Minimalist or Barefoot Runners

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

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 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.

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.

You mean it hurts more if you're barefoot than if you're not? How did you hurt yourself? This may not be you, but so many people turn to barefooting because of injuries with shoes! Me included.

I ran almost 2.5 miles today. I decided to try my VFFs again. My feet they felt "blinded." I ran on harder surfaces than I have been--road, gravel, packed dirt, trail, and some grass, too. I'm not sure whether it was the shoes or the surfaces, but my feet hurt! (Mainly the surgery one.) They haven't hurt like that since the last time I wore VFFs. My completely barefoot runs have felt great. I guess I'm shelving my VFFs as running shoes until winter. It's barefoot all the way for me for the rest of the summer!

I don't know that I feel like I'm making much "progress." My foot feels a little swollen and stiff today after my VFF run yesterday. I'm feeling increasingly jealous of those who can strap on a pair of VFFs and go out and run several miles right away! :huh: I may be confined to running on grass for the rest of my life. :ohwell:

As for public footwear, flip flops are great! It's hard to find a comfortable pair, but I found some made by Nike that were on clearance and they're really light and comfortable. I also have a pair of sandals that I like okay, if I must wear something a little nicer. I keep my flip flops in the car, drive barefoot, and then put them on when I get to the store. I am not looking forward to winter! :frown: :happy:

Cheryl

Great run Cheryl! Your progress really inspires me, truly it does.

I went to the grocery today and had to wear shoes- but it felt very odd lol I'm so used to going barefoot.

Felt like I was wearing bricks on my doggies.:laugh:

I ran barefoot this weekend around the yard and on the sidewalk.

And of course I would find the ONE little piece of glass that mysteriously appeared and got lodged in my heel.

So I limped around a little bit on Saturday but it didn't hinder me too much. Today you wouldn't know that I had to dig a glass shard out of my foot.

I don't think I put shoes on at all this weekend except to go out and on my normal, non-barefoot run.

I'm still here! I'm just being really bad about logging my food. I need to get back into because even though I'm exercising more, the pounds are slowly creeping on.

My barefoot running progress: 20 miles and counting. (My husband is up to almost 300! If he wore shoes, it would be about time for a new pair. :laugh: ) I'm even running a little bit on asphalt, and no foot pain on my surgery foot because I'm finally learning to land softly. Amazing.

How's everyone else doing?

I ran MR for a short while the other night- tons of fun.

I took a water aerobics class and part of the exercises was to do hamstring leg lifts. Just like in barefooting! It was excellent and amazing to test my foot fall in the pool. I can't recommend this enough! Try walking in water to get the foot fall down pat.

Acronyms again :ohwell: : What's MR? :laugh:

I can imagine the pool might be a good place to work on your bare foot form. Lately I'm focusing on my walking form. You're supposed to step ball of foot first, but I've walked heel-to-toe for so many years that it's hard to change my old habits. It feels weird when I put on shoes now though! I can immediately feel the changes they cause in my body position and walking mechanics.