Another newbie - Phil Hart

I'm an old soldier who got out of shape for about 7 years after leaving the Army, where I was in pretty good shape for 9 years. Working with retired Marine First Sergeant Henry Forrest, one of the original IronMan triathletes from 1978, I finally developed enough shame to start running with him again. That was 8 years ago, and I kept running harder and faster until I wore out most of the cartilege in my right hip. That brought me to a point of willingness to consider any options for how to stay fit and healthy, however unusual they might seem on the surface.

In working at US Forces Command in Atlanta as a Defense Consultant, I spent a year at the gym during my lunchtimes on the elliptical machine going in circles indoors, which I passionately hate. I started running again, more slowly and less distance, but could only handle 2-3 times per week without worsening the somewhat-recovering hip.

As I was looking for crazy alternatives to try to get back into running, I met another triathlete and marathoner who turned out to be a mutual friend of Henry's named Bob Dalton. At about the same time, I saw a guy heading out to run barefoot a couple of times, so I raised the question with Bob. He identified Colonel Rex Hall as the barefoot runner, and suggested I start with the BRS and see if he could introduce me to Rex along the way.

So I started with the half-to-3/4-mile per run, 3x per week with at least one day between barefoot sessions at home in the evenings on top of my 3 regular runs per week along with 3 really fast power walks on the off days. The further I get into doing this, the more I'm trying to run my regular shod runs with a midfoot strike. As my mid-foot strike improves, I'm gradually replacing the power walks with slower but less painful mid-foot-strike runs.

I seem to be getting a little better at the shorter stride and very controlled, gentle foot touchdown/liftoff after several missteps (both literally and figuratively) and several impressive blisters due to a combination of TMTS and of learning technique and form on the fly (figuratively only - shod I'm back to only about 7:15/mile traditional heel-striking which I'm phasing out completely, 9:00/mile mid-foot striking, and 10:00/mile true barefoot).

I'm developing more useful sole skin like I had when as a kid we didn't wear shoes all summer, and I can run 6 times a week again without my hip feeling any worse, although my calves and achilles tendons are tighter than banjo strings and still sore daily - muscle soreness thankfully, not like my hip joint arthritis lack-of-cartilege soreness - after essentialy starting over at learning to run barefoot after 25 years of running NOT THIS WAY.

Thanks to you all for already providing some great guidance and direction as I've started this new venture. I look forward to meeting some of you and hopefully running with you sometime.
 
Welcome, Phil.About those

Welcome, Phil.

About those banjo-string calves: my guess is that means your body is still adapting to running (and existing) without any padding under the heel. For me it went away with time, I think especially after I started running BF 75+ percent of the time.
 
Hi Phil.  Do you see Rex

Hi Phil. Do you see Rex often? He told me he was going to be moving to DC in September the last time we ran together. Do you know if he's left yet?
 
Buzz & Cassie - thanks for

Buzz & Cassie - thanks for the welcomes.



Stomper - I do hope you're right. Thanks for sharing your experience.



TJ - I haven't seen him, so that probably explains why. I'll ask Coach Bob if I see him tomorrow to try to firm up that answer, though.



Thank you all!
 
A little calf/achilles tendon

A little calf/achilles tendon soreness will always occur when transitioning from padded heels to barefoot, because your calf/tendon has to actually stretch out and become longer. Make sure you aren't trying too hard to point your foot down though, as this causes extra calf flexing, and also don't use your calves to keep your heel from slamming, thats your knee's job. Otherwise, just keep it up, and don't be a stranger!
 
Coach Bob Dalton.  Man he is

Coach Bob Dalton. Man he is fast. He's like 55 - 57 years old and still runs a 6-minute mile. He runs with the elites. I so admire him. He's also a very good man. We're in the same running club. I am so on the opposite end of the scale from him though. He's a great runner. I'm not so hot.
 
Welcome, it is amazing how

Welcome, it is amazing how going barefoot gives you the ability to run again. I had major knee issues that prevented me running for years (about 20), but since going without the shoes or using minimalistic shoes, my knees are having no ill effects and life is great.

I am up to running marathons and will be completing my first ultra in October, not bad for someone who starting running again last November in minimalistic shoes and barefoot in April.
 
Danjo - thanks for your great

Danjo - thanks for your great descriptions of technique. Every time I hear from one of you guys, I'm getting a clearer picture of how this should look and feel. As a result, every barefoot run is getting, as Caballa Blanco put it in Chris McDougall's book, "easier, lighter and smoother." I haven't achieved any of the three yet, but I've seen distant visions of all of them that get closer with every good technique description and guidance I get like yours above. I went a whopping 1 whole mile last night focusing on less toe-pointed, ball-of-the-foot-landings and on keeping my knees more flexed and letting them set the heel down appropriately; my 1-mile pace came down by about 1 minute just by doing these two things, and my calves already feel ever so slightly less annoyed with me today. I'm now up to an actual jogging pace while barefoot. Still lots to learn, and there's still lots of muscle memory to reprogram, but good, actionable advice like this is just what I need. Thanks again!



TJ - Bob is something of a role model for me, although I have no aspirations to race or run long distances. But his drive to stay healthy and fit, his perpetual positive attitude, and his willingness to help others are just a few of the characteristics that make him such a great guy. In fact, his guidance connected me with the fine group of folks you are assembling here who have been so helpful already to me.



Bob - thanks for the welcome. That's both and impressive and an encouraging story about how you've been able to reclaim a healthy running lifestyle after injuries and time off. Kudos to you for your determination and drive - I know how hard it is to build back up to a serious fitness level after some time off. I hope my experience keeps accelerating at an exponentially increasing rate as I get better practiced and educated at barefoot running, like yours obviously did. I spent one winter in Indiana and two in Germany; I'm betting you still had some snow when you started this madness in April!
 
Ok, time to mess it all up

Ok, time to mess it all up for you then: It worries me that you're focusing on your foot strike. Foot strike is the result of doing everything else right, not something you should have to focus on. It's way too easy to tense up as you're trying to touch down correctly, your leg should just fall freely. The foot hangs in the perfect way when you relax your legs, try sitting on a counter top or similar, somewhere high enough that your feet don't reach the floor and relax and then note how your feet are pointed. In most cases, I've really only heard of one exception and that guy's skeleton is half titanium, it'll be almost level, only pointing downwards slightly with the metatarsal behind your little toe being the lowest point. This is how it should be while running. In running almost everything is a reflex and you shouldn't mess with them if you can avoid it.

Now, what should you be focusing on? Posture above all. Lead with your hips and bend those knees. The straighter your knees are the harder it'll be to make them rotate to dissipate the impact on landing. Also, it's virtually impossible to have a bad foot strike if you bend your knees enough.
 
 Phil welcome and good luck

Phil welcome and good luck on your continued BF adventure. I agree with stomper re the achillies and calves as your form improves and also with general aclimatisation of those parts of the body, this stiffness lessens enormously
 
Blind boy - excellent advice

Blind boy - excellent advice which I applied to good effect yesterday. I shifted my focus to relaxing, good posture and bent knees, just being aware at that point of how my foot was striking, and voila, that took care of most of the problem. Thanks!



Harrino - thanks for the welcome and the encouragement. My feet are now - after about a month of 3 barefoot runs per week - finally getting tough enough to make barefoot running more comfortable from a soles-of-the-feet perspective.