New here, Learning to Run

LittleBird

Barefooters
Jul 17, 2012
14
4
3
57
Alberta, Canada
I always wondered why I was so bad at sports as a kid. Yet all summer I rode my bike, played lawn games with all my cousins and friends. I have Hypermobility. This is a problem where my ligaments are too long and allow the bones to shift and dislocate. I always blamed my inability to participate in school sports without injury on this. After reading through the first half of the book "Born to run" I realized that in school I wore ill fitting shoes (my feet were long and skinny), but all summer long I was barefoot or in moccasins. In the shoes I would roll my ankles and hyperextend my knees. I don't remember ever having these issues while barefoot!

I bought a pair of Vibram five finger shoes last year hoping to get some relief from foot and ankle pain. I now have arthritis and bunions. I was only able to wear flip flops, all other shoes were painful after about ten minutes. The difference was immediate. The five fingers straighten my toes into a more natural position and I had no pain. I started wearing them every day in the house and at work (it was winter). I was able to start walking on my treadmill again in short spurts. As of last week I am running/walking through my workout. Every day I am able to run longer. I can't wait until the day that my feet and ankles (and lungs ha-ha!) will allow me to run on a path in the sun.

My siblings all run and I have always envied them. What an incredible freedom it must be. I'm so happy to be on my way to running. I'm feeling the best I have felt in a long time. The pounds are falling off and my feet have wings.

Glad I found this site. Lots of great info and motivation. Plus no one will say to me "those are weird shoes!"
 
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Reactions: NickW
Hi Birdie! Glad to have you here. That is such a wonderful and inspiring story, especially for those who may be suffering with hypermobility too. Maybe you can try barefoot for small, small distances to see how you fare. Welcome! Oh, and those shoes are weird looking. Hee. Got me a couple pairs myself. :barefoot:
 
Welcome to the BRS! :D
 

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