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 my soles were going to shear off during that run!), my feet are fine!  Skin feels soft and smooth, no blisters, abrasions or anything.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

None, but a couple of drivers did a double take when they saw me trotting around with no shoes on.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any.

No problems like that.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

During the dry runs, my feet feel fine, so I think my running stlye is pretty much the same as last week, i.e. forefoot landing, short strides etc.  However, I think I’m still over-striding a bit which is why my feet hurt so much when I was running in the wet.  The shearing forces that are causing the pain should (hopefully) stop if I concentrate on shortening my stride even more.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

No injuries.  My right foot (in which I felt the TOFP when I first started) feels a little sore sometimes, but nowhere near as bad as it was. 

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

No tips or nuggets this week, but I recently bought some original RunAmocs from Soft Star shoes, which are amazing.  Leather moccasins with a 2mm thick vibram rubber sole.  They’re made as minimalist running shoes, so they have thin soles and don’t offer any support to the foot.  I love them and wear them as my everyday shoe.  They’re suede leather, so they’re a bit too warm for running in for me, but I’m seriously considering buying some RunAmoc Lites.  The Lites have perforated leather uppers, so a bit cooler for running in, and should dry faster than the suede ones if I run in the rain (which is unavoidable round here!).  Still, there’s plenty of time for that, I don’t intend to run in shoes again until I have to when winter arrives!

This week, I’m looking to run between 1.5 miles and 1.75 miles over 3 runs.  I’ll be concentrating on trying to shorten my stride and make sure my general form is OK.