new to this, wearing minimalist shoes for now..

[willow1484]

I'm Darcey, 27, in the Army as a animal care technician., I'm stationed in Cairo, Egypt right now, got a yr left here. I just started getting interested in BFS running the last couple months. My husband has been wearing FF for about a year now and loves them. I can't stand anything between my toes so had never got into it. I had shin splints last year quite bad for months, had done physical therapy and they went away for a month or so then came back. This was while i was stationed in CO. I bought a pair of Nike Free's(because I thought they would be a good transition shoe, I hadn't done alot of research at the time) and was running small amts in them and stopped having problems with my shins (i was trying not to heel-strike at that point).

I just got a pair of terra plana Neo's about 3 weeks ago and I love them! I'm trying to work on my bfr technique right now. My left calf muscle feels really tight when I run, so I've only been able to run a mile or so at a time, because I don't want to hurt anything doing tmts. It feels like I need to stretch my soleus, but I have anterior impingement syndrom I think on that ankle that I'm seeing a doc about tomorrow, and so can't stretch it. I wish I could actually try running barefoot, but here in Cairo it's not really an option. I've done it for about 1/4 mile at a time on the treadmill here in the gym before the skin on my sole starts getting a little burned from the belt lol. There's nowhere here to run barefoot outside because there's literally trash everywhere, feral animal feces everywhere, and not good sidewalks and traffic is horrible. So maybe when I go back to the US in a year, I may try true barefoot running.

Anyways, nice to meet you all.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Welcome, Darcey!  Thank you

Welcome, Darcey! Thank you for your service...and for taking care of the animals. Have you thought about running in a pair of plain old socks on the treadmill? Socks are the closest thing you can get to going barefoot, and they would help keep your feet from getting burned by the belt.

 

[Jonny00GT]

Welcome!  Sorry to hear about

Welcome! Sorry to hear about your predicament!

I had similar shin issues when I ran in shoes, but good to hear you found the solution! That was a huge sumbling block for me! I now know it was all form driven, but it had me scratching my head back in the day!

A good book to help you with form is "Barefoot Running Step by Step" by Barefoot Ken Bob. The chapter where he breaks down the running form really helped me and I hear about his 1-2-3 Foot Landing (cause we don't strike!) helping someone eliminate the occurrence of blisters all the time!

It's probably next to impossible to get the form down correctly with any sort of shoe or sandal on, but the barefoot treadmill work you're doing should help! Maybe a slower setting would keep it from heating up too much or try with just socks on as a buffer. Once you can run without wearing a hole in your socks, you should be pretty darn close on the form!

Calf tightness has only been an issue for me when I was new and over striding, not letting my heel come down at all or lately, when I run hills. Massage and the use of a rolling pin to roll out the calves helps! Just remember never stretch cold.

Hope some of that helps! Welcome to the addiction!

-Jonny

 

[willow1484]

I will have to try it with

I will have to try it with socks, thats a good idea. I have a bunch of old pairs that i don't like wearing normally cuz they slide down in my shoes, but they'll be great for this. And I am gonna go order his book off amazon right now! So once I'm running correctly, I shouldn't get holes in my socks? Cuz I have a feeling I'm probably gonna go thru some socks for a little bit lol

 

[ajw1970]

Welcome and thank you! You've

Welcome and thank you! You've already received great advice but I just wanted to say hello.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I sometimes will run outside

I sometimes will run outside in winter when the temps are below freezing and the ground is dry in a pair of plain old socks. I can get about 3-5 five mile runs out of one pair before I have to throw them away. The asphalt outside is a lot more abrasive compared to the treadmill, as you know, so I would expect that you could get a few more runs in them on the treadmill. Eventually though, I would think that you would wear through them, whether or not you had perfect form. (They are socks, after all, and people wear through shoes all the time.)

 

[Phil Hart]

Welcome, Darcey, and Hooah

Welcome, Darcey, and Hooah from an old soldier. Lots of good advice already, all I'll add is that sometimes the calf tightness comes from not relaxing your feet and lower legs and letting your heel touch down naturally once your musculature engages to cushion your landing. Enjoy!