Just bought my first pair of 'barefoot' shoes

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gbbhey
gbbhey Posts: 188
in Fitness and Exercise
Any tips for a new barefoot runner out there? I just bought Merrell's road glove after hearing great things from friends/online reviews, and I am taking them out for a test run here soon. Anything on what to expect, or just what you experienced when you made the switch would be most beneficial. Thanks!

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  • booyainyoface
    booyainyoface Posts: 409 Member
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    walk around in them for a few weeks before running in them- if wearing them daily isn't an option because of your job, cut your run in half and see how your foot strength is before building up miles. i wear flats/flip flops all the time so for me it was a seamless transition :)
  • Dancerten
    Dancerten Posts: 237 Member
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    Yeah, I've read several articles in our O&P magazines at work about injuries from people starting out too gung-ho in these shoes. They recommend gradually building up to where you were running in real shoes. So maybe start out just walking for awhile, and then go into short runs, and then back to where you were at before you bought them?
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    Learn to run in bare feet before you use the barefoot shoes - sounds silly, but you need to learn how to run light barefooted before you use the shoes or you may develop wrong habits such as heel striking or just running too far too soon.
  • rmcannell
    rmcannell Posts: 23 Member
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    Enjoy them! It's a lovely way to run. I agree wholeheartedly with the advice to start very slowly - walking if possible, really, really short runs if necessary. Take your sweet time and progress with baby steps, it will be worth it in the end.

    I got Vibrams several years ago now and was a little too excited to run in them. I got through an eight mile run but couldn't walk for days (if you've been running in raised heel shoes your calves will need time to build up strength), and very quickly ended up with a stress fracture because I just didn't know how to run correctly. After I healed, I started slowly and have been running in them very happily (and since then with basically zero aches, pains, or injuries) for hundreds of miles. I've used them for races up to 1/2 marathon and will be running a marathon in them in early spring.

    I've actually transitioned to running really barefoot whenever possible, but the zero drop shoes are foot-saving when you can't guarantee that the terrain will be safe.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    Yeah, I've read several articles in our O&P magazines at work about injuries from people starting out too gung-ho in these shoes.

    Do they do classes in Too Gung Ho?
  • Dancerten
    Dancerten Posts: 237 Member
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    Yeah, I've read several articles in our O&P magazines at work about injuries from people starting out too gung-ho in these shoes.

    Do they do classes in Too Gung Ho?

    If they did, I'd be signed up!

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