Adventures in Barefoot Running - Part 1.

I am exploring barefoot and minimalist running for a number of reasons including improving my form by changing from a heel strike to a mid foot strike and strengthening my feet. I felt this would be an adventure that would liven up my training. I am, however, apprehensive about subjecting my feet to the abuses of trails and roads but I'll try it and inflict my experiences on anyone interested.

I have attended a couple of presentations by Michael Sandler, the author of "Barefoot Running", and I was impressed by his story and the passion he has for barefoot running. I attended these presentations at the Runners Roost stores in Denver and Lone Tree, Colorado. The one thing he said that most convinced me to try barefoot running was that he is able to run barefoot even though he has a leg length discrepancy like I do. I bought his book and I must recommend it to any runner. The book covers many topics that would benefit even runners not considering barefoot running.

I decided to buy a pair of Vibram Five Fingers as a birthday present to myself. If nothing else they would be great boat shoes particularly for sailing. I then researched the types of Vibram minimalist shoes to determine which one would be the best for running. The Vibram FiveFingers web site (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm) was very informative. Based on recommendations by members of the Barefoot Runners Society (http://www.barefootrunners.org/) I decided on the Vibram Five Fingers "Bikila". I believe these are named after Abebe Bikila who won the Olympic Marathon in 1960. He ran it barefoot.

I went to the Lone Tree Runners Roost store since it is close to where I work. I asked about the Vibrams and they said they only carried the Bikila. Excellent. I have to wonder how the staff feel about selling these. I must apologize but I cannot remember the name of the gentleman who helped me but I cannot say how much I appreciated his patience. He was great and a credit to Runners Roost. I had to try on 3 different pairs since they must fit very snug. Each time, it would take five minutes to try and put my toes in the "fingers". I hope this improves with practice.

My goal is to complete the 2011 Bear Chase 10K in my Vibrams.

Run 1 in the Vibrams - 0.3 miles around the driveway and up the street.
Run 2 - 0.8 miles around the block on pavement. I noticed that my cadence was faster. I could feel my feet striking on the outside of my foot and ahead of my heel. I liked the spring I could feel in my stride. My pace was slower than normal but my breathing was fast. RPE was high for this pace.

Run 1 BAREFOOT! - 1.1 miles on pavement. I ran on the street 1/2 mile out and back. The pavement was free of gravel and I really paid attention to where I would put my feet. It took me 9:42 to cover the 1.1 miles. Again, I liked the spring in my step. RPE was not too bad. I finished the run and my feet did not fall off. I immediately noticed that my feet felt hot and I had some blisters on my toes. No one mentioned this as a hazard. I put my shoes on and ran 6 more miles without a problem.