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Barefoot Five Years

(2020-04-20 10:14:57) 下一個

In my early days of awakening to health, I often looked back, feeling thankful,
experimenting, and reviewing changes. Since new habits came to stay, however, I
have stopped doubting and even limited exploring. Only bad news reminded me from
time to time of how blessed I have been. And the years passed.

My barefoot lifestyle has been inspired by and inseparable from running. I have 
run two marathons and one 50k, all in Xero sandals. To me, running feels more
like a sport in cushioned shoes but a pure joy barefoot style. I run because
it improves my health and not because I need the thrills of beating a standard,
other people, or even myself in time or distance.

When shelter-in-place first kicked off, I picked up again the book Born To Run
by Christopher McDougal, and from it re-discovered a gem. These were the words
directly from the horse's mouth (pun intended, as Caballo Blanco means "The
White Horse"):

- Don't fight the trail. Take what it gives you. If you have a choice between
  one step and two between rocks, take three.
  
- Lesson two. Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because
  if that's all you get, that's not so bad. Then work on light. Make it 
  effortless, like you don't give a shit how high the hill is or how far you've
  got to go. When you've practiced that so long that you forget you're
  practicing, you work on making it smooooth. You won't have to worry about the
  last one--you get those three, and you'll be fast.

  
The lessons dovetailed nicely with my recent experience of micro-step running
which first came out of necessity as my right foot would hurt too much otherwise
and then became a pattern. Like a ritual, I repeat in my mind the two lessons 
during every run.

Aug 2019, I discovered Roflex through Steven Sashen who pointed out in a video
that many suspected plantar fasciitis cases were caused by tight calves. The
tool brought instant relief. After the sharp pain in the right foot was gone,
however, it was foolish of me to stop rolling. I accepted the dull foot pain,
especially after a run, as fate. It was only in early 2020 I realized I should
continue rolling and make it a habit. It has since helped improving the foot to
the point where, with better techniques, I can handle 20+ hilly miles in Xeros.

Looking back, the concept of "Whole Body Barefoot" has been so right. Most
modern humans, even some martial artists, lack strong feet because of social 
conditioning. I am far from a sociopath and have learnt to fit in by wearing the
"right" shoes for the occasions. Only that for health I choose to limit those
occasions and spend most time barefoot or wearing minimum shoes.  Without a
solid base, exercising and building impressive bodies mean little in terms of
health. This is imminently true for elderly people and will be true for the young.

Changing to minimum footwear is a very effective antidote to the harm imposed
on us by modernity. Time will come when a pair of strong and healthy feet are
more chic than any gaudy, protective, heavily-marketed footwear.

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評論
7grizzly 回複 悄悄話 回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : No problem. And you won't regret it. ;-)
But go slow. First walk in it and build up the miles. Enjoy.
暖冬cool夏 回複 悄悄話 Thank you for the link and the info!
暖冬cool夏 回複 悄悄話 回複 '7grizzly' 的評論 : Just ordered one for myself. They run out of the color I like though. Let's see how the magic shoes work:)))
7grizzly 回複 悄悄話 回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : Thank you, 暖冬, for reading. The Z-Trail is still on sale: https://xeroshoes.com/shop/gender/womens/ztrail-women/. My friends L and S have already bought and I myself loaded up with four pairs ;-)
暖冬cool夏 回複 悄悄話 that We don't fight
暖冬cool夏 回複 悄悄話 True that our feet are our base, young or old. And it's also so true that So don't fight trails or against nature. Surrender ourselves to them. The other day I actually went online and searched for Xero shoes when you mentioned in your post that the shoes are on sale. I didn't see any price reduction, and they are pretty expensive. I don't mean to buy it now. Maybe one day.:)
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