Day 1 - The first half-mile

Today was my first run. Rhiannon came with me, and we warmed up with a couple of miles through the lanes and over the fields till we found a nice flat bit of road in Swithland, the next village along from ours. Then it was off with the old Brooks GTS12s and on with the Merrell Vapor Gloves.

After donning the shoes I did a 1/4 mile run in one direction, stopped, walked around a bit, and then ran back. The instant impression was that it didn't feel that different. Almost disappointing. I could certainly feel the ground more, but I found myself still running in much the same way that I had always done. 

I could hear my feet striking the ground, so I tried to concentrate on landing silently, which I could almost achieve. It was all fairly easy, going at a very slow pace, so I tried upping my pace to something more like proper run. It was then that the issue of landing on the tarmac became much more important. Where, whilst jogging, I'd been able to continue heel striking, I was increasingly aware of trying to land each step in a way that reduced the impact. It didn't hurt particularly, but I felt that if I continued for some time I might end up bruising the sole of my foot around the ball. 

I was hoping, I think, that I would instantly transform my running style in the new shoes. The truth is that I didn't do it automatically - I had to be much more intentional than that. And I expect that will continue to be the case. The one thing that that did instantly change was the action of coming to a halt. I had no idea how easy it was to stop in traditional running shoes. You just take a couple of braking steps and that's the job done. But in the barefoot shoes that doesn't work. By trying to brake, you're putting the full weight of your body into the step, plus the force of your momentum, making it a much a greater impact. So I found I had no choice but to take quick, small steps, decelerating with each one. It was an action very similar to dancing on hot coals.

The biggest surprise of the whole experience came when I put my Brooks shoes back on. It was like running in a pair of sofas! They were so big and soft and spongy. I don't think I've appreciated before just how much cushioning the shoes give. And I was very aware that I could do little but heel strike - that thicker part of the shoe always came into contact with the ground first.

At the end of this test run, Rhiannon kindly filmed me running in both the Brooks and the Merrells, so that we could see if there was any immediately perceptible difference in running style. I'm a bit worried about this because I've never seen myself run. It might be like the rather strange and disappointing experience of  hearing your own voice on tape. 'It doesn't sound like that in my head...' Provided it's not too embarrassing - or, I suppose, even if it is - I'll try to get that video up in the next day or two, along with news of any aches and pains that might occur.