If It Feels Good Is it Good For You?

It doesn’t happen often but sometimes – on rare occasions – a single action can make both sides of opposing viewpoints happy.  Fortunately this happened to me this week.  With a single, simple act I’ve improved my life as well as others.  What did I do?  I deleted the Shoe Forum from my Firefox bookmarks.  I typically don’t hang out in the Shoe Forum, but a few weeks back someone reported there was a debate going on over there about orthotics.  Being one who not only used to wear orthotics but also has strong feelings about them I trotted on over there to check out what was going on.  I added my $.02 (I didn’t raise a ruckus – like certain other folks I know  ) and kept going back because I enjoyed the topics and commentary.  Over time, however, I started seeing comments that got me riled up.  “I’m sorry – no matter what anyone says no amount of strengthening will help my feet.”  “You absolutely shouldn’t run in minimalist shoes.  You’ll ruin your feet, ankles and knees.”  “People who say you should run in neutral shoes are full of crap.”  On more than one occasion, upon having a half-written posting, I gave up and threw the text in the trash.  They weren’t looking for the kind of input I was about to provide.  I was in the Shoe Forum.  If someone is there they’re asking for advice in the context of shoes - it’s not particularly polite to jump in and talk about minimalist and barefoot topics.  If they wanted non-shoe input they’d have trotted over to the Barefoot Forum.

I was heading over there out of habit.  The questions, though, were these:  Was it doing me any good?  Was I enjoying it?  Or was it simply making my blood boil?  I’m not out to convince shod runners to take off their shoes.    What I dislike, be it in politics or running or business or whatever is closed mindedness.  It drives me crazy when people see things as totally black or white.  I see the world in shades of gray.  Someone who thinks shod running is the only possible option drives me just as crazy as the barefooter who thinks all runners who wear shoes are stupid.

Of the various things that frequently get said when it comes to shoes or form there is one that really gets under my skin:  “I heel strike and that’s my natural form.  One shouldn’t change from their natural form.”  Wow.  That’s your natural form?  How do you know?  Might it be that form is what’s most comfortable?  Might it be that particular form, because you’ve been using it for so long, is a habit?    Habits feel good because they’re comfortable.  We’re used to them.  Breaking old habits and establishing new ones can be really hard. 

When I learned as a kid to swim freestyle I always breathed on my right side.  A few years ago as I was trying to use swimming for cross-training I realized single-side breathing was probably not a good idea.  I’d run enough to know that always doing something to one side was inviting problems.  I’d read that bilateral breathing was frequently used by lap swimmers, so I set out to learn it.  Holy cow it was hard.  I had to think.  I had to practice.  On quite a large number of occasions I’d grab a mouthful of water instead of air and I’d stop mid-way down the lane to stand up and catch my breath.  After a while bilateral breathing felt more natural and, now, it is second nature to me.  Single side breathing wasn’t my natural style, it was a habit.  And habits can be changed.

So some heel strikers and those with other forms justify not changing because they’ve found their “natural form”.  I find it even more curious that people claim to have found their natural form while wearing on their feet something that is totally unnatural:  a man-made shoe made from man-made materials.  I assert their “natural form” is a habit – a habit they’re familiar and comfortable with.  And as we all know habits, just because they’re familiar and comfortable, aren’t always good for us.  Me visiting the Shoe Forum was a habit - but it wasn’t a good habit.  It wasn’t helping me or the Shoe Forum participants.  I think people need to look at their running form and assess whether it’s really good for them – or just a comfortable habit. 

Jim

Those Weird Barefoot People

Have you noticed how, literally, there is a growing abuse in the use of the word ‘literally’?  I chuckle when people use the word and clearly what they’re saying cannot possibly be true.  A quick Google search brought me to this highly entertaining blog.  One example from that site:  “The cars were literally flying down the road.”  Well very recently I’ve been experimenting with barefooting.  When I say barefooting I don’t mean minimalist, or barefoot shoes, or aqua socks.  I mean being barefoot – literally - skin-to-ground. 

Very unfortunately, a few weeks after I wrote that I was running again, my Achilles started getting mad.  So, yet again, I stopped.  I posted a question in the Runner’s World  Barefooting forum asking if some people just can’t do this minimalist thing.  The collective wisdom there is that, to make minimalist work, one should start barefoot.  And going fully barefoot outside fist requires barefoot walking.   I’ve been going barefoot around the house for many months.  But even doing that won’t provide sufficient nerve stimulation and reasons for the soles to toughen up.  One must venture outside to make that happen.  It just so happens that for me that means an almost other extreme:  Our house is on a road that has been chip-sealed.  If you’re not familiar with chip-seal suffice it to say it’s about the worst road one could choose to get road rash from.  Oil is laid down and then a few zillion sharp pebbles are spread on top.  Over time the traffic wears the pointy rocks into the surface.  Very rough – and stimulating – for tender feet.  I have to say the first few walks were pretty tough – but it’s amazing how quickly the feet toughen up.  I now look forward to them.  And it feels absolutely fantastic.  There is no question the feet and ankles are toughening up.

This posting, however, is not intended to go on about the details of my barefooting experiences.  Maybe that will happen sometime down the road.  What I’ve noticed, as I’ve turned my internet forum attention a bit more to the barefoot community, is some interesting dynamics and perspectives around the barefoot movement.

Zealots!

Getting the feet closer to the ground certainly has been getting a lot of attention.  While barefoot running has obviously been around a few years (as in “thousands and thousands of years”) Chris McDougall’s Born To Run has clearly lit a fire.  Frequently people will come to the forums stating they’re interested in moving to minimalist or “barefoot” running and they want feedback on their approach.  I haven’t, literally, seen the following statement, but it embodies what often happens:  “I just closed the back cover of Born To Run and I totally buy into this concept.  Fascinating.  I am committed to barefoot running and I’d like to go buy the right barefoot shoes for me.  Which ones are the best?”  That will bring responses along the lines “To really learn minimalist running start really barefoot.”  It is then the various forms of “You zealots!” start to occur.  Even though people want to “go there” – there is this mental line they seem to have trouble crossing which really “gets them there”.  I’m intrigued by this line from minimalist to fully barefoot folks have trouble crossing – both physically (shoe vs no shoe) and mentally (only the hard cores and zealots go truly barefoot).  But to take it one step further – I don’t understand why often the reaction seems to be defensive and strong.  I can understand “That’s not for me.” but not “You’re a bunch of nuts!” 

A Hardcore Zealotor

At the extreme of this category is a guy (I presume) who runs the website Barefoot Running Is Bad.  What I find interesting (and entertaining) about this is the amount of proactive energy he expends on his position – and I wonder what is motivating him.  I learned once the opposite of love is not hate – it’s indifference.  When there is hate (I’m using that word as a handle for the broad concept of putting active effort into something one is against.  I’m most definitely not trying to tie it to the very serious issues of hate speech, hate crimes, etc.) there is commitment and engagement. The person responsible for the above website doesn’t not care about barefoot running, he is actively against it.  Additionally, the site does not allow comments to be posted.  It’s his site – he can do whatever the heck he wants, however not allowing comments speaks volumes to me.  Why not allow a dialog?  I’d love to learn more about where this guy is coming from.  If, by a small chance of fate, the person responsible for that site is reading this, please put up a comment below.

Barefoot Is Unsanitary

This is a long-held belief.  I had this perspective as well.  Many will often say local health departments have ordinances requiring shoes in public establishments.  This, apparently, is an urban legend.  Stores can have policies requiring shoes, but that’s a far cry from an ordinance.  What strikes me is thinking through why people think of it as unsanitary.  Did you wash your feet today?  I did.  In fact – I scrub my feet with a small brush when I wash them.  Have you washed the soles of your shoes today?  Have you ever washed them?  I haven’t, unless of course, I’ve stepped into an unfortunate substance that smells particularly poorly.  (Additionally, I’ve never had to take a toothpick to my feet to get them clean – yet I’ve spent cumulatively hours with a shoe, bad smelling stuff, and a toothpick over a utility sink trying to get that last little piece of foul stuff out of a shoe’s sole.)  I think the unsanitary aspect does play into going barefoot when you come home and you don’t wash your feet.  Then think about getting into bed with nice clean sheets and unwashed soles that have been outside – disgusting.

The Dreaded Syringe

Many cite road hazards as the reason they could never go barefoot outside.  The person taking this stance will inevitably list out the kinds of things one encounters on the road:  Rocks.  Pieces of metal.  Glass.  Unsanitary substances I won’t mention.  And frequently the list ends with “Syringes”.  Syringes?  REALLY?  Ok, I admit, I don’t live in an urban area, but I’ve never seen a syringe where I’ve run, let alone stepped on it, let alone needed to put in active effort to pull it out of my shoe.  I once saw an interview with Chris McDougall and he said something entertaining:  “We have two pieces of equipment that help greatly when barefoot running:  Our eyeballs.  If you see something you don’t want to step on go around it.”  Barefoot Ken Bob demonstrates here the very complex process of how to deal with glass.

If you’re interested or intrigued by the concept of taking off your shoes I highly highly HIGHLY encourage you to give it a try.  You don’t have to commit to always running sans shoes.  You don’t have to commit to ever running sans shoes.  Just go out for a walk.  Give it a week and see how things feel.  The immediate benefit I believe you’ll find is that it’s fun and stimulating.  Over a period of just a few days you’ll likely notice some changes in your feet and ankles.  However be sure you do this while barefoot – literally.

Jim