This week I have decided to run the majority of my miles barefoot, even if I have to cut back on the miles. I am currently enrolled in a training program focused on increasing speed (through a local running store) and on the schedule they had an 85 minute easy run on Sunday. I started out in my Asics but after about an hour I just couldn’t stand it anymore and removed my shoes so I could run the last 30 minutes or so barefoot. It felt great, although I did get a few stares from people I passed as I ran. Me running along, in barefeet holding my shoes and socks in one hand. People must have thought I was crazy.
The rest of the week was mostly barefoot. Monday I ran 5 miles completely barefoot around our local park, then later in the day I felt so good that I took the dog for another 2 miles (both of us barefoot this time *grin*). Then Tuesday and Wednesday I did 3-4 miles per day, all barefoot.
Thursday I received a new pair of Brooks Green Silence shoes (I had purchased them based on a review from an online minimalist running group) and decided to try my run that day in those shoes. As I walked out of the door, some of the kids that play outside our house said ‘I though you ran barefoot?!’. I had to give a brief chuckle and say ‘Not this time.’. Well I started out in the Brooks shoes, and man they did feel fast. I looked down at my watch and I was running around 7:00 when I normally run close to 8:00. But soon I noticed that the shoes were pinching the bottoms of my feet. I could feel the blisters forming. So after about 1 mile I stopped, took off the shoes and socks and finished the last run of the week much like I finished the first. Holding my shoes in my hand as I ran barefoot around the park.
The remainder of this week will be spend relaxing, as I am running in a Half-marathon on Sunday April 11th. I plan on running in my VFF Sprints since I’m not quite ready for a full 13.1 miles in my barefeet. But who knows, I could change my mind. 🙂
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