First "Barefoot" Run back in Canada

Joy here...So we landed in Canada on New Year's Eve; we dropped our bags in the house; we had a shower; and we grabbed a bottle of wine before heading over to our next door neighbours' house to ring in the new year with some friendly faces.  Midnight came and there were good wishes and happy cheers as The Man and I were just hitting our stride.  Midnight in Canada, afterall, is only about mid-day Kuala Lumpur time, so we were up and raring to go.  After having a few too many glasses of my neighbours' Estonian liquor (Vana Tallinn..."vana tallinn, two-a tallinn, three-a tallinn, floor..."), the jet lag began to descend with a vengeance, we crawled home through the Canadian ice and snow.

Waking up in the new year with a raging head ache, jet lag, and a dry mouth, we decided that the only way to deal with ourselves would be to head out the door for our first run of 2012.

Our front yard.
Welcome back to Canada!

Now, while we were in Malaysia, we were able to enjoy some barefoot runs in our vibram five fingered running shoes (our bikilas), but with the mercury dipping down to -18 C, running with no socks and nearly barefoot is just not an option.  In preparation for this harsh reality, we bought ourselves pairs of New Balance Minimus running shoes that have soles designed by vibram and that are supposed to offer a nearly-barefoot running experience.

So we put on some socks, dressed in running tights (that we haven't used in a LOOOONG time), and laced up our new minimus running shoes and headed out into the snow and ice for a 25 minute run to get our badly abused bodies moving.

My "barefoot" minimus shoesies.

My head was throbbing the whole time.  I'm not sure if I should blame the Vana Tallinn, the 40 hours of travelling, the 3 weeks of drinking and eating, or the jet lag, or if I should just chalk it up to a rather weak run.  Sometimes that just happens.

But my feet felt good in the new minimus shoes, running over the snow and ice.  Even though these shoes aren't as fun as the vibrams (which are fun to run in), and even though they don't feel entirely barefoot, I could feel the ground beneath my feet and feel more responsive in my running.

The key with both the vibram five fingers and these new balance minimuses is that my feet can receive more feedback from the terrain over which I run, which causes me to automatically adjust my stride, foot strike, and movement in response to that feedback.  Think of the difference between running "barefoot" and running in traditional cushioned shoes as the difference between reading braille with your bare hands or trying to read it through winter mittens.  I, for one, am enjoying the more "barefoot" experience, and I intend to keep on building slowly and surely so that in 5 months I can run 21 kms in my vibram five fingered shoes without injuring myself in any way.

So that's my goal for now...

...But first I need to get over the jet lag and make peace with the winter.

Wish me luck,
Joy