Hello from Cornwall (UK!)

[Runningcat]

Hello there!
Stumbled across this site (and barefoot running! by accident) so I thought I'd say hello. Background information as follows (this is a bit long - sorry) but thought I'd mention everything in case anyone has any useful tips:

I've been running 26 years.
Years 1-20 no particular problems and not much attention paid to footwear - just ran in cushioned shoes (generally whatever happened to be on special offer!).
Then I started to develop pain in the balls of my feet - nothing major more of an annoyance than anything but went for gait analysis. The shop advised I was over pronating slightly and recommended switching to more supportive shoes which I did and hey presto problem solved.
Prior to this another minor niggle was that every now and then I would get very sharp knee pain in my left knee mainly when going up or down steep steps. Again not really a major problem and didn't cause a problem when running but it was becoming more freqent and after a particularly 'ouch' moment on some steep steps decided to see a physio. She was a bit vague, commented that my kneecaps pointed slightly inwards which gave me some laser treatment (which I don't think made any difference) but suggested wearing supports in my shoes might help. I tried that, switching back to neutral shoes (on the recommendation of the running shop) and once again hey presto problem solved.
( I wear the supports in running and non running shoes and the knee pain comes back if I go without them for any length of time - although throughout the summer I have mainly been wearing Fitflops and these seem fine.)
I was a little sceptical about barefoot running at first (particularly in view of how much I seemed to have been helped by adjusting my footwear) but thought it sounded like fun so recently went to a barefoot running class.
I am now absolutely hooked - only small amount done so far - I generally try and incorporate some barefoot running in two of my 'shod' runs and am building up very gradually - now up to 10 minutes on grass and 5 on tarmac.
I'm really hoping I can carry on with this - I haven't noticed any problems so far but would like to build up to doing more (for practical reasons this will probably be with barefoot style shoes- I've just ordered some Vivobarefoot Evos) and am wondering if is anything in particular I should or shouldn't be doing (apart just from building up gradually).
I suppose my main worry is that there is something defective about my knees/legs (in view of the physio's comments about my kneecaps) that can only be corrected by orthotics.
Thank you in advance!

 

[dirtdonthurt]

Hello from Yorkshire, amd welcome to the fold

I can understand your worries about the orthotics as I was prescribed them myself last year for issue with pronation caused by a foot injury, and had similar concerns when I took to running barefoot.
I can give you a little info on what has worked for me in the transition and hope it disperse any worries you may have.

The one thing I have found since running and walking bf is that because that as I am no longer striking heel first and my feet are becoming stronger that this helping to eliminate the pronation that was causing me problems. Although this has taken a few months it has been worth the effort but still a long way to go yet, I can now walk bf upto 10 and run 2-3 miles before feeling any discomfort(usually the soles). And find that now the only time I use an orthotic insole is in my mountain bike trainers but only because it make the shoe more rigid.

You will probably find doing a few stretches and exercises daily can help with the transition as it can be pretty hard work on the calves and achilles. Here's a couple that I found useful.
-Face a wall, an arms length way, stand with your feet together and your arms and back straight.
Let your body drop towards the wall keeping heels on the floor. Hold for about 20 seconds.
-Stand with one leg in front of the other, with both feet pointed forward. Place hands on a wall or similar for support. Keep back knee bent, with the heel pressed to the floor. Push your hips forward, while pressing your back heel to ground. Hold the stretch and repeat on each leg.
-Sit on the floor with knees bent with your feet slightly apart and flat to the floor. Raise your heels keeping the ball of the foot on the floor and hold for a few seconds. If its more comfortable this can also be done sitting in a chair.


Also find that hopping on the spot helps with strengthening the calves, achilles and feet. Just remember to land on the ball of the foot before bringing the heel down, you could bounce on both feet at same time if easier.

Hope this of some help, just remember to take it gradual with the distance you run as doing too much to soon can have its repercussions with injuries as well as being frustrating. I worked on increasing distance by 10% increments whenever I felt ready to go further. So hope you enjoy the transition and listen to your body it will tell what's right or wrong, as what may be good for one person may not be for another.

Good Running
Dave

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Welcome, Cat! Glad to have you here.

 

[JosephTree]

Welcome Cat! I wish you joy of the trasition!

I'm also very impressed at how well you write in English. Do they speak Cornwelsh in Cornwall? My knowlege of geology isnt' the best, I guess.

Really, no, I'm not quite that daft. While I live in the states near Philadelphia, my wife's from Wiltshire and grew up within sight of Old Sarum. I've never been to Cornwall myself, but from pictures I've seen it looks like there are some wonderful running opportunities there.

My recommendation for how to best relieve some Barefoot aches and pains is to get a roller. Working muscles and tendons with a good roller or even a tennis ball can be done several times a day and it doesn't matter if you're warmed up or not. You can find videos on super effective roller work on the web. I'm not sure where they are, but you could even ask for some directions over in the "Ask the Doc" forum.

Good luck and run well!

 

[Phil Hart]

Welcome to the crew, Cat. Lots of good advice here before I got in to comment. My story is similar, though - more BF has meant stronger, more stable feet. Ditching orthotics and actually using BFR as therapy to strengthen my feet has fully corrected my pronation and arch difficulties (over several months, mind you). The soles will adapt, but they also take some time to get used to running bare. And as you get more consistent with your form, you'll scuff your feet less and lift/set them more, reducing the friction and skin loss even more. Glad to have you with us!

 

[Runningcat]

Thank you for the welcome and for the tips (and JosephTree thank you for making me laugh!) I'm feeling a lot more confident now as I've done bit more actual barefoot running plus some in my new shoes. I'm amazed how much difference it seems to make to my running style - I've always been a forefoot striker so that's one thing I don't have to change but in shoes my feet and legs seem to go all over the place. In bare feet it seems so much more precise and controlled and now that I've learnt what I'm supposed to be doing in bare feet it seems so much easier to 'translate' that back into running with shoes so even if I do still end up having to wear normal shoes some of the time I think my technique will still have improved as a result of all of this. (Phil you are definitley right about scuffing less - that's one of the first things I noticed - my shoes used to wear out alarmingly quickly because of this.)
Still a long way to go and loads to learn yet but fingers crossed I can carry on.
Thanks again!

 

[JosephTree]

You're very welcome, I'm sure.

 

[Barefooting Bob]

Welcome Cat, hope you are ready for a incredible journey.