Don't Go Barefoot

Well, an end has come to my experiment with running in minimalist shoes.  Friday morning I ran a three mile warm up, planning to run an addition seven in shoes.  After about 2.5 miles my right foot really started to hurt, so much so that I really wanted to stop.  I pushed it home anyway. 

I then changed into shoes, even though my right foot really hurt.  I thought that maybe it was one of those types of pains that sometimes go away when you start running again.  Unfortunately that was not the case.  I could only go another 1.7 miles before I threw in the towel.

Since then I've not been able to walk on it.  Saturday morning the top of my foot turned black and blue.  Then it swelled up and I'm still having a hard time walking on it.  I'm afraid it is a stress fracture.  I see the doctor tomorrow morning.  As a result I've changed from the Houston Full Marathon to the Half Marathon, hoping that I can at least have a fun walk that day (today was the last day to make the switch, otherwise I would have waited until after the doctor looked at it).

Looks like my focus will be on cycling and swimming for the next six weeks.

So, in conclusion, I don't recommend following the barefoot craze.  I will not be prescribing this for my clients.  Nothing beats a good pair of running shoes for running.

Train safe (do as I say, not as I do)!