Barefoot Experiment: Week 1

I've long struggled with foot related issues due to overpronation which has led to a host of injuries over the years.  Since it appears that I will need to be running gently due to an IT-band related injury from my 1st ultra marathon, I've decided that now is the time I will start trying out this whole barefoot thing; let's just call it an experiment.  I know that it will take many weeks of steady and slow progress so I'm officially committed for the long haul.  The goal of this program is not to be able to run barefoot, but to be able to choose the shoes that I want to run in, not be limited by shoes that are for overpronators specifically.  There just are not a lot of good choices of footwear for competitive trail runners who overpronate, so if I can change my shoe needs through this experiment it will be awesome!

Immediately after my 5 minutes of running on the sidewalk.

Week 1 (1/23/12-1/29/12):
Ran on Wednesday and Thursday in Asics 2150's and green superfeet insoles, Trail run on Saturday in Brooks Cascadia 2 with green superfeet.  One barefoot run on Sunday for a total of 5 minutes.  I've read its better to start off on pavement so you can get some good feedback from your feet.  I used the sidewalk in my subdivision which is relatively free of rocks and debris so I could avoid any punctures from goatheads or small rocks.  As a bonus, it allows me to get a "run" in while my kids are napping.  The high school kid I ran by looked at me kind of weird, but hey, I probably looked pretty silly out there in running pants and no shoes...