Going Barefoot…almost! My barefoot experience and is it right for you? Part II

[Backfixer]

Here is my part II of my going barefoot experience. Check it out here

http://www.backfixer1.com/blog/goin...t-experience-and-is-it-right-for-you-part-ii/

 

[migangelo]

you won't get the full experience unless you go bare. vff don't promote a different landing. i've seen plenty of people heel strike with those on. i've even seen some heelstrike while bf. there is nothing to be afraid of, except feeling the sheer joy of what freedom is and going harder than what your body is ready for and hurting yourself.

there is no magic remedy. everything takes time, especially more than once or twice. do you treat patients once and tell them they're good to go? i hope not. do you think the body is so poorly designed we need artificial supports? do you not try to find the root problem and work those out to realign the body to its natural state?

if you think it can't be done then you're right. if you know it can be done then you won't let a little set back stop you.

 

[dutchie53]

Doc, it sounds like you have a issue with form while running. Speeding up your cadence should help with keeping your landing lighter. Be careful about TMTS on the treadmill. Start with shorter runs and work on form. Congrats on your willingness to try the journey into barefootedness.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Vibrams are still shoes. You need to run/walk barefoot (skin-to-ground) if you want to continue your research more accurately.

 

[NickW]

Ok Doc, I just read your post and I'll tell you in my experience running on a treadmill is not the same as running on the ground. Not sure why but running on regular ground I am much quieter barefoot but louder when shod. When on a treadmill that reverses, and I am quieter shod than when barefoot. I think it has something to do with the treadmill not being the same as running on the ground. I also have more pains when running on a treadmill, which again I attribute to it being not natural and not the same as running on the ground. Also, your vibrams are NOT barefoot. They are close simulating the barefoot experience, but you still lose some of the proprioceptive qualities of being truly barefoot. They do allow you to bang your feet into the ground harder.

 

[Bare Lee]

A quote from your website answers a quote from your blog:

"I think for my body style, running shod with orthotics may be a better choice."

"Treating the Problem, Not the Symptoms."

 

[pilotrunner]

Just ditch the shoes, Doc.

Just ditch the shoes...

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Woa, woa, woa! Too much too soon, Doc! Your first runs in these were 1.75 and 2.25 miles?! That's TMTS. If you can't do the distance bare skin on ground, then you shouldn't be doing the distance in minshoes. You haven't learned to listen to your body and soles yet (thanks, Ken Bob!). You can only learn to listen to your feet when you have nothing interfering between you and the surface. Right now, the VFFs are muffling any signals that your soles may be relaying to you. We recommend that new skin on ground runners run only .25 to no more than .50 miles when they take their first barefoot run. To run in minshoes that far on your first attempts can get you injured. That's why we keep hearing about all these "barefoot shoes" running injuries all the time; people aren't practicing patience and taking the proper amount of time it takes to transition down from maxshoes (boat anchors) to minshoes. And that's why we recommend barefoot first before donning any type of minshoes. If you listen to the cues your feet are sending, which can only be done when you don't silence them, then you can lessen your chances of overdoing it. In minshoes and boat anchors, people tend to run heavy; they plod on along, pounding the pavement, oblivious to what damage they are doing to their feet until it's too late. When you run skin on ground, if you are smart, you are more gentle because our soles are very sensitive. There's a reason why God created us this way, if you think about it. There are more nerve endings and more bones (and sweat glands too) in the feet than any other part of the body. This is because He designed us to use our feet, not hide them away and treat them as though they were something ugly and defective.

Don't get me wrong. I understand that orthotics can be used, temporarily, to help someone recover from an injury, but they should not be used as a lifelong crutch. We need to free our feet and allow them to become strong, not cast them so they atrophy.

And I am all in support of minshoes and Vibram FiveFingers. I believe it's better to have people running in minshoes than boat anchors any day. It's just that we have to be smart about the way we go about it. They're tools. And they should be used that way. That's all.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Another thing, yes me again, when running on a treadmill in VFFs or barefoot, I always ran much louder too. I think it's because it's an unsure surface (it's a conveyor belt!), and our mind, connected to those feet again, is trying to find some solid ground, some sure footing. Likewise, go outside and run near a true barefoot runner. You won't hear them "sneak" up on you, but you will hear the shoddies pounding on along. (Funny thought though. The padding tricks their minds into thinking they can run heavy, so it's a good thing they have all that padding! Ha!)

Anywho, try running bare skin on ground outside for .25 miles. Find a nice, clean park, with a hard path (concrete, smooth asphalt) free of debris where you can practice through repetition how to run gently. Then report back.

It could be that you were feeling pain because your soft tissues (and I would suspect bones too, be careful of stress fractures) have weakened due to being encased in your shoes and orthotics. They only know how to behave one way, how to move in one way. If you change that up on them, you are going to feel it. Running in minshoes is great for exposing the weaknesses that we developed while we ran in boat anchors.

It's a shame that true barefoot running (and minshoes) gets the bad rap for the ills of people who choose to not run smart.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

"Here’s what I noticed
1. I have a heavy mid foot strike and the banging on the treadmill is quite loud as compared to running shod with a regular running shoe. Running on the TM is always noisier than outdoor running because you foot is looking for stable ground therefore landing heavily looking for stability- my theory anyways.

2. Lots of soreness in the front and back of the achillies tendon toward where it attaches to the muscle. This a pure case of too much too soon like TJ pointe out-never run shod distance that you can't cover barefoot.

3. The feeling that if I continued, I may experience abrasions due to movement of the shoe that even if it is slight, can cause a blister. Do I need a 5 fingered sock. Maybe the shoes are slightly bigger size than you need? Socks make the fitting a little too tight on the toe pockets and that's the last thing you want-being uncomfortable.


While I had no problem with a 9 minute pace, the fact my ground impact is so hard concerns me since this is how injuries may occur from running. I will do one more run like this however, I think for my body style, running shod with orthotics may be a better choice." You are already giving up and not giving true barefoot a chance is, well, a sin
Please try pure barefoot running outdoors and it's ok to run slower than 9mm pace and make a major decrease on distance. You'll notice a huge difference and you're just going to fall in love with barefoot running.
Don't give up just yet Doc, runners are not quitters-just say'n.

 

[Sid]

Regarding the blistering, I'd imagine that if someone said that they were wearing shoes that wear causing blisters, you might advise them to ditch the shoes. When I tried running in VFFs, I'd notice irritation that eventually led to calluses. I went minimalist so I didn't have to deal with ill-fitting boat anchors. So, I ditched the ill-fitting VFFs and went barefoot.

 

[Cymbios]

Just ditch the shoes, Doc.

Just ditch the shoes...

Just do it! (Not an ad for Nike there)

 

[scedastic]

Seems like the way you are going about this is setting yourself up for disappointment.
Try reading one of the good books out there on bf running (ken bob's book, jason robbillard, etc), think it through, then try it out again for real, bare on hard surface, tiny distances.
Seems some fear is stopping you from trying that. However, what you are doing now poses a greater risk of injury.

 

[skedaddle]

No sitting on the fence with this sort of thing because that's the real injury culprit and the source of endless negative articles.
Go bare to start out as mentioned, wearing minimalist shoes isn't the same as barefoot running, i guarantee you wont be stomping about barefoot on chip seal, so that's where you will find your form and understand what it means to run lightly.

 

[scedastic]

Seems like the way you are going about this is setting yourself up for disappointment.
Try reading one of the good books out there on bf running (ken bob's book, jason robbillard, etc), think it through, then try it out again for real, bare on hard surface, tiny distances.
Seems some fear is stopping you from trying that. However, what you are doing now poses a greater risk of injury.

And just in case it's because you think i'm a purist, I'm not. Almost all my miles currently are minshod. But that's no way to learn after a lifetime of cushioned shoes and orthotics. A whole lot has to change over a period of time with your body to deal with the change away from built up shoes. The best way to teach your body and your muscle memory is without any. Actually, I don't know how people manage only going straight to min shoes.

 

[ThomDavid]

I'll add my voice to the chorus, too. From someone who has about 7 months experience, I can confidently say that the guys in the shoe store were wrong, and Barefoot Ken Bob was right: the way to transition to barefoot running isn't by wearing VFFs or any other minshoe, but to start bare. Once you learn the skill of barefoot running (and again, I credit Ken Bob with this pearl of wisdom), then you can run in anything. Except that, mostly, you won't want to.

Given that we all have different body limitations, it's true that pure barefoot running may not be right for everyone. However, there's absolutely no way to know if you're among those folks who can't barefoot run if you don't actually try it. And just in case I haven't made this point forcefully enough elsewhere: minshoe running is NOT barefoot running.

TJ is spot-on: too much, too soon. If I did anything right at all during my initial transition stage, it was to heed the wise counsel of those here and elsewhere who told me to take it slowly, to approach it as if I were learning to run all over again, because, in truth, I was. Having just completed a half-marathon, that was a hard pill to swallow, going back to square one, drastically reducing my mileage and running days. But it was the absolute right thing to do.

Be bold, doc. And if you can, leave the treadmill and get outside. Give yourself the freedom to fail. That way, you'll be surprised when you don't.

 

[Cymbios]

I'll add my voice to the chorus, too. From someone who has about 7 months experience, I can confidently say that the guys in the shoe store were wrong, and Barefoot Ken Bob was right: the way to transition to barefoot running isn't by wearing VFFs or any other minshoe, but to start bare. Once you learn the skill of barefoot running (and again, I credit Ken Bob with this pearl of wisdom), then you can run in anything. Except that, mostly, you won't want to.

Given that we all have different body limitations, it's true that pure barefoot running may not be right for everyone. However, there's absolutely no way to know if you're among those folks who can't barefoot run if you don't actually try it. And just in case I haven't made this point forcefully enough elsewhere: minshoe running is NOT barefoot running.

TJ is spot-on: too much, too soon. If I did anything right at all during my initial transition stage, it was to heed the wise counsel of those here and elsewhere who told me to take it slowly, to approach it as if I were learning to run all over again, because, in truth, I was. Having just completed a half-marathon, that was a hard pill to swallow, going back to square one, drastically reducing my mileage and running days. But it was the absolute right thing to do.

Be bold, doc. And if you can, leave the treadmill and get outside. Give yourself the freedom to fail. That way, you'll be surprised when you don't.

Well said!

 

[rbondi]

I don't know what a 9 minute pace is for you but I slowed down about 1.5- 2.0 minutes per mile when starting. So besides lowering the mileage as suggested, I felt the need to lower the pace. So if you normally run an 8 minute pace, 9 might be a good place to start. Also, 2 weeks is a very short time so your experiment is covering only a small fraction of the process. Ignore all the purist that say 'go bare', there is nothing wrong with going min, but it would be more accurate to call it what it is and min != bare, not saying better or worse, just not equal.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Transitional shoes equals transitional injuries, rbondi. Again, if you can't do the distance bare, you shouldn't do the distance in minshoes. Minshoes mask ability and give a false impression that the runner can do more than they are ready to. When you feel the surface below you, you are better able to listen to the cues your body is sending you from your feet. I can't stress this enough. And THAT'S from someone who is NOT a purist.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Barefoot Running Shoes: Go Slowly

The Doctor Will See You Now: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/sports_medicine/art3998.html


Original Study:
Foot Bone Marrow Edema after 10-week Transition to Minimalist Running Shoes

Ridge, Sarah T.; Johnson, A.Wayne; Mitchell, Ulrike H.; Hunter, Iain; Robinson, Eric; Rich, Brent S. E.; Brown, Stephen Douglas

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/p...=9000&issue=00000&article=98436&type=abstract