Getting My Barefoot Mojo Back

I hurt my right hamstring when I did the River Run last April so I've been taking it easy for a while hoping it would get better. It hasn't. A week ago Tuesday I went for a 3-mile barefoot run. You see those dark spots on the pads of my feet, especially the one on my right foot? Those were the blisters I got on that run. That hamstring was throwing my stride off bad enough for me to get blisters on a short run. That hasn't happened since I started running barefoot three years ago.

I decided to take a different tack with my hamstring and implemented an aggressive stretching regimen. I ran during lunch on Monday and today. The good thing about running in heat like that is I definitely run slow. (I wore my Vibrams. The pavement is just too frickin' hot.) During my slow pace I focused on my form. I noticed my right calf was tightening up and it was because I was anticipating the foot strike. I relaxed my lower leg and everything smoothed out. Going up and down the inclines allowed me to focus on lifting my feet. My hamstring is feeling so much better. So I'm continuing the stretching and slow pace for now. Hopefully I'm back to 100% in the fall.