The Beginning

I thought a long time about what my first post should be. Decided, on the advice from my husband, to start at the beginning. Why did I start running barefoot? Well, I had been suffering for years with ITB Syndrome. I knew the sneakers I had been wearing needed to be replaced but I was so frustrated at the thought of spending more money on another pair of sneakers that were not going to help my injury. I was frustrate not being able to run more than 1 mile before stopping and I was angry that I couldn't run. I have been a runner my whole life, thanks to a wonderful person who saw my potential in 6th grade. Running for me is like my therapy. It makes me happy to get up in the morning and start my day by stepping out the door and going for a run. One day I asked my husband what he thought about the idea of not wearing footwear anymore. What if I ran barefoot? I had done research, thanks to google, on other runners who had been running barefoot and the philosophy behind it seemed to make sense. (Thank you Barefoot Ken Bob and Barefoot Ted) My husband said "go for it"! So I studied the technique, I read the pros and cons, read some more, I started walking barefoot everywhere, and one day just "went for it". WOW! Running through the grass for that first barefoot half mile was great. It was freedom! It was fun! And my knee didn't hurt. So here I am 3 years later. Enjoying running again. Running in events that I never would have considered 3 years ago. I love that I can comfortably run. I feel like I have been on that runners high for years. I think the next post will be about the things I learned during my first year of my barefooting lifestyle.