Date: 11/12/21
Training Day: 60
Miles: 2.7
Shoes: Xero HFS
Weather: Mid 30s

How It Felt: This run felt way better than the last, which means my stupid cold is finally loosening its grip on me. And my new shoes felt awesome!

Commentary: Back in the day, I read Born to Run, and I do believe humans were, in fact, born to run. When I first started running I read this book, and I immediately transitioned to minimal shoes. They felt amazing, and I felt wicked fast in them.

Then I started to wonder how the fuck I ended up in super cushioned, 12mm-drop running shoes with guardrails?! Or how I ended up buying a super cushy pair of Hokas. Sure, they’re only 5mm drop, but their stack height is insane! What happened to the girl that ran in the minimal New Balances and Five Fingers? What happened?!

I’ll tell you what happened. I got older, and I was afraid that when I started running again my knee would start hurting. So, I went to the local running store and let them tell me what to buy. I let my fear get the best of me instead of trusting what I knew all along – my feet and body know what they’re doing, and I should let them do it instead of throwing high-heeled pillows on my feet.

Ready to Run gave me a swift kick in the ass and reminded me that I should be running in minimal footwear. Which is why I bought a pair of Xero HFS. What I’m going to do with the over $400 of cushy, stabilizing, worthless running shoes I no longer want to wear, I don’t know. All I know is I won’t be wearing them anymore. Well, I might wear my Altras for walking. Maybe.

The transition to zero-drop shoes is supposeed to take a little while. Sure, I ran a few miles a week in my Altras, but that’s not much in the grand scheme of things when I ran in 12mm-drop shoes the rest of the time. “They” recommend starting with running 10% of your miles for each run in zero-drop, and then doing the rest of the run in your regular shoes.

I ran my entire 30-minute run in my Xeros, and I have no regrets. As my running amps back up next week after this “recovery” week from my half, I might have regrets about not slowly transitioning. We shall see. I’ve been doing a lot of work trying to increase my dorsiflexion and stretch out my Achilles and calves, so maybe I’ll be okay?

Training Journal exercise fitness journal running strength trail running training xero zero drop