Barefoot running on asphalt.... Not for those with a weak stomacl

I've been toying with this idea of running in minimalist shoes for several months now. I did almost all of my training for the destin 50 barefoot, and ran my last marathon in Vibram five fingers, sp I felt adequately prepared. Then last weekend I read an interesting article in the triathlon magazine that came in my race goody bag for he LA series tri. It was about barefoot running, and some studies that suggested running with anything between your feet and the ground interferes with the feedback your feet get from the ground and prevents the barefoot running benefit of minimal joint impact.

Well, I don't do anything halfway, and why Boyer running in minimalist shoes when I could run barefoot and get he full benefit.

I'm visiting family in California, so I pulled on a pair or running capris, filled my water bottle and headed out he door sans shoes. I had planned on about nine miles, and started off down the street with that pitter pat gait of the forefoot strike that is suppose to be so good for runners to attain. After about a quarter mile I felt the typical burn at the tips of my 3-4th toe that usually means I'll be ting some nice blisters by he time the run is done. Usually on sand I don't really pay attention to them. However, after about a mile my feet were stinging a bit more than usual so I turned back in search of some shoes. I had put them in the front yard, anticipating I wouldn't quite make the whole eight miles barefoot, and had planned on just swinging by, throwing on my shoes and continuing the run. Imagine my surprise when I found that the bottoms of a few toes had ruptured blood blisters. Hmmph. I can't just throw on shoes, there sorta new, blood is going to make them all sticky inside. So professing a lack of sunscreen, I ran inside for bandaids, hoping no one would notice the real reason I was back. I'd surely have to cut my run short then. Normal people don't finish their workout when their toes are bleeding, and since I really try to keep up appearances I have to maintain a low profile.

After all, explaining to someone that I only ran two miles because of a couple of blisters sounds like I'm just making excuses. I hate feeling like a wuss.



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Location:San Diego