Ever since running with my friends Mark Cucuzzella and Blaise Dubois out in Colorado a few weeks ago, I have been giving another go at a bit of barefoot running. Mark is now running a solid percentage of his weekly his miles fully barefoot (see video below), whereas Blaise supplements his regular training with small amounts of barefooting here and there.Like most of what I do when it comes to running, my main reason for trying a bit more barefooting is simply to see what happens –Nike Air Max Classic BW Womens  yet another of my little experiments on myself to satisfy my curiosity. I like pushing my limits and seeing what my body can do, and quite honestly I’ve been enjoying the little bit that I have done so far.When I was out in Colorado, I ran a mile Nike Air Max Classic BW Damesfully barefoot on the Boulder Canyon trail, and it felt great. My feet handled it fine, with the exception of small blisters that started to form on the soft skin at the base of my big toe. Since returning, I’ve continued to end runs a few times a week with a bit of barefoot walking or running, always on asphalt sidewalks. Yesterday, I was running in Vivobarefoot Neos for a five miler, and about a mile into the run the insole on the right side started to scrunch up under my big toe, and over the next few miles I couldn’t seem to keep it flat. It was irritating the skin just behind the pad Nike Air Huarache Femme of my big toe. I stopped about a mile from home and figured I’d go the rest of the way barefoot. Unfortunately, the insole rubbing had done some damage in the same spot as where I had developed the (healed) blister in Colorado (see second photo Adidas ZX 750 Mujer below).Anyway, blisters are a part of acclimating to barefoot running (just as they were when I started running high mileage in shoes – I have the calluses on the inside of the balls of my feet to show for it!). By and large, my feet have done great, and the only blisters of any consequence that I have developed were in this spot on each big toe. I’m barefoot most of the time at home during the summer, so my soles seem to be pretty well adapted to the condition. This got me to thinking – aside from the obvious point that I was running without shoes on asphalt, why did I get blisters in Nike Air Max 90 Hombre this particular location during my runs? My curiosity as an anatomy prof with an interest in running mechanics was piqued.A few weeks ago I posted a link to an article by Jay Dicharry from the UVA Speed Lab where he discussed factors that are important for making a safe transition into barefoot or minimalist running. One of those was the the ability to isolate the flexor hallucis brevis muscle during stance phase of running (see photo at left). Here’s what Jay wrote about this: key factor that distinguishes humans from primates is our medial longitudinal arch. This arch is actively stabilized by the flexor hallucis brevis (FHB). While standing, try to drive the big toe (1st MTP) into the ground (plantar flexion) while slightly elevating (dorsiflexing) the lesser toes. Make sure not to roll the ankle in or out. This test enables Nike Air Max 2016 Femme screening of muscles inside the foot that stabilize the arch. The FHB can be easily distinguished from the longus (FHL), as the FHL crosses another joint in your big toe (1st IP joint), resulting in your big toe curling. Spend some time getting to know your foot. Aim to drive the big toe down while lifting the little toes (without curling the big toe!), and lift the big toe up while driving the little toes down. It’s the best way to work on coordination of muscles that actively stabilize the foot in stance. It’s your foot – control it! If you can do this, it’s a sign that you can keep the rear Nike Air Max 270 Mujer foot stable on the forefoot when the body sees the greatest amount of pronation (which is just slightly after midstance and AFTER the heel is off of the ground by the way. Midstance is when forces are highest throughout the body- about 2.5x’s your Nike Air Presto Womens body weight. You need the internal strength to be able to respond to these forces to keep things in alignment.