Relativity joke taken from Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar; "A man is praying to God. 'Lord,' he prays, 'I would like to ask you a question.' The Lord responds, 'No problem. Go ahead.' 'Lord, is it true that a million years to you is but a second?’ 'Yes, that is true.' 'Well, then, what is a million dollars to you?' 'A million dollars to me is but a penny.' 'Ah, then, Lord,' says the man, 'may I have a penny?' 'Sure,' says the Lord. 'Just a second.'”
What does that joke have to do with barefootedness you ask... well, nothing! I just like that joke and wanted to use it.
First a bit of my running history: I started running because when I was on the soccer team my freshman year of high-school, the coach said I should try out for cross-country. Well, since I went to a different campus that didn't have a soccer team the next year I "tried out" for the team, technically they didn't have tryouts, anyone who wanted could be on the team. I did okay, I made it to the second level of state competition my senior year with a 5k time of 18:35 which, isn't exactly fast but not bad. After graduating I didn't even try for the college team because I wasn't fast enough and I let my running go all through college and for a couple years after I dropped out, until I decided to join the Air Force. The first couple years of being in the Air Force I was on a running team and I was getting pretty fast again, though not as fast I was in high school; got my 1.5mi time down to 8:45. Also, I ran a marathon (first, and only so far) with a time of 3:53 which isn't bad for a first timer. Just of note, I hadn't really even considered running barefoot up until about 3 or 4 years ago.
Now a bit of my barefooted history: if you don't know me in person you probably don't know that I'm a barefooter/barefoot runner. I've been wearing the Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) "shoes" for about three years, and when the weather is nice (mostly) I run completely barefoot. Unfortunately, I have to wear socks when I'm in Air Force physical training gear so I don't wear my VFFs; I wear Merrell trail gloves. I've done two half-marathons in the VFFs though I really do prefer completely barefoot. I've also tried out a variety of other footwear options, including huaraches. I started down my road towards barefoot/minimal shoes by reading the book Running Fast and Injury Free by Gordon Pirie and the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and a variety of blogs and websites.
All that to say I love running barefoot. It kinda sucks that I won't get to run barefoot at all for the months I'm deployed. Fortunately, I'm going to be in California (where I'm writing this) for about a month more and I'll be able to go barefoot (at least some) while I'm here. I went for a short hike the other day barefoot and as soon as I can find more trails I'll do some more. It kinda sucks, I can't find a place close by to go running. I've been here a week and I've only been running once. Hopefully this next weekend I'll get a chance to go to lake Tahoe and go for a hike/run there.
Anyways, happy trails to you all. And, if you've never tried, go barefoot. It's not as dangerous or painful as people think.
Edit: Since the writing of this original piece I've done a half-marathon barefooted, other than that I've been wearing my huaraches (updated link).
What does that joke have to do with barefootedness you ask... well, nothing! I just like that joke and wanted to use it.
First a bit of my running history: I started running because when I was on the soccer team my freshman year of high-school, the coach said I should try out for cross-country. Well, since I went to a different campus that didn't have a soccer team the next year I "tried out" for the team, technically they didn't have tryouts, anyone who wanted could be on the team. I did okay, I made it to the second level of state competition my senior year with a 5k time of 18:35 which, isn't exactly fast but not bad. After graduating I didn't even try for the college team because I wasn't fast enough and I let my running go all through college and for a couple years after I dropped out, until I decided to join the Air Force. The first couple years of being in the Air Force I was on a running team and I was getting pretty fast again, though not as fast I was in high school; got my 1.5mi time down to 8:45. Also, I ran a marathon (first, and only so far) with a time of 3:53 which isn't bad for a first timer. Just of note, I hadn't really even considered running barefoot up until about 3 or 4 years ago.
Now a bit of my barefooted history: if you don't know me in person you probably don't know that I'm a barefooter/barefoot runner. I've been wearing the Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) "shoes" for about three years, and when the weather is nice (mostly) I run completely barefoot. Unfortunately, I have to wear socks when I'm in Air Force physical training gear so I don't wear my VFFs; I wear Merrell trail gloves. I've done two half-marathons in the VFFs though I really do prefer completely barefoot. I've also tried out a variety of other footwear options, including huaraches. I started down my road towards barefoot/minimal shoes by reading the book Running Fast and Injury Free by Gordon Pirie and the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and a variety of blogs and websites.
All that to say I love running barefoot. It kinda sucks that I won't get to run barefoot at all for the months I'm deployed. Fortunately, I'm going to be in California (where I'm writing this) for about a month more and I'll be able to go barefoot (at least some) while I'm here. I went for a short hike the other day barefoot and as soon as I can find more trails I'll do some more. It kinda sucks, I can't find a place close by to go running. I've been here a week and I've only been running once. Hopefully this next weekend I'll get a chance to go to lake Tahoe and go for a hike/run there.
Anyways, happy trails to you all. And, if you've never tried, go barefoot. It's not as dangerous or painful as people think.
Edit: Since the writing of this original piece I've done a half-marathon barefooted, other than that I've been wearing my huaraches (updated link).
