by For the past month or so, with the exception of work boots I have been pretty much exclusively wearing two pairs of barefoot shoes from Vevo. I have these running thongs:
and these day wear:
I never pay full price for shoes.
Both of which have a flexible uncushioned sole not exceeding say 7mm in width.
I first read about the barefoot running movement in a long form article I think was written by Christopher McDougall some years ago. But…
I am not a runner. I keep trying to convince myself that it is worthwhile, with little success so far. That said, I do have cause to run occasionally and since reading that all those years ago I have modified the way I run to avoid heel striking ever since. I have worn what I thought were thin soled shoes in the past, but even the thinest was more padded than these. Actually wearing a pair of barefoot shoes takes some serious adjustment.
N called them my ‘Ministry of Silly Walks Shoes’ in the first weeks. In padded shoes I was putting my foot down hard. Really hard and when I put on these shoes that feel for the most part the same and tried to walk normally I would hurt my feet slamming them into the pavement. I certainly did at times look pretty silly as I figured out how to stride around with no cushioning.
My stride has adjusted and become comfortable if not yet innate. My feet don’t hurt and best of all my back doesn’t either. I am pretty convinced based on my own anecdotal evidence alone that the way I was walking in padded shoes was one of the leading causes of my lower back pain.
I wholeheartedly recommend giving barefoot shoes, which are available from a few different brands, a try.
Vevo shoes tout their patent pending puncture resistant sole, I have had a cat head go through the thongs but I’ve had that happen in boots too so make of that what you will.
Drawing, drawing and more drawing today.