Some new things

I am officially a "barefoot" convert.

That's right- I'm talking about barefoot running.



While I can't picture myself ever doing the above- running totally barefoot on pavement- I love running in barefoot inspired, minimalistic shoes.  Aka my Merrell Dash Gloves.  It's kinda wild how much different I feel when running in these shoes, and mind blowing how different my feet naturally feel when they are out of my clunky shoes that I've been told for a year are "perfect" for me.  

At this point I am only transitioned up to 6 minutes per running session.  I wish it was more but I HAVE to be patient if I want transition correctly and stay injury free.  Well...at least with my legs.  My stupid tennis elbow is a whole other story since it just won't seem to quit and just go away.  I am waiting to connect with my doctor because I had an MRI done but we keep missing each other.  What she did say is that she's happy with what she saw.  There are no tears or serious damage but she said she could tell where my pain was from how it lit up.  Not sure what that exactly means, so hopefully we can touch base with each other on Monday. 

At the gym Thursday night, a fellow foam roller enthusiast that I see all the time was rolling on this:

WOW!

And....he let me try it.  Holy foam roller, batman!!  I have been wanting to try one but hesitant to thunk down the extra money for it.  And then.....Wowsers.  That thing doesn't mess around.  It hunts out your knots and bumps like a master. I rolled my glutes for 15 seconds and afterwards it felt like I had been rolling for 5 minutes!  Ok, maybe not that drastic but it felt too good to forget.  The sucky thing.....it's like $80.  Almost as painful as rolling on it.  But I can't help but to think....if it will help it'll be worth it.

Do you run barefoot or in minimalist shoes?
Do you foam roll?