Going Barefoot - The war against shoes

I once heard that some people run barefoot. Hard as this was for me to believe, I started to dig into the topic and became slightly interested in how this was achieved without serious injury. Most of this started when I bought my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers at a trade show while in Duluth, MN running Grandma's Marathon. I had heard good things about these crazy looking shoes and how they can help you prevent injury (I have had IT band issues in the past). Everything I have been told was that you need to transition into them. I love them for the freedom they provide me but I wanted to learn more about how to run in them! I did not know what I was getting into and how much fun it would be! A simple curiosity has now turned into a passion as I have been doing a lot of research on barefoot running, Chi-Running, Pose Running and simple forefoot strike technique.

Now I am almost to a point where I detest shoes and want to go barefoot (or wear a minimalist shoe) everywhere I go. While I realize that is highly impractical (and will keep me out of most retail stores) I still feel that most shoes are basically coffins for my feet.

I will try to explain:

You were not born with shoes on. Your feet were not designed for shoes! Look at your baby pictures and count how many times you had shoes on. Babies, by the way, HATE shoes! They always try to take them off and I would guess it is because they know better. Your feet were naturally designed to utilize muscles that would help you with balance and speed. But somewhere down the line we decided that we needed better arch support and protection and so we stuffed our feet away in the dark recesses of shoes.

You might remember that as a kid, you spent a lot of time without shoes; running barefoot in the grass or even in the driveway or the road did not really hurt that much unless you stepped on a nail or a sharp rock. As you got older, you were conditioned to believe that roads were not safe for bare feet, neither was grass anymore. And social norms state that your boss prefers you wear shoes to the business meeting. Now as a much smarter and wiser adult, when you go and get the mail barefoot because you cannot find your shoes, every little step results in a moment of searing pain because you have over-sensitized your feet by locking them forever in expensive and fashionable Nike coffins......shame on you!!!

When it comes to me and my feet.....I say......BE FREE!!!!!!!!!

But the social norm is against this. So, how to improvise? And how to run this way without turning your feet into hamburger? There are many ways to accomplish this but my research has shown that you need to take it slow and in baby steps; which is ironic since as a baby, this all came naturally too you anyway!

But here is what I am attempting to do:

• Learn as much as I can about different techniques for barefoot running
• Try to go barefoot as much as can around the house, yard and in my cubicle (I try not to wear shoes at work while in my cube, my co-workers seem OK with it)
• Transition into my Vibram Five fingers when running. This requires very short distances at first and then you progress as time goes on.
• Concentrate on form when running. Focus on a fore-foot landing rather than a heel strike (along with proper posture)
• Go slower at first even though I want to go fast, speed will come naturally as the new muscles build up.
• Save up for some Black Vibram Five Finger KSOs that can be worn in public without drawing too much attention
• Have fun!

So far I have increased my speed somewhat and my endurance. I expect better things in the future and less injuries along the way. There is a lot more I could say on this topic, but click on the links I provided at the beginning of this post for more information and well explained theories about running barefoot and proper running form. It all makes a lot of sense.

and.....

Wake up your feet!