BAREFOOT (Read 459 times)


CT JEFF

    HI ALL - Thanks for the feedback -

    I attempted my first 5k Barefoot race. It was pretty cool to have many people talking about my feet. My feet werent 100% before the race, but they felt pretty good. I believe I have been landing on the outsides of my sole (pinky toe) because that side has been hurting, so I favored a more inside landing today. 83 degrees. 67% humidity and I didnt sleep yet from working 7p-7a last night. I did get a great pre-race massage - that helped the calves and hip flexors. - Anyway - even with a fast and flat course, didnt break a new PR, but I broke an unshod PR by 90 seconds!

     

    I might have finished a few seconds faster, but there was a 9 year old girl in front of me, and I didnt want to knock into her, or make her feel badly by passing her at the end of her race. I probably only could have taken 5 seconds off my time anyway.

    RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

     

    LedLincoln


    not bad for mile 25

      Congratulations! Sounds like you're doing really well in your running journey!

       

      You do get a lot of attention running barefoot, don't you?  I've done a couple of races BF, and people really take notice.  The comments tend to be along the lines of "I don't know how you do that", but one person was really intimidated by me, simply assuming that my being barefoot meant that I was really fast. Wink

         

        I also think that the skills you learn barefoot can be valuable even when running in shoes, even though shoes dull your senses somewhat. 

         

        Definitely. And from a pure comfort standpoint (standPOINT - Ha! I slay me), a little shoe on a foot that's used to being bare can make otherwise painful surfaces like chip seal feel enjoyable.


        CT JEFF

            if I had seen the camera, I would have tried harder to smile. Feet feeling better tonight. Next race. Aug 18th 5K. (barefoot?)

          RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

           


          #artbydmcbride

            Congratulations! Sounds like you're doing really well in your running journey!

             

            You do get a lot of attention running barefoot, don't you?  I've done a couple of races BF, and people really take notice.  The comments tend to be along the lines of "I don't know how you do that", but one person was really intimidated by me, simply assuming that my being barefoot meant that I was really fast. Wink

             

            I always say to barefoot runners in races "Hey, you forgot your shoes!!"  It cracks me up every.damn.time!   Big grin

             

            Runners run

            bhearn


              You wouldn't believe how many "you forgot your shorts" I got at Bay to Breakers.

              JimR


                 

                I always say to barefoot runners in races "Hey, you forgot your shoes!!"  It cracks me up every.damn.time!   Big grin

                 

                I just point to the ground in front of them and shout "A BEE!!!"


                #artbydmcbride

                  You wouldn't believe how many "you forgot your shorts" I got at Bay to Breakers.

                   

                  No, I would believe it.  Blush

                   

                  Runners run

                  LedLincoln


                  not bad for mile 25

                    You guys are hilarious.

                      Reading this, I am tempted to run barefoot. 30 years ago I didn't wear shoes that much, so I have thick skin which may help. :-)

                       

                      I tried once with my socks on treadmill some months ago. I got blister  afterwards, but I think running on a soft surface (a sandy trail) may help. I will try a mile this evening and report how I feel later.

                      5k - 20:56 (09/12), 7k - 28:40 (11/12), 10k trial - 43:08  (03/13), 42:05 (05/13), FM - 3:09:28 (05/13), HM - 1:28:20 (05/14), Failed 10K trial - 6:10/mi for 4mi (08/14), FM - 3:03 (09/14)

                        Reading this, I am tempted to run barefoot. 30 years ago I didn't wear shoes that much, so I have thick skin which may help. :-)

                         

                        I tried once with my socks on treadmill some months ago. I got blister  afterwards, but I think running on a soft surface (a sandy trail) may help. I will try a mile this evening and report how I feel later.

                         

                        If you wait long enough, that thought might just pass.

                           

                          If you wait long enough, that thought might just pass.

                           

                          LOL. It could be, but when I was reading, I imagined how soft the sand was and how cool my feet felt in this hot day. So I shall give it a try.

                          5k - 20:56 (09/12), 7k - 28:40 (11/12), 10k trial - 43:08  (03/13), 42:05 (05/13), FM - 3:09:28 (05/13), HM - 1:28:20 (05/14), Failed 10K trial - 6:10/mi for 4mi (08/14), FM - 3:03 (09/14)

                          LedLincoln


                          not bad for mile 25

                             LOL. It could be, but when I was reading, I imagined how soft the sand was and how cool my feet felt in this hot day. So I shall give it a try.

                             

                            Take it easy or you could end up hurting yourself.  Both the soles of your feet and the mechanics of your feet and legs need time to adapt.  Try just a couple hundred meters at first.  Experts advise making the transition over at least six months.

                              Here is the report.

                               

                              I was right on one thing: I enjoyed the coolness of the ground. However, I was wrong on many imaginations before the run, including soft surface. It was soft at all. It was like needles constantly sticking on my feet, well, like acupuncture. It actually gave some kind of sensation. I enjoy the liberation and nothing constraint. The legs were so light and easy.

                               

                              I continued barefoot for 2 miles, then switched back to my shoes, but it felt so weird to have shoes on, too soft and also I could feel all my muscles were twisted. I could feel the Achilles, my butt, my inner leg muscles were pulling and twisted. I loved the barefoot so much despite of the little pain stepping on the surface, so I took my shoes off again for another half a mile, but felt the bottom of my feet were a little burning. So I stopped, checked and found out that one of the toe was starting to blister. Then I took my shoes on again and finished the rest. It wasn't the same as barefoot.

                               

                              I still feel my feet burning...

                               

                              I definitely will try again.

                              5k - 20:56 (09/12), 7k - 28:40 (11/12), 10k trial - 43:08  (03/13), 42:05 (05/13), FM - 3:09:28 (05/13), HM - 1:28:20 (05/14), Failed 10K trial - 6:10/mi for 4mi (08/14), FM - 3:03 (09/14)

                                Several years back when a recurring hamstring/hip/butt injury was resurfacing, a long standing user of this site recommended that I get a pair of $8 water  shoes from Kmart (to replicate barefoot/minimalist running for $8 instead of $80 or whatever fir vibrams) and run on the track. So I did. For a month. Then I went back to running shod in running shoes until about a month ago when the injury began to reoccur. As part of my self treatment, I ran 1-2 times  a week around the local soccer fields barefoot as well as doing some track and treadmill running in the good old Kmart water shoes (They last about 40 miles for me). I am happy to report that my issue has pretty much disappeared. I think my injury tends to reoccur when I overdo it by running too many hard miles over an extended period of time, which I think makes my  form suffer, or it could have been that a minor foot injury caused me to favor one leg. In any event, I think running barefoot/minimalist gets my form back to normal.  But that is my opinion. However, I plan to continue running barefoot once every week or so as preventative measure.