My first run

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About this blog: This blog is all about my experiences as I embark on converting to barefoot running – I will investigate the market, sort facts from fiction (hopefully) test the footwear and attempt to run the Bath Half Marathon in March wearing my barefoot shoe of choice.

Run one: November 13th 2010

Shoes: Terra Plana, Vivo Barefoot Evo II

Distance and terrain: 2 miles, canal towpath

I walk up to the towpath from my house by way of a warm-up, also it is quite a steep road, so is a sensible start. The towpath at this point in town is well used by cyclists and walkers, so the path is well trodden, firm but uneven and full of puddles on this damp morning.

As I set off at a very gentle trot, all feels amazingly fine. Suprisingly it does not feel weird to be able to feel the ground beneath me – it actually feels quite nice. I can feel the little stones and rocks, but it’s quite pleasant, it feels like my feet are getting a mini massage. A good start.

Then, as I warm into the first half mile or so, I suddenly get this feeling that I am running like a frail, ill person would. It’s hard to explain, but I feel awkward, tentative and uncomfortable. I don’t feel like a runner.

Now this I do not like, but its very early days so I banish these negative thoughts from my mind and mull over how my feet feel. I can feel the rocky path mainly beneath my right foot – does this mean my right foot is especially sensitive or are the rocky bits just on this side of the path?

I reach the point that I had intended to turn around – approx ¾ of a mile, but am feeling fine so decide to go on to the mile marker. Is this a school girl error? The mistake everyone has done – that of getting over confident, doing too much and regretting it?

I reach the mile marker still feeling fine, turn round, walk a couple of steps and then resume my slow steady jog. I concentrate on relaxing, since I am going so slow I am pretty upright, I try to feel loose and light. I am quite enjoying this. I catch a sight of my shadow and I look like I have a good stance – mmm good this is OK. Then it comes to me, this feels like being on a beach when the tide has gone out and the sand is firm but pebbly, usually I would be barefoot or in neoprene booties – so yes it is exactly how it feels.

Oh no – my first niggling irritation. I am rudely brought back from the beach to the towpath by a sharp pain on the outside of my left achilles. I realise that my low-cut sock has wriggled down inside my shoe and it is rubbing a bit. Stop, pull it up and carry on. Almost back now, all feels fine – the slow jog is not physically taxing and I am feeling optimistic.

2 miles done, I decide to jog back down the hill to my house on the tarmac (1/4mile). Everything seems ok.

Lesson one: Wear proper ankle socks to prevent chaffing.

Observations: I might need to put a vertical cut in the back of the left shoe to prevent Achilles rub. I have to do this with most shoes, it is the fault of my feet not the shoe.

Below: My Vivo Barefoot Evo II’s after their first outing.

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