20 mile training run - barefoot
The following words started out as a reply to a comment Meredith from Virginia Beach has left on the “About” page but has now made it way to becoming a full on blog page.
Thanks for the kind words. You have me reflecting on some good memories about my barefoot journeys. I did not have Vibram Five Fingers when I started this journey. At the time Barefoot Ted McDonald was just experimenting with running in Vibram Five Finger classics. So I was barefoot to shod and back to barefoot as a cool down. It was also my introduction to really enjoying running on paved surfaces. Which just beat me up when I ran in my shoes. My desire to make me a pair of Huaraches was driven by my love of running trails.
However, in my quest to run a marathon barefoot, the huaraches were becoming both a physical and metaphysical crutch. I had to face my fear of running the chip seal of the St George Marathon, and getting over the fear of moving forward after the shutdown of my businesses, and the splitting up of my family (divorce).
From that point in the desert, where I buried my huaraches, I ran everything I could barefoot. Sometimes not the wisest idea as I found myself running some gnarly trails and pebble strewn road surfaces. After I ran the marathon I was given a gift certificate for a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I fell in love with them, sewed them up, and put over a 1000 miles on them before I gave them to my son when he asked if he could have them.
Yea I buried these in the desert.
I been wanting to build another pair of huaraches, but was having difficulty in finding the braided hemp cord that I love so much. Even Ted McDonald could not get it in for a while. So the short of the long of this story is that I have been running and training in either KSO’s or Bikila’s almost exclusively. I am finding that to run a marathon barefoot for me at 6’6+ and 255lbs I need the protection to keep my feet fresh. As you know running a marathon is more about technique and body strength than it is having toughed feet.
I am just about to do another repair section on the pair of green and white bikila’s that I have been running in. The inside toes are completely worn through. In the pic below you can see how the heavy rubber of the Bikila pushes the big toe towards the inside fabric against the second toe.
Almost new Vibram Bikila's - Winter Run
My first KSO’s saw over a 1000 miles, I do not think my Bikila’s will last more than 400.
I am ready to get back to running in Huaraches.
Sorry for the long reply. I have have not sat down to hammer out post to my blog for a while, and it felt nice to put down a few words about barefooting.
Regards,
Michael Carroll
PS. check out my barefoot running and racing project site – theminimalistrunner.com its beta and the database needs more records, so if you have a race that you would like listed please send me a note.
