Again, no running this last week. However, my toe has healed up remarkably well. I was afraid I was going to lose a big chunk of skin, but after 2 weeks of using superglue around the edges of the cut and binding my toe up using mircopore tape, most of the skin that was hanging off immediately after the accident seems to have re-attached quite nicely. I’ll be going out running again this
Week 4
A quick one this week. No running at all.
Why? Well, while I was camping on holiday I managed to stub my toe. “So what?” you might ask. Well, at the time, I was barefoot, it was the middle of the night, and I stubbed it very hard against a very rough, very solid brick. My big toe basically looked like it had exploded, there was a very thick flap of skin a couple of centimeters
Week 3
- Total weekly miles
1.25 miles.
- Number of running sessions
3.
- Total weekly barefoot miles
1.25 miles.
- Number of barefoot running sessions
3.
- Running terrain
Flat circuit outside my house on pavement, and sandy trail beside the beach on holiday.
- Ground surface of barefoot runs
A mix of smooth and rough pavement, and one run on sandy trails.
- Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.
None.
- Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)
Fine weather again for all runs.
- Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters
Still quite good, although my feet seem to have started to shed. Lots of dry dead skin coming off at the moment, from my heels and the balls of my feet. However, I’m not sure
Week 2
- Total weekly miles
1.25 miles.
- Number of running sessions
3.
- Total weekly barefoot miles
1.25 miles.
- Number of barefoot running sessions
3.
- Running terrain
Flat circuit outside my house on pavement.
- Ground surface of barefoot runs
A mix of smooth and rough pavement with some road too.
- Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.
None.
- Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)
2 runs were nice and dry, I managed 0.5 of a mile each on those. One run was in the rain, my feet really hurt during that one, so I cut it down to 0.25 of a mile.
- Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters
Surprisingly, considering the pain I was in during the wet run (my feet were so sore, I honestly thought
Week 1
- Total weekly miles
3/4 of a mile.
- Number of running sessions
3.
- Total weekly barefoot miles
3/4 of a mile.
- Number of barefoot running sessions
3.
- Running terrain
Flat circuit outside my house on pavement.
- Ground surface of barefoot runs
A mix of smooth and rough pavement with some road too.
- Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.
None.
- Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)
Warm and dry.
- Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters
Dirty, but no damage at the moment. I have a small blister below my third toe from walking barefoot, but that’s healing nicely and doesn’t affect my running.
- Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’
None so far. A few funny looks though.
- Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any.
The beginning
After deciding to run barefoot, I did a little bit of research on the internet on how best to approach it. I ordered Barefoot Ken Bob’s book, “Barefoot Running Step by Step” and started searching the internet for more information. All the advice I found (from Barefoot Ken Bob’s website, Jason Robillard’s Barefoot Running University, the US Runner’s World