Hi all, I’m a noob to the site. I have a story probably not unlike thousands of other runners. I’ve had a simple goal for the last 2 decades….to be able to run, pain free. I originally had a plan to run a marathon before I turned 40. Then I wanted to run one before I turned 50. I turned 50 in January, and still no marathon. Not even a successful ½ marathon. Every time I would start to get my distances up, I’d have some sort of injury…..usually a foot issue of some sort. I’ve actually registered for two half-marathons, but had to pull out of both due to injury.
A couple of years ago I decided to slowly switch from heel-toe to forefoot running, which I did with some limited success. However I would still have times where injury would force me to stop running. I went to a Nike Free running shoe, which made forefoot running easier, but I still couldn’t shake the injury bug for any more than a couple of months at a time. The thing that changed primarily when I switched to forefoot running was how comfortable I was running. I felt far smoother and lighter on my feet, and enjoyed running all the more…..but this only made the frequent injuries all the more frustrating.
I think I’ve read just about every book on running. Good ones and bad ones. Technical ones and spiritual ones. Ones that told me genes were the primary driver to successful runners, and ones that told me every human was born to run. Some said heel then toe, some said forefoot then heel…..some said do whatever feels right. Late last fall I read Ken Bob Saxon’s book. I figured what the hell, I’ve tried everything else. I don’t run outside much in January and February, as I live in eastern Canada. Too much ice and snow on the roads and the temperatures can be bitter at times (although not this winter). I managed to get at least a run a week in all winter outdoors, and when running indoors I started splitting my time on the treadmill into part shod running, part barefoot. Whether running indoors or out, shod or barefoot, I’m trying desperately to follow the suggestions in Ken Bob’s book around how to run. I go through my checklist every few minutes (head up, back straight, knees bent, pick your feet up before they hit the ground, relax your calves and let your heel touch the ground, etc), and try to make sure I’m not bobbing up and down as I run.
The last few weeks it has warmed up enough to run barefoot outdoors again. I have very light shoes (Merrill’s) which I always start my run wearing, and then somewhere during the run I pull them off and run the rest of the way home barefoot. I started by just running the last few hundred yards and have gradually increased it so that I’m now up to about 2 kms barefoot. The roads I’m running on are chip sealed pavement, so they are quite rough on the feet…..which presumably is a good thing. I’ve tried running on gravel but I’m not ready for that yet.
So far my feet (the most troublesome area for me typically) feel fine. The skin on the bottom gets a teeny bit sore, but other than that no soreness, no aches or pains. My calves are a bit sore the day after a run, but come around quickly. Same with my achilles….some tightness the day after….but nothing major. The one issue I’m having is some pain on the outside of my right knee. It usually starts a few kms into my run and then slowly gets worse. It’s not severe or stabbing, and sometimes feels more like tightening and tension than pain. It gets worse when running downhill, when my quads get extra load. Usually by the end of my run my knee is pretty sore, and stays that way for a day or so. I’m not limping or anything, but it’s there. The last few runs, with progressively more barefoot running, it’s been a bit better maybe, but it’s still there.
I don’t know whether moderate knee pain is common when transitioning to a different running style or not. I’ve read many times before that transitioning to barefoot running too quickly can create foot, calve, and achilles issues…..but those seem to be ok so far. One theory I had for the knee pain in my right knee, was that my quad on the right leg is a bit weaker than the left one, from driving cars with heavy clutches for years and years. Running in a barefoot form really loads my quads and hips more than when I was running without such a knee bend, so perhaps this is just part of the strengthening process. I’m going to try to do exercises in the gym to speed the strengthening process….and have started to do one legged leg presses, and more stationary biking. Not heavy weights or anything, just enough to get my legs burning after 15 or 20 slow reps.
Has anyone else had a knee issue like this when starting to barefoot run ? I would dearly love to sort this out and be able to someday run a marathon, but more importantly, I just want to run. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Sorry for the long post.
A couple of years ago I decided to slowly switch from heel-toe to forefoot running, which I did with some limited success. However I would still have times where injury would force me to stop running. I went to a Nike Free running shoe, which made forefoot running easier, but I still couldn’t shake the injury bug for any more than a couple of months at a time. The thing that changed primarily when I switched to forefoot running was how comfortable I was running. I felt far smoother and lighter on my feet, and enjoyed running all the more…..but this only made the frequent injuries all the more frustrating.
I think I’ve read just about every book on running. Good ones and bad ones. Technical ones and spiritual ones. Ones that told me genes were the primary driver to successful runners, and ones that told me every human was born to run. Some said heel then toe, some said forefoot then heel…..some said do whatever feels right. Late last fall I read Ken Bob Saxon’s book. I figured what the hell, I’ve tried everything else. I don’t run outside much in January and February, as I live in eastern Canada. Too much ice and snow on the roads and the temperatures can be bitter at times (although not this winter). I managed to get at least a run a week in all winter outdoors, and when running indoors I started splitting my time on the treadmill into part shod running, part barefoot. Whether running indoors or out, shod or barefoot, I’m trying desperately to follow the suggestions in Ken Bob’s book around how to run. I go through my checklist every few minutes (head up, back straight, knees bent, pick your feet up before they hit the ground, relax your calves and let your heel touch the ground, etc), and try to make sure I’m not bobbing up and down as I run.
The last few weeks it has warmed up enough to run barefoot outdoors again. I have very light shoes (Merrill’s) which I always start my run wearing, and then somewhere during the run I pull them off and run the rest of the way home barefoot. I started by just running the last few hundred yards and have gradually increased it so that I’m now up to about 2 kms barefoot. The roads I’m running on are chip sealed pavement, so they are quite rough on the feet…..which presumably is a good thing. I’ve tried running on gravel but I’m not ready for that yet.
So far my feet (the most troublesome area for me typically) feel fine. The skin on the bottom gets a teeny bit sore, but other than that no soreness, no aches or pains. My calves are a bit sore the day after a run, but come around quickly. Same with my achilles….some tightness the day after….but nothing major. The one issue I’m having is some pain on the outside of my right knee. It usually starts a few kms into my run and then slowly gets worse. It’s not severe or stabbing, and sometimes feels more like tightening and tension than pain. It gets worse when running downhill, when my quads get extra load. Usually by the end of my run my knee is pretty sore, and stays that way for a day or so. I’m not limping or anything, but it’s there. The last few runs, with progressively more barefoot running, it’s been a bit better maybe, but it’s still there.
I don’t know whether moderate knee pain is common when transitioning to a different running style or not. I’ve read many times before that transitioning to barefoot running too quickly can create foot, calve, and achilles issues…..but those seem to be ok so far. One theory I had for the knee pain in my right knee, was that my quad on the right leg is a bit weaker than the left one, from driving cars with heavy clutches for years and years. Running in a barefoot form really loads my quads and hips more than when I was running without such a knee bend, so perhaps this is just part of the strengthening process. I’m going to try to do exercises in the gym to speed the strengthening process….and have started to do one legged leg presses, and more stationary biking. Not heavy weights or anything, just enough to get my legs burning after 15 or 20 slow reps.
Has anyone else had a knee issue like this when starting to barefoot run ? I would dearly love to sort this out and be able to someday run a marathon, but more importantly, I just want to run. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Sorry for the long post.