The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [21]
If you begin by wearing minimalist shoes, you may be insulating your best form of feedback—the soles of your feet. Learning to run barefoot first generally speeds the transition. Good form combined with properly strengthening your feet faster allow a barefoot runner to reach his or her goals faster.
To learn good form using my methods, it is critical that your brain receive accurate sensory feedback from the rest of your body. This is especially true of your feet. The soles of your feet will tell you if you are over-striding, running too fast, or creating too much friction. If you cover your feet even with a minimalist shoe such as the Vibrams, you will short-circuit that neural pathway.
Shoes have one more distinct disadvantage. The more we place between the soles of our feet and the ground, the more force we generate when our foot touches the ground.
Activity—Spend Time Barefoot
Spending your days barefoot is an excellent way to begin training your brain and the rest of your body. At home I rarely wear shoes, even in the winter. Outdoors, as well, I try to be barefoot as much as possible.
If your house contains a variety of different surfaces, this will help teach your brain to discriminate between small variations under foot. When moving around your house, pay close attention to the feeling of the different surfaces. Being aware of the tactile sensations being felt by your foot is critically important as you begin more rigorous activities.
My fellow Society for Barefoot Living (www.barefooters.org) members try to spend the vast majority of their time barefoot. This group advocates for the acceptance of a barefoot lifestyle by challenging business policies. Most people assume there are health department regulations that require shoes to be worn in businesses. Actually, there are no states that have such laws. A handful of municipalities have such laws, but they are very rare. It is also perfectly legal to drive barefoot (check your local laws in case of exceptions).
Concept—“Toughening” the Soles of Your Feet
The idea of “toughening” the soles of your feet is one of the most misunderstood concepts in barefoot running. There is no need to do anything special to your feet. Some newer barefoot runners have tried some strange methods to speed the process of “toughening” their soles including rubbing their feet with sand paper or dunking them in ice water.
If you begin slowly and follow my plan, your feet will adapt. Specifically, your skin will become more resilient to friction. Contrary to popular belief, you do not develop hard calluses on your soles. The skin becomes very smooth, much like soft leather. In my opinion, the more important adaptation has to do with tactile recognition. Through practice and experience, your soles will develop the ability to “feel” the terrain under foot—a major element in preventing injury. It is also important that you be cautious and keep from doing too much too soon.
Once you become more experienced, the increased tactile sensation will allow your feet to immediately react in the event you step on something sharp and/or painful. After years of barefoot running, I have developed the ability to run on leaf or snow covered trails through my ability to “feel” the hidden terrain. With practice and experience, you can develop this skill, too!
Jesse Scott, a friend and fellow barefoot/minimalist shoe ultrarunner, described this process as your foot “melts” over the obstacle. This “melting” results from the reflexive relaxing of the foot when nerves detect something painful.
Activity—Barefoot Walking
One of the best methods to prepare for barefoot running is spending time walking barefoot. Quite literally, you have to learn to walk before you run. Walking barefoot will reduce the likelihood of injury