Stuff about running, from me, your friend, Jay!

Ok, so technically, it wasn’t really barefoot, since I had on my trusty Injini toesocks, but it was certainly shoeless.  For those of you who haven’t been following, I’ve been having some Plantar Fasciitis issues, and have been getting lots of advice and support from the barefoot community.   Today was the first run since some pretty severe pain 4 days ago, and after a 4 miler on the treadmill (in case I had to cut it short), I decided to try a barefoot run.

So…I chucked my well loved Brooks Launches off and set the treadmill to 6 MpH, figuring I’d take it slow on my first attempt.  Well, 6 MpH quickly got cranked down to 5.5, but within a tenth of a mile, something curious happened: my Plantar Fascia on my right foot just kind of stretched out and relaxed.  It was still tender, mind you, but prior to this, I was kind of limp/running barefoot.  I found my stride and just felt like I could keep going for a while.

I stopped at a half mile, as even though I’m a midfoot striker and have a fair amount of calf strength, I didn’t want to overdo it and be really sore.  I probably will be anyway, but heck with it.  Hmm, you barefoot freaks may actually be on to something here.  I mean, I’ve read Born to Run and enjoyed the book and was entertained by the theories, but never really felt motivated to try it.  I think now I’ll go a day or so, see how I feel and then seriously consider incorporating some short barefoot runs in for foot strength building purposes.