Well, it’s been an interesting start to the year. I gave myself the Christmas period off running, knowing full well that my marathon training started in earnest the first week of January. But once it did start, I decided to go slowly slowly, specifically because I would be wearing my Vivobarefoot Evo Hydrophobics for the first time. Being zero-drop, and a whole lot thinner than any running shoes I’d ever tried before, I knew my feet would take a bit of time to get used to the change of impact, particularly after the barefoot on tarmac experience last year.
To help with the transition, most of my first runs were on and around Blackheath’s actual heath, the grassy area between the town and the railings behind which Greenwich Park sits. I came back from those runs with feet that wondered what the hell I was up to, and calves not completely happy with my stride. Unfortunately I’ve recently broken my Kindle, so my reading of Barefoot Ken Bob’s book has halted, but what I did read before it broke is what I’m remembering: Listening to my feet and legs.
There are but 13 weeks to go in marathon training, and as much as I am trying to build up distance, I’m more worried about keeping the running up. My feet and stride seem to be adjusting to the wearing of my Evos, and a good dose of stretching beforehand is certainly helping me out. That’s the most important thing. I don’t want to go too far too soon and pull something…or worse! Progress isn’t as fast as I’d like, but it’s steady and I’m even running on concrete and roads now – pretty handy, considering the London Marathon doesn’t exactly take place upon rolling grasslands and fields!
The problem is, the other non zero-drop shoes I own are getting less and less comfortable, and feeling more and more bouncy and insecure; including the Nike Free Runs I bought not that long ago. Every pair I own are making me well aware how far my feet are away from feeling the ground. Well, apart from the Ra’s I own. But more on those soon.
