Well done, Tim! As a dude who is frequently upside down, I can vouch for how important and valuable feet are. In jiu jitsu, we use them like hands all the time, since they don't bear our weight much of the time, so it's incredibly important to develop this ability early on.
I think I might be a bit long in the tooth to start barefoot running now but, back when I was at Uni, I did have to modify my running style. It was almost "against the grain"; as you say Tim, the padding and design of a modern running shoe encourages you to thump down on your heels. Consequently I developed fearsome shin-splints. I wasn't running for fun; it was mainly to get me to and from the Boat Club, so I had to re-educate myself to run on my toes. It's something I've never changed and am still referred to my some of my more blokey friends as a 'prancer'.
I like the image of the 'prancer'. I see this as similar to those people who do a hobby horse version of dressage, seeing it in my head now, lol. Google it.
Barefoot running is something I've been meaning to do more of. But ideally, I need to time this right. I have a big race coming up in April and doing something out of the ordinary might lead to an injury.
While I was in Thailand last month I experimented with a few barefoot 5ks but I'm not quite at the same level as a guy I saw in December running a road marathon barefoot.
With barefoot activities I think there's a time and a place for them. I'm quite thankful to be living in a place where I'm unlikely to step on anything too unpleasant (glass, syringes etc) but I'm still a bit cautious about this kind of thing.
According to Daniel Lieberman (his book was part of the inspiration for this piece) with the barefoot running you have start a little bit at a time to allow your body to adjust.
Well done, Tim! As a dude who is frequently upside down, I can vouch for how important and valuable feet are. In jiu jitsu, we use them like hands all the time, since they don't bear our weight much of the time, so it's incredibly important to develop this ability early on.
I've taken to calling shoes "foot prisons."
Thank you. I remember a description of de ashi barai as like a monkey's paw, gripping the ankle. It makes sense to me.
I think I might be a bit long in the tooth to start barefoot running now but, back when I was at Uni, I did have to modify my running style. It was almost "against the grain"; as you say Tim, the padding and design of a modern running shoe encourages you to thump down on your heels. Consequently I developed fearsome shin-splints. I wasn't running for fun; it was mainly to get me to and from the Boat Club, so I had to re-educate myself to run on my toes. It's something I've never changed and am still referred to my some of my more blokey friends as a 'prancer'.
I think I should have mentioned shin splints.
I like the image of the 'prancer'. I see this as similar to those people who do a hobby horse version of dressage, seeing it in my head now, lol. Google it.
Barefoot running is something I've been meaning to do more of. But ideally, I need to time this right. I have a big race coming up in April and doing something out of the ordinary might lead to an injury.
While I was in Thailand last month I experimented with a few barefoot 5ks but I'm not quite at the same level as a guy I saw in December running a road marathon barefoot.
With barefoot activities I think there's a time and a place for them. I'm quite thankful to be living in a place where I'm unlikely to step on anything too unpleasant (glass, syringes etc) but I'm still a bit cautious about this kind of thing.
According to Daniel Lieberman (his book was part of the inspiration for this piece) with the barefoot running you have start a little bit at a time to allow your body to adjust.
There's me going from zero to 5k overnight. Stepping on pinecones and stuff wasn't fun. lol