mud betwixt toeses
Mar. 13th, 2010 01:40 pmWell, I promised myself I'd try after reading an intriguing article a few weekends ago in the exercisey/outdoorsy section of the, and now I have. Barefoot jogging has been acheived.
As many who know me in RL know, I'm often allergic to shoes during summer, or when I'm not outdoors any other time of the year, so the concept of mud betwixt toes wasn't a totally alien concept. Anyway. Got to the farmland bit of my jog (which is currently only about a 3rd rather than 2/3 as it is at peak) when I got to the lock, removed shoes with some trepidation. Started running with shoes in hand, and discovered pretty quickly that trying to run heel first when barefoot is such an alien sensation that you go onto your toes very quickly. Didn't do enough to notice any major differences/pain in muscle usage. The field on the way back past the lock is major mud fest due to cows, which is not unpleasant to run on - the squidgy feeling's just slightly odd, and you skid less than on shoes. Not to mention you don't care about possibly going into a puddle or deep mud as you do with shoes, with very little possibility of splashing. However, directly after the main mudfest, it's straight back onto the stony path back up to civilisation. and hell no I'm not running on stones and tarmac. Summer has taught me that it's actually quite painful, not to mention the broken glass factor. (there always seems to be headlight glass on the pavement on the main road).
By the time I got home, I can conclude that there were two main discoveries made from jogging barefoot :
#1 : it's more natural and easier to run on your toes.
#2 : dried mud *inside* your socks is a really fucking weird sensation.
As many who know me in RL know, I'm often allergic to shoes during summer, or when I'm not outdoors any other time of the year, so the concept of mud betwixt toes wasn't a totally alien concept. Anyway. Got to the farmland bit of my jog (which is currently only about a 3rd rather than 2/3 as it is at peak) when I got to the lock, removed shoes with some trepidation. Started running with shoes in hand, and discovered pretty quickly that trying to run heel first when barefoot is such an alien sensation that you go onto your toes very quickly. Didn't do enough to notice any major differences/pain in muscle usage. The field on the way back past the lock is major mud fest due to cows, which is not unpleasant to run on - the squidgy feeling's just slightly odd, and you skid less than on shoes. Not to mention you don't care about possibly going into a puddle or deep mud as you do with shoes, with very little possibility of splashing. However, directly after the main mudfest, it's straight back onto the stony path back up to civilisation. and hell no I'm not running on stones and tarmac. Summer has taught me that it's actually quite painful, not to mention the broken glass factor. (there always seems to be headlight glass on the pavement on the main road).
By the time I got home, I can conclude that there were two main discoveries made from jogging barefoot :
#1 : it's more natural and easier to run on your toes.
#2 : dried mud *inside* your socks is a really fucking weird sensation.