I love being barefoot. Maybe it's one of those things about growing up in Florida where cold weather was not an issue but, for me, the first indication that I am relaxed, whether at a friend's home or after coming home from a long day of work, is that the shoes are off. Barefoot is always my preferred state. If I'm driving somewhere, I typically don't even put on shoes until I've arrived at my destination. (This had led to a time or two when I forgot to bring shoes along and I now carry an "emergency" pair in my car.) To me it feels safer, more controlled when I am barefoot (and yes, it is legal to drive barefoot, at least in most states.)
So I was intrigued to come across this article in the New York Times which started me researching the "new" trend for running barefoot. Christopher McDougall published a book called Born to Run a few years ago about a tribe in Mexico who run huge distances wearing basically nothing but a thin strip of rubber on their feet...and suffer few to no injuries in the process. Unlike the case with western runners, where the incidence of injuries actually correlates to the price of the running shoe. (No joke! This article goes into it in more detail.) Yet another thing where we've bought into the idea that more expensive = better.
It is, in a way, a relief. I've started into running on a very small scale but had been intimidated by runners in the office who talked about the need to go to a specialized running store and having your feet tested and measured for shoes ($200+) before you "get serious" about running. And, of course, even once you find those perfect shoes, then you have to replace them every 3 months or so! (Well, every 300-500 miles - ha! I don't think that was such a danger for me.) But that whole industry didn't even start until the 1970s! How did people ever run before then?
Barefoot running makes sense when you think about it. By creating all that support for our feet with the fancy running shoes, we actually do our feet a disservice. Having to negotiate terrain, adjust for impact, and all the things our feet do when barefoot makes them stronger and better able to do all those things. And stronger means less likely to suffer injury. (I should note that everything I read suggests that you go very slowly when adjusting to running barefoot, starting off with walking and gradually moving to short runs to let your body adapt.)
I just can't believe I missed all this before, particularly with all the research I've done the past few years with raw foods & back-to-nature projects! So now I am dying to try out these funny shoes which are supposed to pretty much let you run barefoot while protecting your soles from glass and the like:
I'll keep you posted but in the meantime, I am excited over the newfound license to go barefoot!
Other articles on the subject:
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2 comments:
Since I've always felt that barefoot is the way to go, it's nice to see confirmation. (Not that I plan to start running.....)
But I never saw the need to put the stiff baby shoes on my kids, either. God gave us good parts to use naturally. Why mess w/ that? Could it be the mighty dollar again? (By the way is worth 62 cents now.)
NO WAY! do you know who has these already?! eric does! he wears them to our house whenever he comes over and it weirds me out completely. they look plain strange. but i hear you on the barefoot thing. feels so great.
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