10km Barefoot
I was struggling with the idea of whether to catch up on some sleep and not exercise on Friday morning as the past 3 days of early rises have had some effect on my afternoons (sleeeeepy)!. Been toying with the idea of going barefoot again and in order not to be traumatized by blood blisters, I decided that I should go barefoot 'slow pace', with more focus on form running rather than speed.....basically get my virgin soles used to prickly, hard cement ground. I walked to ECP in slippers and only had my GPS/HR watch with me. I ran while holding on to my slippers. It must have looked strange to some people!
The pace I settled upon which I found to be ok for my feet was about 6.30min/km. Cardio, no problem....hovering just below 140bpm. As I started, the foot feel was good but somewhere after 5km, I can start feeling the 'rawness' of the sole hitting the ground and picking up coarse sand. The tactic was to run on grass for a while to clear up whatever was prickling the feet and then back on the cement path again. I was also very cautious not to get blisters and by running with short but frequent steps, I was able to reduce pulling the soles of my feet as if I had shoes. Its actually an efficient way to run.
Managed to completed 10km barefoot without dramas or blisters (ok a small tiny puncture at the ball of my right foot due to some sharp sand or something, nothing serious, no blood). I really felt good doing this and going minimal for once. The target will be to do once a week or at least once every 2 weeks just to get the running form.
The pace I settled upon which I found to be ok for my feet was about 6.30min/km. Cardio, no problem....hovering just below 140bpm. As I started, the foot feel was good but somewhere after 5km, I can start feeling the 'rawness' of the sole hitting the ground and picking up coarse sand. The tactic was to run on grass for a while to clear up whatever was prickling the feet and then back on the cement path again. I was also very cautious not to get blisters and by running with short but frequent steps, I was able to reduce pulling the soles of my feet as if I had shoes. Its actually an efficient way to run.
Managed to completed 10km barefoot without dramas or blisters (ok a small tiny puncture at the ball of my right foot due to some sharp sand or something, nothing serious, no blood). I really felt good doing this and going minimal for once. The target will be to do once a week or at least once every 2 weeks just to get the running form.
Comments