humble pie

[opabinia]

I can lift heavy things, but running is hard.

In an effort to add a low-impact, high-duration, hypodermal-fat-thinning exercise to my haphazard program (and also just to do something really different), I jogged slowly on a soccer field for twenty minutes* today. Heart? No problem. Lungs? Bored. Legs? They felt fine at the time, but they're surprisingly flimsy right now.

Any of you running types (I know there are a few on my Friends list) run barefoot on grass? I like it much better than running sneaker-shod on pavement. Feels more foot-anatomy-friendly to me.

* I run about... once a year, maybe. I didn't want to learn anything the hard way.

Comments

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

run barefoot on grass

Back when I was a runner (you can stop doubling over in laughter any time now), I picked up enough sharp and hurty things in my feet to convince me that the Zola Budd [1] thing was not the way to go, and to get a better set of trainers.

_______________________
[1] I'm really surprised that name came right off the top of my head without resort to Google.

[panzerkunst.livejournal.com]

I'm too scared of stepping on rocks and poopie.

[xany.livejournal.com]

I can lift heavy things, but running is hard.

I hear that one. though for me it's totally a muscle vs endurance thing.

I have very powerful legs. the heart and lungs need work though.

to quote Gimli in LotR: "We dwarves are natural sprinters."

damn straight.

[crystain.livejournal.com]

Cycling is where its at yo!

Definitely "low-impact, high-duration, hypodermal-fat-thinning exercise" with out the potential knee damage...unless you crash.

[xenoglaux]

true knowledge.

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's the way i'm starting to feel about it. besides, it's a quick, easy and fun way to get around town.

[crystain.livejournal.com]

And those bking shorts are mighty flattering.

awww yeah!

[panzerkunst.livejournal.com]

But Boston is the least bike-friendly city in the country.

[nepenthedreams]

They make shoes that are supposed to be like being barefoot, only giving you enough protection so that you don't run over a nail or pieces of glass (a concern in my jogging area anyway).

I so love running on grass (though I wear shoes), but there isn't usually a lot of grass around. In New Haven, I ran a lot through the park until it started to get dark early.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

More details about these almost-barefoot shoes?

[rynsect.livejournal.com]

catchy ad campaign in the T stops lately: nikefree.com

beware: flash. i'm not sure if there's sound, my speakers are off here at work.

[mesatchornug.livejournal.com]

thus the grass...

or at least this is the excuse. of course my knees are already on their way towards shot, sop i oughtn't talk

[plankton.livejournal.com]

another voice recommending caution while running on grass. not only do you have no idea what you might step on, there's the problem that there's all sorts of little imperfections in the ground that might cause you to wrench your ankle or something. you might want to find a track that has a nice springy surface (they're not all concrete); personal fave.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

The only time I really run is when I go hiking in the Fells.
I like running up the hills, and through the pine forrest area. This is mainly because the ground there is packed with layer upon layer of pine needles which makes it very springy and enjoyable to run on. I'd never do it barefoot. I've had glass in my foot once too many times. Ouchie!

[darla.livejournal.com]

Running barefoot has always been terribly hard for me - slow and painful. i think it's an arch support deal. But if your feet are fine with it, then do what nepenthe01 says and get those almost-barefoot shoes. That way you'll feel barefoot, but will also miss out on the dog poop. : P

[subatomicsatan.livejournal.com]

since when is running low impact?

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Since I compared it with throwing a 72lb iron sphere overhead.

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

I call bullshit on the "hard on your joints." Humans have been running on natural surfaces for say, 100,000 years, depending on when you want to start calling us "human." Engineered, shock-absorbent, arch-supported shoes have been around for less than 0.1% of that time. And suddenly they're necessary? Go tell that to the Kenyans.

The logic put out by the shoe companies is like the podiatrist who said that because of my strained plantar fascia, I'd have to wear hard arch supports forever. The solution? Weaning myself off of hard inserts and onto heavy deads in no-support Chuck Taylors.

Ankle stability? If it's an issue for you, then go to Ironwoody and get yourself a green band, and go to Jumpstretch and check out the ankle stability routine. I don't think that Dick Hartzell COULD twist his ankle even if he tried.

Or wait until I get up there again and I'll give you the whole ankle rundown I gave that former Russian ballerina I trained. The trails I ran at WFU were awful and I "should" have twisted my ankles many times, but I didn't.

That said, go check out the barefoot running sites. There is a completely different gait required, and we are talking about something other than concrete. You ease into it, just like KBs, and nowadays many don't do it "barefoot," exactly because of the nails and poopie. Just with minimal shoes. Again, it's all over the Web.

KB's shouldn't be high-impact on your knees, BTW. Unless you hit them.

Rant over.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Hey! You typed out all the stuff I was too lazy to type. :)

(I was thinking about the Bujinkan taiso ankle-stretchy stuff, myself. I've tripped and bent my ankle in ways that would have put me on crutches five or six years ago, but I haven't hurt an ankle since... well, since I learned that ankle stretching trick.)

running on empty!

[geppy.livejournal.com]

actually, I like doing that as well... but I just don't trust New York City Parks to have picked up all the stray needles, pieces of glass and other nasty objects off the lawns.
In San Diego I used to run barefoot on the beach. It was... exfoliating. No, really, it works your feet and below-the-knee-shin-and-other-miscellaneous muscles a lot. But I never did it for more than about 30 minutes--my arches need more support. Anyways, avoiding the pavement as much as possible is always good fer ya.