I am wondering how many times I heard that phrase from my parents, my grand parents and all those people near and dear to me. Nowadays I am starting to understand how wrong we all are about foot wear.
The temperatures from the hot summer are gone, colder and cold temperatures have gotten a hold of South Texas and I am still walking barefoot. Pretty much wherever I go. Rain or shine. I ran 5.55 miles yesterday over all kinds of materials. Concrete, asphalt, wood, you name it. And it was drizzling. It had rained before, so there were plenty of spaces which were wet, there were puddles of water and there were
dry patches every now and then.
I heard seasoned runners ask questions, such as, "What do YOU do when you're out barefoot running?".
My foolish answer back then was, "Get out of the rain as quickly as possible to preserve your padding on your feet. Wet surfaces and wet skin don't mix!"
Man, have I been wrong.
After the run yesterday, I was curious to see what will happen to the soles of my feet after running barefoot on all kinds of surfaces. My feet are fine. No signs of extreme (ab)use, no cuts, no tears, no injuries.
I did not run extra cautiously, I am not that kind of person. Normal form, nothing special.
In all honesty, WHY do we wear devices on our feet? Oh! I know! Because it's COLD when the temperature drops near or below freezing!
Wrong again. I have been out running barefoot when it was (briefly) 28F here in South Texas. This type of cold weather doesn't usually stick around long enough to experiment with, but the cold run was awesome. My body was hot and sweaty as usual when I am running, my hands were hot and my feet, they were nothing else but fine. I felt the cold ground, but it was not a shocking experience. Ah, cold, ok. Time to run.
I have been walking close to half a mile in the morning, when I am driving my car, from the most remote parking spot to the main entrance on the other side of the building. The temperature? My car was iced over when I drove off from home. Cold. And yet, my feet are fine. No discomfort. Afterwards, my feet were super warm and cozy for the entire morning. Cold office no problem either.
Please, do tell me; WHY do I have to put something on my feet, NOW!?
Interesting post, and I agree on most of it.
ReplyDeleteBeing a barefoot runner myself, and living in Scandinavia, I have learned that I really need something on my feet when it's cold. I have also learned that the tolerance to cold is highly individual: some people can run barefoot all winter (ice, snow) without discomfort, but others, such as myself, need to protect our feet from the cold when it's slightly above the freezing point.
I have tried to adapt to the cold (during two winters), with no luck. Through experimenting I have now gotten to know my limits. For me, insulation is absolutely needed..
I really envy all of you that can run barefoot in the cold. Wish it was me..
Happy running!