When running barefoot, after landing primarily on the ball of your foot, your heel should generally touch gently to the ground with each 'step/strike'. Be mindful of what your feet are telling you and adjust accordingly as you go. You should never have to think about your running technique as a whole, like you do with shoes, but it should be a constant feedback-adapt cycle which occurs without too much thought.
I don't know how tough the soles of your feet are now, but as long as you build up they shouldn't take too long to adapt. You may want to experiment with many different surfaces. My favourite was generally smooth tarmac as I could get the highest speed on that and overtake bicycles(and cars in 30mph zones =D), though I could run on many others perfectly well including gravelly stuff. The only surface I was really cautious of was grass... Although it's probably one of the nicest, people still let their dogs shit in there and whether or not it would really do you any physical harm, I never wanted to risk the social harm that it would do wondering home with a shitty foot >_< Especially being the only representative of barefoot running in my town!
Also you'll find, as you get better, that you're able to run with a very heavy back-pack without any shock also. Of course it will take some soft-tissue strength in the calves though.. Any Q's you have just ask..
WoW: I played Alliance Human Mage on The Venture Co RPPVP Server. Grand Marshal Ahrramin; Top Raid Guild, full Epics, Unbeatable in PvP. <-- Wtf... I feel like such a dick but I can't help but say this stuff whenever I find someone who played WoW >_<
Topic: Sedentary Lifestyles (Read 17690 times)