Getting ready for my first 10k, BF race

KTR

KTR

Barefooters
Feb 10, 2016
255
432
63
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Madrid, Spain
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#1
Hi everyone,

There's nothing better to get inspired than having a goal to accomplish, so as soon as I got into BF running, I looked for races around and found this Intercampus that takes place the next 13th of March in southern Madrid, Spain. (http://portal.uc3m.es/portal/page/portal/cultura_y_deporte/deporte/intercampus/ —link in Spanish).
I intend to run it barefoot, so I'm getting ready for it. And also getting ready for weird looks :eek::rolleyes::nailbiting::vomit:o_O and comments. The only possible constraint might me the asphalt there, so I'll carry my KSO at hand should I need tm.

In the meantime, I'll share my progress here. If anyone can provide feedback or any thoughts about how I'm doing it will be much appreciated.

This pretty much sums it up:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1058213051

And a few images:
I was a bit worried about a huge blister that has almost healed, but I feared the skin there was still a bit too thin, so I tried to cover it with this adhesive plaster. It lasted for last than 300 meters :D. But everything was ok:
IMG_20160221_114424.jpg IMG_20160221_114443.jpg

And here, the outcome, 11 km later. Not sure if you can notice it in these images, but my left foot steps neutral whereas my right one tends to overpronate:
IMG_20160221_130956.jpg IMG_20160221_131011.jpg IMG_20160221_131041.jpg

Cheers!
 
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#2
Good luck on your 10K. Have fun!
 
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#3
Looking at you photos you plantar skin thickening is happening mainly under your second metatarsal head.

mortons toe.jpg

To me that indicates a spot which gets the most pressure when running.
This may pose a problem in a long term when running so I would watch out for that.
It is the first metatarsal head (big toe) that is designed to take most of the load during your running gate so you should be getting most of the skin thickening right under your big toe. That's an indication of a proper load distribution.

Took a shot of my foot to illustrate better what I mean:

healthy foot.jpg

There was a good thread about the issue a while ago:
Find it here
 
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#4
@paraganek you are absolutely right here. Actually, that's my good foot, but the left one aches right the way Josh explain in his thread.
I used to run on VFF and as I started increasing distance I started feeling a bit of pain in that spot. It started around the 4th km, but since I never or rarely went beyond 5 km the pain never persisted. Now I switched to BF running and also increased distance and the pain started to become more persistent —although it almost vanishes while running.
I blame my flat foot on childhood. It eventually got partially corrected, but it was in part because I forced myself to walk displacing my weight to the outter edge of my feet. I guess this explains why I concentrate the load behind the second toe.

Thanks for pointing this out. I'll try those exercises!
 
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#5
@paraganek Yesterday I was out for another run. I payed attention to how I was landing and even though it implies some considerable effort, changing the contact point really helped. Today I don't feel the usual pain the center of my right foot pad.
Still, I guess developing the proper thickness behind my big toe is going to take time.
IMG_20160225_202644.jpg IMG_20160225_202625.jpg
 
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#6
KTR said:
@paraganek Yesterday I was out for another run. I payed attention to how I was landing and even though it implies some considerable effort, changing the contact point really helped. Today I don't feel the usual pain the center of my right foot pad.
Still, I guess developing the proper thickness behind my big toe is going to take time.
Click to expand...

That is an excellent news ! Keep it up :)
 
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#8
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#10
Buena suerte en to Carrera KTR!
 
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#12
Another heads up. Here you can find today's session, where the 70% of the time I run barefoot but I eventually shod myself.
Following an explanation by @Barefoot Ken Bob in this thread I tried to modify the way I run so I minimize the impact of my feet on the ground. It resulted in a faster pace but also got me a little pain in my right hip. It's probably a matter of training some muscles I wasn't using plus a lack of experience. But what made me put my shoes on was having to stop at a traffic light short after the 6th km. When I started running again the pressure in my left metatarsal (which turns to be my "good" foot) was getting too annoying, so by the 7th km I put on my Bikilas and ended the run without further complications.
The conclusion is that, yes, ok, I admit that maybe I'm going too fast and maybe I really should consider running this race shod.
 
#17
What surface did you run on? What made them whare faster? Im new to barefootrunning, got the vff KMD sports myself and I'm curious how many kms they will last.

Succes on your 10k race. Give all Madrileños my best regards as they make funny faces :cool:
 
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#18
I always run in the city, so most of the time is concrete or asphalt. Only when shod I go on gravel. The sole of the KMD is different to the one of the Bikilas, so it could last different. I also have a pair of KMD and they provide a harder feel. However I don't run comfortable on those :/
Regarding how worn they are, it could also be the way I used to run, putting to much load on the ball of the foot instead of landing more flat and soft. I'm currently changing that.

And thanks for the cheering! :)
 
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