Sunday, November 29, 2009

My story


I've had this blog for a few years now and never paid it much mind. Now, I have volunteered to be a barefoot running mentor and this blog could be helpful. So, a little about my barefoot self;
In March of 2009 I was browsing the Runner's World forums. I've been a member there for a few years but never really fit into any of the forums. I wasn't a beginner, an elite, a woman, a marathoner or a shoe. I mostly posted in the beginners just because they were nice. Then one day there appeared a Barefoot Runners forum. I didn't realize that people really ran barefoot so I was intrigued.
I believe I made a post on the first day the forum was there, it was profound, It went something like this, "are yoga toes anything like jazz hands?" who knew what that would lead to. I continued to read about barefoot running and did more reading at Ken Bob's site. I heard about Vibram Five Fingers so in April I bought a pair of VFF's and a pair of new Asics on the same day. Once I ran in the VFF's I had no desire to put the Asics on. My $100 Asics are in the closet with about 25 miles on them.
I slowly transitioned into barefoot running over the next couple months and through the summer I ran races in 5k, 10k, 10 miles and I ran the Baltimore 1/2 marathon barefoot.
I can't say enough about how barefoot running has changed my perspective on running, I'm not training anymore, I'm running. It's fun. Winter will be a challange that I will take as it comes and next fall I plan to tackle my first full marathon.
This blog will, when I remember to write, follow my journey through barefoot running, I'm sure there will be some personal touches here too. I'm not much of a writer so bare with me.