Teach me to Run Barefoot

wwk10

I just started running. I am interested in running barefoot. I know a little bit about the reasoning (The shock from hard heel plants)
Running barefoot seems straightforward ---- Take off your shoes and run, but is there anything I should know?
BTW I will be running on a flat beach with hard packed sand.
Also I will be truly barefoot, and not wearing those cute, new rubber foot glove things.

Thanks

gdunn55

I think you have the jist of it. Some folks recommend slowly working your way from regular shoes to min. shoes to barefoot. If you just started and you got the right area to train, I say go barefoot, but do it slowly. Listen to your body. I wouldn't go run 15 miles the first go round, ease into it.

clover5

Don't do it. Wear supportive athletic shoes. I ran 3 miles barefoot once. I had trouble with the arch in one foot off and on for a couple of years after that.

gdunn55

Again.. Ease into it. We've gotten so used to running with shoes that anything barefoot is foreign. I'd do something similiar to a couch to 5k. I'd walk the first couple of times. The next couple of times I'd walk, run a little, and finish it out walking. And slowly build like that.

wwk10

Thanks
I did C25K once. Now I just Run 3 minutes/ Walk 3 minutes.
I am trying to dial in my distance and total time etc. which I think is going to be 2 miles with 3-4 sections of walking and 3-4 sections of runing. Once I have my routine, I will slowly increase the run intervals and decrease the walking.

I hope the hard sand is going to be more forgiving than other surfaces.

I guess avoiding hard heel strikes will just happen naturally as my foot tries to minimize the impact without cushionng shoes and also tries to avoids sharp objects and slight differences in terrain etc. I think this means I will be running more flat footed. Is that correct?

Do I need to be conscious of how my foot strikes or just let it happen?

mlb929

The book Run Bare is a perfect resource for answering your questions, talks about how, why, when, surfaces, etc etc. Very good read on Barefoot Running. It's not as simple as you think,

gdunn55

The book Run Bare is a perfect resource for answering your questions, talks about how, why, when, surfaces, etc etc. Very good read on Barefoot Running. It's not as simple as you think,

That's probably waaaaaay better than any advice you could get here on running barefoot.

wwk10

"It's not as simple as you think"
I thought it might not be as simple as I think.
Thats why I asked.

Does that mean dont do it until I am better educated?

wwk10

One Bump before the end of the day.

Should I wait until I am better educated (reading Run Bare)?

BrianSharpe

One Bump before the end of the day.

Should I wait until I am better educated (reading Run Bare)?

I think you can also find some great articles in Runners World (www.runnersworld.com) I've been tempted to try it myself but I think I also accomplished some of the objectives by running outdoors in the winter. Specifically to stop from falling in icy conditions I had to shorten my stride and consciously develop a midfoot strike rather than heel.

gdunn55

The most common mistake anyone who goes barefooted or wears like a Vibram Five Finger is they don't build it up, they just go b.a.lls to the wall and try to run a half marathon without training for it and get hurt.

Sl1ghtly

Watch for sharp stuff and poo, that's all you really need worry about.

wwk10

I thinl im going to try it.
I re-read web site barefootrunning.gas.Harvard.dry.
Instead of heel strike I want to hit the pad of my foot behind the toes that are not your big toe.

I'm not going to think about it though. I'm just going to try it.
I still run 3 minutes, walk 3 so I don't think ill over do it.

renkath

One Bump before the end of the day.

Should I wait until I am better educated (reading Run Bare)?

There are a lot of good websites out there - a lot of good youtube videos as well. Running on the beach is actually very hard on your joints compared to running on trails or clay etc. - the up side is that it is a great place to be able to actually see if you are heel-striking. Contrary to what someone said above, I have read - almost exclusively - that it is recommended to start out barefoot - even if you are planning to wear minimalist shoes in the end, so that you can learn to run with the proper form. I spent a great deal of time barefoot on the beach last year checking my foot prints before I ran a whole marathon in vibrams.

The most important thing for barefoot running (really bare) is to go very slowly (not run slowly, but increase your distance slowly) focusing on form. (Check out Chai and Pose forms on youtube). If you heel-strike barefoot, you *will* do more damage to your joints than you will in traditional trainers. Keep your knees bent. I wrote on another thread that something that both pro- and con- barefoot researchers agree on is that keeping your knees bent and reducing the up-and-down bounce above the waistline as much as possible is easier on the joints.

There are a couple of facebook groups that give good, experienced advice regarding both barefoot and minimalist running. You will have a slew of issues going totally bare that I can't give any advice on.

Of course - if you jump out there and run 3 miles barefoot, heel-striking and ignoring the needs of your body, you will get hurt. The fact is, up until the 70s everyone ran in minimalist shoes. People didn't start running once the specialty shoe was invented.

wwk10

http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu
I was typing on my phone and auto correct changed the web site.

moepwr

Here is a documentary on running which includes barefoot running available online. I am not sure if it is only available to canadians? It is on the Canadian Broadcasting Corperation. It is on the Nature of Things which may be available elsewhere if you can't watch it.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-perfect-runner.html?subpage=information

hedgiie

maybe it might help if your run bare naked too.

hiker282

1) Take your shoes off
2) Start running!

sarisfat

maybe it might help if your run bare naked too.

hhaahahahahahahah

rybo

EASE into it. If u do 3 mins run & 3 mins walk, i would stop after that. If u keep going until u got 2-3 miles u will get hurt

wwk10

I kept my shoes on. I'm going to try to find someone locally to give me pointers.
its getting easier
2 miles

SergeantSunshine_reused

jhardenbergh

This is exactly the proper form, it works for cheetahs, it will work for you. You will get alot of stares at first, just don't pay attention.

raevynn

It does take time to get used to, depending a lot on how dependent your feet/legs/hips have gotten on shoes.

It took me a solid two months to get used to wearing Vibrams.... I would make the assumption it might take a long time to get used to running barefooted. I think your idea of a pleasant jog on the beach to start with is good.

Start by walking. Do a little running. Keep checking for weird pains/pangs/pulls/aches. Increase your time gradually, until you know that you are in the clear on it.

I run barefoot... both really barefoot, and in vibrams... on the treadmill, mostly. It takes a bit of practice to get the forward/flat foot landing, rather than the heel strike.

f15htank

ooh i've switched to cheap shoes now, but i recommend just taking it slow, maybe running barefoot only 10 minutes of your routine for starts, and then up the time slowly.