Saturday afternoon

Well it's been a day over a week since we ran last. The weather's been mostly rainy for this last week and the couple of times when it wasn't rainy, we had other things scheduled and didn't get our run in.

The weather was quite muggy with all the recent rains. Temperature was at 71F. Joe and I got a pretty good run in anyway. We ran a little over 1 mile with a total distance including walking of 1.75 miles. Since the bike path was mostly wet & I'd read warnings about going completely barefoot on a wet surface or in the rain, we ran with our huaraches on. As to running when it's wet, they likened it to what happens to your hands when they've been soaking in dish water: your feet become softer and are torn up much more quickly, so it is recommended that we wait to run in the rain until our feet are toughened up more.

I didn't have any problems this time, but Joe got a little blister. I think we'll have to adjust his huaraches. I didn't get the chrono started so we don't know how long it took us, but it seemed like we were moving pretty good.


I'm going to attach some pictures of the huarache running sandals for your enjoyment. :-)

Friday afternoon

It was another beautiful afternoon in Ohio, mid 60s. Nat, Joe & I went for another run. We did it almost entirely barefoot. We carried our huaraches in case we needed them. I ran a little over 1.75 miles in under 18 minutes. Felt pretty good over all. Not much trouble with the feet or legs during the run. All of our feet are a little sore right now. My left second toe has a little blood blister, I guess from gripping the ground. I'm sure it will be fine soon. One week down and not doing too bad.

Wednesday PM

Nice afternoon in the low 50's and sunny. Joe, Nat & I got a run in. We did part of it completely barefoot (maybe 15%) and the rest of in huaraches. I'll load pictures one of these days so that you can see them.

We ran a little over 3/4 of a mile and walked about 1/2 a mile. The calves were feeling better today but still sore after the run/walk. I'll have to keep taking it easy getting started because my achilles tendon seemed a little tender this time around. All in all, still not a bad run. We enjoyed the complete barefoot part but I can tell it's going to take some toughening up of the bottoms of the feet to be comfortable.

Tuesday evening

The weather didn't cooperate today to get another run in. Too bad. I would've liked to get moving again.
Much of the soreness/stiffness in the calves has gone away. No lingering side effects.
I did find an interesting article regarding BF running:

Should You Be Running Barefoot?

Most of us consider running shoes essential. But what happens when you decide not to lace 'em up?  
By Amby Burfoot  
From the August 2004 issue of Runner's World 

Click on the link below.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7120,s6-240-319--6728-0,00.html

 And here's yet  another article:

The Canadian Medical Association Examines Barefoot Running: Worthwhile Reading!

By Dr. Nirenberg Saturday December 4, 2010

http://www.americaspodiatrist.com/2010/12/the-canadian-medical-association-examines-barefoot-running-worthwhile-reading/

Monday AM

Joe & I were out on the bike trail at dawn this morning. It was a beautiful 66F as nature was just waking up around us. My calves were VERY stiff and sore from Saturday's initial run so I started off slow and gingerly! I loosened up and felt better as I began to get warmed up. Since we didn't start as fast, it took almost 7 minutes to do the nearly 3/4 mile, where we turned around and walked back. Even in the low light condition we had no trouble running/walking  in our huaraches. Enjoyable morning!

Day 1

I started this blog to record my experience with learning how to run barefoot and with my initials being B.F., I thought it was fitting to call it BF Running.

I've heard about running barefoot or with minimalist shoes/huaraches for the last couple of years but got a lot more interested recently when a friend told me about his experience and recommended that I give it a try. So, after studying on it for a little while and looking at my options for minimalist shoes (such as the Vibram Five Fingers) and running sandals, I decided to make a pair of the huaraches similar to those worn by the Tarahumara of the Sierra Madres in Mexico who are well known for their long distance running either barefoot or using their homemade "running sandals."

I found Vibram 4mm Cherry sheet at a local shoe repair store this week and using the homemade huarache manufacturing process shown on Invisibleshoe.com and green 550 cord, made 3 pair of huaraches Thursday evening. One pair each for my 2 boys at home and 1 pair for myself.

The first opportunity I had to run in them was this morning. Everything I've read about MR (minimalist running) said to start slow and get your feet, legs, and body used to doing something very new, so we (my son, Joe, & I) did just that. We went down to our local rail-to-trail bike path to try them out. It was still cool this morning, about 45F, and the bike path was still wet from our recent rains. It felt good to run near barefoot, even better than I expected it would. My stride naturally changed to avoid heel striking and it was really amazing to feel every little bump, twig and pebble. Joe said it felt like getting foot massage.

We ran approximately 3/4 mile in 6 minutes, which was 1 minute longer than recommended to start with, then walked another 1/2 mile. On the way back, we ran off and on for another 3 minutes for a total of about 9 minutes running. Altogether we were on the trail both walking and running for over 30 minutes. The feet and legs felt good throughout but my calves are a little sore. I'm looking forward to trying it again. I'll let you know how it goes.