So having got back in the habit of running a few K around the block I went a bit mad today and decided to do a full lap of the common. I figured I’d be okay as long as I regularly looked at my soles so see if I was developing any blisters. This is a big step up from 1.8k and not to be generally recommended. However the reason I felt okay to do it is that running actually barefoot is self limiting. Once your soles have had enough, they tell you and you don’t want to run any further. Also the usual problem with overdoing it is that your feet and lower legs haven’t got used to the new way of running and you can easily damage these parts before they let you know something is wrong. This second issue isn’t that much of an issue for me these days as I’ve been doing this for 18 months now, so my feet have gotten used to it. Plus I’ve already worked my way up to and beyond this distance in barefoot shoes.
Off I went sticking to the pavements and keeping off the grass. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of other runners (all shod) out too. I still get a bit of a kick at other runners reaction to my running with naked feet. They pound the pavement towards me, plugged in to their music, trying to drown out their agony, sporting grimaces on their faces. Whilst I float along towards them, unplugged and enjoying being outside, my feet silently kissing the pavement, with a big grin on my face. I’ve noticed how much noise the average jogger makes thumping along. Which is amazing given the amount of rubber between them and the ground, you’d think they’d be silent too. But the it’s the opposite. They make a tremendous noise as they slam their way down the road. It just can’t be good for them – and it’s not. Whenever I see joggers stopped and stretching I wonder, why I don’t feel the need to stretch too? Maybe it’s because if you run effectively on a downward slope all the time (raised heels vs zero drop),and with your feet arches in a straight jacket, your leg muscles are having to work in an abnormal manner ending up tense and knotted, which then require stretching out. I’ve found since ditching the running shoes (even originally when I started in barefoot running shoes) that I have no need to stretch now, before or after a fun.
Anyway, back to my run. The first half was just the same as my smaller unshod runs. The second half my soles started to feel more tender and where a little uncomfortable. I stopped every 500 metres or so, to inspect my feet. If I felt or saw a blister coming on I’d stop. But no such damage was apparent, so I continued. When I arrive home, some 6k later I put my feet on a cold compress to stave off any blisters that maybe wanted to form. Then soaked my feet in a hot batch and slapped on the Sudocrem. My feet were a little sore, but there was no damage. I liken the soreness to the same soreness that you would have on your hands if you’re a white collar worker and experience a little manual labour. Your hands can be a little sore for a day or so after, but this wouldn’t worry you. In fact it’s completely normal. You’d even realise that if you did that manual labour regularly enough, your hands would get used to it and after a while your hands wouldn’t be sore from that activity. This is what I predict will happen with my feet.
The run was so amazing that I repeated it two days later with the same result. The only difference with the hand analogy is that you can choose to keep your hands out of harms way to a certain extent when they are sore. With your soles this is a little difficult as you had to put weight on them to get about. Still, they are tender, but I’m not in pain. There is a big difference. It’s bank holiday weekend this weekend and I’m off home for a few days. I’ll let me feet recover and be back next week for more of the same. I think I’ll try and do a couple of small runs next week with one 6k run at the end of it. Maybe at this stage it’s wise to restrict this longer run to just once a week and see how that goes.