Well, that is what it feels like. Last year, I could run 4 miles on the road without shoes. After a long winter and a late start due to calf injury, I am limited to about a mile before the feet begin to burn.
However, the good news is that the calf muscle is completely ok now and the long-standing Achilles tendon problem I had for most of last year seems to have gone too. So a green light is now showing the way for some tentative barefoot running again.
In recent months there has been increasing activity and interest in running barefoot. The running magazines are freely talking about it now — they had been very obviously avoiding the subject. We have companies such as Inov-8 which have fully embraced the idea that less is more. Indeed Inov-8 now have a whole series of shoes targetted at those runners who want to transition from conventional running shoes to a more minimilist design.
The whole idea of barefoot running — or at least running in lighter, more flexible, less supportive shoes — is no longer in the minds of a tiny minority (or a minority with tiny minds as some used to think).
I believe that barefoot running will never be a common thing, it will never be the norm, but it is now reaching the stage where people are beginning to understand that there are very real benefits to be had from a rethink on the shoes that we run in.
Total miles for last 2 weeks: 58
Barefoot miles: 1.8
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