Running.. barefoot... barefoot running

The book "Born to Run" by Christopher MacDougall is worth reading - whether you just want to hear a good story, or you enjoy running, or you enjoy reading about other ways of life, this book will keep you turning the pages. It's an amazingly true story about a "secret" tribe called the Tahumara. They live fairly "simple" lives in canyons in Mexico. They run more than they do anything else, and are incredibly good at it. While the story weaves information about their incredibly interesting culture, and the equally strange culture of ultramarathoning, (culminating in an ultra marathon foot race between several members of the tribe and a few brave U.S. ultra marathoners), what struck my interest in a "Hippie Earth Mama" way, was the information presented about barefoot running.

There is contradictory evidence on the topic of barefoot running from all sources - runners, shoe companies, scientists, and physical therapists. It does strike me as ironic that doctors encourage parents to have babies walk around barefoot as often as possible to learn balance and proper foot strike, but people doubt the efficiency of a barefoot running community. My overall understanding is that people love it or hate it, and there are even varying degrees of barefoot running. There are the "true" barefoot runners, then there are people (like me) who will keep their socks on and do a brisk walk on the treadmill, there is the Vibram Five Finger shoe which for all intents and purposes is just enough rubber to prevent the runner from stepping on glass while maintainging the feeling of barefootedness. Some runners simply run barefoot long enough to regain a more natural heel strike, while others run barefoot at all times, including while running in marathons or ultra marathons.

The evidence presented in the book made an extraordinarliy strong case for barefoot running, and I must admit, I was intrigued. I didn't want to hurt my feet on pebbles and nature, so I jumped on the treadmill, putting it at the speed I normally ran at. The clomping and stomping that ensued scared the pants off me! I obviously did not have a good footstrike, and was not going to achieve one if I kept up at my normal speed. It turns out, other people have made the same mistake I made and ended up with huge blisters. The recommendation is to start slowly. Seriously slowly. At a walk. Build up from there as you feel more confident. Also, don't do all runs barefoot at first, because you won't have the proper calluses formed yet, and the skin is more liable to tear.

Personally, I feel this idea of barefoot running really does help a runner, walker, or general person gain perspective on how we use our feet. The shoes we wear make our feet so numb to the way we walk, we can often develop problems. I won't run barefoot all the time, but I do think its a worth while thing to do at least once a week at a walk. It helps us gain the proper footstrike and it connects our feet directly with nature - which we can always use more of.

Putting the Earth back into Earth Mama

It has occurred to me, that this is going to turn into the "food earth mama" blog if I don't start covering other topics too. Of course, that's because currently all of my research is directed towards food, reading all of Pollan's works and the Safron Foer book. As a result, I am making some fairly drastic changes to my eating and cooking habits that seem worth sharing. Plus, the changes certainly fit under the "Hippie Earth Mama" lifestyle, but I don't want this blog to become too focused on one aspect of that, so I will digress for a few posts...

This morning, I pulled out the sunscreen. The past two days I've taken James to Cantigny park, a huge property full of flowers (well soon to be full of flowers anyways), open grass, and off to the side, a military museum. We got a membership there because it was only $60 for the year, and I wanted to have two options of places to take James to play with having no yard. We already have an arboretum pass, so this seemed like a logical compliment. Yesterday, when we came home, James had gotten no color, and somehow I had gotten a minor sunburn! So I've pulled out the sunblock for me and Alex, my nephew, and will take the boys there this afternoon.

The past few days, and looking ahead to this afternoon and this spring, Cantigny really signifies the Earth part of "Hippie Earth Mama" to me. I had read somewhere that it is a good idea to let babies walk around in barefeet because shoes and even socks can hinder them from learning proper balance and foot striking. Cantigny seemed like the perfect place to put that into effect - allowing James to feel the earth and grass under his feet. While there, it occurred to me that I would probably benefit from some barefoot time as well, so I kicked off my shoes and played in the grass with James. This foot/earth connection really caused me to think. First, I felt more connected with the earth, not having a man made inch of shoe to seperate us. Second, it caused me to stop and think about how this grass is maintained. At Cantigny, because it is an audobon certified property, I don't need to worry about pesticides, and toxic chemicals, but even at a park district park I do. I literally just read in the park district catolog about how they "have" to use pesticides and toxic chemicals and blah blah blah. Interesting considering the grass has grown for thousands of years without chemicals, but hey, what does mother nature know? Anyways, can I, with good conscience, really allow my son to go barefoot in chemicals? What will his skin absorb? What will get on his hands and eventually, as we all know, into his mouth? And why has this world become so science based that nature is no longer allowed to do what it does best?

Sitting out at Cantigny, I also developed an appreciation for the sun. It was definitely on the warm side, and will only get hotter as the summer approaches, but for now, it's comfortably warm, and it feels as though it is helping not just the plants, but us humans grow as well. It's no suprise that spending as little as 90 minutes per week in the sun have the same effects as taking prozac daily. After spending time in the sun, my body feels more tired, but in a good way. Phil and I were discussing this and we both came up with two theories that are likely wrong, but indicate the sun's massive power and benefits. He hypothecized that the human body spends more energy processing the sun than living in climate control, and it causes fatigue, whereas I assumed spending time in the sun put our bodies more in line with the natural rhythyms of the sun and caused us to be tired when the sun went away. Both or neither might be true, and it doesn't matter, because regardless, the sun is a powerful tool. James has a vitamin D deficiency. Sunblocks prevent the absorption of this important vitamin, so these early spring days where he can be sunblock free are important so he can soak up as much of the vitamin D as possible. In talking to the endochronologist, we learned that a vitamin D deficiency (present in 76% of caucasian North Americans) can cause fatigue, headaches, and general sluggishness.

Another thing Cantigny provides is nothing. That seems like I'm being silly, but it's true. James and I can sit in the grass just playing with the grass and sticks for literally an hour and a half, and we are happy. Neither the baby nor the adult gets bored. Granted, I expect that once we add a four year old into the mix this afternoon we'll probably have to introduce a playground ball, but still, the three of us will manage to have a blast without our computers, TVs, radios, or climate control. That is beneficial for us in particular, but also the earth, as we won't be using electricity during that time.

It's amazing how sustainable the earth is, and what rejuvinating effects it can have on us are. I have always shunned barefooting in the past, but now, I am advocating for it, saying "kick off those shoes and feel that cool earth" - it might really change your viewpoint!