500th mile pics and my latest Barefoot Shoe
This is what my feet look like after 500 miles.
The color is little off, and yes I wear pajama pants after a run/before a shower.
Here’s the messed up foot:
The toe still looks a little chewed up from my efforts at the Mistletoe half marathon, but everything works. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but all the skin on the ball of the foot and big toe is new. VERY sensitive, which is a good thing, as obviously I was too hard on that area before (or I wouldn’t have been injured). I’m using the sensitivity to fine-tune my form, figuring out how to be more gentle on my soles.
New topic. I have two dogs, Happy and Tito, who get walked/run in the park almost every day. Usually we cover between one and two miles. Happy is a speedy dog who likes to run:
Tito is a small dog who’d rather be eating goose poo. Here he is, posing with the shoes I frequently wear when taking them to the park:
Yes, I run in these. I frequently wear them with thin socks, so my foot slides around in the shoe. And look at that chunky heel. And they’re stiff as steel. I like to wear them because I like to practice trying to feel the ground through the thick soles. I have to lift my feet straight up so the shoe doesn’t fly off. Going downhill, I need to have a very fast cadence or else my toes jam to the front.
The whole point of running barefoot is to learn how to use the feedback from your feet to find the most efficient and pain free way to move forward in ANY given environment. The bare foot can handle asphalt, trails, rocks, and even cushioned bouncy loose-fitting shoes, provided the runner has an understanding of how to use his/her feet. Learn how to use your feet, and you can wear any shoe you want. Whether or not you’ll want to wear shoes is up to you.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
Cute pups! You feet don’t look too bad considering you are still getting the kinks out and fine tuning the barefoot thing. My right foot is always, always more chewed up than my left.
Angie – I’m happy with how my feet look considering a little over a month ago the sight of them almost made a doctor hurl…
I’m thinking of taking my new puppy running for the first time. He likes to gnaw on my bare feet.