on VFF, barefoot, concrete, tar, grass, needles, glass

SO I have been barefooting now for a while.  I started back up again maybe what 2 months ago but I have been doing it 3-4 times a week.  I have been going between 3-6 miles at a clip and have been switching up underfoot environments as much as I can.  There is only so much terrain in these parts and I really don't have much time to look for new routes.  Anyways the point of this post has been the new reaction that I have gotten since I have really started doing it.  A lot of has been "you do what where???? What about needles and glass and poop"  and to that I always say "well I would rather step in poop then the other two, but I really scan where I am running so I DON'T step in any of those."  I mean you can see a big pile of something before you get to it and you can also wash it off.  you will most likely see a big pile of broken glass as well as a hypodermic needle (although I have YET to see one.)  So I barefoot run mostly on tar and tar with loose rocks which yes hurts but as long as you distribute your weight you're fine (for the most part...it really does hurt when you step on them.)
Anyways I noticed something about 2-3 weeks ago when I was running down to the beach.  I run in my VFF to the beach (just in case there are broken beer bottles, bad pavement, glass, needles, poop, all of which I have seen except the needle, and because Jeremy is against me running BF in near downtown Bridgeport) and I was noticing that it was getting harder and harder to run in the VFFs.  It was kind of weird.  The last time I got the sensation was when I was running in highly "supportive" sneakers maybe 5-6 years ago and my time had been great until I put these shoes on.  I got to a point and took the VFFs off.  There I was fine, my legs stopped tingling, and I started going faster. I felt better.
So fast forward to last week, I go in house to my job in Wooster, OH (Amish Country) and I usually run with a few of my co-workers a couple of times while we are there. So I get up and meet them in the lobby of the hotel and there I am barefoot.  One knows and rolls her eyes, one knows and questions me a bit and says, are you sure?  Oh yes I am sure.  So we go out and I am having a jolly good time running BF through this college campus.  The tar is a little rougher then I am use to but oh well there is grass I can jump on if I need to.  We get back and a third co-worker takes an opportunity to say, "wow you run barefoot?? Good for you!" It's fun when I get those comments. So I get home and I need to run and I decide I am going out for a long run, 6 miles...or more.  What I didn't realize was the obstacle course I would be running through because of downed tree branches and bark all over the ground, and how one way just felt like one continuous hill until the downhill came and it felt like I was running on glass (just bark and loose rocks.)  Needless to say it killed, but it doesn't stop me.  BF is how I am going from now on.  I may throw on the VFF for a race here and there or if I ever get to finally do a tough mudder challenge, but for now, BF for this Genius

Back at it again

I stopped running last year after I knew I wasn't going to be ready to run any kind of race just because I wasn't training.  I was running but one day I went out and got dehydrated and kind of got myself down, so I kind of gave up on the whole running a second marathon.  Maybe before I am 40 I will run a second marathon.  For now I am going to keep running a few miles at a time.  Another thing that got me out of the gym was when I adopted a kid!  This kind of cuts into working out when well, you have an infant to take care of.  I run when I can and now I am getting back into running.  After we adopted him we were in a hotel for two weeks so I walked a lot around the hotel parking lots and also on the treadmill.  When we got home I realized it was time to get back to running.  So I just did it. I knew I could only run a few miles, so that is what I did.  I ran 3 miles.  Then a few more weeks went by and I ran again.
Last week I started back to work full full time, I had a babysitter one day and then my mother in law came down for the rest of the week.  I was surprised that she came early so I took advantage and went for a run.  I was going to go just in my neighborhood, but I was getting sick of the hills, and I was getting sick of the same route.  Recently we discovered or rediscovered SeaSide Park in Bridgeport which has a great non-rocky beach and new pavement and some great lawns.  I had ran down there one time in the past few weeks so I decided to go there.  I drove this time but when I got there I decided it was time to get back to barefooting.  I take off my 5 fingers and go.  I end up running 5 miles and feel great.  So I did another run there last week again and again it was great.  So today I went 6 miles around the neighborhood today.  So now I'm training for a few running races later this summer.  I really just want to run some races they always feel great and I love the element of pack running.