I second that; a simple truth - based on 30+ years on the roads and trails.
I second that; a simple truth - based on 30+ years on the roads and trails.
No one is saying anything about conspiracies. Leave the word out if you want to have a serious debate. Which you seem to.
Back to the barefoot thing.
People's choices including our Kenyan and Ethiopian colleagues are based on a number of truths. Wearing shoes is part of a professional runner's job description. Within that framework, it makes sense they will choose what feels best.
It would be interesting to see what a long term barefoot running experiment on suitable running surfaces (including being cleaned, checked and inspected) would yield. By simply looking where you run, you can to some extent mimick this.
You seem overly dependent on the concept of great breakthroughs. Decreasing injury and incrreasing wellbeing, no matter what the solution, would be a breakthrough which ever way you look at it.
And don't forget, Nike itself did a lot of barefoot running research - if i remember correctly spending quite a bit of money on it -. Think Nike Frees. If anything, knowingly or otherwise, they popularized a need for greater foot awareness that was evidently starting to seep in. Think of all the threads on Minimalism on this website alone.
Did Nike succeed? Was that their mission? I honestly do not know.
What i do know, is that Life's not just about breakthroughs or maximum performance. It is also about feeling better. And that sometimes you need to take a couple of steps backwards before you can start moving forward again.
PS
On a personal level, I have grown quite tired of loaded words which on an etimological basis would not be. To "conspire" should only mean a bunch of people getting together to plot something. Why could it not be a good plot? You know, team work...
Kinda like collaborationist: it has this with-the-invaders meaning, but it should only mean, working together: collaborate. That could be on a good project... right?
The science IS there. It's been documented that running barefoot strengthens foot muscles that wouldn't otherwise be strengthened. The question is, does that translate to better running?
Here's an interesting article; it also cites a lot of scientific publications.
I did my first barefoot run of the year today. It felt wonderful, like a massage to my feet, which have been hurting a lot in recent weeks. Running barefoot on the grass today, I could feel my feet getting a proper workout which was a really sooting feeling. Barefoot runners will know exactly what I am talking about, the cynics won't understand.
But when I put my shoes back on, the pain in my feet kept coming and going again. It seems that wearing shoes is restricting the flexing of my feet. When I run very fast, I have no pain, but it hurts when walking after resting. Anyone know what this could be?
Trying to help.Could you clarify: after resting after the fast run, then and only then it only hurts with the shoes walking?
wellnow wrote:
But when I put my shoes back on, the pain in my feet kept coming and going again. It seems that wearing shoes is restricting the flexing of my feet. When I run very fast, I have no pain, but it hurts when walking after resting. Anyone know what this could be?
quote: I did my first barefoot run of the year today.
I am looking forward to my first barefoot run of the year. My advice is to run barefoot whenever you can. In college our entire team ran intervals barefoot on grass in early fall. If you have the right surface, barefoot is always faster. But the only races I have run barefoot are beach races and smooth or worn out all weather track races. (8:40 3km a long time ago) A mile on the BU track last year. But only the inside lane is smooth. The others have those rubber chips that hurt. So I had to pass quickly.
Feet are easier to wash than shoes.
Tom