Half a Footstrike Short
Of A Full Load
John Berman, ABC reporter described in a sentence what I have known for sometime
... I am half of a footstrike short of a full load!
I was somewhat impressed but not really surprised that the reporter from
Barefoot Ken Bob's ABC World News Tonight interview on 11/13/05 demonstrated that the unshod
foot strike was HALF of the force as when running with shoes. Actually, he said
that as his impact was analyzed that his shins took half the impact. That is
considerable, I'm sure, when you break it down to impact, say for instance, on a
5 mile run. How about a marathon? Maybe that's why my legs feel so much better
after a barefoot marathon than when I used to run with shoes. It seems like it
took longer for me to recover from a thon with shoes, feeling all the aches and
pains for several days.
I once argued with a runner regarding the G-force of barefoot footstrike versus
shod running. This fellow is a retired aerospace engineer. He argued
emphatically that there was no way there would be less G-force by running
barefoot. I had only been running a few months barefoot at the time and really
did not have a good comeback for him at the time, except that I once had leg
pain, but now I don't. "Geez, don't know the how-comes, only know that I once
was a cripple but now I can run with ease!" Of course, he was subscribing to the
thought that a barefoot runner would land the same way a shod runner would land.
Obviously, he had never ran barefoot. Ah, another Kool-Aid drinking shod runner
that has believed all the hype that the running shoe companies have been dishing
out ever since Bill Bowermann made his first pair of "waffle stompers" from his
wife's electric griddle.
Mr. Berman's report regarding half the impact to one's legs running barefoot got
me thinking. If I am only experiencing half the impact when I run, does that
mean I am not getting all the enjoyment of the pain that I see written across
the faces of so many shod runners I encounter. Is it really a truism when said
"No pain, no gain? As Barefoot Ken Bob said in his interview, "... you can
always recognize the barefoot runner by the smile on their face!" So true! But,
should I feel guilty that I am not experiencing the pain that my shod
counterparts must be experiencing when they lace up everyday and hit the
streets? Does it make me half a runner since my impact is only half as much?
It's just that running with shoes is so HARD, in the long run (pun intended) on
my 50 year old bones, muscles, and sinews. Am I a coward because I have taken
the easier, softer way?
Have I gone off half-cocked again in my pursuit of something that is enjoyable
rather than feeling like a punishment?
Am I a half-hearted runner or am I pursuing my love of barefoot running in a
half-assed way that will only lead to disappointment because I enjoy it so much?
Those with half a mind have told me that I am a half-wit and will continue to do
so, I guess, in past and future occasions.
The truth be told: I am half a footstrike short of a full load and loving every
minute of an injury free running experience!