Fun While Running
Sometimes when I run in Portland, Oregon, I go past a number of street people who hang out along the sidewalk by the Williamette River. One lady who has seen me running a number of times always "talks me up" with the people she is with. Its like she's my buddy, now.
The other day I was running through the streets of the city and had to stop for traffic. A guy was standing there and we talked a little bit about barefoot running, why I don't wear shoes, why it doesn't hurt my feet, etc. All at once there was this same lady, my "bag-lady buddy", who seemed to show up out of nowhere. She jumped into the conversation to defend running barefoot! She was saying things like, "It's good for you!" "He runs like this every day!" I got a real kick out of her!
Oh, the joys of running barefoot never cease!
Ryan Whitaker, age 69 years. Running barefoot since August, 2004.
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About Me
- The Sentient Runner
- Vancouver, Washington, United States
- I am 69 years old. Married for 45 years :), four children - all boys. I subscribe to the spiritual framework of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I love its temples, I love gardening, I love running barefoot.
6 comments:
I tend to jog/run on the heels of my feet, so I need nice cushiony shoes to absorb the shock, or my ankles, shins, and knees get beat up.
I'm too prissy to run barefoot on the dirty ground. Think of all the germs! Not on my tender tootsies!
By the way, do you ever carry a missionary Book of Mormon when you run?
Hi Ryan:
Welcome to the blogosphere!
I just saw a link to you on Mormanity and I thought I'd stop by.
I haven't had a chance to read all your posts yet, but from what I've seen this far, it looks like you have an interesting blog.
As an LDS dad, I'm always interested to find other LDS bloggers as well.
Best wishes, and I'll be stopping by to see what you're up to.
Bookslinger,
No, I don't carry a Book of Mormon when I run. It would be too cumbersome and I would sweat all over it and make it soggy and unpresentable!
David,
Thanks!
Bookslinger:
Oh, by the way, running on your heels is not good for you, even with cushy shoes on! In fact, its probably the wedge-heeled design of the shoes that forces you into heel-striking.
Studies done by Irene Davis, a Univ. of Delaware sports physiologist, show that the pressures caused by heel striking while wearing cushiony support shoes is twice (or more) than those caused by a barefoot runner. In other words, your support shoes are not helping you much.
Another fact that has intrigued shoe manufacturers is that, despite millions spent on shoe design changes (improvements?) the number of running and sports related injuries has not decreased a bit. In other words, "improved" design has not helped prevent injuries at all. You are just as well off wearing the old flat bottomed canvas boat shoes as you are wearing $250.00 top-of-the-line sports shoes!
Some injuries are exacerbated by thick soles, cushy sports shoes, such as ankle sprains. You almost never hear of a barefoot person getting ankle sprains.
An excellent running style to study is that promoted by Dr. Nicholas Romanov, called the "Pose Method" of running, found at www.posetech.com. I highly recommend it for shod runners as well as barefoot runners!
Ryan
VB: Could you carry it in a ziplock bag? I prefer the hardcover edition.
"Hey, what you got in the bag?"
"A Book of Mormon. Wanna see it? It's free."
Thanks for the info on the heel-strikes. I was wondering about that. Is it possible to jog at low speed on the balls of your feet? I was used to kind of shuffle-jogging. I used to think that running on the balls of your feet required more up-and-down "bounding" kind of movement.
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