New shoes

A few years ago I read a book called 'Born To Run', which I'd recommend if you're remotely interested in running. One of the facts it presents is that you have a number of 'sensors' in each foot - twenty-seven, I think, or thereabouts, anyway - and they give your brain the information required to tell it how to position your body.

It goes on to suggest that consequently, the thicker the sole of your running shoe, the less of the required information reaches your brain, so you are more likely to strain or injure yourself when running. The book states that there is actually a correlation between the number of injuries a runner gets and the thickness of the sole.

After reading the book, I switched to five millimetre soles, which I've run on for years now, including the Loch Ness marathon, but last week the Minx sent me a link to some three millimetre shoes made by Vivobarefoot, which I duly ordered and they arrived a few days ago.

This morning, before work, I took them on their first outing. I intended to do a cautious three miles but actually the sensation of running in them was so interesting that I did five. Two millimetres makes a lot of difference to what you can feel! The shoes also made me more aware when I was 'heel striking' (which is bad because it sends the impact of the landing straight up your leg rather than using the flexibility of your ankles, knees, and hips). 

It was a good run but let's see how I feel in the morning!

****
-12.1 kgs
Reading: 'Underland' by Robert Macfarlane