Thanks for the note on the Science of Sport article. Although quite long I found it thought provoking in a very well balanced way. SoS tends to be good at ignoring hype and looking at the evidence available. Unfortunately as the articles(5) state we don't really have the research we need to clearly answer the minimal footwear question.
My experience (450miles in VFFs in the last 6 months) has been very good but I started VERY easily after IMWI09. Now I'm comfortable with 30 miles/week with a 8-10miles LR but.... I still wore racing flats for my HM in January and 3 of the other 4 races I did over the winter. I think the improved feel for the ground is the critical point. It forced me to run lighter/smoother with a consistently faster cadence and I believe allowed me to PR a January HM which is very unusual for SnowBelters like me.
If others have not already looked at the SoS articles please take a look.
Comments
Linda,
Thanks for the note on the Science of Sport article. Although quite long I found it thought provoking in a very well balanced way. SoS tends to be good at ignoring hype and looking at the evidence available. Unfortunately as the articles(5) state we don't really have the research we need to clearly answer the minimal footwear question.
My experience (450miles in VFFs in the last 6 months) has been very good but I started VERY easily after IMWI09. Now I'm comfortable with 30 miles/week with a 8-10miles LR but.... I still wore racing flats for my HM in January and 3 of the other 4 races I did over the winter. I think the improved feel for the ground is the critical point. It forced me to run lighter/smoother with a consistently faster cadence and I believe allowed me to PR a January HM which is very unusual for SnowBelters like me.
If others have not already looked at the SoS articles please take a look.
John