Barefoot Running

Here I am, after an extended hiatus. With my shoulder injury, I was not able to do much in the way of exercise.  Luckily, the pain was also a good appetite suppressant so I actually lost weight during the process.  With my body sidelined, I decided to try out barefoot running.  It also helped that I found a pair of VIVOBAREFOOT Men's EVO Shoes on sale through the Clymb.

When you make the switch to barefoot running, everyone says to take it easy and start slowly with low mileage.  Well, I took that into consideration when I headed out for my first walk in them, 3 miles round trip to the park with my youngest.  Needless to say, I got back to the house with blisters on both feet, not only on the back of my Achilles tendon, but also the tops of both second toes.  After getting the shoes off, I started looking around the web and found that many have a problem with blisters on the tops due to the stiff upper.

Since my first outing, I have put in smaller runs starting around .25 miles.  The longest run I have done with them is around 2 miles, but I do not seem to have a problem with blisters during the shorter runs.  I plan to increase my mileage over the next few weeks and will update you on the progress.

Overall, I'm still undecided on barefoot running.  I have not been able to run for any long distances to really test the effect on my body.  I do believe that it helps form in that it teaches a person how to avoid heel strikes when running.