I Say No Socks – My Weird Running

Little man crush on Anton I must admit.  The whole minimalist thing is just so freaking right on.  I don’t mean it’s correct, I mean the resurfaced 70’s “Right On”.

Actually, I had run some 5k’s in the past with no socks.  Light feet equals faster times… or so I’ve been told.  Bam, one day I got out for a run with no socks… just visions of “Being Anton”.  Thankfully my shoes, the Brooks Launch, were kind to me.  What I felt was altogether new and better.  I could feel how my forefoot and toes were working within the shoe.  I liked it.  I had a connection to my running I had never felt before while the shoes kept me away from harm.

Fast forward to my new trail shoes the Montrail Rogue Racer and I lucked out again.  They’ve also been very nice to my feet.  Same thing on the trail but amplified.  I can feel where my foot is so well I believe I’ve avoided injury.  My feet tell my brain if there’s an unstable placement and my push off is immediately adjusted.

So what’s the report on my feet?  I’m probably the luckiest ultra runner to walk the planet.  Never a single black toenail, lost toenail, very rarely a blister and one pedicure away from above normal everyday feet.  It’s my gift, although I’d trade it for a full head of hair.

This is not to say that I haven’t learned some lessons.  Houston Marathon 2011… Rain, Concrete and no socks… NO BUENO!!  The wet shoes rubbed and took the skin off the tops of my precious little pinky toes.  I remember looking down at mile 23 and wondering what I had stepped in because my shoes were red.  Not the smartest move since I had a 50 mile race the next weekend.  Nothing a few days of open air followed a layer of super glue followed by a layer of  duct tape and topped off with lots of body glide couldn’t fix.

Apparently my other gift is as the MacGyver of toe wounds.

So, socks or no socks… how to you plead?