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I am now into my 2nd week of training with barefoot sandals. I had one week of no running directly following the marathon where I did a couple of short walks in the sandals to make sure they fitted correctly and to get used to how they felt on different terrain.
The past 2 weeks have looked like this:
WEEK 1
Tues- 4km in Xero Sandals
Wed- 5km in regular training shoes (Brooks Hyperion 2 with an 8mm drop)
Thu- 5km regular training shoes
Fri- 5 km in Xero Sandals
Sun- 9km regular training shoes.
Total Kms- 28km, 8km in Xero Sandals, Total time- 2:45
Notes- This is approximately 1/3 the distance I was training leading up to the marathon, so it doesn’t really feel like much at all. The goal here is to have a bit of a break and slowly build back to around 7 hours of running/ wk.
My calves were sore following the first run this week. It felt like I had been doing heavy calf raises. The 2nd run in sandals felt a lot better afterwards.
I am choosing to wear barefoot sandals, as opposed to running barefoot, to avoid cuts and abrasions from running on concrete paths and road. I wear barefoot shoes when I work (and have done for the past 7 years) and I wear a three mm drop shoe for general walking and gym. This likely means that running in barefoot sandals isn’t as big a stretch for me as it could be for someone who wears shoes with a higher drop throughout their day. I am still taking a gradual approach.
My black toe in the pics was from tripping on uneven pavement in my regular training shoes. Result was an impressive face plant.
I have no current injuries, that I am aware of, and I don’t have any events planned for the rest of the year. At this time, I am happy to experiment a bit with my training and to take on any risks involved.
Running in the sandals feels good and it saves washing socks!
WEEK 2
Tues- 8.5K in Xero Sandals. Calves tightened up at around 7km with the right side notably tighter than the left.
Wed- 5.5Km regular training shoes, calves felt ok.
Fri- 6km regular training shoes
Sun- 8.5km Xero Sandals, calves good until around 8km this time, right side still tightened up more but generally better.
Total Kms- 28.5km, 17km in sandals, Total time 2:45, Gym 3 x 30mins.
Notes- The most interesting thing I noticed this week was that my right calf is tightening up before my left. I have a few ideas about what could be going on, but it has eased up quickly following each run, so I am not overly concerned. I have not noticed any calf tightness when running in my regular training shoes.
I will post another update in a couple of weeks. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.
Here’s the previously mentioned link and discount code for anyone who’d like to give Xero Shoes a go.
https://www.xeros.com.au/?ref=bodyofwork.fitness
Use code: Bodyofwork10
Body of Work 
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