Training Barefoot
In the running community, there is a lot of conversation about training barefoot. It is developing on several fronts. The commercial side of it comes most significantly from Nike through their marketing of the Nike Free, but it also comes from websites like Ken Bob Saxton's website, and from blogs like Running Barefoot.
The basic premise behind all of these forces is that modern shoes and the American lifestyle have conspired to weaken our feet and lower legs and have a negative impact on foot health, both in terms of reducing flexibility and to a lesser extent promoting disease.
I have become a mild follower of these theories. I've changed (gradually) from a highly supportive running shoe to one with less support and less cushioning. Shoes like this make your feet do more work. When I run, to avoid abusing my feet, I must strike with the forefoot, absorb the impact with the foot as I drop my heel, then push off by again lifting the heel. It requires a fair amount of foot and lower leg strength.
All of this is a prelude to a goofy incident this past weekend. I drove over to my gym shortly before closing to squeeze in a quick workout. I dressed in my shorts and singlet and suddenly realized that I hadn't packed my running shoes. I hadn't enough time to scoot home to get them, so, since I'd been working on foot strength and had done a few barefoot workouts, I decided that that would be my solution. Quickly weighing my options, I decided that I was less likely to be challenged if I ran in socks, rather than fully barefoot, so I headed off the the aerobic equipment room shod in socks.
I climbed onto one of the mills and started it up. One factor that concerned me was speed. While I can run comfortably at about an 8:30 pace in shoes, I was a bit fearful of slipping in my socks, so I decided to run at about a 9:30 pace. I cranked the mill up to that level and ran. (I needed to make a brief stop because one time, when wiping sweat off my face, I dropped my glasses onto the treadmill belt. I couldn't safely leave them in the aisle behind me, so I stopped for a moment to pick them up and put them back on.) Several members of the gym management team came in while I was running. None seemed to pay any attention to socked feet. After 2.5 miles, I did a brief cool down and my stretching.
I awakened the next morning with some pain in my left foot. Near the middle of the foot, towards the outside, it hurt. I think I pulled something a bit. Other than that, I also had a bit of irritation on my soles. I have some scarring from some old medical procedures and the friction seemed to irritate the scars a bit. It's now two days, the foot pain and the irritation of the sole are virtually gone. I think I can consider this accidental experiment a success!
The basic premise behind all of these forces is that modern shoes and the American lifestyle have conspired to weaken our feet and lower legs and have a negative impact on foot health, both in terms of reducing flexibility and to a lesser extent promoting disease.
I have become a mild follower of these theories. I've changed (gradually) from a highly supportive running shoe to one with less support and less cushioning. Shoes like this make your feet do more work. When I run, to avoid abusing my feet, I must strike with the forefoot, absorb the impact with the foot as I drop my heel, then push off by again lifting the heel. It requires a fair amount of foot and lower leg strength.
All of this is a prelude to a goofy incident this past weekend. I drove over to my gym shortly before closing to squeeze in a quick workout. I dressed in my shorts and singlet and suddenly realized that I hadn't packed my running shoes. I hadn't enough time to scoot home to get them, so, since I'd been working on foot strength and had done a few barefoot workouts, I decided that that would be my solution. Quickly weighing my options, I decided that I was less likely to be challenged if I ran in socks, rather than fully barefoot, so I headed off the the aerobic equipment room shod in socks.
I climbed onto one of the mills and started it up. One factor that concerned me was speed. While I can run comfortably at about an 8:30 pace in shoes, I was a bit fearful of slipping in my socks, so I decided to run at about a 9:30 pace. I cranked the mill up to that level and ran. (I needed to make a brief stop because one time, when wiping sweat off my face, I dropped my glasses onto the treadmill belt. I couldn't safely leave them in the aisle behind me, so I stopped for a moment to pick them up and put them back on.) Several members of the gym management team came in while I was running. None seemed to pay any attention to socked feet. After 2.5 miles, I did a brief cool down and my stretching.
I awakened the next morning with some pain in my left foot. Near the middle of the foot, towards the outside, it hurt. I think I pulled something a bit. Other than that, I also had a bit of irritation on my soles. I have some scarring from some old medical procedures and the friction seemed to irritate the scars a bit. It's now two days, the foot pain and the irritation of the sole are virtually gone. I think I can consider this accidental experiment a success!
posted by Scooter at 10:36 AM
3 Comments:
another convert. excellent!
I grew up in Kentucky, so going barefoot is a natural state for me. With the amount of weight I am tugging around though I think I need the extra cushion and support of shoes for awhile longer- well at least when I am not home. Interesting post.
Scooter,
Thanks again for the mentions. Being forced to run barefoot is kinda like discovering penicllin... Just think, a year ago you would have just bagged the workout! I am discovering that going barefoot is more than just an exercise in running better, it is an exercise about changing the power of your mind to overcome all the things that society has programmed into it that may not necessarily be true. I was thinking of joining a gym this winter to take advantage of the treadmills, and was hoping to find one that would have no problem with running on their equipment barefoot. It is common for new barefooters to encounter little aches and pains. It is the same as adding any new thing to your workouts. You have to do it a little bit at a time. In the beginning of the summer of '04 I began adding 5 minutes every other day. Now I can do 10 miles on grass and 4 on pavement! Talk to ya soon.
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