Yes. I have done some running barefoot. Inspired by Paljasjalkamatti. I was passed by this Finnish Barefooting Pioneer at the local half marathon mass event Helsinki City Run. It put the wheels in my mind turning. Then a few days later it happened. I kicked of my shoes while walking the dog. It felt good. The nasty sharp gravel from last winter hurt, of course, but other than that it felt truly liberating. Some days later I kicked off my shoes while walking in the woods. It felt really good. Except for those nasty ants that decided to chew on my feet. Ouch!
A few weeks later, while at our summer cottage in Ostrobothnia I went out for a random run and ended up at the local horse track. No horses were out running. The surface seemed so smooth, yet hard enough. I made sure nobody was there observing me. Off went the shoes. I ran two laps. Damn. It felt good. I tried to run all the way back to our cottage barefoot, but had to give up as the sharp gravel was painfully piercing my soft untrained feet.
The following day I went back for more. I did five laps (that's five kilometers). Putting the shoes back on felt like putting on a condom half way trough a moment of sweet love. I don't like shoes anymore. It seems that I'm slowly turning into a barefoot junkie. When I came back to Helsinki I just couldn't help myself. I called the Finnish importer of Vivo Barefoot shoes. He has run out of stock twice already this spring / summer. Anyway, he told me where I had the best chances of finding a pair. So I went shopping. Now I'm logging miles in a pair of Vivo Barefoot Ultras. And it feels good.
I don't like my "normal" cushioned Asics anymore. The heel drop feels awkward. It gives me a forward tilt I've never noticed before. My shins feel a lot better already, after I've substituted some miles in traditional shoes to minimalist barefoot shoes.
Thank you Paljasjalkamatti for the inspirational example. And thanks to Christopher McDougall. Born to Run was no small influence in preparing my mind for this pleasant switch towards a more natural gait.
Peace over Caballo Blanco. I hope the world will remember him for all that he was, and wasn't.
Thanks to Dr Phil Maffetone as well. Who has propagated for more minimalist shoes for decades already. Sowing those mental seeds into my mind trough his excellent Big Book of Endurance Training.
Barefoot running. Who could have imagined that happening at the outset of this adventure?
