Barefoot Running (Almost Barefoot)

It was 50 degrees, sunny, and a beauty of day for December 27 - the perfect opportunity to try my feet at barefoot running. No, it's not really "barefoot" running. It's a term for running without sneakers or any kind of supportive upper shoes. It's basically running with a slab of rubber on your feet. The Vibram Five-Fingers (see an earlier post to see a pic) are often sold as kayak shoes and my very-smart kayaking hubby says, "why spend the money... you have a couple pair of kayak shoes you could try." So I did. Today was the virgin run and it was awesome. My thoughts kept going to the Tarahumara and their terrain. They obviously don't run on hardtop road, so I tried to keep it offroad as much as possible. I ran field and grass, soft berm of the road, dirt, and I couldn't help but connect the run with some blacktop. My feet obviously felt best in the grass and soft gravel. The blacktop was the worst feeling, but tolerable. I think my foot position is fairly flat when it lands, so I didn't have any heel-striking issues. There is definitely a feeling underfoot based on the terrain you are on and your feet and toes react amazingly - just like they are meant to! The coolest part of the run was climbing an embankment near my home. It's about a 40 % (or more) incline for 18 feet and you almost have to crawl up. I could feel my toes spreading out in the kayak shoes and helping grab the terrain to climb. Very cool. Sneakers were difficult to climb in to say the least. The run totaled about 50 minutes and so far I feel great.