OH YEAH! barefoot run!!! whos going??

[miles]

You're talking about walking forefoot with shoes.. That isn't the same as barefoot. It seems to me that when you're walking anywhere for a reason you are wearing shoes, whereas when you walk barefoot it is walking for walking. Am I not correct?

[PaleoPhil]

No, I frequently walk and/or run or jog to a special place of mine in my bare feet and I have walked home in bare feet from work and other places at times recently, by coincidence. What constitutes a "place" to you?

[PaleoPhil]

And by what mechanism would walking to a "place" instead of say, around in circles on a race track, better enable forefoot walking? It sounds like magical thinking to me.

Come to think of it, I almost always walk or run "to a place", whether I go barefoot, or in barefoot-style shoes or sandals, instead of on a race track or around a block or on a treadmill. The latter always seemed too much like a rat on a treadmill. It never made much sense to me.

[miles]

You've been acting much more like that yourself lately. What gives? Whatever it is, please get over it and move on.

My apologies Phil. I am conscious of it. I started writing a reply but I think it got far too long and complicated so I cut it down to this.

I had a significant change in my life fairly recently and have sort of 'let myself go' to some extent.

[PaleoPhil]

OK, thanks for explaining. Take care of yourself.

[lex_rooker]

Do you actually expect us to believe that Lex also does not walk "to get to places"?

To close the loop on this one, yes, I do walk almost everywhere when time permits.  It is generally a 2 mile walk to most of the places I go like the market, bank, post office, local mall & etc so out and back is a 4 mile trip.  I walk barefoot almost without exception, rain or shine, hot or cold, and probably average 20 - 30 miles per week.  Been doing this since I retired in 2006.  Did 4 trips in one day once so that day alone was 16 miles, but most days are 4 miles and about 6 days per week.  I wear a moderately sized back pack when going to the market and often carry 30 to 50 lbs (15 - 25 Kilos) back home. 

I seldom walk forefoot first unless the terrain demands it and then I just do it automatically.  I can force myself to do it on flat surfaces but it just doesn't feel right and I have to work hard to keep from reverting back to a light heal strike first.  I finally figured out that it was way to much work to continually force myself to do something that my body obviously didn't want to do so now I just walk and let my body choose the foot strike it wants depending on conditions.  90% of the time it is a light heal strike first.

Lex

[miles]

OK. As a separate issue, do you carry a pair of flip-flops with you to go in to buildings? Have you ever been denied access to somewhere for not wearing shoes?

[rawcarni]

OK. As a separate issue, do you carry a pair of flip-flops with you to go in to buildings? Have you ever been denied access to somewhere for not wearing shoes?

Yep in supermarkets - because of "hygiene"...ridiculus...
well I have started running barefoot a while ago and i LOVE it! I never get injured anymore - I used to have knee problems, but they quickly went away! I have been walking barefoot before that and once after I started running in FF's and then also barefoot my posture greatly improved-by itself. it is aazing how the body naturally responds to the surface!
The other day I was wearing hiking boots - it is getting winter now here and we made a day hike throught the forests and well I thought I would need shoes -my legs did hurt so much after this! I swear my legs and feet feel way better with no shoes / minimal shoewear!
Nicole

[yuli]

I seldom walk forefoot first unless the terrain demands it and then I just do it automatically.  I can force myself to do it on flat surfaces but it just doesn't feel right and I have to work hard to keep from reverting back to a light heal strike first.  I finally figured out that it was way to much work to continually force myself to do something that my body obviously didn't want to do so now I just walk and let my body choose the foot strike it wants depending on conditions.  90% of the time it is a light heal strike first.

When I walk barefoot or in socks I walk forefoot first, but when I wear sneakers (flat ones) I walk heel first. Forcing yourself to walk one way or the other is pointless. Perhaps the way we walk barefoot has to do with a person's posture or the way their back curvature is and how their weight is distributed. When walking forefoot first I feel more sneaky and fox-like, when I am jogging its usually heel first though, which gives me a nice tempo/speed for running.

[PaleoPhil]

When I walk barefoot or in socks I walk forefoot first, but when I wear sneakers (flat ones) I walk heel first. Forcing yourself to walk one way or the other is pointless. Perhaps the way we walk barefoot has to do with a person's posture or the way their back curvature is and how their weight is distributed. ...

That's an interesting hypothesis, as I do have a mild diagnosed kyphoscoliotic curvature. I'm hoping that barefoot walking might help straighten it a little in the long run, or at least prevent future worsening of it.