Summary: I did a lot wrong to start. I have now done a reasonable job of correcting form, slow transition, drills, etc., I have the book, ran short runs barefoot, thought about posture and 1-2-3 landings. But my calves are a mess! I can barely walk. After lots of calf problems barefoot, I went back to regular shoes for my regular 40 min hill run today, and now even that short run gives me calf pain, and again, I can barely walk!
I can take off a couple days from running, and I presume the next thing people will advise is for me to start over 100%, 10 min run the first time, 20 the next, etc. But how can I get back to a reasonable running distance, and not have calf problems before I get fat? I am pretty dejected, because I'm much worse off than if I never started barefoot/minimalist.
Help me out of this mess!
History:
Around 1 March I bought vibrams. I took a 30 min run in the hills and I had lots of pain. I then took a very very easy transition, wearing my regular shoes for about the first 1/3 of run, then running in vibrams for 1/3, then regular shoes. When I went to all vibram run, I developed calf pain at the end of runs which just got worse and worse.
A couple of weeks ago I got Ken-bob's book and walked barefoot lots. Last week I went to a place that had a boardwalk of rough concrete surface, flat. I ran very easy barefoot about 25 minutes, very carefully practicing technique from the book. My feet bottoms got terriffic blisters. Two days later, same run, vibrams, my calves were bad. Two days later, same run, vibrams, I had terrible calve pain, almost incapacitated. Two days later, decided I needed a rest, ran in regular shoes, again, I can barely walk.
Remarks:
Why did I ever start this craziness? Well, my calves seemed to be getting tighter every year. Maybe I even had a little knee pain every once in a while. So, I hoped barefoot or minimalist would slow my degeneration. Hasn't happened!
So, again, how do I get back to health, and how do I do it before I get fat?
Thanks thanks thanks very much for advice. -P