I completely slacked on everything but fun this weekend. And when I say everything, I mean yesterday I only got out of bed to get food or pee. Patrick and I watched 4 movies: Rango, The Rebound, Precious, and Conan O'Brien Can't Stop. Quite a variety!
Besides needing a ton of sleep to catch up from our jam packed schedule of live music and congregating with some of our favorite people, one of the reasons I was bed bound may have been determined by the fact I could barely walk without limping on both sides and making "ouch" noises every time I took a step! It all started a few of months ago when a few different people tired to convince me to steer from my normal style of reads and invest my time into
a novel named: Born to Run.
I resisted for a while, but eventually gave in to curiosity. Let me just say, it was nothing like I had prematurely judged it to be, and I'd recommend the book to anyone, especially if they've ever tinkered with the idea of learning to love running. It's an inspirational string of true stories, creatively tied into one, told by a man who was on a personal mission to find the answers to a similar question we all ask ourselves in one way or another. Along the way, he ended up discovering a whole different culture of people with a enlightened attitude towards life, and learning what these people never forgot: the deeper meaning tied between happiness and running.
I finished the book last week, and contained myself as long as I could before going out to buy a pair of minimalist shoes, which was roughly 2 days. I have such good self-control!
It was an extremely difficult choice to make. I've already been making small changes during my training, and have noticed a huge positive difference in the way my body feels after a run, but now that I don't have any of kind race in the near future, I can focus on making some
big changes for the better.
So, do I wean myself to a barefoot shoe by picking a transition version like the Brooks Pure Cadence? Or do I just go all the way, cutting out the middle man, and choose the Merrell Vibram? If money wasn't an issue, I'd bought both. Using the Books' for my long distance, and the Merrell's for short distance, until I had a better feel of the whole technique........but since I just bought new running shoes a little over a month ago, I figure I better use them for a while.
I chose the Vibram's that look more like a normal shoe, so I don't have to worry about the toe separation thing being a bother, and people won't stare at me like I'm a crazed lunatic. Win. Win.
Needless to say, by comparison you can see the extreme difference between my Axis Gel Duomax and the newbies.
I was so excited I woke up early Saturday morning, only squeezing in a mere 4 hours of sleep, so I could run in my new kicks! I kept it short, limiting myself to 1 mile, adhering to all the forewarnings I received from those who pushed too far in the beginning......and felt great until Monday morning. The insides of my lower legs are so sore I feel like crawling instead of walking!!! It's weird because I thought my calves would be more sore; they don't seem to be affected at all.
It will be an interesting journey, that's for sure, but life's all about the ride.
Have any personal thought's or experiences with barefoot running?
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