New Barefoot Challenge

My feet after running 3/4 a mile on an asphalt high school track

I am a Type 2 Diabetic with normal Blood Sugar. My contention is…

1) Conventional Wisdom is almost ALWAYS wrong… and I set out to prove that ALMOST on a DAILY basis.

2) With normal blood sugar, a diabetic can literally do anything a non-diabetic can do, assuming there has not been previous bodily harm due to poor blood sugar control.

I am limited only by my own capabilities and determination. I am expanding my capabilities almost daily…. and I LOVE IT! :)

 

My Barefoot Progression

2009 – began going barefoot in and around the house.

Winter 2010 – began exercising indoors and outside… barefoot. This was mainly performing plyometrics and short sprints.

Summer 2010 – began barefoot sprinting on the football field at the local high school.

April 3, 2011 – decided to jog around on the high school track three times for a total of 3/4 of a mile.

As you can see from the picture above, there was no harm done.  After the 3rd lap, my feet did seem sensitive and a little sore so I decided not to ‘push’ myself any further.  I have been running barefoot sprints for many months but this was my first time on ‘pavement’.

** Jogging barefoot is COMPLETELY different than jogging with shoes … you try to stay off your heals and the ‘feel’ is so different.  By the way, my one timed lap was 3:28 … no land speed record. :))

Note:

1) My feet were ‘tender’ after running the 3 laps, so I decided to put my shoes on before we left the high school.

2) After approximately 30 minutes of wearing the shoes, my feet remained tender… and actually seemed to become worse.  Still very tolerable but they did seem to be more tender.

I decided to remove my shoes and check my feet… they were red, warm, ‘puffy’ and moist.  Moister and heat are a bad for many reasons I won’t go into here.

3) Given the condition of my feet I decided to go ‘shoeless’ as I normally did.

WITHIN  minutes … my feet began to feel better.

WITHIN 30 minutes … my feet felt almost 100% normal

By bed time… all tenderness was gone.

Lastly… this morning … I awoke with normal feet.. no soreness, no discoloration… just feet! :)

 

New Challenge?

Simply to continue to run more and more on pavement… barefoot.  My first goal is a mile, then two, three…etc. :)   After that… we shall see.

 

Summary

Diabetic or not… I URGE YOU to read the links below.

Investigate barefoot exercise and progress gradually… you will not regret it.

I am now MORE FIRMLY convinced than ever to the ills of heavily padded footwear.  Our feet have been ‘breathing’ for eons … let your feet breath as much as you can… go BAREFOOT!

** Diabetics should maintain normal blood sugar levels, as always but especially if attempting to perform barefoot exercises.

 

Diabetes Warrior Barefoot Posts

“Diabetes and Barefoot Exercise” – general information including how I gradually moved to barefoot sprinting.

“Snowy Primal X” – Barefoot Video … in the snow. :) This post caused me to receive some less than positive feedback…  and loving it! :)

“When is a Diabetic Toe… Just a Toe?”

This is a post on MarksDailyApple.com (MDA) “Even If the Shoe Fits…Forget It” – great introduction to barefoot running.

Did you know there was an Olympic marathon champion who ran the entire race… barefoot??

To the right is a picture of Abebe Bikila (from the MDA post) … he ran and won the 1960 Olympic Marathon… barefooted.

I know, he’s was not diabetic … but remember my contentions above… I can do anything a non-diabetic can do, limited only by my own capabilities and determination.

 

I urge EVERYONE but especially diabetics … DO NOT limit yourselves … LIVE LIFE FULLY.

Just do it intelligently and push forward gradually. That is what I did and I am so happy I did.

 

Here is my Diabetes Warrior Info:

My Diabetes Meal Plan ( a true diabetes diet, not like most of those promoted by American Diabetes Association)

How I Play

4 thoughts on “New Barefoot Challenge”

  1. Steve Martinson

    Amen, brother! You recall my message to you a week or two ago about how doing 100 jumping jacks in my brand new Nike Air sneakers just about killed me! I did 125 today barefoot, walked it off for a minute or so, and I’m fine! Living in Texas, I go barefoot all the time indoors. Will start doing so outside too, now that I’m going outside more thanks to the Primal prodding :-)

    1. Thanks for the comment Steve. Yes… I DO recall the news…fantastic!

      As for the ‘Primal Prodding’ … you are welcome. I love the phrase I may steal it. Thank YOU for the ‘Primal Props’. :)

      GROK ON!

  2. Kick ass! I’m trying to get into more barefoot running as well. My Vibrams are great, and I don’t feel like I have a good reason not to use them (besides the smell), but barefoot is just fun.

    What’s weird to me is that after I got started down the path of barefoot technology (assume every pun I say is intended), it occurred to me that we pave way friggin’ a lot. The only really compelling reasons I can think of for having sidewalks everywhere instead of dirt/grass are that it’s easier to clean, and it’s wheelchair accessible.

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