Free Your Feet

A wonderful graphic from Xray Technician Schools on the drawbacks of running shoes. From my personal experience, I find this to be very true.


Created by: XRayTechnicianSchools.net

2011 Thus Far

Life's been very busy since last December. I spent much of my free time in early spring starting several new gardens in the yard. Then I organized this year's Round Hill Hometown Festival 5k on Memorial Day weekend. We had a record turnout this year, including a local school running club. Soon after the dust settled, I was taking off my shoes and running barefoot again. Amazingly, I am not starting from scratch with my soles. They kept a good deal of their toughness, so getting up to a 3 mile run only took a couple weeks.

The best part is, while out in the new front yard garden, I met a guy walking his daughter home. Turns out he was wearing VFFs and planned on running the RH5K. I now have a running partner for an early bird run on Monday mornings. He's even trying a bit of the run barefoot! Nice to find someone else who doesn't think it's crazy.

Today's Inspiration

I love this video for the same reason I enjoy watching the finish line of a race after all the speedsters are done. I love watching the folks from the back of the pack. They had to fight the hardest, had the most to gain...and the most to lose. For some of them, not finishing could turn them off to running. For many of them, finishing shows what is possible when you start one step at a time. Before long, it's amazing how much ground gets covered. They have the amazing stories. The folks who win the races just have the amazing genes.

Barefoot 5k Complete

I finished my first 5k race in a neighborhood Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I was not moving all that fast, though my pace quickened after my feet warmed up. The temperatures were in the upper 30s with wet pavement from earlier rain. I was happy with any result that didn't have me limping across a finish line in front of lots of people I know.

This year taught me that I can run barefoot. Next year, I want to get fit and fast. I'd love to nail down the Apple Blossom 10k in April. Now I just need to figure out how to over-winter my feet.

Barefooting Update

My barefoot running is still progressing. Even as the temperatures are dropping with the leaves, my feet have so far kept themselves warm. I've kept my runs between 2-4 miles no more than every other day. I've got a Turkey Trot coming up on Thanksgiving and the low temp for that day is the mid-30s. We'll see how that goes. I may be carrying some socks with me.

Health-wise, this is the ideal time for me to start slowly and build up my feet to the task. Last year, my doctor laid it all out for me: my blood sugar was too low, my adrenals and cortisol were shot. He concluded with, "You must feel like crap." Turns out he was right. So my diet is now free of all grains, gluten, and sugar (except fruit) along with increased animal proteins and fat (basically a paleo diet). I feel radically better.

In retrospect, I think my low blood sugar, carb-loading, and long distance running was a perfect recipe for making life miserable for me. So I'm taking a while to let my body adjust to burning fat for fuel instead of sugar. My abbreviated running is perfect for taking up barefooting. My strength training has gone from non-existent to every four days.