Huaraches

Purchased a DIY huaraches kit from Barefoot Ted. Tremendously simple to make - though I suspect more experience would allow one to make a set that is more fine tuned for the individual. I left plenty of material so I can see how my feet like to sit in the sandals before trimming the soles to a minimalist state.

Ran my Imperial Hwy and Back route (43:00) in the sand to test them out. My legs instantly reverted to trying to run with a heelstrike and it took all of my consciousness to try and maintain pose/chi form. This haphazard flow in and out of proper form is responsible for more fatigue and discomfort that I normally wouldn't experience in a 4 mile beach run. The strange sensation of running in sandals caused me to constantly subconsciously "hold" the sandals tight to my feet with my toes when picking my foot up as I would in flip-flops. I think more experience will allow me to stop this habit. My feet slid sideways in the sandals while running on the more canted parts of the beach which made the leather straps uncomfortable at times, but overall the sandals were surprisingly well suited to running in sand. I didn't experience scooping up sand with the front of the sandals as I anticipated. I trotted for a short distance on a very ragged jetty and had very secure and comfortable footfalls.

I must say the huaraches are living up to the hype spewed on various barefoot running websites/forums, and I think they'll be fantastic when I learn how to dial in the lacing and the leather softens up.