First time running barefoot

carl1114

I went to a local high school track to train for a 5K in the fall. I ran the 5K in my sneakers trying to stay on the ball of my feet. I made it 2 miles and my calf muscles were getting sore i finished running my regular running style. When I finished the train I removed my shoes and socks and ran around the infield for 2 more laps it felt great. My only worry is the pain in my calf muscles has anyone had that and how long does it last? Any info would be great

Sox90716

I went to a local high school track to train for a 5K in the fall. I ran the 5K in my sneakers trying to stay on the ball of my feet. I made it 2 miles and my calf muscles were getting sore i finished running my regular running style. When I finished the train I removed my shoes and socks and ran around the infield for 2 more laps it felt great. My only worry is the pain in my calf muscles has anyone had that and how long does it last? Any info would be great

I transitioned to Vibram Five Finger shoes over 3 years ago and changed my running style to the Chi Method. It took me over 2 months to transition and get used to a whole new stride and foot strike. Don't overdo it. Good luck!

Collinsky

If it is soreness in both calves, that is really normal with the transition to barefoot running. First, when you run pay attention and make sure that you're letting your heels touch so that the calves can "unload" - some new to the mid/forefoot strike can find themselves running entirely on their mid to forefoot, which strains the calves.

Even with an ideal footstrike, you're using your feet and legs in a new way, and it takes time of building up slowly to get the muscles and tendons accustomed to it. There are a few different approaches but they all call for patience. The major risk factor with barefoot running is doing too much, too fast.

I'd recommend good stretching of the Achilles, calves, and probably even your thighs and hips -- there's also a lot of info out there about foam rollers. A google search should turn up a lot of useful info for recovery.

leebs23

Make sure you are lifting your legs so your thigh muscles catch some of the strain. It's common to push off from your toes when you should be lifting your legs more. That being said it took about a month or two for my calves to stop hurting. Just make sure you take it really slow!

DG_Allen

If it is soreness in both calves, that is really normal with the transition to barefoot running. First, when you run pay attention and make sure that you're letting your heels touch so that the calves can "unload" - some new to the mid/forefoot strike can find themselves running entirely on their mid to forefoot, which strains the calves.

Even with an ideal footstrike, you're using your feet and legs in a new way, and it takes time of building up slowly to get the muscles and tendons accustomed to it. There are a few different approaches but they all call for patience. The major risk factor with barefoot running is doing too much, too fast.

I'd recommend good stretching of the Achilles, calves, and probably even your thighs and hips -- there's also a lot of info out there about foam rollers. A google search should turn up a lot of useful info for recovery.

This is all great advice. You don't want to run on your tip-toe and it's harder to do that in regular shoes with a big heel to toe drop. If you're on a track, you should be able to barefoot w/o too much trouble. This will improve your form even more. Great work so far!

VMarkV

I've had both ups and downs barefooting in the past...

Positive: My calves grew a good 1-1.5 inches in diameter after about 1 year of finally feeling my legs when weight training. Leg training became an addiction for me, going at it 2, sometimes 3 times a week.

Negative: I stopped wearing barefoot wear due to an injury (accidentally dropped a 45lb plate on my foot!), both big toes cracked and took forever to heal...they only healed up after several months of using conventional shoes and keeping my toes protected.

Currently, I am getting back into barefoot training...I forgot how much better I feel (happy feet, no lie), better mood overall and training is fun again. My toes are nice and flexible once again and overall I have better circulation.

zippo32

I completed my first 5K yesterday............................barefoot style.
I'll probably post this on my status too...............................................I really didn't have a place to celebrate this so I joined this group.

tsimblist

Congratulations on your 5k success!

Does "barefoot style" mean that you wore some sort of minimal sole protection?

zippo32

I did. I have the Merrill minimal shoes. No blisters...............

milesvictors

I talk a lot about barefoot running and "barefoot shoe" choices on my blog, if you're interested.

http://consideringmiles.blogspot.com

The key to all this is GO SLOW! Seriously, it will be a painfully slow process if you want to do it right, but eventually your mileage will be back up to where it was and you'll be able to barefoot run as far and fast, if not farther and faster, than you did when you wore shoes. I found that I can go faster barefoot that in shoes, for what it is worth.