Transitional Notes; It's all in the feet

The biggest difference in running barefoot vs in shoes is the foot strike. In shoes you extend a bit more than without. Even the Vibrams encourage this. If you run in this form barefoot you will quickly get some pretty sore feet. Transitioning is less about getting your soles to toughen as to learn the technique. If you get it right, you avoid transmitting excessive forces into your feet, knees and hips.

My biggest obstacle is the memorization of the technique. It has to be unconscious. Another is the muscles and tendons are still strengthening. I've been wearing shoes for most of my childhood and all of my adult life. It takes time and work to get where I need to get. On top of all this is the chronic hip condition Osteitus Pubis. It makes me feel like the muscles of my lower abs and groin are doing all the work. This makes me very sore and it's most noticeable right at the beginning of a run. Dr. Ryan recommended I take 6 months to allow the bone and tendon to heal. I may be forced to do this but before I do, I'll do some research. That setback is gonna really cost me.