I'm in the early stages of a transition to running barefoot. This morning I took off my running shoes a little less than half a mile from home and began my second try at BF running. (I have been taking BF walks every evening as well.) Although my feet have toughened up some, I still feel every little rock and I have a long ways to go.
Just a block from home, the sidewalk was suddenly covered with those little acorn tops. I had to cross the street. Will ones feet eventually get tough enough for debris like that?
I could use some encouragement regarding tough feet. How tough can feet get and will it take longer than the remainder of the summer? If you live where it's cold, do you re-toughen the feet every spring? (Skin, I mean - not muscles. I know about VFFs and other alternatives.)
Any stories or information on tough feet will be so welcome. I feel the muscular weakness of my feet as well, but that does not discourage me. I know they'll respond to consistent BF running.
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Right. Jagged rocks = bad stuff. But what about just, say, loose pea-size pebbles, or those diamond cut concrete patches on corner wheelchair ramps? How tough are your feet and what can they handle?
Thanks for the responses!
Small rocks of all kind hurt for me. Obviously the rough edged gravel is more painful than the pea gravel. Usually the pea gravel is not that thick, so there's not much give.
The only things I'll run barefoot on are: sidewalk, road, packed trails. I've done some running on wood chips, and it's doable, but not very enjoyable.
For all else, I'd rather have VFF on.
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Barefoot and happy
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Yesterday I ran in LA along the Santa Monica bike path at the beach. Did several miles and wanted to finish up with a mile or two of barefoot running.
The bike path is nice, smooth concrete, it looked lovely! Turns out there was just enough sand so that suddenly, just half a mile in, I was in a lot of pain. I hobbled back to the car, by the time I was done I had several blisters, a couple of which had opened up! Owie!
Ex runner