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Hawkbilly

Barefooters
Mar 26, 2012
129
100
43
Nova Scotia, Canada
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.
 
Ditch the leg press and bike; do air squats. Improves strength, flexibility, and stability. Start out with low rep sets and get the full range of motion.
 
My knees sometimes begin to hurt, too. Here's what stops it.
  1. Run barefoot at a high cadence, as slowly as you need to.
  2. Relax,relax, relax.
  3. When your knees begin to hurt, bend them more. Sit back a little.
  4. Make sure by the time your heel is touching the ground, your foot is completely behind your knee. When your foot lands, your ankle should be no more forward than your knee is.
Watch this video and get even more inspired.


By the way, I started running barefo0t a little less than a year ago at 52. Everything feels great. I couldn't do this shod.
 
HB, Good for you for starting to switch over to BF and doing a sane, gentle job of it so far. Keep on taking your time and paying good attention to your various bits as they come around, grudgingly or otherwise. I think BFG'burg has some good advice. I hope it helps.

I started BF running almost 2 years ago at 53 years old, from no running at all. For me it's been pretty smooth, with only a couple of episodes of "OMG! what was that tearing sensation in my calves" at about 9 months, as my muscles finally began to get into the new shape required. In Michael Sandler's BFR book I saw the sensation described as "snake bit." Looking back on it, I believe some regular rolling and massage would have kept the worst of the sharp pains from occurring. Oh, yes, my best advice - get a roller and learn to use it and love it!

These days I run trail races with joy, if not too much speed. I have 3 road races on my schedule for the spring of 10 to 26 miles. I then get back to trail races for the summer and fall. I, too, believe that this wouldn't be happening in shoes.

So, maintain your focus as you continue to learn the ways of BF running, and don't worry, you' ll do fine.
 
Hawkbilly - it sounds like you have very mild iliotibial band syndrome. Just keep the distance short and easy pace for now...allow some time, weeks at least before increasing distance or pace and you should be fine. Try the foam roller on your quads mostly the outside part but don't over do it with the foam roller.
 
Greatly appreciate the advice folks. I'll definitely keep going slow. I'm not a patient person by nature, so slow is a bit of a challenge for me.....which likely has worked against me all these years.

BarefootGburg, I have tried dropping my hips more (bend knees more) when my knee starts to ache, but it seems to get worse. I've chalked that up (for now) to the weakness on that side. I would think more knee bend means more load on the quads/hips. Hopefully the exercises and stretches I'm doing now will help sort this out over the next few weeks. I think my cadence is ok (between 190-200 usually). Relaxing is something I constantly have to remind myself of.

"Make sure by the time your heel is touching the ground, your foot is completely behind your knee. When your foot lands, your ankle should be no more forward than your knee is."

Not sure about that one. I'll have to get one of the kids to video me so I can try to see what's up there.
 
Hey, who's that in the picture with you, Mokie?! Hee.
 
Hawk, post in the Ask the Docs forum too, to see what they say. They have all sorts of good advice and videos and articles they can refer you to, article they wrote themselves. I think you're on the right track though...strengthening the weak areas will help with the knee pain. Welcome!