I began training for the SF Marathon solely in minimalist shoes (Terra Plana EVO) at the end of March '10. After several months trying out the minimalist shoes I'm still amazed that I hadn't tried actual barefoot running yet, but I get there eventually. I consulted with a friend who had run a few marathon and she recommended looking at Hal Higdon's training schedules. His website is great and there is an abundance of useful information about training for long distance races, as well as info on shorter distances: 5k, 10k, half marathons, etc. Check out his website: http://www.halhigdon.com/
I chose Hal's Novice 1 training schedule, because it was the lightest of all the options and I figured I would need to transition as easily as possible into minimalist shoe running. Here's the Novice 1 schedule I got off of Hal's website:
I tracked all my runs on runkeeper.com with my phone's GPS and here are some comments from my runs:
Week 1
March 22nd 3 miles: First run for my SF marathon training. I've decided to use my minimalist shoes (Evo Vivo barefoot), hope my legs can adjust in time!
March 23rd 3 miles: Feels good to do a back to back run! Hope tomorrow feels the same. The shoes still feel good but I have a bit of soreness in my left heel (the crooked foot).
March 24th 3 miles: Wooo, day three. A bit sore but not bad. Had fun today! The kite boarders were out in force today…
March 27th 5 miles: I miss my longer Saturday runs, but in these shoes it will take my legs awhile to adjust.
Week 2
March 29th 3 miles: My left heel was bugging from the start but it dissipated halfway through… I'll have watch that one.
April 4th 7 miles: I was a bit worried about my heels since they have been a bit sore adjusting to these minimalist shoes, but I took it easy and everything felt okay.
Week 3
April 7th 3 miles: Two words, sore feet!
April 8th 3 miles: Well, this week it has been all about pain. My feet are sore!! After so many years in padded shoes my feet are undergoing some major changes. They are much stronger already but I still land heavy on my heal, which hurts like the dickens after a few weeks of 4 day a week running. Hope they adjust soon!
Week 4
April 18th 9 miles: Longest run so far in these minimalist shoes. Everything felt great but my right foot got a little bit numb towards the end. But I think I can do this…. I'll revisit that idea when I do 15 miles, heh heh.
Week 5: And finally I run barefoot!!!!!
April 21st 5 miles: I really worked on my stride today and found a little more bend in the knee really smoothed things out. And I ran the last 1/4 mile totally barefoot and it felt great!!! More of that in my future for sure.
April 22nd 3 miles: Did about 1/2 mile barefoot today and think that's a good limit for now. I had just a bit of scuffed skin on the bottom of my foot today. I tried to keep things slower and work on my stride more. I notice a drag my feet a bit and am trying to make my stride smoother and more of a rolling motion… feels better when I do.
April 24th 10 miles: Been slowing the pace down a bit because my feet are sore and it has helped a lot! I also tried ice/hot water feet soaking after my run…. didn't know how much cold water hurts!!!… and my feet are much happier with me. Today's run was smooth and easy, except for that damn bug that flew right down my throat… tasted nasty, hee hee.
Week 6
April 27th 3 miles: My feet are starting to feel much better. Taking it easy last week helped A LOT! Ran the last 1/4 mile barefoot again and no rawness this time at all… might do 3/4 barefoot tomorrow!
April 28th 5 miles: Did the last 3/4 mile barefoot, and again it felt just fine. There's a little more chaffing on my foot but not much. I must say the sidewalk is actually like a running foot massage, nice
Took a pic of my bare feet.
May 1st 7 miles: Hot today! My right foot is still bugging me a bit but I kept a smooth even pace and it wasn't so bad.
week 7: The feet pain ramps up!!!
May 4th 3 miles: I tried to slow it down a bit today, and from now on. My long runs are starting to get long and I'm worried about my feet, especially my right one. I have several sore spots and want to keep them from getting any worse. It's funny or not funny, my feet feel best once I take my shoes off at the end of the run. But the bottoms are baby soft from being shod and easily scraped so I guess I'll have to work in more barefoot time slowly. Slow is the word!
May 6th 3 miles: Did two 3/4 barefoot milers back to back yesterday and today and all seems well with my feet. I'll try a mile barefoot or maybe a bit longer on Saturday but we'll see how I feel on mile ten or eleven
May 8th 12.5 miles: Long run! My feet felt beat up by the end. They were mostly sore but I feel a weird pang in the outside heal of my right foot.
Week 8: The pain becomes alarming
May 11th 3 miles: Sore feet at the beginning but I kept it slow and all is well. Ran 1 mile barefoot with no problems… might up the unshod mileage a bit more.
May 12th 5 miles: Run faster than I should today but some guy was running fast in front of me and I just HAD to catch him… never did, ha! Otherwise SSDD… feet hurt.
May 16th 13.1 miles: Half marathon baby! Felt some not so good things in my foot today though. Think I'm going to have to reduce the runs and add in regular shoes to let my feet adjust more slowly. I don't know, I think I'm pushing myself too hard…. But I did the last 1.5 miles barefoot, it felt good but I think I'm pushing off a bit on the left foot… I didn't get a blister but close…. think I'll keep it shorter for awhile.
Week 9: Think I'm on minimalist shoe hiatus(
May 19th 3 miles: Well, I got back in my old beat up sneakers today because my feet hurt, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my stride didn't revert back to the old heal strike but stayed the same as in my EVOs! The “barefoot” training has been great and I will continue it on a paired down scale after a break, but I have a feeling the SF marathon will be done in my old beaters.
May 20th 4 miles: Another run in my old shoes. My feet are still sore but I think they will recover over time. I might take a break from running for a week to heal a bit. Once my feet are better I'll try barefoot again.. but very slowly!!! I think most of the remaining marathon training will be in my sneakers, but once it's over I'm going barefoot only… maybe a barefoot marathon next year?!
I chose Hal's Novice 1 training schedule, because it was the lightest of all the options and I figured I would need to transition as easily as possible into minimalist shoe running. Here's the Novice 1 schedule I got off of Hal's website:
I tracked all my runs on runkeeper.com with my phone's GPS and here are some comments from my runs:
Week 1
March 22nd 3 miles: First run for my SF marathon training. I've decided to use my minimalist shoes (Evo Vivo barefoot), hope my legs can adjust in time!
March 23rd 3 miles: Feels good to do a back to back run! Hope tomorrow feels the same. The shoes still feel good but I have a bit of soreness in my left heel (the crooked foot).
March 24th 3 miles: Wooo, day three. A bit sore but not bad. Had fun today! The kite boarders were out in force today…
March 27th 5 miles: I miss my longer Saturday runs, but in these shoes it will take my legs awhile to adjust.
Week 2
March 29th 3 miles: My left heel was bugging from the start but it dissipated halfway through… I'll have watch that one.
April 4th 7 miles: I was a bit worried about my heels since they have been a bit sore adjusting to these minimalist shoes, but I took it easy and everything felt okay.
Week 3
April 7th 3 miles: Two words, sore feet!
April 8th 3 miles: Well, this week it has been all about pain. My feet are sore!! After so many years in padded shoes my feet are undergoing some major changes. They are much stronger already but I still land heavy on my heal, which hurts like the dickens after a few weeks of 4 day a week running. Hope they adjust soon!
Week 4
April 18th 9 miles: Longest run so far in these minimalist shoes. Everything felt great but my right foot got a little bit numb towards the end. But I think I can do this…. I'll revisit that idea when I do 15 miles, heh heh.
Week 5: And finally I run barefoot!!!!!
April 21st 5 miles: I really worked on my stride today and found a little more bend in the knee really smoothed things out. And I ran the last 1/4 mile totally barefoot and it felt great!!! More of that in my future for sure.
April 22nd 3 miles: Did about 1/2 mile barefoot today and think that's a good limit for now. I had just a bit of scuffed skin on the bottom of my foot today. I tried to keep things slower and work on my stride more. I notice a drag my feet a bit and am trying to make my stride smoother and more of a rolling motion… feels better when I do.
April 24th 10 miles: Been slowing the pace down a bit because my feet are sore and it has helped a lot! I also tried ice/hot water feet soaking after my run…. didn't know how much cold water hurts!!!… and my feet are much happier with me. Today's run was smooth and easy, except for that damn bug that flew right down my throat… tasted nasty, hee hee.
Week 6
April 27th 3 miles: My feet are starting to feel much better. Taking it easy last week helped A LOT! Ran the last 1/4 mile barefoot again and no rawness this time at all… might do 3/4 barefoot tomorrow!
April 28th 5 miles: Did the last 3/4 mile barefoot, and again it felt just fine. There's a little more chaffing on my foot but not much. I must say the sidewalk is actually like a running foot massage, nice
Took a pic of my bare feet.
May 1st 7 miles: Hot today! My right foot is still bugging me a bit but I kept a smooth even pace and it wasn't so bad.
week 7: The feet pain ramps up!!!
May 4th 3 miles: I tried to slow it down a bit today, and from now on. My long runs are starting to get long and I'm worried about my feet, especially my right one. I have several sore spots and want to keep them from getting any worse. It's funny or not funny, my feet feel best once I take my shoes off at the end of the run. But the bottoms are baby soft from being shod and easily scraped so I guess I'll have to work in more barefoot time slowly. Slow is the word!
May 6th 3 miles: Did two 3/4 barefoot milers back to back yesterday and today and all seems well with my feet. I'll try a mile barefoot or maybe a bit longer on Saturday but we'll see how I feel on mile ten or eleven
May 8th 12.5 miles: Long run! My feet felt beat up by the end. They were mostly sore but I feel a weird pang in the outside heal of my right foot.
Week 8: The pain becomes alarming
May 11th 3 miles: Sore feet at the beginning but I kept it slow and all is well. Ran 1 mile barefoot with no problems… might up the unshod mileage a bit more.
May 12th 5 miles: Run faster than I should today but some guy was running fast in front of me and I just HAD to catch him… never did, ha! Otherwise SSDD… feet hurt.
May 16th 13.1 miles: Half marathon baby! Felt some not so good things in my foot today though. Think I'm going to have to reduce the runs and add in regular shoes to let my feet adjust more slowly. I don't know, I think I'm pushing myself too hard…. But I did the last 1.5 miles barefoot, it felt good but I think I'm pushing off a bit on the left foot… I didn't get a blister but close…. think I'll keep it shorter for awhile.
Week 9: Think I'm on minimalist shoe hiatus
(May 19th 3 miles: Well, I got back in my old beat up sneakers today because my feet hurt, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my stride didn't revert back to the old heal strike but stayed the same as in my EVOs! The “barefoot” training has been great and I will continue it on a paired down scale after a break, but I have a feeling the SF marathon will be done in my old beaters.
May 20th 4 miles: Another run in my old shoes. My feet are still sore but I think they will recover over time. I might take a break from running for a week to heal a bit. Once my feet are better I'll try barefoot again.. but very slowly!!! I think most of the remaining marathon training will be in my sneakers, but once it's over I'm going barefoot only… maybe a barefoot marathon next year?!
