Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 41 total)
  • Barefoot….wierd hippy sh#t or commonsense?
  • lookmanohands
    Free Member

    So after spending most of the year recovering from one running injury or another, done a lot of reading on barefoot running and it seems to make a lot of sense to me. I am seeing more and more reasons not to wear shoes at all in everyday life, is this a slippery slope ? Will I be eating lentils and start calling everyone dude and bra? Anyone got much experience of being barefoot all the time and the usual uninformed ‘comments’ from the disapproving public. Dude.

    uplink
    Free Member

    Dog s**t squelching between your toes is delightful

    Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    Yeah, it sounds legitimate but where would you actually go barefoot running? Those vibram five fingers shoes are apparently popular for it – minimal sole and at least a wee bit of protection.

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    soobalias
    Free Member

    lets go back to the beginning….. undergo proper physio to fully recover your multiple injuries.

    proprioception or kinesthesia are words you should know.

    this isnt the time of year to try to start living barefoot, if you are interested start in mar/apr and see how it goes for the summer. I wouldnt be running anywhere public till i had been walking for 6mths.

    yunki
    Free Member

    there’s a couple of blokes round town here that cycle barefoot… now what is THAT all about?

    TroutWrestler
    Free Member

    They’ve evolved an SPD cleat? Now THAT’S progress…

    ditch_jockey
    Free Member

    I don’t run, but I live as much of my life as possible barefoot. It’s made much easier by working from home, so I can spend a big chunk of the day either in the house or out on the deck in the back garden mooching about barefoot. I tend to keep a pair of flip flops in the car, so if I need to head into town with the car, I can drive barefoot and slip them on when I’m heading into the shops and so on.

    I much prefer it, and I find I have far fewer problems with my feet than when I worked in an office in trail shoes most days. I used to get really bad sweat rash on my feet, even though I washed them daily, changed my socks and so on.

    I have absolutely no empirical evidence other than reflecting on my own experience, but I’ve noticed that when I drive long distances, I stay more alert for longer if I take my socks and shoes off and drive with my bare feet on the pedals. I guess there’s something stimulating about the tactile experience of having the soles of my feet on the textured rubber.

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    FYI, I found going barefoot (apart from open sandals) very painful in freezing conditions 🙁

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    I do a “halfway house” thing and use trail shoes with minimal/no padding.

    Very muddy – Inov8 Mudlaws
    General trail – Saloman SpeedCross 2s

    For road I use padded shoes and I’m worried about knee damage – Asics Kayano 16s.

    Apart from on the beach, I wouldn’t run barefoot.

    philconsequence
    Free Member

    isn’t driving barefoot illegal? (invalidates insurance or something?)

    scu98rkr
    Free Member

    I think theres something in it.

    But you dont need to buy any expensive shoes or anything.

    Just wear very thin soles with as much movement in the shore for the feet as possible.

    And for short jogs just use cheap pumps.

    I reckon if your used to doing long runs moving straight over to pumps is probably a bad idea.

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    you wear socks and sandals now dont you sfb

    lookmanohands
    Free Member

    Been running in huaraches (Google it) for a while no problems, vff’s rub my feet raw. Just read a very interesting book called “the barefoot book” and it all seems like it all makes a lot of sense.

    simon_g
    Full Member

    Nothing wrong with driving barefoot, especially in modern cars with servo-assisted brakes. I sometimes do it when I’ve been for ride and got soaked.

    lookmanohands
    Free Member

    isn’t driving barefoot illegal? (invalidates insurance or something?)

    That’s the sort of guff I’m on about!

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    isn’t driving barefoot illegal?

    I don’t think it is, no.

    EDIT

    http://allaboutthefeet.blogspot.com/2008/01/is-it-illegal-to-drive-barefoot.html

    I’ve done it loads in the past. No problems at all, and I can’t see why there should be.

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    ou wear socks and sandals now dont you sfb

    do you MIND ?? When it hits zero I wear socks and walking boots!

    philconsequence
    Free Member

    cool, just something i was told many years ago and i always doubted it but not wanting to take risks whilst behind the wheel of a fast moving bit of metal, i decided to keep my shoes on just in case

    ditch_jockey
    Free Member

    I have a memory of being told it was illegal as well, but it seems crazy to me – one of my female colleagues will often drive barefoot if we’re going to a meeting and she’s wearing heels. I can’t see how driving in a pair of smooth soled court shoes with a 2″ heel can be safer than having the soles of your feet in contact with the pedals.

    EDIT – just went and googled it, and came up with this link which apparently confirms that it is perfectly legal to drive barefoot in the UK.
    Barefoot Driving in UK

    EDIT again – PeterPoddy edited while I was editing, so we’ve now both got the same link…

    brant
    Free Member

    I did my driving test barefoot. So I have to assume it’s not illegal.

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    Often drive barefoot – flip flops plus pedals don’t work plus often drive with wet feet after a surf.

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    PeterPoddy edited while I was editing, so we’ve now both got the same link…

    Great minds think alike? Or fools never differ…..??

    😀

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    I’ve been doing it on and off for most of the summer, shin splints are a thing of the past.

    You have to be preparred to go back to the beginning though and start again because if you are the sort of runner who lands on their heels (like i was) your calves will have the shock of their lives when you start!

    mboy
    Free Member

    is this a slippery slope ?

    LOL

    You’ll have ditched your clothes for hessian sacks, spreading your own waste on the garden as fertiliser, and be making your own soap from waste vegetable oil in no time!

    Bloody hippy… 😉

    uplink
    Free Member

    isn’t driving barefoot illegal?

    Those of us old enough to remember the oil crisis of the early 70s may also remember a government ‘infomercial’ that recommended bare foot driving as a way of saving fuel [more feel for the throttle etc.

    StuF
    Full Member

    I’d like to give it a go, just read Born To Run – Christopher McDougall, superb book, does make me want to through away my running shoes

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    I’d love to go barefoot all the time. Except I wear inserts for over-pronation.

    And yes, driving barefoot is illegal.

    sheldona
    Free Member

    There’s a couple of runners I’ve seen on Bredon Hill that go barefoot, even on the rockier/stoney tracks, mad!

    finbar
    Free Member

    And yes, driving barefoot is illegal.

    Did you not read any of the other responses?

    meehaja
    Free Member

    barefoot running is odd at first, but feels normal after a while, and obviously, the more you do it, the tougher your feet get. I used to run barefoot on a track, then moved up to pavements. I tend to avoid stepping in dog mess with shoes on, so never had it between my toes!

    RE: the driving in bare feet thing, I was always under the impression is was something about driving in “suitable footwear” So your feet couldn’t slip off the pedals and you were in complete control, nothing specific against bare feet!

    (All comments are users own opinion and have no relation to fact or science)

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    I’ve been doing it on and off for most of the summer, shin splints are a thing of the past.

    You have to be preparred to go back to the beginning though and start again because if you are the sort of runner who lands on their heels (like i was) your calves will have the shock of their lives when you start!

    There’s the reason I wear orthotics… Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    Did you not read any of the other responses?

    Nope. Unfortunately Monday is a work day.

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    I was always under the impression is was something about driving in “suitable footwear”

    It probably does say that (As opposed to unsuitable footwear). But barefoot is perfectly legal all the same. 🙂

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    The Highway Code (section 97) is suitably ambigious:

    Before setting off.
    …clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner

    But after scanning over the above I admit that my driving instructor may have been wrong.

    sas
    Free Member

    Doesn’t seem ambiguous- if you’re not wearing footwear then there’s no way it can prevent you using the controls. What about naked driving?

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    That’s how I’d read it, but it doesn’t actually *say* that, which is where the ambiguity lies in my eyes.

    I’d also imagine naked driving violates some law somewhere. 😉

    However, it does make me wonder what it’d feel like driving naked with a beaded seat cover…

    soobalias
    Free Member

    the only time ive suffered from shin splints was after starting kickboxing, doing a lot of exercise barefoot.

    nickc
    Full Member

    So after spending most of the year recovering from one running injury or another, done a lot of reading on barefoot running and it seems to make a lot of sense to me

    So have you actually tried running barefoot? What injuries did you suffer from, and how do you know they were shoe related?

    Jolsa
    Full Member

    Timely thread to follow… After suffering with a posterior tibial tendon injury from running since Jan, I had a meeting with a specialist physio over a week back and he recommended reading “Born to Run” as it apparently goes through a lot of what he was saying about relying less on special cushioned trainers and instead focussing on your running style.

    As DrDomRob said it’s almost like going back to the beginning…

    Got another appointment this Friday where my running style will be analysed. Since the first meeting I’ve been doing loads of squats as ordered. My legs are rather wobbly for it.

    soobalias
    Free Member

    get a balance/wobble board, a set of juggling balls and a skipping rope.

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