Greetings all. First I want to thank TJ for all her effort getting BRS up and running again. It's good to be back!
I wanted to share some of my thoughts on this years winter running. It's been an interesting time here in DC with the cold, snow, ice, melting, debris, and winter road treatment. Last year in Jan I was just beginning to run BF so the elements didn't affect me as much with my low introductory mileage just on sidewalks. This year though I am training for a hat trick of spring marathons and it has been a challenge for me feet but I have made a lot of progress in some ways.
As we all know, everyone is different in their transition to MR or BF. In the last few weeks, I have really begun to fully understand my body and the way it handles footwear. Let me break it down for you. Since I started last year I have run almost exclusively BF with 500+ miles and a marathon under my belt. I only did about 25+ miles in VFF KSO's sprinkled throughout the year here and there. When the winter set in i have been forced to run many of my miles in VFF's and ZEM's due to conditions.
Since Jan 1, I've run 138 miles, and only 32 of them have been BF. Sticking to my training plan, I am running as many miles as I can get in BF but logging many miles with Minimal Footwear. The results:
VFF KSO: I've done about 80 of the 100 MR miles in VFF's and found it a relief at first to not have to pay attention to the little pebbles and debris like I have for the last year BF. As my miles got higher, I began to notice slight twinges in some familiar injury areas. I also felt stiff in my form and I would work constantly at correcting it to make it more enjoyable. After this last 13 mile run, my ITBS was saying hello again to me, something I haven't felt in over a year. I also had minor pain my other knee and a bit of foot pain. They did however protect me from the cold most of the time. The wetness was just bearable, and when it got down to 20 I could get my body to flow blood to my toes after about 2 miles. Still not the perfect shoe.
ZEM's: I just started using these and found out quickly that any wetness on the ground will soak these and my feet could never recover from the cold once this occurred. I stayed away from them for a long time until the other day when it was too cold to run BF, but dry enough to give them another go. I found that I had a much better gait and form with the ZEM's than with the VFF's. I can pretty much say that I prefer them when the conditions are right (too cold for BF, not wet)
BF: The weather has shifted a bit. 40's and sunny. Since my little ITB injury and my other tweaks, I've been out for 10+ BF miles this week and it has been heaven. I remember now why I turned to BF and stayed that way for over a year. It was like be reunited with an old flame. Zero pain anywhere. Easy form, easy breathing and some of my fastest mile paces ever BF.
As much as the VFF's and ZEM's are great tools for me, personally I've found that my true form is without shoes. Maybe with more practice I could evolve my stride and form with these MR shoes but to feel how easy the BF form is a huge relief for me. I was never doubting, but with winter conditions, it can be very frustrating, almost as bad as a sidelining injury.
I have a running friend who knows I run BF but actually didn't know I run without shoes. He thought all I did was use VFF's and was trying to sell me on some Brooks shoes that weighed "less." I know my body, and I know what "less" is...no shoes. So with winter comes grey days, bad weather, mild frustration, and minimal shoes. April can't come soon enough.
I wanted to share some of my thoughts on this years winter running. It's been an interesting time here in DC with the cold, snow, ice, melting, debris, and winter road treatment. Last year in Jan I was just beginning to run BF so the elements didn't affect me as much with my low introductory mileage just on sidewalks. This year though I am training for a hat trick of spring marathons and it has been a challenge for me feet but I have made a lot of progress in some ways.
As we all know, everyone is different in their transition to MR or BF. In the last few weeks, I have really begun to fully understand my body and the way it handles footwear. Let me break it down for you. Since I started last year I have run almost exclusively BF with 500+ miles and a marathon under my belt. I only did about 25+ miles in VFF KSO's sprinkled throughout the year here and there. When the winter set in i have been forced to run many of my miles in VFF's and ZEM's due to conditions.
Since Jan 1, I've run 138 miles, and only 32 of them have been BF. Sticking to my training plan, I am running as many miles as I can get in BF but logging many miles with Minimal Footwear. The results:
VFF KSO: I've done about 80 of the 100 MR miles in VFF's and found it a relief at first to not have to pay attention to the little pebbles and debris like I have for the last year BF. As my miles got higher, I began to notice slight twinges in some familiar injury areas. I also felt stiff in my form and I would work constantly at correcting it to make it more enjoyable. After this last 13 mile run, my ITBS was saying hello again to me, something I haven't felt in over a year. I also had minor pain my other knee and a bit of foot pain. They did however protect me from the cold most of the time. The wetness was just bearable, and when it got down to 20 I could get my body to flow blood to my toes after about 2 miles. Still not the perfect shoe.
ZEM's: I just started using these and found out quickly that any wetness on the ground will soak these and my feet could never recover from the cold once this occurred. I stayed away from them for a long time until the other day when it was too cold to run BF, but dry enough to give them another go. I found that I had a much better gait and form with the ZEM's than with the VFF's. I can pretty much say that I prefer them when the conditions are right (too cold for BF, not wet)
BF: The weather has shifted a bit. 40's and sunny. Since my little ITB injury and my other tweaks, I've been out for 10+ BF miles this week and it has been heaven. I remember now why I turned to BF and stayed that way for over a year. It was like be reunited with an old flame. Zero pain anywhere. Easy form, easy breathing and some of my fastest mile paces ever BF.
As much as the VFF's and ZEM's are great tools for me, personally I've found that my true form is without shoes. Maybe with more practice I could evolve my stride and form with these MR shoes but to feel how easy the BF form is a huge relief for me. I was never doubting, but with winter conditions, it can be very frustrating, almost as bad as a sidelining injury.
I have a running friend who knows I run BF but actually didn't know I run without shoes. He thought all I did was use VFF's and was trying to sell me on some Brooks shoes that weighed "less." I know my body, and I know what "less" is...no shoes. So with winter comes grey days, bad weather, mild frustration, and minimal shoes. April can't come soon enough.
Thanks Joseph.
