Honestly, its because I really enjoy running. Not sprints, not marathons, not races, just cruising at a comfortable pace for an hour at a time. Chest out, stomach in, head high, eyes looking out at the horizon. Out in the fresh air, on a country road.
And, I started running barefoot in August. Big surprise. Definitely surpassed my expectations. It took me a month to adjust. Now my technique is great. Not only is there no pain in my feet, but no pain anywhere, and no fatigue at the end of a run. Something intangible about it. Just seems right.
And the cold, well, I don't want to stop running because its cold, and I don't want to put the shoes back on. It bothers me to run in shoes now.
It's not about being barefoot, its RUNNING barefoot. I actually don't particularly enjoy walking barefoot. I have tried hiking barefoot, nothing special. My feet are sensitive, they are smooth, no calluses. It hurts when I land on sharp objects. But for me running barefoot feels right, walking barefoot, I'm not so sure...
And its not about being hot, or having hot feet. I actually have cold feet. Its cold in my house, I don't like walking around the house barefoot. I put socks on when I go to bed! But not when I run!
2 comments:
Hi Sherpa,
I've got some good news for you. While it'll take a few minutes for your feet to warm up, if you're running barefoot in the cold, particularly on your toes, your feet WILL stay warm. I'm a barefoot snow-runner myself, and run regularly barefoot down into the single-digits in Boulder, Colorado.
When you run barefoot in the cold, your muscles are forced to do the work to support your feet that shoes or over-supportive boots used to do. Before, when you ran in the cold, your body shunted blood AWAY from your feet and to warmer parts of the body because the feet didn't need the bloodflow. But when you're barefoot, your feet NEED the bloodflow to stay warm...so, instead of shunting blood AWAY from your feet, the body pumps more of the hot stuff TO your feet.
AKA, your feet stay warm in the cold. Yes, warm enough to run in the snow. And while I love running in the snow in my shorts (my legs get beat red and my feet sweat for hours, see http://www.RunBare.com for a pic) keeping a good layer or two on the legs helps the feet stay even warmer. Just watch your stride, it can be thrown way off by the clothes.
Anyway, have fun on the cold, and best of luck on your barefoot adventures!
~Michael Sandler
CCO, RunBare.com
Head Coach, The Barefoot Running School
http://www.RunBare.com
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