Running Barefoot

Purist Barefooter?

This isn’t about being a purist barefooter, or not.

This about how best to learn to improve running technique.

If you want to Learn Precisely How to Run Well…

GO BARE FOOT!

It is More Comfortable to Sing Off-Key, if you Plug your Ears

Before we start learning to sing, we need to take out the earplugs. That horrible sound is going to hurt our ears – but it is us, making that horrible sound, and it is up to us to change the sound, to improve it, to learn to sing on-key. It is not our ear’s fault. If we put the earplugs in, it’s more comfortable (for now). But, we’re still singing off-key. Before we can sing on-key, we need to know when we are singing badly! The best way to do that, is not simply to reduce the amount of ear-plugs. It is to remove the ear-plugs completely!

Likewise with going barefoot. If it hurts to go barefoot, it isn’t because the earth is bad. It isn’t because nature designed us to wear footwear. It is because the way we push our feet into the earth is bad. Putting something between our bare soles and the earth, blocks this feedback, making it more comfortable (for now) to continue walking, running, even standing, badly.

But, that doesn’t solve the long-term problem, of us running, walking, or standing badly. First we need to know, we are running badly, so that we can change the way we run. And we need to know, with each and every step, as we play and experiment with these changes, which changes improve the way our soles interact with the earth. We NEED to know when we are running badley!

But something is keeping us from knowing the truth.

Footwear is a lot like politicians. A politician’s purpose is to paint everything he/she does in a rosey way, and everything their opponent does, in a dark, sinister way. But, just like politicians, footwear can’t be trusted to tell us the truth. The sole purpose of footwear, IS to block the sensation of running badly!

If we want to know when we are running badly, we have to get the politicians or footwear out of our way.

Lose the footwear. Free your feet. And keep on changing the way your body moves, until your soles stop complaining.

There is NO Substitute!

People run badly in footwear, because they CAN run badly, yet somewhat comfortably, in footwear. If you’re wearing footwear, you are NOT BAREFOOT! And, you wil not get the full benefits of going barefoot. If it is uncomfortable for you to walk, or run barefoot, it is because you are, currently, walking, or running badly!

If we want the benefit of eating fresh fruit and vegetables, we should eat FRESH fruit and vegetables. Apple pie might taste deliciously sweet, but it is NOT FRESH fruit! And we don’t get the full benefit of eating FRESH fruit, unless we eat FRESH fruit. Processed foods are missing vital nutrients. And not even the scientists know how to balance nutrients like nature.

If we want the benefits of Running Barefoot, especially the benefit of LEARNING how to run better, guess what! There is no substitute for Running Barefoot!

Learning to Run Gently, as-if Bare Foot

If we want to LEARN how to run gently, as if barefoot (which I believe will reduce most injuries. Being aware, and not running further, faster, or harder than your bare soles want, should eliminate typical beginner injuries) – the best way to LEARN to run as if barefoot, is while actually BARE foot, and (of course) paying ATTENTION (which I’ve, not infrequently, emphasized many times).

Yes, it is possible to pay attention while wearing shoes. But, we don’t get the emphasis on the truth of just how much we can improve our running. We don’t get the immediate warnings that we shouldn’t be doing more than we are ready for. We don’t get the immediate discomfort the says, “CHANGE! NOW!” or “STOP and REST! NOW!”

Without this invaluable feedback, people are able to comfortable run badly, further, and faster than anyone should be running badly. And, the result is, we aren’t getting the warnings, that our soles would have given us from the very beginning – if only we hadn’t thrown them in prison, that we should be running less, for now, until we figure out how to run better, more gently, more gracefully more efficiently, more naturally!

I’ve said it several times (mostly because people bring these problems to me) I am seeing people blame running “BARE” foot, for their injuries, when they aren’t even BARE foot! But, more than the reputation of Running Barefoot is at stake – PEOPLE are getting seriously injured!

Going from one Extreme to the Other

Sometimes it is good to go from one extreme to the other, especially if that first extreme is living in darkness, hurting ourselves, and not even realizing it.

However, when we go from extreme heel-striking, to extreme fore-foot striking, which is what, with it’s lack of heel padding, minimalist footwear encourages us to do… even the manufacturers sometimes encourage us to strike the earth with our fore-foot, instead of with our heels.

Discouraging heel-strike, may actually be a huge part of the problem.

Worse than heel-striking, many people, in minimalist footwear, are being encouraged to run up on the balls of their feet, never letting their heels touch (going to the other extreme). And they’re still ramming their foot (or just the ball of their foot) into the ground, and not letting their knees bend, and not lifting their feet quickly (before they land). This results in a great amount of torque across the length of the foot, which, when done repeatedly, expecially before the foot has had time to strengthen, can result in serious damage to the foot.

Since the strengthening of the interior of the foot, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc., happens gradually (much more slowly than the soles take to toughen – while barefoot), there is no point in running further, or faster, barefoot (or in minimalist footwear) than your bare soles currently allow, COMFORTABLY.

But Wait, There’s so much More!

But wait! There’s so much more to Running Barefoot technique, than whether to heel-strike, or ball-of-foot strike (like NOT striking at all!).

Of course, if we started out, with our very sensitive soles, walking, or running for very short distances, even just standing, on a rough surface, we would quickly realize it is not comfortable to support all of our weight only on a small portion of each sole. And, it isn’t necessary, either.

Unfortunately, many people wearing minimalist footwear, don’t have – or at least they are blocking it - the sense to know that they are putting far too much stress on their feet by pushing their fore-foot into the ground. Worse yet, since they are also running further, faster (and harder) than feet are ready for (do NOT say your bare soles wouldn’t have warned you!),  they are, litterally, breaking their feet!

Ignoring Feedback IS THE Purpose of Minimalist Footwear

And, unless I’m mistaken (judging by the posts and emails I’ve seen, I’m not!), being able to run further, and faster, (and harder), than the bare soles would allow, IS THE reason most people are buying minimalist footwear. And it IS THE reason so many are getting injured while running (metaphorically) ”bare” foot!

Granted, it is possible to ignore this feedback, even while actually, and literally, barefoot, but, it is far easier to ignore it in footwear, even minimalist footwear. And, again, the reason for wearing the minimalist footwear IS to help ignore annoying feedback.

Worlds Apart

But, ultimately, the difference between the feedback while wearing minimalist footwear, and actually, truly, literally, being BARE foot, is a whole world apart!

We can actually feel every bit of our bare sole as it touches the earth!

And, besides, it’s infinitely less pricey to go literally barefoot, than to pay $70-100 for the “nearly”, or “simulated” barefoot experience.

Singing On-Key!

So, personally, I do not see how wearing ANY earplugs, even if they only block a fraction of what our old earplugs blocked, is going to help us fully realize when we are singing off-key!

Sure, we may hit a correct note, now and again. But, we won’t ever know it (unless someone hits us on the head, and yells, “Hey, that one note you sang, there, a few minutes ago, was wonderful!”

And if we don’t realize, immediately, that we are singing off-key, how can we ever expect to learn to, consistantly, sing on key?

Likewise, reduced blockage of feedback, might not be as horrible as more blockage, but it is the immediate, and precise, sensation (and, yes, pain, when we do it badly) of our bare sole touching the ground, which is going to teach us how to run exactly the way our individual body should be running, and how to fine tune that running to it’s maximum gentleness, efficiency, speed, capability, etc…

Don’t Blame the Messenger

If it isn’t comfortable in truly bare soles, then something should be changed. Instead of ignoring, shooting, or imprisoning the messenger, we should be paying attention to the message (and that usually requires opening up our senses, which includes removing ear-plugs, frosted glasses, gloves, footwear, etc.).

Now, as surely as I’m standing here barefoot, we are ready to make real improvements in the way we are walking, standing, or running. We are ready to travel a path (short, and slow, at first) of discovering how best to walk, stand, and run (an ongoing mission, to be sure).

So, if you want to wear footwear, go ahead. But, if you want my recommendation, save if for after you have learned to sing … er … run. If you need footwear to protect your feet from being able to feel that you aren’t ready to run barefoot as far as you want to run, then you aren’t ready to run with this valuable feedback blocked by footwear.

Have fun, (but not more than your bare soles, and technique are ready for)