We all used to run barefoot as children. I remember racing my brother around the backyard and playing soccer on the grass. My mother hated my dirty feet after playing outside all day, but it felt great. My bare feet would hit the grass and then the pavement and then mud, whatever it was, without a second thought to what I had stepped in or stepped on. AHHH those were the days!
When the family and I went to Florida in January this year we ran barefoot on the sand and I realized that my chronic back pain and right leg pain issues were no longer a concern. As a matter of fact, I did not feel any tightness or soreness in these areas as I almost always did during or even days after my runs. I also felt like I was running on air. I was actually running faster, at times sprinting during my run. I remember that I felt more in control of how my feet landed on the sand. For the first time in a long time I enjoyed my run with much enthusiasm.
Looking back at that time in Florida made me think now that it all could have been the atmosphere, being in the warm sun, soft sand under my feet, waves crashing on the shore, other runners out for their morning runs, that had made me feel so liberated, but no there was something more. Despite the new calf pain that came with running barefoot, I no longer had the soreness in my back and the groin pain from my right leg. I couldn’t believe it, was running barefoot going to be the answer to me enjoying my runs more?
I decided to do some reading. I began reading the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougal (http://bit.ly/b97JzD). Great book for anyone who is interested in being a runner. I also visited numerous websites especially www.barefootted.com. Some websites were not so inspiring, but the few that I read really tempted me further. Knowing that we signed up for a half marathon in September http://www.chicagohalfmarathon.com/ I couldn’t waste any more time. I went to a local running store and purchased these beauties: http://bit.ly/aQNgb1
I thought I might post my runs with these new shoes and perhaps we can all know a bit more about what it means to run barefoot. For now Happy Running and wish me luck. I plan on starting tomorrow!
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