Terrain Transition... A Bumpy Road Ahead?

[Dot2Dot3]

Hello all BRS peeps! I looked in the Library and about the net and just not sure what the answer is.... I've been running barefoot now for about 3 weeks and maybe this is a premature question but "When do you Transition to Other Terrain?" Right now i'm running on concrete and Asphalt. Basically it's mainly smooth with some small amounts of debris but not a lot. I know that my feet are not ready for a change yet but i want to get a idea of when people have decied to change their terrain to something ... hmmm... more ruff?? (does that even make any sence???) lol..

I would really like to run some dirt trails ( as that's mostly what's available in the desert!!) but am very worried that my feet just are not tuff enough for that. This concern is not just for right now... but i know when i step on a rock on the road... well.. it HURTS!!! so not sure if my feet will get use to that or is it something you just sort of push through?? :~

I'd love to hear what you guys have done or are doing now with this?? Thank you in advance!!



Dot

 

[Abide]

Rocks hurt less on trails

Rocks hurt less on trails because there is more give. I tend to go slower on trails as well that seems to help.

 

[zapmamak]

I was wondering the same

I was wondering the same thing. Would love to start running trails. I'm thinking I'll just try it at some point and bring my VFFs so my run isn't wasted if my soles can't hang.

 

[stomper]

trails are a joy!  the

trails are a joy! the constantly changing surface yields so many sensations and opportunities to adapt, it's totally involving. One of the few times I've ever seen a minimalist runner in my local park, it was a tall skinny middle age guy with small circular glasses, like a high-level insurance analyst or something, tearing down this wooded rocky hillside in huaraches with this clown-face open mouthed grin.

dot, just add new terrain bit by bit. you can always turn back. eventually you might even be craving the touch of gravel. weird i know.

 

[miker]

Go to the Search Box at the

Go to the Search Box at the top of this page and enter "Gravel Bucket Training". Because it is a good way to condition your soles. But barefoot trail running is the coolest thing I have done in years. And the only way to get good at running on rocks is...you guessed it, to run on rocks (my opinion only) ;-)

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 don't do what I do....I

don't do what I do....I started on trails...finding the knarliest stuff I could find to run on...figuring that if I learned to run on that, the other stuff would be very easy ....it worked well for me...but all the advice I read after the fact said to NOT do that ;-).

 

[Longboard]

BKB says to start on gravel

BKB says to start on gravel idealy.

 

[Joshh]

I went the route that Nate

I went the route that Nate did too, trails before anything else. If you have lots to run on where you are, count yourself truly blessed. Running on man made concrete or asphalt might be easy on the feet but like Stomper said, if that's your only experience of barefoot running, you are missing a whole world that is going on of textures, temperatures and various other kinds of sensory feedback. I would argue too that you are almost more likely to step on a painful rock on a road than a trail. When trail running you have to be extremely focused on EVERY SINGLE STEP (sorry for shouting but it's true). After four months of running exclusively on trails I can report to having never had a shard of glass, splinter or thorn. The only thing that might possibly make me a candidate for that other thread (here on the forum about foot gore) was two small blood blisters from an 8miler I did before my pads were thick enough to handle it.

So get out there and liberate yourself of the road and enjoy the freedom and fun that comes from trail running!

 

[Nyah]

Longboard wrote:BKB says to

BKB says to start on gravel idealy.

I haven't found a way to run on the gravel roads of my neighborhood, where the gravel pieces are often 0.75" x 0.75" x 1". Even walking on it is exceptionally slow and difficult. If there's a secret to being able to run on this, I'd love to know what it is.

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 it's really about relaxation

it's really about relaxation and letting the feet melt around the rocks....which is difficult to do, we sense "pain" and tense up, and that increases the discomfort. Start by just standing on it and learn to let the skin, muscles, bones of your feet "conform" to the gravel ....then it's on to walking, and then running :-D

 

[Joshh]

Yup, exactly.  Baby steps. 

Yup, exactly. Baby steps. Start with short runs just long enough to leave your feet tender that night and the next day. The next time you run you'll notice less discomfort. I like the sensation of tender feet because I know it means that my pads are building.

 

[Dot2Dot3]

Wow... thank you all soooo

Wow... thank you all soooo much for the input!! What a GREAT COMMUNITY i've had the fortune to have dicovered! I did find the "Gravel Bucket Training" and i'll be giving that a try... hmmm.. just have to get a couple buckets big enough for the marching. I'll also just try hitting the trails a little bit at a tiime and test the waters... so to speak! Anyways, just wanted to say a big Thank You to everyone!!



Peace,

Dot 8)

 

[Jeepmonkey]

This place is awesome for

This place is awesome for opinions and advice. I too, was just wondering about how long I should wait before making the transition. My 5k next week is all on trails so I decided that it was time to start. This morning I ran a mile or so on the side of the canal. It was mostly hard packed sand/dirt with some gravel mixed in. It wasn't too bad actually. I was quite surprised. Guess I'll just have to keep mixing it up like that until it doesn't matter what I'm running on.

 

[JosephTree]

My .02 worth: I ran on

My .02 worth:

I ran on trails first, before I had run on anything else. I mean I started from no running and found what I thought might be runnable near my house and had a great first run. My feet did feel like they were sort of on a low grade fire afterward, but nothing too bad. I had my little kids massage my feet with nice salve - which I still love, even after a few hundred miles of trails and roads. Most of my training miles last summer were on Canal Towpath which was a packed dirt and gravel surface, with some rocky bits thrown in to keep me attentive. My personal observation was that stepping on something that drew an "Ow!" was almost always faded from my mind within 3 steps.

"Attentive" is a key word, as has been mentioned. You will find your consciousness deeply changed as you run off road. That's a good thing. It kind of links up with why BFRunners tend away from iPods and such, I believe.

Good luck! Take it in small steps. Take it slow. Find the joy of running.

 

[ajb422]

 I know people seem to like

I know people seem to like the gravel bucket idea but why not just find a way to insert alittle trail walking for your skin. I use a 0.5 mile section of gravelly dirt tiny rock stuff. I make sure to traverse it each "run". I say traverse because there has certainly been days (or the whole first two weeks of bf running) where all I could do was stumble slowly over it. I also did alot of walking back and forth to school over broken up concrete. Maybe just going for a walk over it will ease you into it. Its gotta be more fun then standing in your living room marching in a bucket. I think this is also how my first bf adventure on what I call "actual trails" is going to go. I'm going hiking with a friend there and trying to walk it all bf for an idea of what it'll be like running it without the stress of feeling like I have to hit a certain mileage or speed.

 

[Joshh]

Gravel bucket marching is on

Gravel bucket marching is on par with treadmills and swimming pools. It's the last resort to stay in shape when you can't do the real thing. If I had to endure being snowed in like a lot of this community does I would be all over the gravel bucket just to keep my feet in shape. RESPECT to all you snow BF runners out there.

As for transitioning, just get out there and embrace the feeling of building your pads.

 

[ajb422]

Joshh wrote: Gravel bucket

Gravel bucket marching is on par with treadmills and swimming pools. It's the last resort to stay in shape when you can't do the real thing. If I had to endure being snowed in like a lot of this community does I would be all over the gravel bucket just to keep my feet in shape. RESPECT to all you snow BF runners out there. As for transitioning, just get out there and embrace the feeling of building your pads.

Yeah I forgot to mention that I totally understand doing it if you have to because of climate, but the OP is a member of the Las Vegas group so I assumed he wasn't dealing with terrible temps.

 

[stomper]

Nyah wrote:I haven't found a

I haven't found a way to run on the gravel roads of my neighborhood, where the gravel pieces are often 0.75" x 0.75" x 1".

I know, there's gravel and then there's gravel. There are so many different kinds, sizes, angles, densities etc. my feet are practically getting a degree in civil engineering.

 

[Joshh]

3/4" is OK but the freshly

3/4" is OK but the freshly broken 1/2" stuff with sharp edges is no fun. It makes the rest seem easy though so take it from Monty Python and always look on the bright side!

 

[Nyah]

Joshh wrote:3/4" is OK but

3/4" is OK but the freshly broken 1/2" stuff with sharp edges is no fun. It makes the rest seem easy though so take it from Monty Python and always look on the bright side!

The gravel I'm talking about is the broken-up kind with points and edges. I have to go very slow on it. The most recent time I walked on it, some lady with yuppie hiking staves snidely asked as she overtook me "Do your feet hurt?". I had the last laugh though, because it wasn't too long before the road became asphalt. I then quickly overtook her and kept on sprinting well beyond where she could see. Would've been nice to give a retort while passing but that probably would've slowed me down some.