So... after a few months of relative inactivity I started running again, and exclusively barefoot. During the first ten days I did nothing more that short distances, starting with about 100 m, resting a day, 200 m the following day and so on... This week I started with a scheme comparable to C25K. Until today, I always ran on the smooth concrete of the road heading east from my house, but today I took the other direction, which means a couple of hundreds of yards of rough asphalt (pebbles 1-2 inches across) and then the chip-seal with fine gravel of a tow-path along a canal. I was out for about 25 minutes, 9 of them running. But what I noticed and thought was weird, was that it was easier to run on those rougher surfaces than to walk... (And the last 100 yards... back on the concrete... it felt like I was walking on velvet...)
Is this a common observation, that on rougher surfaces it is easier to run than to walk, or is it just me?
Running in BelgiumAnn
Pretty everyone I know that runs barefoot will agree that walking is definitely harder.
I may be slow but I never quit.
Half Fanatic #846
So Ann, it's been a few months - how's the barefoot running now?
My theory is that when running, the foot is touching the ground for a much shorter time than when walking, so you don't have time to feel things as much. Plus, your feet "compensate" for a lot of road debris/roughness that you wouldn't notice while running.
But chip seal and 1-2 inch "pebbles" in the pavement is too rough for me. The roads and paved paths I run on are very nice and smooth in comparison.
"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!
Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k
So Ann, it's been a few months - how's the barefoot running now? My theory is that when running, the foot is touching the ground for a much shorter time than when walking, so you don't have time to feel things as much. Plus, your feet "compensate" for a lot of road debris/roughness that you wouldn't notice while running. But chip seal and 1-2 inch "pebbles" in the pavement is too rough for me. The roads and paved paths I run on are very nice and smooth in comparison.
+1 on the chip seal and pebbles. If I know I can't avoid them I take socks with me, put them until clear of that area.
bob e v 2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?
Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full
Break the 1000 mi barrier!
History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.
Ir seems to me that the faster you go, the less downward force there is. I could be wrong but I bet there is some science that backs that up. I know that if I haul ass onthe rough pavement it doesn't seem so bad.
Force I don't know about, but yeah - the faster and lighter I go on a rougher surface, the better it feels. At least to a point, and then I would start hurting my feet on continuous rough stuff.
Hi-vis Gear Specialist
I know someone who has this strange illness that makes her unable to walk or run without sole support [shoes/slippers]. How can they try barefoot running/walking? I'll try to remember her illness..
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Refer her to your "Barefoot Running - Is It For You" blog article, it seemed to be solid advice to me. Baby steps...
Oh yes, she saw that and it sparked her interest on barefoot running again but she can't even walk barefoot without feeling pain at all. She uses Walkfit orthotics to make her pain free.