Hope Springs

Delusional eternal. Dear readers, I owe you an apology. I prematurely announced the demise of my barefoot/minimalist running life in this very space last week. No sooner had I done that than I caught wind that one of the leading voices in barefoot running, Jason Robillard would be leading a "bareform" running clinic tomorrow, March 1st in the very city of Portland! More exciting news has not been delivered in the past seven days. I made sure my schedule was open and made my plans to attend. I admit to being more than a little giddy at the prospect of getting real instruction and feedback about my running form. Now, I'm not one that's much for gurus or putting all my eggs in one expert's basket. I think that there's lots to learn from your own experiences and knowing yourself and limits. To me, this just adds to my experiences and may just give me some insight into why I've been struggling with barefoot running. Plus, I'll be around other barefoot running types from the area which will be cool.

I'm well past the point of proclamations or even high hopes by now. All through this experience my goal has been to run with as little pain as possible for as long as possible. Apples to apples barefoot wins this contest. I was putting in more miles consistently at the end of summer than I am now (and in less discomfort). Sure, I got injured and that required some changes but I don't think the baby should have gone out with the bathwater. Right now adjusting to running in shoes is killing me. My hips and my shins are murdered right now. I feel like I'm getting burned in any direction I try to go so I may as well exhaust all my options before I completely flame out. Right?

Stay tuned; I'm sure something will click in one direction or the other soon and this annoyance will all be history. Or, i'll have a completely new opinion by Friday...