New BF and loving it

[ScubaTony]

Been lurking a while and just signed up. The info you have all posted has been very helpful and inspiring. So much that I decided to go for it!

Little background: I'm 45 years old. A year ago I ran my first long distance event, IM Cozumel. No tri or marathon experience before but the internet is a wonderful source of knowledge. During my 6 month training I loved the swim and bike but hated the run. I tried 6 pair of shoes and as many techniques as I could find. After numerous injuries and setbacks I settled on Newton shoes which I had to learn to run forefoot. Seemed to do the trick as the injuries stopped popping up but I never liked it. Running was always a chore and I never felt fast or smooth. I finished the race in 12:12 but my run was almost 5 hours. I choked bad.

Fast forward and I am back in training for next years half and full IM in Cozumel. Already dreading my run training I started searching for answers. Chris McDougal and others started popping up which lead me here. I live a very active outdoor life and have always liked to be barefoot whenever possible. After reading much of the day about the topic I decided to give it a go and did my first BF run 4 days ago. I just listened to my legs and feet and did about 4 miles. They were glorious! The best I have ever felt running ever! Next day I had some odd muscle soreness and 3 tender spots on my soles but nothing major. I have not put shoes on since. I ran 4 miles 2 nights ago with my Newtons. Hated it. I ran 4 miles last night BF again and loved it. May have found the Holy Grail of running for me.

I know I jumped in a little fast at first but I think because I already spent a lot of time BF in regular life it helped me a lot. I am still listening and feeling everything and at the first sign of pain I will stop and rest. My feet actually feel better running than walking BF.

So question: What things should I stay alert for as I build my muscles and foot padding?

I also bought some VFFs but they won't be here for a couple weeks. (supply in Mexico is tough). should I start using them once they arrive or see how it goes naked for a while?



Thank you all for your words of wisdom so far. I think this movement may actually prove that the body was born to run and all the $ thrown at support was a marketing scam for years! the sheep just have to realize they have been taken to slaughter

 

[migangelo]

go bare first. it's not odd

go bare first. it's not odd that you had muscle pain. you used them differently than before. yes, i read you ran forefoot with shoes but bare is that much more movement. as you now know it makes a big difference. think of lifting weights. body builders use free weights because the range of motion gives them better results. take it easy and listen to your body. what you really need to watch for is broken, fractured, or stressed metatarsals. if you feel stress on them, stop, other wise it could lead to a fracture or break.

good luck to you.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I think 4 miles is a bit

I think 4 miles is a bit excessive for your first few times each. I would recommend you bring it down to a mile and build up from there, perhaps the 10% would work well for you. But I understand you are an Ironman, so that probably doesn't sit well with you. But you've been told. :tongue:

Like Mike said stay bare as long as you can before you put the VFFs on. Get your form down first, allow your plantar skin take you only as far as your musculoskeletal system is ready to go, or you will end up getting injured, and you don't want to flush your IM goals down the drain after all the hard work you've done. Your soles will tell you exactly where you can place your weight and how much weight you can place there, whereas minshoes just mask this critical feedback, especially critical during the learning and conditioning phase. And they will make you feel that you are ready to run farther and faster zero drop than you are safely able to. Don't believe them! They are lying to you!

Be prepared for your calves to be tight, even though you live zero drop most of the time. It's just the nature of the beast for most of us. The soreness will ease after a few weeks though and most likely will be a thing of the past. If not and in the meantime, get a roller and roll out your calves if you think they are starting to get tight or develop knots.

And whatever you do, do not stretch before running! Instead, just walk slowly, then faster, breaking into a slow run, then onto your usual pace. This is all the calf stretching you will need. If you stretch before you run, you will find that your calves may take a few miles before they relax, and who needs that, right?

Welcome and so glad to have you here!

 

[Phil Hart]

Lots of good advice, fellow

Lots of good advice, fellow BF mid-40's diver. Ignore it at the risk of a metatarsal head stress fracture like I did. During the 10 weeks off to heal, I decided it would indeed have been smarter to take my transition more slowly to avoid injury. Unfortunately too late to help me. I hope it helps you instead. Welcome!

 

[ScubaTony]

thanks so much for the advice

thanks so much for the advice and well wishes. Ran in shoes again last night and didn't enjoy it much. Have an odd soreness in my right ankle today so will probably take the day off. Still walking around BF to build up some skin.

Calf are good now. No aches or soreness but I think I will heed the warnings and slow down a big. I need to run but each day but I will wear the Newtons and go slow and concentrate on form. Maybe just BF a couple times a week. I surely am the type that would overstress my feet and regret it later. Ill stay out of the VFFS for now. It is cool here but I would think come summer I will need to use them but by then my form should be pretty set.

People think this is crazy everywhere especially people who have family and friends that are medical peeps. Gonna stick to the plan no matter what they say. Nature had it right before we stuck our feet in cages so they could atrophy the whole life. Takes time for them to heal now but I'm on my way.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Jonny00GT]

Some good study material

Some good study material wouldn't be a bad idea either. Make sure you have the foot landing and form down. Bucket training can help with the plantar skin. Look for the ongoing thread if you haven't already seen it. Beyond that, Big Sis TJ's advice has yet to steer me wrong! My advice is to keep the runs you are accustom to, but start barefoot for a mile or so. Then, when you put the shoes back on, the form is fresh and you are less likely to back slide on your form. From there, the rule is 10% per week, so run longer before putting the shoes on, till you get to the point where you can put them on eBay! ;o)

Great to have you! My goal is Marathon in June and then some IMs working up to a full eventually! Be sure to throw up some race reports and let us know how they went and what you learned.

Thanks for sharing your story with us!

-Jonny