i can't remember now who i was talking to recently about barefoot runners but it has been on my mind lately. the first time i ever saw anyone running barefoot was at my first boston marathon in 1999. there was a guy standing next to me with no shoes on and his feet looked like hell...as i would have imagined if one runs barefoot regularly. once the race started, i kept my eye on
him his feet for a while and i swear i saw blood and that was all she wrote. i'm not sure if he got ahead of me or not and i wasn't sticking around to witness the rest of the carnage. you have to wonder, with the possibility of teeny pieces of glass on the road, rocks, pebbles, etc,...if you step on something like that, it can be painful and possibly a race ending event. hell, i have running shoes on and when i step on an acorn, which seem to be all over the road in my hood lately, that kinda hits a nerve literally and feels like electricity running along the length of my foot. i just can't imagine ever running without some kind of foot protection, which leads me to my interest in these really cool vibram 5 finger shoes pictured above. they were voted one of the best inventions in 2007 and they make them for all kinds of sports/activities. i guess this would be the next best thing to running barefoot. i may need to investigate this further and read up on some reviews when i have time. if anyone who reads my blog has had personal experience with these or know someone who has, i'd love to hear about it. not only do they look wicked cool, they look super comfortable too and they come in some funky colors and patterns.
make it a great day!
I think the bare foot running fad is cool – I have looked at the ‘five fingers’. I will even run with socks on at the football stadium (turf) after running the stairs. But I know a couple of ‘non-runners’ that have bought these and hurt themselves.
ReplyDeleteRight now, my bare foot running is strictly out of the water and onto the bike.
I have a pair and have tried running very short distances. The best place to run would be the treadmill, track, beach, or grass. I am using them to develop better leg strength for all three tri sports. I might try a 5K or so. I'm not trying to be fadish, I'm using technology to improve my weakest part of the tri...the run.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add. I do think they are easy to use, and make you run differently. They look a little crazy, but you get used to them. The best way to start is to wear them around as normal shoes for a while.
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