Minimalist or Barefoot Runners

cherapple

Today I drove to the town park and ran through the sports fields for about 30 mins. Three successful BF runs in a row under my belt!

I'm feeling it a little bit in one of my feet (feels like I slightly pulled something), but it's my "good" foot (vs. my bunion/surgery foot), and to me that's a promising sign. Any aches and pains I have felt over the last three runs have been in my "good" foot. If my "bad" foot doesn't hurt, it means that if I continue to take it slowly, I can do this!

maddiebabe

I have a question about this. I have never really been arunner before, but I started the couch to 5km a couple weeks ago and have been having some problems with my shins. I know there are shoes out there that are geared towards simulating bare-foot motion while still being a shoe. i know nike makes them so is that something that you could get to run in. Im a littlehesitant to run without any kind of shoe but my legs have adjusted to flat-footed style footwear (ie uggs in winter and flip flops in summer) so I think it could be good.

Any advice would be amazing and congrats to all of you. You have all achieved something awesome

cherapple

It's almost impossible to find any shoe that is completely flat on the bottom. Frustratingly (for me), even most flip flops have raised heels. Most so-called "barefoot" shoes are gimmicks. They come from companies who are trying to profit off barefooters (or not lose profits to them) and people interested in the idea of going barefoot, but not quite ready to take the plunge. You cannot be barefoot, however, with a shoe on your foot. I can understand your hesitancy at going completely barefoot because I hesitated too, for months. You just have to get to your own point where you feel ready to try it, for your own reasons. If you keep having problems with your shins, that might be a reason for you. No hurry, though. Do it when, and if, you feel ready!

Oh, and barefoot is not just a "motion," it is a sensitivity. If you have anything on your foot, it is "blinded" to the ground. It can't feel anything, and therefore can't respond to surfaces. Your feet will teach you how to run correctly by the way they feel when you run. If you are not running with good form, you will get an immediate response from your body. That's probably what your shins are telling you, and your shoes are keeping you from correcting yourself.

Look up some barefoot running videos on youtube and you will understand how shoes force you to run a certain way and how bare feet allow you more freedom to run correctly.

I haves a question about this. I have never really been arunner before, but I started the couch to 5km a couple weeks ago and have been having some problems with my shins. I know there are shoes out there that are geared towards simulating bare-foot motion while still being a shoe. i know nike makes them so is that something that you could get to run in. Im a littlehesitant to run without any kind of shoe but my legs have adjusted to flat-footed style footwear (ie uggs in winter and flip flops in summer) so I think it could be good.

Any advice would be amazing and congrats to all of you. You have all achieved something awesome

maddiebabe

Thanks so much That was really helpful. I'll go check out the videos now! have a great day!

GuitarJohn

My running is extremely minimalist. I try to keep running to an extreme minimum. :bigsmile:

gemiwing

Hey fellow toe wigglers- I'm off the DL today!!! YAY!

I'm going to try and get down the stairs to my apartment haha Maybe hit the gym later and do some walking- no running for now- not quite there yet. But today was the first day I could walk normally again, so I'm taking that as a good sign. It only took six days of recoup :grumble: ha

Have a great day and enjoy your runs!

cherapple

Hey fellow toe wigglers- I'm off the DL today!!! YAY!

I'm going to try and get down the stairs to my apartment haha Maybe hit the gym later and do some walking- no running for now- not quite there yet. But today was the first day I could walk normally again, so I'm taking that as a good sign. It only took six days of recoup :grumble: ha

Have a great day and enjoy your runs!

What's DL stand for? :blushing:

I hear you on recuperating! Been there too many times! Glad you're up and walking. Today was a running rest day for me (did strength training). After injuring myself so many times running in shoes, it's now a habit to never run two days in a row. Maybe with bare feet I'll eventually be able to run on consecutive days, but for now, while I'm building foot strength, it's still good to have healing days in between. My feet have ached a little after yesterday, but it's a good ache! :laugh:

gemiwing

DL- Disabled List. Sorry, sports thing lol. I'm itchy for basketball season I guess

I learned the hard way not to run back to back- not doing that again! Whew!

I'm glad you're feeling the good burn. If someone would have ever told me I'd describe after exercise pain in a good way I'd have laughed till I wet myself. haha How far the mighty have fallen

NinaDawn79

Hello BFRs! I just had to post to tell you that I was so captivated by your posts about this (which I had never heard of before!) that I actually was dreaming about running barefoot night before last. :laugh: I keep asking around trying to get some people's response to the idea and everyone laughs at me.

Since I'm obviously not finding any help around here ( ) what do you recommend as the best way to ease into this?? I just started running about 3 months ago and finally bought an actual pair of running shoes because my crosstrainers were killing one of my arches. I seem to have licked the arch pain, but of course am fascinated with the thought of "learning" how to run well, naturally!

gemiwing

Hello BFRs! I just had to post to tell you that I was so captivated by your posts about this (which I had never heard of before!) that I actually was dreaming about running barefoot night before last. :laugh: I keep asking around trying to get some people's response to the idea and everyone laughs at me.

Since I'm obviously not finding any help around here ( ) what do you recommend as the best way to ease into this?? I just started running about 3 months ago and finally bought an actual pair of running shoes because my crosstrainers were killing one of my arches. I seem to have licked the arch pain, but of course am fascinated with the thought of "learning" how to run well, naturally!

Hi there

I find that most people get confused when I talk about running barefoot. People don't understand that you run differently (more naturally) than you do in shoes. You don't slam your heel down and you don't run through piles of glass for kicks. lol. It's not about being tough- it's about being natural.

You're going to want to start slow. Barefoot running is really going to require that you pay attention to your form, which is good for any athlete. A general rule is to run 10% of your mileage barefoot for a week. Keep at that for a week or two, then up by 5-10% again. It's going to take some getting used to at first because your feet/ligaments and calves are weakened from wearing shoes. So take it slow- it'll come as it's meant to.

Here's a good website with tons of info- www.runningbarefoot.org Just scroll down on the page and you'll see tons of links with great info.

Happy Running! :flowerforyou:

cherapple

Hello BFRs! I just had to post to tell you that I was so captivated by your posts about this (which I had never heard of before!) that I actually was dreaming about running barefoot night before last. :laugh: I keep asking around trying to get some people's response to the idea and everyone laughs at me.

Since I'm obviously not finding any help around here ( ) what do you recommend as the best way to ease into this?? I just started running about 3 months ago and finally bought an actual pair of running shoes because my crosstrainers were killing one of my arches. I seem to have licked the arch pain, but of course am fascinated with the thought of "learning" how to run well, naturally!

Hi, Nina.

I'm so glad you're listening to your dreams, and not those people who are laughing at you! You can transition little by little, as Gemi said, but I went cold turkey (well, after I tried VFFs because I was afraid to really run barefoot). You might have to cut your mileage back a little bit at first, but as soon as you try running barefoot, you may not want anything to do with your shoes! Try both, try different surfaces, and see how they feel. Grass, road, concrete, trail. The softest (grass) and the smoothest (concrete or road, for short distaces) will be the easiest at first. The others you will have to work toward as your feet get stronger. (I'm mostly still in the grass stage myself.)

Most of all: Pay attention to how you feel. Your body will tell you immediately if you're using poor form, or when your body needs to stop (especially on the hard surfaces). Start by running in place before you take off. Then land on the balls of your feet, bend your legs, lift your feet high behind you, relax, and run lightly. I felt like I started to "get it" when I watched a few videos of barefoot runners on youtube. Now I notice that practically everyone I see running in shoes is heal striking, and it just makes me wince. It really is a different experience!

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Cheryl

gemiwing

I'm going barefoot walking this morning. Did my upper body weight training- now onto the walking bit.

Wish me luck and that my legs have healed enough! lol

Have a great run today!:flowerforyou:

Schaff

I agree that you really can't get the total sensation running barefoot without running completely barefoot! But, since I am now working up to hard surfaces, I have moved towards having something on my feet to protect me from rocks and things like that. So I bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, and I LOOOOOVE THEM!!! They are the closest thing you can get to being barefoot and yet protecting the bottoms of your feet. My usual routine these days is to do 1 mile warmup on the inner turf of a track, walk a lap, then another mile on the track itself (these two miles with my vibrams on), walk a lap, then lose the vibrams and do another lap on the inner turf totally barefoot.

Running barefoot will help with shin sprints, I promise, just go slow (as I have said before). Check out the Vibrams, they look a little weird, and they take some getting used to, but they really are awesome, you may find yourself wearing them everywhere, I do nowadays, they are also awesome to walk in! Its great, you can basically be barefoot in stores and coffee shops and such. They look sort of funny, and people will ask you about them, but mostly they are just interested in them and want to know what you are up to in them!

avag

Wow, my eyes have been opened by this post. I'd never even considered running barefoot before. Now I will definitely try it, all I need to do is find the right location.

gemiwing

Just got back from my first True Barefoot walk. Wow- it was amazing.

I made it almost a mile before the concrete got the best of my form :laugh: I live in an urban area so there were tons of different textures of concrete. Even some old brick- which was AWESOME!

If you get the chance to barefoot on brick- GO FOR IT. You will not be let down.

Here are some pics (let's see if I can do this right)


That's my virgin feet- I took my shoes with me just in case- good thing I did too!


This brick was amazing. Springy grass and cool brick- match made in July Heaven.



This was the hardest surface I had to walk on. It was good and I'm glad it's on my route. It's going to keep my form in top shape!


Me and my dogs at the end:

annaliza

Going to try it again this weekend. Just around the house - on the sidewalk and in the grass. I figured if I run up and down my sidewalk from the garage to the house back and forth 5 times (10 times total), it will equal a mile. I measured it out with my pedometer.

I'm looking forward to it and it's something I can do while I'm watching the kids play in the yard.

Take care all!

gemiwing

Going to try it again this weekend. Just around the house - on the sidewalk and in the grass. I figured if I run up and down my sidewalk from the garage to the house back and forth 5 times (10 times total), it will equal a mile. I measured it out with my pedometer.

I'm looking forward to it and it's something I can do while I'm watching the kids play in the yard.

Take care all!

That's a great way to get used to it. If we had a driveway I'd be right there with ya. See if you can get your kids to take a pic so you can show off your new Footloose skills. :bigsmile:

Then you can look back and think- ahhh the beginning!

cherapple

I agree that you really can't get the total sensation running barefoot without running completely barefoot! But, since I am now working up to hard surfaces, I have moved towards having something on my feet to protect me from rocks and things like that. So I bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, and I LOOOOOVE THEM!!! They are the closest thing you can get to being barefoot and yet protecting the bottoms of your feet. My usual routine these days is to do 1 mile warmup on the inner turf of a track, walk a lap, then another mile on the track itself (these two miles with my vibrams on), walk a lap, then lose the vibrams and do another lap on the inner turf totally barefoot.

Running barefoot will help with shin sprints, I promise, just go slow (as I have said before). Check out the Vibrams, they look a little weird, and they take some getting used to, but they really are awesome, you may find yourself wearing them everywhere, I do nowadays, they are also awesome to walk in! Its great, you can basically be barefoot in stores and coffee shops and such. They look sort of funny, and people will ask you about them, but mostly they are just interested in them and want to know what you are up to in them!

I love my Vibrams, too, but I don't want to use them too much for running. I want to be able to feel the ground and run on all types of surfaces. I may use them for a 5K trail run this coming Monday because I'm not ready for twigs, woodchips, and stuff, but much of the trail is sandy. I'm afraid of overdoing it, though, if I can't feel the ground. We'll see!

I wore my Vibrams to work yesterday. First time wearing them in public, except to run! Felt good to be able to move my toes and spread my feet! I talked to one person about them, but other than that they didn't get any attention. :frown: :laugh:

I got a new sports watch today, too! It's a heart rate monitor and pedometer that measures distance and counts calories. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow.

Cheryl

Phoenix_Rising

I vote this as The Most Interesting Thread I've Read on Facebook.


I want to try BFR. We shall see. It would take me considerable time. I have injury to my left calf that causes extreme pain (tightening of muscle, limping) if I don't have "proper support". I'd love to allow my body to HEAL on its own.

cherapple

Wow, my eyes have been opened by this post. I'd never even considered running barefoot before. Now I will definitely try it, all I need to do is find the right location.

Avag, can't wait to hear how it goes!