Running gait and sandals
- Thread starter Jaybird
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NickW
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Lee, for me sandals let my feet act closest to barefoot. A shoe, even minshoes, hamper the foot just a bit. I would strictly be in sandals if I could right now, unfortunately the shoes have more cushioning and a heel drop which takes pressure off my heels. The built in a/c of sandals is nice perk too.
1. width and spread for my toes and bunions. no closed toe shoe compares
2. cooler, less icky sticky sweaty feet feeling (personal pet peeve)
What Nick and Scedastic said. Also:
It seems like I always have very hot feet. Even sandals become uncomfortable at times.
My fifth metatarsals stick out quite a bit. In any shoe, they rub.
Socks. I hate wearing socks. I haven't found a shoe yet that won't give me hot spots without wearing socks. VFF's I can wear without socks, but they become soggy with sweat.
And one more theory. Form or running mechanic guys correct me if I am wrong. Just before the foot impacts, the toes lift to pre-load the arch. Barefoot and in sandals, the toes are free to do this. In a min-shoe there will be some restriction interfering with this motion. The toes have to lift the front of the shoe and flex the sole. Could be a source of top of foot pain. I ran a few miles in VFF's for old times sake and I had a little extra soreness on top of the foot for a day.
You know what Rick, I noticed the same thing thing when I run in my vff's. After about 5 miles the top of my foot gets sore as well, yet when I run 5 miles barefoot I have no discomfort. I am so not looking forward to winter where I have to dig out my min shoes again.
Yah, I hear you about 'hot foot.' That's half the reason I'm a barefooter (the other half being soleful pleasure). And I can't stand socks, especially socks without shoes. How do people wear socks around the house?
It's funny about the toes-in-shoes point though. It makes sense, but I wonder if it always applies. Last Saturday I wore my Lunas for an afternoon at the Minnesota Zoo. This was the first time I had used them for an extended period. I usually just have them in the car for putting on in stores to avoid hassles with the shoe police and to keep my wife from being embarrassed. The next day, Sunday, I got top of the foot pain in my right foot. Then two days ago I put them on at the Minnesota State Fair. My left foot, the foot that's been bothering me for a few weeks, got really bad top of the foot pain. I put on the cheap Target deck shoes I brought along as back-up (learned from my experience the weekend before) and felt almost immediate relief. Go figure.
I've had a few different shoes cause unusual TOFP... most notably a pair of KSOs I had years ago. It would reliably spring up after 6-7 miles of running on hard, flat surfaces. For whatever reason, that specific pair caused it. My other pair (same size) didn't cause problems. I hypothesized it was related to the tightness of the strap, but experimentation proved otherwise. I've never had the problem in other shoes, huaraches, or other foot coverings.
95% of the time I agree with this but one thing I have noticed even in an AC cooled office if I have sandals on with rubber against my bare feet I sweat. And unlike wearing socks, it sits there on my skin and smells worse. I try to slip out of the sandals at work when I can (I wear them nights and weekends) but my coworkers often complain and or just pick on my for the fun of it, and its a pain every time I get up to go to the break room or bathroom to put em on and such. My soles get sweaty enough in the sandals that they slide around on the rubber. And even if they dont get that bad they still stink worse than wearing shoes. I've tried different things to cut down on the smell, washing them a couple times during the shift or even spraying lysol on the sandals but the smell comes back pretty quick. I dont have smell problems with minishoes as long as I wear socks, and my Injinji wool toe socks (thin 'liner' weight) dont have any problems containing smell for a 12hr shift, although my feet do get hotter in general. And the minishoes I wear during dayshifts are even thinner soled (3mm Vivobf Ra's) than either of my sandals!
Same here Tristan. I thought the stink problem was over when I switched from VFF's to sandals. Unfortunately, the sandals get stinky also. I have the sweaty feet too and the only solution I have found is to wear the sandals for brief periods of time. Strange, but my feet don't sweat while running or hiking, just wearing them casually. Powders and sprays don't work, they only make the sandal slippery. Dirt works, but you probably couldn't bring a bag of dirt into your office.
I know socks and sandals are a fashion no-no, but it is going to be one of my options this winter.Now that your co-workers and boss are getting used to seeing you barefoot and know about your barefoot running, is your being barefoot in the office becoming more acceptable? Is it an option for you to be barefoot at work all of the time?
Rick - I think wearing them outdoors they tend to be drier with a breeze blowing and perhaps moving around allows more air flow too. But running, my feet definitely sweat still if its hot enough. Havent got a chance to hike in them yet. Its just sitting still under a desk with no air flow that really makes em sweat where the rubber touches. Lately I have been taking them off, but I keep my feet under my desk, and put em back on when I get up.
As for the second part, well I only do it on nightshifts and weekends. Weekdays its business casual. There are several hundred people here on this floor on dayshifts, and like I said I wear my black leather Vivobarefoot Ra's. I'm sure poeple would say something if I didnt have a dress shoe on.
As for the second part, well I only do it on nightshifts and weekends. Weekdays its business casual. There are several hundred people here on this floor on dayshifts, and like I said I wear my black leather Vivobarefoot Ra's. I'm sure poeple would say something if I didnt have a dress shoe on.
Rick, after I got back from my run yesterday and wanted to do a little more mileage I grabbed the Pah Tempe and went on the trail thats just down the street. I've been wanting to try them again for a while. And I took your advise and went loose. I went as loose as they would go - end of strap about 1/4" out from the buckle. The larger straps of the PT still feel pretty secure even while slightly loose. And they performed pretty well! I ran the whole trail just fine, though its only like a mile and a half. But I didnt have the issues I had the last time, so perhaps they were just too tight. I do remember really struggling putting them on last time without loosening them. Of course mid run my heart is pounding and finger coordination is the best, the straps stick to sweaty skin and my feet might be slightly swelled. But yesterdays run went well. I still had some ouchy moments on rocks though. The trail itself was fine, heck I could do it bare if I was careful. But at the entrance and then 3 or 4 more muddy spots that brought in gravel. And there were just two many large chunks sitting on top to avoid. Like walnut sized chunks, and the leaves are starting to fall so most were obscured. But at least they only hurt for the one step, bare some of them could have left me limping and bruised.
I posted this in the PT thread in the gear section but what the heck I'll put it here too. And this isnt the rough roads I was talking about earlier this is actually the smoothest road around for a few miles...
I get the same effect sometimes and I've noticed that it's much worse if I'm in any kind of tense or nervous situation. When it's warm I don't sweat at all. When it's cold in the workshop I sometimes wear slippers. I've seen cheap black moccasin slippers at walmart before that might be a decent option.
It does actually feel good when you get that 'itch'. Sometimes when my feet feel especially tough they get that itch like down deep under the surface padding. That road feels great atleast the first mile or two. And if my feet arent feeling especially tough one day I will stick to that road and just do an out and back and avoid the rougher chipseal roads. But anyhow, it is the best road around and that shot is just right out from my front door.
Tfox... I'd probably be ridiculed even worse if I switched into slippers at work! I do wear them around the house and when I am working in the basement or garage though. With cold around the corner my days of sandals are limited, though I might try em with socks.
