What am I doing wrong?

Hi guys,

Well, this is my first post (introduction post apart).

I'm running in minimalist shoes for 4 years. I first started to run in Saucony Hatori on road (once or twice a week, long and mid-range runs) and barefoot on beach (twice a week, short runs). 2 years ago I ended up running marathon in Hatoris. During the training toward the marathon, I was trail-running upto 36km.

Since then my feet widened and now same Saucony feels a bit narrow for me. I've moved on to Innov-8 Trailroc 235 on trails and Vivobarefoot Ultra Pures on road. The latter is most minimal shoe I've ever run in. After a short period its soles became 3-4mm thick and really provides good sensation of the ground. Now there is a couple of holes, the bigger ones are under my toes.

Eventually I decided to make a huge (for me) step forward and go just barefoot. I'm now in a week 3 of the transitioning. Looks like during the period of 4 years minimalist running I have developed a 'right' stride. I.e. I have zero problems with muscles or tendons. Have no pain. First I ran 10km barefoot and it really hurt ... I got beautiful blisters. Well, now when I only run 5K barefoot runs it's feeling good. But I can not go further. If I try to run more I get some skin peel off or blisters.

I suppose there is something I need to change (maybe the 'good' stride I was talking about earlier). What I want to achieve is barefoot trailrunning. But I feel that running barefoot on asphalt should be accomplished earlier. What should I do in order to harden the skin? Or just let it go and gradually increase my barefoot runs?

Thanks.
 
Sounds like you're encountering the same thing I did when I started barefoot.

I'd been running in VFF's for a while and found I was wearing out the soles at the toes and very front part of the balls of my feet. When I took them off and started running barefoot last year, those were the same spots I got blisters/heavy abrasions, even after only 5K runs. It served as a clear indicator that I was still pushing off instead of lifting off, but couldn't feel it through the VFF's and wore the soles out the way I did.

I would recommend that while you're doing your barefoot runs, focus as much of your concentration as you can (safely, of course) on the lift-off and landing and "listening" to what your feet are telling you. After a while, it'll become pretty automatic and you'll adjust your landing/lift-off as needed for the terrain/conditions.

As for asphalt - I'd agree. I'd also suggest running on a variety of hard surfaces such as smooth concrete, chip-seal asphalt, etc. Those will also to help reinforce the landing and lift-off, since the sensation of pushing off is much more obvious on a courser surface than a smooth one.
 
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Agree with the others that your stride is likely too long. That causes extra friction both at landing and at push off. There are two ways to fix it. One is to try to lift your feet earlier and the other is to try to put your feet down farther back, more under your body. Since loading before and after mid stance has to be symmetrical, shortening one will shorten the other. Have you measured your cadence to be around 180? If it's low, you're over striding. If you can find some nice fresh chip seal to run on, it gives really good feedback, even if your feet are tough.

Edited to add that trails are actually easier to run on since your feet can slip a bit on dirt without causing blisters nearly so soon. That means you're on track about wanting to nail asphalt first ...
 
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Sid, I think Dr. Mark may have a point long-term. But if a beginning barefooter is experiencing the blistering/abrasions like was described, making a conscious effort to not roll forward onto the balls of their feet and push off (which I had a tendency to do because decades of the habit developing while wearing shoes) may be of use to help reduce the friction/blistering they're experiencing. Same as using a metronome/music to help maintain a high cadence (~180 bpm) and shortening their stride, etc.

Just tools to use to help get to the point where it all becomes automatic and you can just "go and enjoy the run".
 
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It seems like we all start from different places, but hope to end up at the same destination.

Agreed, and the cues that get us there depend on how we interpret them and then on how we implement them. Any given cue is distorted by both processes and will "work" for only a fraction of people. Human nature being what it is, once someone finds a cue that works for themselves, it becomes "truth". Better is to understand that there are many paths that lead to the destination, and that the best path for you depends on your particular starting place and your particular abilities. Try many things, pay attention to what happens, keep doing what works, and stop doing what doesn't. Simple, but sometimes not so easy.
 
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It sounds like you are well on the path to good form and tougher soles.

Holes in your (shoe's) soles indicate uneven push off. I have holes in the toes of my VFF Bikilas which I adjust for when I switch to BF. It strikes me as funny that I've never felt any discomfort due to the holes.

Train yourself to run on different surfaces, not just pavement. It's good to develop a broader sense of how your feet handle them and running is more fun that way, too.

Carry on!
 
Like Rick, said, pace is important. For me, my form is still different in minimal footwear, as compared to barefoot. You probably still need to give your legs and feet time to adapt. Slower, but lightly, helps to do that while enabling you to be relaxed and not take unnecessary risks. I have found that speed development comes more naturally and with less pain by letting myself gradually build up to it. Then, I don't have to push off or strain the same way.
 
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that was good video by dr C. i thought i had another comment but can't remember it. he's showing 2 of the McGill big 3. only thing missing is the curl up. i tried to find a video to post but everyone did such a poor job i decided not to. if i ever find one i'll post it. the other 2 are the side plank and bird dog or quadraped if you were curious.
 
If I didn't say before, Welcome Gregory! :barefoot: