Barefoot Running Lessons (So Far)

Barefoot Lessons

My experimentation with barefoot running has been a revealing learning experience.  It is a slow process, which has motivated me to study running form and stride efficiency.  Conversion to barefoot running is appealing because you cannot transition faster than your body is ready.  In short, the muscles in the feet and arches have been unused for years, and to all of a sudden switch them on will cause damage.  Because of this, you must go slow.  

This fact is probably why there will be a bolus of injuries reported due to "gotta have it now, internet speed" attitudes who run 5 miles shod go attempt the same run barefoot.  I think the class of injuries will be different.  A lot of folks used to heel running will probably overuse calf muscles and plantar tendons as they erroneously cushion the blow by toe running.  I experienced this myself.

I personally experienced heel pain in my right foot as I first attempted barefoot.  It came after doing some hill intervals, which uphill forces you to toe run.  I thought the pain was from downhill running, so I naturally tried to prevent heel contact with the ground.  This caused more heel pain (plantar fascitis), and a vicious cycle started that finally broke when I read Jason Robillard's comment on this unintended outcome of toe running (versus midfoot).

Here is a summary of what I've learned after 6 months:

1. If you're feet can't take the distance, then neither can your body

2. Feedback for correct striding is most effective coming directly from barefoot sensing the ground

3. Running barefoot does not create hard callouses -- the bottoms of the feet become like soft leather

4. If you toe run, you'll have heel pain

So far I've slowly built up to where I can go 3 miles on various paved surfaces, and I can now make 3 runs per week.  My feet are tough, but not grossly calloused as one might think.  My arches are flexible, not rigid, and I'm much more comfortable running with a stride that emphasizes "lifting" versus "landing".

5. Most important, I'm having the most fun running that I can remember.

I'm Roy Obadiah and these are my rants.

Barefoot Running Update 1

I'm running in Vibram Five Finger (VFF) shoes, and I'm finding that my feet and calves are sore, at the expense of no knee or hip pain.

I'm slowly extending my weekly distance from 10 miles, trying to run the last mile barefoot.  My feet are truly paying the price, but my knees and hips are standing up to the training, which is impressive for this 48 year-old.

I'm Roy Obadiah and these are my rants.

The Cinderella Story

"...outta nowhere.  A former greenskeeper now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac... It's in the hole! It's in the hole! It's in the hole!"
-Carl Spackler, "Caddyshack"


While the "outta nowhere" metaphor is the image that is conjured up whenever we hear the "Cinderella Story" phrase in a sound-bite, is that really what it's all about?


Not quite.  There's actually a much deeper message.  It can be a terrifying one, and it basically screams at us the fundamental premise of the human condition--that our moments on Earth are finite, and we have knowledge of it.


You see, Cinderella was given clear boundaries on the time to live her dream--and it was going to end at midnight.  What a horrendously cruel joke to give someone 6 hours to experience their dream, and know that it comes to a screeching halt when the clock runs down.


Amazingly, I was forced into this situation several years ago.  My family was vacationing at Disneyworld, and we were randomly selected to spend the night (specifically that night) in Cinderella's castle, and be treated like VIP's for the evening.  What an amazing opportunity that most everyone would love to experience!  However, as soon as we moved our luggage into the luxurious castle suite, I had a shudder come over me that "the clock was ticking."  How do we spend every moment of this opportunity that will come to a definite end in the morning?  Do we want to waste any time sleeping, or do we just stay up all night and experience the castle?  Clearly this wasn't an option as we had young kids.


What came over me instead was a desire to focus on the moment, this moment, and ignore the obvious time boundaries of the experience.  It was in all honesty, a defense mechanism, brought about because I did not want to ruin my family's enjoyment of potentially some memories that we'd carry with us for the rest of our lives.  So I put on my mouse ears and became a passive observer of each moment, instead of giving in to my overwhelming desire to plan out each of the remaining 12 hours or so that were left in the prize.  I realized that we were personally experiencing the Cinderella story, and staying in her castle to rub our faces in it.


What I discovered was something I call "living on the wave front".  I think it comes about by staying on the front side of our reaction and staying in a passive observing mode.  It's like living in the moment, staying focused just ahead of our moody reactions to people, places and events.  Not allowing the mind to drift too far backward or too far forward.  It's like surfing the moment--staying right on the face of the wave.  For me, I'm staying ahead of my mind's tendency to judge people and events.  Surfing life this way is ego-less and effortless, and allows for joy to creep into your experiences.  


So what does the Cinderella story tell me now?  We should live each moment of each day as though the clock is ticking, because it is. 


I'm Roy Obadiah and these are my rants.