My new shoes!

Inspired by Born to Run to give something closer to barefoot running a go, I bought myself a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes. Tried them today and they feel so light and comfortable.

How good my form is I have no idea, but there were moments on my run when I think I fell into the forefoot/midfoot strike pattern rather than the heel strike pattern. Was it the shoes or my beginners attempt to focus and concentrate? Who knows, but they are nice shoes.

For some months now I've been thinking about my feet and the structure of feet in general. So many muscles and such an ingenious design of joints and soft tissue bears thought and investigation! It\s probably a massage thing, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense to try and find ways to exercise the muscles in my feet. I can't think of any gym-based training routine that targets the muscles of the foot. Yet without them, and the muscles that support the ankle, we have no stability.

So rather than cushioning and supporting my feet all the time, I want to see if I can strengthen them by simply being barefooted or as close to barefooted as is practicable. Of course it's probably not wise to go from supported shoes to barefoot overnight. And I won't stop wearing shoes! But it will be interesting to try a range of near-barefoot shoes and see what difference it makes over say a six-month period. I'll let you know. It certainly can't make my feet any worse!!