Out RunningTaking the barefoot plunge
About 2 years ago I purchased a pair of VFFs. I loved them. I wore them. I ran in them. Then I stopped and I’m not sure why. For the 2-3 months I wore them I noticed a huge increase in the strength of my lower legs and feet. The plantar paccitis I had suffered with for years was all but gone; for those who suffer with PF you can certainly appreciate that!
I was running in my VFFs along a path near the James River here in Richmond, VA and stepped on a large, sharp rock right in the middle of my right foot. I felt immediate pain but thought it just because I stepped on the rock the wrong way. As it turns out, I had broken my 5th metatarsal (the bone that goes back into your foot from your little toe). I was in a boot for 4 weeks and not allowed to run for 2 weeks after that. It was aweful to be stopped like that, my ortho was not on my friends list at that point but I listened to her.
When I started training for the Marine Corps Marathon the first time (when I got the ok from the ortho) I thought I should start wearing shoes with more padding to prevent another break. Since switching to those padded shoes I have had more injuries and discomfort than I want to go into here. I have stuck with those shoes since then and over the last couple of weeks have been eyeing my VFFs that are sitting in my closet waiting patiently to be reunited with my feet.
Ok, enough with the history lesson. My plan is to run with the VFFs when it is dark out and barefoot when it isn’t. The reasoning here is that I am pretty confident that the only rocks I will encounter are very small (pea gravel from driveways) and I will be able to see broken glass, etc when it is daylight. At night the VFFs will keep me from cutting my feet on that glass…make sense?
I’ll provide updates here and pass along anything I learn the hard way.