lot of miles in my flip flops and Birkenstock over the years. In fact, I often prefer my thin crappy flip-flops for hiking on Lava in Hawaii cause I get better footing and can feel the earth better.

Note:  Some of these are catch up posts to my Barefoot Adventure. I have dated these where possible

My Journey into Barefoot running

I just finished reading the book “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall.  The author is a proponent of barefoot running and talks about running in the Vibram Five Finger shoes. His case is compelling; for as long as man has been on the planet, humans have run long distances and our survival depended on it. Only in the last few years have we covered our feet in leather, plastic and padded them with foams and gels.

I am a runner and love running but have fought accidents, injuries and pain to the level that I am convinced that had I been born 4000 years ago I would have been eaten by wild animals or starved to death

Since my post high school running re-started sometime around 2002, I have suffered a torn quad, torn calf muscles, twisted ankles, tendonitis, knee problems, hip pain, blisters, plantar fibromatosis, plantar fasciitis and various other ailments to numerous to mention. All were the result of my obsession with running and many many times I have had doctors tell me that I am too old, big, tall, not born to run, lack the runners physique, have too large of calves etc… There are a thousand excuses offered by Docs and professionals why I cannot run but the survival of the species seems to contradict the fact that humans “weren’t designed to run”.

I am taking the dive for a month into barefoot running as soon as my latest calf ailments heal to the level where I can run again. Maybe my collection of running shoes that were “just not quite right” will be more garbage than I assumed. What did runners do for all those years before Nike saved the day?

Anyway, If you have any experience in Barefoot Running or want to follow my experience, this is the place. tonight I am stopping to pick up a pair of Vibrams so my poor wittle baby soft feet don’t get cut on some twigs or glass. My plan, start out wearing the shoes a few days and spend the rest of my time bare foot then give a few laps around the block and work up to three miles. Then make the decision if it is worth extending distance or was I suckered by another book and marketing ploy?