Barefoot Running... To Be or Not To Be?

I excel at corny one liners, have you noticed?

.... Moving on....

I have had a fascination with barefoot running for awhile now. Ok, awhile for me is about 8 months, but in my short 24 year old life, that's a long time!

(...)

When I first discovered Vibram FiveFingers, I asked for them for Christmas (yes, that's right, I still have a Christmas list I give to my parents... say what you want) for the purpose of canoeing mainly. You see, I give (or used to give before I discovered running) instructions in canoeing, and I needed something that would stay on my foot, but wasn't clunky like tennis shoes. Ta Daa!! Vibrams!! 

^ These are the Vibrams I wanted ^

^ These are the Vibrams I got ^

I was completely beside myself that I had gotten a pair of Vibrams. My family's first reaction: "You wanted gorilla feet for Christmas???" My dad swears they were the only ones the store had. I think he just thought it would be really funny to buy me gorilla feet. Thanks dad. Much love.

So after having these for a few months and getting more into running, I came to a research revelation: You can run in Vibrams. Go ahead and have your "Well, duh..." moment, but this was news to me. And I was excited. And it only added fuel to the fire when I read Born to Run. Power of suggestion, anyone?

But if someone is interested in barefoot running, I would suggest doing your research first. Barefoot running isn't simply getting the idea in your head to go outside and start trucking it down the pavement with no shoes... (Wait, go ahead and do that, just make sure you get it on film for me... We could add it to the list of Awkward Runner types I discovered thanks to Adam... Kthx :-) No... It is something your feet have to work up to, but in the long run is beneficial to most runners.

That being said, when I look at my overall goals, I would like to start working toward barefoot running. SUAR is doing an awesome giveaway for Saucony that looks at just that. Saucony has done a great job researching the proper balance between the cushioned running shoe and barefoot running. Even if I do not win the giveaway, it's great to know that shoe company are finally starting to do the research and work toward a more natural fitting, flexible shoe that allows our feet to do what they were made to do.

So for now, my lovely Vibrams get to stay a canoeing tool (trust me, it works!), but someday I hope to be able to say that I run barefoot. Or at do some training barefoot. Meh, tomato tomahto.

This weekend I will be doing Race for the Cure in honor of my best friend Jessica. I will post pictures, but in the meantime boys and girls, remember how special the little things in life are. You don't realize how precious they are until they're gone. Breathe in the fall air, enjoy the autumn colors, hug your kids one extra time, or thank God that you get to hit the pavement one more time. Whatever it is, enjoy it. Have a great weekend!