Barefoot and Beautiful?

If you've read any of my earlier posts, then you'll know I 'run' marathons. Ok, ok, HALF Marathons. That being said, I have runners knee...and it HURTS! So, what's a gal to do? Run barefoot of course...kind of.

Yes, Barefoot.

If you followed the NY Marathon this past year, the Today Show featured a runner who actually ran completely barefoot. Gross. Can you say H.E.B. feet? There has to be a better way than sans shoes. Answer: Vibrum Five Fingers. aka...creepy monkey toe shoes. Yea baby!

So what is runners knee, and how can monkey shoes help?

Basically, runners knee is when the femur is putting pressure on the patella due to 'heel strike'. It can sometimes be helped from strengthening the quads, but in most cases you have to decrease mileage and sometime stop running all together. It feels like someone is stabbing your kneecap with an icepick. Nice.

Why barefoot?

When you run in socks, shoes, mid soles and out soles, your body's proprioceptive system loses a lot of input. This has been called 'the perceptual illusion' of running shoes. With shoes, your body switches and your reaction time decreases. For heel strikers like me, it's similar to to running in 4 inch pumps. Natural instinct will kick in. The body is pretty amazing that way. You really don't need those cushy shoes at all. The only purpose of the monkey shoes, is to keep you from getting black nasty street feet or cutting your feet on rocks, glass, ect.

But running barefoot isn't easy. It take some transition time. In fact, I'm having to completely re-train the way I run. You basically run on your toes. And let me tell you, it will be the biggest calf work out you'll ever do.

That being said, I hit the trail 'barefoot' today. I threw on my Vibrum five fingers (see photo above) and knocked out three miles. Not bad. In fact, it felt amazing. I did feel a little silly with my new stride...and definitely received a few stares from onlookers, but NO KNEE PAIN. My calves are a different story. I'm sure in the middle of the night I'll wake up with a killer leg cramp, but that will subside as the muscle builds.

Between chickens, solar, composting, veggie gardens and now running barefoot, I'm becoming quite the granola girl.....and lovin' every minute of it. Off the grid baby. Sustainable lifestyle here I come!

Run on my barefoot peeps. Run on!

For more information on the Vibrum five finger shoes, go check 'em out at:

www.rei.com