Hello all. Just started running barefoot...today actually. Started running about 6 mos ago and experienced knee pain and shin splints (even though I took it pretty dang slow...) Anyway, absolutely love the state of mind running puts me in and the effect it has on my health, so I started looking at running techniques and anything that would help. Bought a pair of VFF a month ago and started running in those once or twice a week, which has helped tremendously. Kept reading about barefoot running and decided to give it a go... Felt pretty good...the pads on the balls of my feet are a little sore, but everything else feels good! It is definitely different than running in the VFFs. All I know is that I want to keep running...anything that helps achieve that end will be good with me! Glad to see there is a whole community dedicated to healthy running!
Hello from New Mexico!
- Thread starter Joseph
- Start date
Joseph:This is a great place
Joseph:
This is a great place to get answers to all of your questions from a large and thoroughly experienced community of BFRers. Ask lots of questions, and don't try to do too much too soon (TMTS, an acronym you'll see everywhere on this site) or you WILL injure yourself. As a new runner AND a new BFRer especially, you've got lots of long-unused muscles and connecting tissues that will need time to adapt and strengthen to this essentially new activity.
Welcome to the crew, and enjoy!
Joseph:
This is a great place to get answers to all of your questions from a large and thoroughly experienced community of BFRers. Ask lots of questions, and don't try to do too much too soon (TMTS, an acronym you'll see everywhere on this site) or you WILL injure yourself. As a new runner AND a new BFRer especially, you've got lots of long-unused muscles and connecting tissues that will need time to adapt and strengthen to this essentially new activity.
Welcome to the crew, and enjoy!
Thanks TJ and Phil. I've
Thanks TJ and Phil. I've been doing lots of reading on the site and am super glad I found it. My biggest problem is going to be the TMTS as you suggested Phil. I used to run x-country in HS - that was 20 years ago!! - but in my mind, I feel like I should be able to just pick it right back up!! Plus I am just naturally competitive, so the mind games I play with myself will definitely be the hardest thing to control.
I am a bit concerned about cutting way down on mileage while transitioning from shoes to BFR. In the past year and a half or so I have gone from a 245lb couch potato to a much more active and healthy 190. I lost about 30 pounds just with diet, the rest has come with exercise. I do not remember feeling this good...ever. Plus, with all the stresses of life, I have really come to enjoy my runs, especially the one "long" run I do a week. Work, kids, money...they all melt away and I just feel good - present. So I think the transition will be tough, and I am afraid that I will start to gain weight or something, though my daily diet is much, much better than it ever has been.
What I have been doing for the past month or so is a 2 - 3 mile run in VFF (Tues), 4 - 6 mile run in shoes (thurs), 2 - 3 mile run in VFF (fri), and then 8 or so mile run in shoes (sun). That is what I did last week. I have been adding about a mile or two every week. This week, I ran 2 miles barefoot on tues (my feet started to get a bit sore, so I stopped), but then we got hit with some crazy weather and I did not go on Thurs, but plan to do another 2 miles today. After what I have been reading, I thought I would stick with the 2 miles BF 3 or 4 times a week for a few weeks and then start adding the 10% or so a week. I am convinced that BF is the way to go - it just plain makes sense. So I want to give myself the best chance at a full conversion. Any thoughts?
Thanks again.
Joseph
Thanks TJ and Phil. I've been doing lots of reading on the site and am super glad I found it. My biggest problem is going to be the TMTS as you suggested Phil. I used to run x-country in HS - that was 20 years ago!! - but in my mind, I feel like I should be able to just pick it right back up!! Plus I am just naturally competitive, so the mind games I play with myself will definitely be the hardest thing to control.
I am a bit concerned about cutting way down on mileage while transitioning from shoes to BFR. In the past year and a half or so I have gone from a 245lb couch potato to a much more active and healthy 190. I lost about 30 pounds just with diet, the rest has come with exercise. I do not remember feeling this good...ever. Plus, with all the stresses of life, I have really come to enjoy my runs, especially the one "long" run I do a week. Work, kids, money...they all melt away and I just feel good - present. So I think the transition will be tough, and I am afraid that I will start to gain weight or something, though my daily diet is much, much better than it ever has been.
What I have been doing for the past month or so is a 2 - 3 mile run in VFF (Tues), 4 - 6 mile run in shoes (thurs), 2 - 3 mile run in VFF (fri), and then 8 or so mile run in shoes (sun). That is what I did last week. I have been adding about a mile or two every week. This week, I ran 2 miles barefoot on tues (my feet started to get a bit sore, so I stopped), but then we got hit with some crazy weather and I did not go on Thurs, but plan to do another 2 miles today. After what I have been reading, I thought I would stick with the 2 miles BF 3 or 4 times a week for a few weeks and then start adding the 10% or so a week. I am convinced that BF is the way to go - it just plain makes sense. So I want to give myself the best chance at a full conversion. Any thoughts?
Thanks again.
Joseph
Hey Joseph, what part of NM
Hey Joseph, what part of NM are you in? I'm up in Farmington. I've been running barefoot since July/August, and the barefoot transition pretty much goes with the saying "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." A single step without shoes on of course.
I can't say exactly what will work for everyone, but I know for me I didn't feel like I really was improving with my barefooting until I stopped trying to go running in shoes. The two are just so different that you can't really try to do both and think of them as being the same. I found that I just had to throw out everything I thought I new about running, and just re-learn it from the feet up. Everyone learns differently though. If it weren't Winter I would seriously recommend a lot of barefoot walking, it really helps you to learn proper form, while not being as stressfull on your body. (Barefoot running shouldn't be stressful, but when you're first learning it can take a while to get the impact and friction down, so you spend a lot of time just resting your feet.)
If you're worried about losing your fitness level, I'd have to say that I don't think shod running fitness even translates over to barefoot, because the two movements are so different. If you want to keep up your basic cardio fitness and avoid re-gaining weight, I would recommend doing some cross-training, either biking or swimming. Biking is really cold in our NM wind, so I'd go with swimming. I know that sounds cold too, but indoor pools are pretty much the same temp all year round (I work at one, its still 90 degrees inside.) But again, its important for you to find your own way of doing everything, it is your body after all.
Hey Joseph, what part of NM are you in? I'm up in Farmington. I've been running barefoot since July/August, and the barefoot transition pretty much goes with the saying "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." A single step without shoes on of course.
I can't say exactly what will work for everyone, but I know for me I didn't feel like I really was improving with my barefooting until I stopped trying to go running in shoes. The two are just so different that you can't really try to do both and think of them as being the same. I found that I just had to throw out everything I thought I new about running, and just re-learn it from the feet up. Everyone learns differently though. If it weren't Winter I would seriously recommend a lot of barefoot walking, it really helps you to learn proper form, while not being as stressfull on your body. (Barefoot running shouldn't be stressful, but when you're first learning it can take a while to get the impact and friction down, so you spend a lot of time just resting your feet.)
If you're worried about losing your fitness level, I'd have to say that I don't think shod running fitness even translates over to barefoot, because the two movements are so different. If you want to keep up your basic cardio fitness and avoid re-gaining weight, I would recommend doing some cross-training, either biking or swimming. Biking is really cold in our NM wind, so I'd go with swimming. I know that sounds cold too, but indoor pools are pretty much the same temp all year round (I work at one, its still 90 degrees inside.) But again, its important for you to find your own way of doing everything, it is your body after all.
Hey Danjo. I am in
Hey Danjo. I am in Albuquerque. I think the few of us on here are pretty spread out...
What I have noticed is that when switching between the VFFs and shoes is that I feel like I am more on my toes in the shoes - even though I know I am not. I try to really focus on not heel striking while in shoes and it seems to help with the form. But, I agree - they are two different animals. And then my one BF run so far has been drastically different than running in the VFFs. So, I think I am going to try and switch to all BFR as much as possible. I think in the long run it will be the best thing, but just a little hard at the beginning - taking it slow. I also do some moderate strength training, which I also know helps burn a lot of calories and fat (especially when resting).
I try to cross-train as well, but running has helped me the most...by far.
If I think about it logically, it won't be that long until I am back up to where I am right now - mileage wise. And I am at a better starting weight and level of fitness than 6 months ago when I started running in the first place. I have just really come to love those longer runs and the feeling I have afterwards...
Thanks Danjo. Nice to meet a fellow New Mexico runner!
Hey Danjo. I am in Albuquerque. I think the few of us on here are pretty spread out...
What I have noticed is that when switching between the VFFs and shoes is that I feel like I am more on my toes in the shoes - even though I know I am not. I try to really focus on not heel striking while in shoes and it seems to help with the form. But, I agree - they are two different animals. And then my one BF run so far has been drastically different than running in the VFFs. So, I think I am going to try and switch to all BFR as much as possible. I think in the long run it will be the best thing, but just a little hard at the beginning - taking it slow. I also do some moderate strength training, which I also know helps burn a lot of calories and fat (especially when resting).
I try to cross-train as well, but running has helped me the most...by far.
If I think about it logically, it won't be that long until I am back up to where I am right now - mileage wise. And I am at a better starting weight and level of fitness than 6 months ago when I started running in the first place. I have just really come to love those longer runs and the feeling I have afterwards...
Thanks Danjo. Nice to meet a fellow New Mexico runner!
Joseph:My experience has
Joseph:
My experience has been that you need to start with actual barefoot on a much smaller scale to allow your feet to adapt. I used VFFs heavily, and they will make you feel like you can do more than you wisely should. I listened to them and am recovering from a stress fracture incurred 8 weeks ago.
The best advice I got was to walk or trot 1/2 mile truly barefoot on concrete or asphalt every other day for a week or two, then add about 1/10 of a mile per week for the next couple weeks until you get up to about a mile comfortably. This gives your sole (plantar) skin time to adapt and thicken, your muscles/connecting tissues/bones time to adapt to this new type of stress on them, and your mind time to adapt to relaxing your feet and learning to feel the ground while avoiding potential dangers.
I'm all for including strength training. I'm an old soldier, so I believe in overall fitness as a desirable state of being. You can do pushups, pullups, crunches, situps, yoga and many other types of strength training without a gym. You can even do many of these throughout the day without having to set aside a length of time for anything but your running. Both types of exercise will help you burn calories and lose weight so long as you are eating reasonably.
Just don't jump too far into BFR with the VFFs' support without understanding that they provide deceptive feedback about what you are ready for. Learn from the stupidity of a fellow runner and let my stress fracture serve as a danger sign to help you avoid the same thing.
Joseph:
My experience has been that you need to start with actual barefoot on a much smaller scale to allow your feet to adapt. I used VFFs heavily, and they will make you feel like you can do more than you wisely should. I listened to them and am recovering from a stress fracture incurred 8 weeks ago.
The best advice I got was to walk or trot 1/2 mile truly barefoot on concrete or asphalt every other day for a week or two, then add about 1/10 of a mile per week for the next couple weeks until you get up to about a mile comfortably. This gives your sole (plantar) skin time to adapt and thicken, your muscles/connecting tissues/bones time to adapt to this new type of stress on them, and your mind time to adapt to relaxing your feet and learning to feel the ground while avoiding potential dangers.
I'm all for including strength training. I'm an old soldier, so I believe in overall fitness as a desirable state of being. You can do pushups, pullups, crunches, situps, yoga and many other types of strength training without a gym. You can even do many of these throughout the day without having to set aside a length of time for anything but your running. Both types of exercise will help you burn calories and lose weight so long as you are eating reasonably.
Just don't jump too far into BFR with the VFFs' support without understanding that they provide deceptive feedback about what you are ready for. Learn from the stupidity of a fellow runner and let my stress fracture serve as a danger sign to help you avoid the same thing.
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