Invisible Shoes - Barefoot Running Sandals

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Barefoot And The Hills

I went out for a run today in the most beautiful weather. I ended up running only a bit over 12km because I started later than expected and had to get moving.

Because I am training now for the Jerusalem Marathon in March, it is no longer a good idea to try avoiding hills. The Jerusalem Marathon is full of hills and it will make the course a very difficult one. I now have to train with hills in the runs to make sure I survive, and conquer, Jerusalem.

So in today's run, I even detoured around a bit to include more hills in my run. Running in bet Shemesh is a natural for preparing for the Jerusalem Marathon, as it is easier to find hills to run up than it is to find flat road. In total, I ran up four hills during my run. 3 of them were decently significant inclines, and one was small but significant.

Another interesting thing was I ran part of it barefoot. really barefoot, without even my Vibram's. I have been reading about people who run really barefoot and wanted to try it. In the middle of the run I took my Vibram FiveFingers off and ran 800 meters barefoot. The sensation was very interesting, noticing the different surfaces and how the foot reacts to them. However, it is not for me. I will stick to the Vibrams. I guess if I build it up my foot would get used to it, as they say happens, but I don't feel like doing it. Maybe running through the grass is ok barefoot, but on the road it doesnt seem right.

2 comments:

Martha Cecil said...

Good luck with the marathon in March. Barefoot running is actually kind of risky. There is no protection at all and once you step on something, your feet is direct contact to that thing. Vibrams and other barefoot shoes are great choice as they have good support and protection. By the way, another good alternative to VFF is Zem Gear, which is a bit lighter than VFF; however, the sensation is still the same. Check it out here.

Rafi G. said...

Thanks Martha. I'll take a look at Zem