Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Chickening out of a barefoot run.
Firstly I will come clean about not running this evening. I simply went for a walk instead - which, to my credit, is not a criminal offence. However, I set out with loftier intentions... I drove up to our local football pitch, where I had intended to tick my Juneathon box with some barefoot running! Since reading Born to Run, and learning a bit about chi-running, I have been determined to give a bit of barefoot on lush grass a go - just to see how it would affect my stance and stride. So I drove on up, without proper running shows, only to find that there was a football training session in train. I somehow felt that I would look a little mental running around barefoot, so I chickened out. Gone too far to turn back, and being without proper running shoes, I just got out of my car and walked purposefully for forty minutes. Someday, I'll pluck up the courage to go barefoot in broad daylight, but not today.
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I seem to recall only Barefoot Ted ran without shoes in Chris McDougall's Born to Run, though Chris himself was recently seen running barefoot through London streets on his way to give a lecture on the subject. I believe 'Caballo Blanco' ran mainly in Teva sandals (which I can just about manage) whilst the Tarahumara also wore minimal footwear.
ReplyDeleteIf you go back a couple of pages in my Blog there's a picture of Scott Jurek running with Arnulfo. Scott is wearing normal running shoes and, surprisingly to me, appears to be a heel striker. So, each to his own!
I've just seen that picture on your blog - and you are right, Scott is landing on his heel! Ted was the only one running barefoot in that book alright, but there was a reference to a trainer who advised sessions running barefoot on lush grass as part of a running programme?
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with barefoot sessions on grass to promote midfoot or forefoot striking. My feet are quite tender but I'm considering trying it on the cricket field where I do my 130m reps - though I'm a midfoot striker anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat about trying your local cricket field, Bren?!
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