Doing Great

I ran the three laps on friday and I think four today. After a few laps, I got distracted and forgot how many laps I'd gone. I wasn't sure if was on my third or fourth, so I ran one more just in case. So if I didn't run four, then I ran five. Either way, my feet feel great. No pains or anything to be concerned about. Five wednesday and six on friday, making it just over a mile. Obviously, I won't be running the 5k in four days. If I'd known a few months ago what I know now, I may have been that far by now, but I didn't and I'm not. But that's okay. It's not lost time. It was time spent learning from my mistakes so that I could do it right later. Later is now.

To paraphrase Jason Robillard, there are three kinds of barefoot/minimalist runners:

1. Barefoot purists - Strictly barefoot.


2. Moderate minimalist runners - Mostly barefoot, but accept minimalist shoes as tools (Jason Robillard, Michael Sandler).


3. Minimalist shoe runners - Only minimalist shoes.

I'm sure there are some people that are mostly minimalist shoe runners that barefoot once in a while, but that's beside the point. I think I've decided which category I fit in. I'm fairly sure of it in fact. I'll tell you which and why.

First off, since I started barefoot running, I've become more and more aware of the thick heels in normal shoes. The big block heels in my dress shoes drive me up the wall. They make me walk funny. I don't know how girls wear high heels, and I can't see why they think they make them look better. I personally think girls' barefoot posture is very attractive. I remember thinking that well before I ever thought about going barefoot myself. My Chacos, which I used to worship, are now a pain. Barefoot feels much more comfortable and natural to me now.

Not only does barefoot feel better for standing and walking, but running as well. When I run in shoes, I really notice the impact. My impact is hard even when I run on the balls of my feet. They talk about how if you run gently, you can run in anything, but I just can't seem to run gently in shoes.

My Merrell True Gloves are the best I've got, but even they seem to keep me from landing softly. I feel like the balls of my feet are smacking the ground. I can't even walk normal in them. Given, it's alot better than when I'm wearing anything else. But I think I'm pretty much decided. Unless I really need minimalist shoes, I'm going barefoot.