Hello from The Netherlands

barefoot_mike

Barefooters
Oct 8, 2019
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Hi,

about 20 years ago I was running (shod). About 10 years ago I started running again and because of injuries I started barefoot / minimalist footwear running. I my 'top' I did 20 km at low speed using minimal footwear.

Recently at my work people asked me if I was interested to do a local race. I was positive and started running again using minimalist shoes. (cheap watershoes) Just in the third run, I was running about 12 minutes at 12 km/hour, I got a very sensitive achilles tendon (right leg). The calves were very sore too.

It seems I was doing too much too soon and stopped running for about 6 weeks. I re-read the book by Barefoot Ken Bob and decided to start running barefoot again. I started doing daily eccentric heel drops together with low speed short distance barefoot runs, preferably on rough surfaces to protect from doing to much too soon.

Although every morning when standing up I still feel a subtle sensitivity in the right achilles tendon, overall it feels good, this sensitivity disappears quickly and at the moment I went from 2 to 5 minutes of running barefoot at low speed.

As I signed up for the local race (4 miles / 6,4 km) I'm wondering if I could participate. I would guess it's a bad idea. What do you think? Would it be dangerous and would there be a big risk for the achilles tendon to get injured again if I run at low speed this race?
 
Hi mike

congrats for being so commited to run

nobody but you knows better how do you feel, how much sore you are. How long have you started to run again? Have you run at least 2 or 3 weeks without major issues (but the morning sore)? If so...

IMO, given your record, I think you can take part on that event running just for fun, not trying to make a PB :D Just unshod (if possible) and enjoy the run with your mates taking care of feeling good during the event.


I personally never got achilles tendon problems or sore (just platar fascia sore) so I dont know exactly how does it feel, but look into the long term and IF you dont feel confident DO NOT risk your health.

Thanks for sharing here your experience! And good run!
 
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Hi, thanks for your reply! I started again two weeks ago and did 2 minutes during the first week and 5 minutes during the second week, at low speed.

Tonight I decided to give it a try and ran half of the race distance: 3,2 km. I just started at low speed and just ran at a comfortable low speed and see how far I would get. It turned out to be easy. Only the soles felt raw during and after the run. I ran on a gravel road as Barefoot Ken Bob advices this in order to protect myself from doing to much too soon. I ran on rough asphalt too.

I didn't feel my calves and achilles, so maybe it's ok to do the race. I will see how the achilles feels tomorrow. But I have good hope as 6 weeks ago, when I developed this injury, I always got very tight calves, while at the moment even when doing 3,2 km they feel comfortable and supple :)
 
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Welcome, Mike! Please feel free to join The Netherlands Chapter.
 
Hi, I decided to give the run a try and it was better than expected: I started slow and in the second half I was able to accelerate a bit. The asphalt was clean and ok - although it felt a bit rough as I didn't do much preparation / training because of my achilles injury. I completed the run in 37:42 min, I ran the complete run barefooted. Just to be sure, I carried a pair of watershoes.

After finishing I discovered that I had about 6 blisters, most of them on my toes:

https://i.ibb.co/n19NFyP/P1010063.jpg

They are almost healed now, so I tink I will do my first run next sunday.

Picture of my during the run (on the right hand side)

https://thumbs.pixxer.nl/s.asp?s=800&guid=237F319414BC5ED02A5D
 
Looks like what I went through when I was transitioning. Most of it is your form, pushing off with your toes, and the rest is the lack of skin conditioning, which will come in time. You're doing fine. Let us know how your next run goes. Good luck! :barefoot:
 
Hi TJ, thanks for your reply! Today, after 6 days rest, I did 3.5 kilometers at low speed. It felt good and as adviced by Barefoot Ken Bob I inspected the foots every kilometer. After 2 kilometers one foot had a little blood on two (out of three) blisters. It seemed minor wear, the other foot had 3 old blisters that looked ok.

After the run I had 2 open blisters, out of 5. They were all on my right foot. I guess, as I remember from history, that this side leg / foot has always been the one that gets injuries / problems first. So I guess it's partly due to form as you wrote. By the way, the two open blisters are just open in the middle, the open surface is much smaller than last week after the 4 mile run.

At least the blisters prevent me from doing to much too soon - as I felt really ok and wanted to do some extra miles. I will wait until the two blisters are healed again and just coninue!
 
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Hi TJ, thanks for your reply! Today, after 6 days rest, I did 3.5 kilometers at low speed. It felt good and as adviced by Barefoot Ken Bob I inspected the foots every kilometer. After 2 kilometers one foot had a little blood on two (out of three) blisters. It seemed minor wear, the other foot had 3 old blisters that looked ok.

After the run I had 2 open blisters, out of 5. They were all on my right foot. I guess, as I remember from history, that this side leg / foot has always been the one that gets injuries / problems first. So I guess it's partly due to form as you wrote. By the way, the two open blisters are just open in the middle, the open surface is much smaller than last week after the 4 mile run.

At least the blisters prevent me from doing to much too soon - as I felt really ok and wanted to do some extra miles. I will wait until the two blisters are healed again and just coninue!
Sounds like your self-discovery is moving along nicely.
 
Hi again, yesterday I ran 4 kilometers in cold weather conditions, for the first time. It was about 3 degrees Celcius (37.4 F), but it felt a bit like loosing feeling in my feet. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt like having less sensitive feet. After the run I had 2 (blood) blisters on my foot that normally was the one that had the fewest problems during transitioning.

I'm wondering if it is ok and doable to train during lower temperatures? Can one transition, or is it advisable to wear some minimal shoes?
 
Hi again, yesterday I ran 4 kilometers in cold weather conditions, for the first time. It was about 3 degrees Celcius (37.4 F), but it felt a bit like loosing feeling in my feet. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt like having less sensitive feet. After the run I had 2 (blood) blisters on my foot that normally was the one that had the fewest problems during transitioning.

I'm wondering if it is ok and doable to train during lower temperatures? Can one transition, or is it advisable to wear some minimal shoes?
I'm not a doctor, but... The best way to transition to barefoot running is to run barefoot. Forget the shoes from the start. Understandably, especially through the colder months, it's difficult for many people to do so. In that case, if you just can't, then wear something minimal. If you do want to give it a try, only run on days where the ground is not wet, and don't run in temps at or less than freezing. Start on a dry day at say 50F and work your way down little by little from there. Good luck if you do, and let us know how it goes.