Running barefoot has had a huge impact on my existence. In my early twenties I was in the Marine Corps and ran because I needed to, in regular running shoes, etc. In my early thirties, after ten years of doing little physically, I made it up to six miles a run, every other day, great! I loved it, felt good, what's to complain about? Then the runner's knee hit. Lots of PT, x-rays, MRI's and threats of surgery left me knowing I would never stand in a corral with other marathon hopefuls waiting for the starting gun to go off.
My husband (a former Marine tank officer) runs and has knocked out a half dozen marathons over the years, which was just salt in the wound. I had many false starts which only left me more discouraged than before.
I'm a very independent "do it myself" person and when I started hearing about barefoot running, just knew it was for me! After years of making my own soap, granola, yogurt, sunscreen, giving birth to my son at home with a midwife (who barely made it on time), living in Hong Kong, walking out on my first husband (not a very good decision, but one that saved my life) and being vegetarian, barefoot running was just one more opportunity to do it my way. Wow.
There were a few bumps as I started out, but with a foam roller, knee strap (which I don't need anymore) and a few golf balls to torture the bottom of my feet, I'm holding my own. Three miles 3x/week and I just registered myself for the Chicago Marathon.
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