Running the hilly 5k in my Vibram Five Fingers took a lot out of me. I’m not sure if it was because I’ve really only run longer than that in them a few times or if it had to do with the speed. I didn’t run in them at all last week.
Today, I wanted to get back into them, but right now there are so many acorns EVERYWHERE that I just couldn’t into the idea. The thought of stepping on one in the Five Fingers just made me cringe. I stepped on one on Saturday night in my ballet flats and it hurt like hell, I could only imagine how much it would hurt if I hit one wrong while running.
Instead of compromising and wearing shoes, I opted to run barefoot on the treadmill. I did a mile warm up and then a fast mile and a half. At that point, I started getting tired and my form went to pieces, so I backed off the pace and ran one more mile. Judging by my experience, I think I need to run shorter barefoot runs more frequently instead of pushing so hard to manage a four mile run. Or maybe I just need to run 2-3 four mile runs barefoot or in Vibrams each week. Any of my barefoot readers got thoughts on that? Going totally barefoot/minimalist is not an option yet. I don’t want to cut my running back that drastically (and honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever be 100% barefoot/minimal).
On an unrelated note, I’d like to start a new feature on this blog. I wrote one “Ask Mama” post a while back and really enjoyed writing it. I’m also writing a series of blog posts called “Moms’ Help Desk” over at Metro DC Mom. As most of you know, in my pre-kids life, I was a research librarian. While I don’t miss working, I do miss having a chance to research topics. I look forward to researching and writing some posts that are less fluffy than my usual. The only problem is I need help from my loyal readers. I need topics. I need questions. So, I challenge you to ask me a question. I promise to try to answer it. So, hit me with your best shot! (And if you can’t think of a research question, feel free to ask me an “inquiring minds want to know” type of question.) Leave a comment or email me at mom2shoo at gmail.com