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emmab0902
Posts: 2,337 Member
I am very new to barefoot running, having tried it for the first time last night after having knee problems the last three times I have tried running. Part of the problem I am convinced was due to expensive but wrong for me Asics Gel Trabuco shoes.
So this time I am doing the C25K barefoot. Did the first session last night and for the first time running felt good. Today my left heel has a bruised feeling but other than that so far so good. I know I will need to take this slowly to build up muscles etc, but at this point I am excited about the switch.
So this time I am doing the C25K barefoot. Did the first session last night and for the first time running felt good. Today my left heel has a bruised feeling but other than that so far so good. I know I will need to take this slowly to build up muscles etc, but at this point I am excited about the switch.
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That's very interesting Emma! I've had knee problems since 2006 from a bad injury that caused 3 of my ligaments to tear. I love running but I was told by my orthopedic surgeon from then on I was only permitted to do swimming and cycling to prevent early knee replacement (I've had 2 surgeries so far). Reading your experience encourages me to give this a try, but only after I lose this excess weight and careful research
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I just started c25k, I've done two weeks of week 1. I repeated week 1 because since I am doing "barefoot" running I didn't want to push myself too much since from all the reading I've done you need to be careful when adjusting to the barefoot style. I have started with a pair of minimalist shoes - the Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove. The first week my calves killed me from the barefoot style! But they've adjusted. I just purchased a pair of the Bikila FiveFingers. I wore them just around yesterday for a few hours and could really feel it later in my right foot (which overpronates more than my left). They definitely work those muscles!
I decided to try minimalist/barefoot running because I had heard and read so much about how such runners are injured less. I had never tries running before because I was always afraid of the injuries you hear about, even just shin splints. So far I'm happy with it and I'm looking forward to running in my FiveFingers once I get more used to them (weather permitting).
emma - I wonder if your heel was hurting because you were striking with your heel? From what I have read when you try barefoot running you really need to be aware of your strike and hit with a mid or forefoot strike, which is supposedly more natural, otherwise you risk injuring your heel. Have you read that as well?0 -
Hi yes I have read that. Pretty sure I don't heel strike. Even when I ran with shoes my physio watched me on the treadmill and said it didn't look like I landed on the heel. And I make a conscious effort to land more forward.0
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I just purchased a pair of the Bikila FiveFingers. I wore them just around yesterday for a few hours and could really feel it later in my right foot (which overpronates more than my left). They definitely work those muscles!
I decided to try minimalist/barefoot running because I had heard and read so much about how such runners are injured less. I had never tries running before because I was always afraid of the injuries you hear about, even just shin splints. So far I'm happy with it and I'm looking forward to running in my FiveFingers once I get more used to them (weather permitting).
Let me know how they work out for you, my next door neighbor bought some for her kid (I think they're off brand) and they gave him blisters between the toes. Again, I think they're off brand. I've gotten plenty of blisters from hiking 20+ miles with a 70lb pack. I'm not looking forward to getting them again - months of dealing with toe nails falling off/growing back (yuck! was that TMI?) due to huge blisters. I also have plantar faciitis and I've read a couple success stories from having those shoes
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I always wanted to be "a runner" but every time I ran, I started out all wrong, and it was always a miserable experience.
I got horrible, awful shin splints in college, and ever since then, any amount of running has brought them back. After college, my sister and I were getting fit, and I got nice New Balance running shoes especially for my situation (the most I have ever spent on shoes, ever. Ever.) It wasn't very successful; every attempt at doing more than a light 10 minute warm up run on the treadmill gave me shin pain and I was prone to silly injuries like twisting my ankles, etc.
Years and years later I start hearing about barefoot running - part of me found it very appealing, but I was unmotivated to exercise in any way, let alone one with a potential for injuries. This past summer, I had my personal "wake up" to fitness and decided to go for it - I did C25K barefoot, and it was amazing. I've run two 5Ks since then, and am biting at the bit for spring to bring clear roads and more races, and planning to work up to a 10K. My time isn't great (just now got down to a 13 min mile) but I love it. During the winter, I have Vibrams for running outside on nice days (which have become few and far between here in New England) and on the treadmill the rest of the time*... I can't wait for the ground to be warm enough to drop the VFFs and go barefoot again.
*The treadmill is in our apt complex's exercise room, not my home, otherwise I'd do it barefoot.0 -
As an update to my story, I ran for 25 minutes on Sunday with no pain! So for me barefoot has been the answer. I do need to buy some minimalist shoes for other surfaces (not the vibrams!) so will start looking soon.0
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I started running this summer--began the C25k program and it was going really well. In the middle, I decided to transition to minimalist shoes after reading a few things about them--my cousin was using vibrams and loving em. I definitely went too fast with them and ended up with an ankle/achilles injury that lasted a few weeks. It totally threw off my training, and it's been slow-going ever since. However, I've been watching a lot of videos and reading a lot about barefoot running form which really helps. I also signed up to participate in a study on barefoot running and injury. I'm just a couple months in but it's going really well.
I've been runnng solely in minimalist shoes--I have the Vivobarefoot shoes by Terra Plana. I am up to about 1.5-2 mile runs 3-4x per week built up slowly over about a month and a half of getting back into regular running. I am trying to go much, much more slowly and run only with my minimalist shoes. I find that my form gets much better when I can actually shed the shoes though--it feels so much better too. However, I live in SD, and I can't take my shoes off in side on the track at the YMCA, unfortunately.
I'm really excited about barefoot running...it's worth taking the time to transition slowly, I think. It's great reading others' stories and experiences!0 -
I started running last year in nike frees (OPPOSITE OF BAREFOOT), it was okay. Last summer I was out 4wheeling and ended up barefoot and thought man this is the best! shortly after I got myself some VFF's and things just progressed from there. I started reading about the benefits of barefoot running but I could not for the life of me get my stride right in the VFFs, then I bought the merrell trail gloves, they were better but i really should have gotten a larger size, then came the NB trail minimus, which are my current running shoes but now that drier weather has FINALLY returned to the northwest I'm back to being barefoot
I've gotten in 3 barefoot runs so far this year, first was .8 mile, second was 1 mile which resulted in a blister on the front pad of my foot on the side behind my big toe and a gnarly blood blister on the end of my toe next to my big toe (other foot though), on tuesday i ran in my shoes and compression cuffs and my legs were KILLING ME!!! so i shed all that gear went out and did another mile barefoot and bare legged and it was noticeabley better... maybe because i was already warmed up but maybe because i was running the way i was meant to.
I'm planning to continue my short barefoot runs maybe not to be a barefoot marathoner but maybe to train my body in the correct way to run so that when i do have my shoes on i can run better.
I do notice w/o shoes my stride instantly changes and its not something i can recreate in any of the minimalist shoes i've tried.
Also, I've only ran on pavement so far, paranoid about running in grass where sharp things may be out of site. I get a lot of people asking what about rocks/glass/etc... my answer "well you have these things called eyes... you just look for the glass and then don't step on it" its been working pretty good for me so far!!
good luck all my barefoot friends!0 -
Hi guys!
I'm so glad I found this group. I've been looking for a friendly barefoot group for ages!
I started running in March and was doing the Couch 2 5k. Every time I got home I was having to ice my knees as they would swell and get REALLY painful. I bought orthotics and was going to go and have my gait analysed and pay mega bucks for expensive running shoes when some guy mentioned barefoot running on my facebook. I was suspicious and needed time to research so I started running on grass which kinda helped my knees while I read Born to Run and stalked all the running communities for opinions and stories. Then I was a total convert!
I had nearly got to 5k when I bought my minimalist shoes (Vivobarefoot Ultra) and they ended up putting me right back to the beginning. But... absolutely NO knee pain! I was really pleased as I was thinking I was going to have to give up running completely. They were so much fun to run in that I ditched the Couch 2 5k program and just ran for fun.
Now I am up to 6.5k and am thinking about entering for a 10k race. I am also planning to get my husband to treat me to some VFFs for my birthday in August. *excited*
Now I have a question for you folk: Have any of you learnt how to run in regular minimalist shoes and then gone to VFFs? I am worried they will be very different and that there will be a considerable "getting used to" period?0 -
Wow, this is really cool stuff!
I'm into my first couple weeks of barefoot running and so far I love it! I've been walking around barefoot whenever I could get away with it my whole life but I never really considered extending that to running till I read the book Barefoot Running. I figured I had nothing to lose as I've been plagued by weak ankles, shin splints, hip problems, and other problems whenever I try to train regularly. And the shoes weren't helping-- I had 4 different pairs in three years, all expensive and ineffective at reducing my injuries-- so far I love it! I'm always smiling when I run, and no injuries so far beyond tender skin and some soreness the first time.
A few weeks ago my plan was to run a half marathon in 2013, but I think I'm going to revise that to a barefoot race, but perhaps just a 5K or 10K. I still need to decide whether I want to get minimalist shoes though, I saw some neoprene moccasins that look like what I'm searching for, as they're not really shoes, more like tear resistant insulated socks. Plus they're half the price of VFF's, a definite factor for this rising college student 0 -
I am fairly new to barefoot running. When I started running last fall I immediately gravitated towards minimalist shoes (Vibram, Merrell, New Balance, etc all with a 00mm heel to toe drop) in an attempt to stop my heel striking. My stride has now been corrected and I see more barefoot running as the next logical step. I have run races up to 10km in my minimalist shoes but have yet to run more than 3 miles or so completely barefoot.
How long will it take for my feet to "toughen up" so that I do not develop new blisters after longer barefoot runs?
Thanks!0 -
I switched to VFFs in the fall of 2009 because I was having IT band issues running in the stability shoes that the running store put me in. I have done a few halves and one full marathon in the VFFs. I went full barefoot over a year ago and I'm now in training for my first barefoot half in April.
For me it wasn't about toughening up the skin to prevent blisters, but adjusting my running form. It took me many months (albeit, I wasn't running regularly) to get my form to where I now feel comfortable doing over 3 miles.0 -
I switched to VFFs in the fall of 2009 because I was having IT band issues running in the stability shoes that the running store put me in. I have done a few halves and one full marathon in the VFFs. I went full barefoot over a year ago and I'm now in training for my first barefoot half in April.
For me it wasn't about toughening up the skin to prevent blisters, but adjusting my running form. It took me many months (albeit, I wasn't running regularly) to get my form to where I now feel comfortable doing over 3 miles.
Running form was the major benefit for me too! I am no longer a heel striker0 -
I tried to run in NB crosstraining shoes that they said were designed for my feet complete with orthotic inserts. It felt like I have lead on my feet and my feet, legs, and even hips hurt after running for less than a quarter mile.
I bought a pair of Vibram Bikila LS based on a recommendation of a local businessman and the day they arrived I went out for an evening run and they felt great. I have now worn the Vibrams for runs up to about 6 miles and while I went through a period of shin and knee pain, it's been gone for the past several months.
I recently bought a paid of Merrell Trail Gloves and while I like them, I love the Vibrams. I am planning on buying a pair of VIbram Lontras next.0 -
I'm up to 8 miles with this style of running. Merrell Trail is the key.0
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3.1 miles yesterday..........it was good0
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