It’s a lovely sunny day and I’m working in the city centre so I decided to go down to Queen’s Square for my first barefoot run, and I’m very pleased I did.
There’s a whole range of terrain in this one square: grass, gritty paths, cobbles and smooth pavements. I started with walking (after I hid my shoes under a portaloo set up for the World Cup giant screen), and it took about ten minutes for one lap on grass and one on the gritty path. The grass was fine – the path a bit more challenging from the small, sharp grit and very solid surface. A lot of carefully relaxed breathing.
Then I moved to running with two laps on the grass – absolutely fine.
The lap on the gritty path was a revelation, as it was actually more comfortable than walking on it. I then did a lap on the smooth pavement, which was bliss, and the large cobbles, which was the most challenging by far. In all it was 20 minutes running and anatomically I felt fine. It felt great to be in direct ‘nervous’ contact with the ground – you notice so much more, temperature being the most surprising.
My underfeet are definitely sore, but no blisters, so a great start.
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