Last Saturday I did the park run. I decided that I should wear trainers, and I carried out a DIY foot taping job just to secure my foot. I wound tape over the top of my right foot, just behind the toes, over the ball of my foot and towards my ankle. I hoped that it would give support to the obvious but undiagnosed weakness.
It worked a treat. I ran the 5k in just over 27 minutes, which I'm happy with, and I had no additional pain in my foot afterwards.
On Wednesday (two days ago) I did a barefoot mile. I've been re-reading information about barefoot form, and I also posted a message on the the Yahoo! Running Barefoot forum which was set up by Barefoot Ken Bob himself. I even got a post back from Ken Bob (thank you, Ken), which, in a nutshell, reminded me that I need to concentrate on re-learning my technique so that when I run, it doesn't hurt. Sounds simple enough, but it's so easy to forget this vital piece of information.
So in my barefoot mile, I concentrated on everything I could: relax, relax, relax; bend my knees; bend them more; lift my toes - a little mind you - not too tense; let my hips lead me forward; stay up straight; look ahead; lift my feet rather than concentrate on putting them down; shorten my cadence...... it was like trying to drive a car for the first time, so many different elements to think about, and as soon as I concentrated on one I'd forget another.
But there were steps that I took that didn't hurt. For a few paces at a time I got into a rhythm that seemed comfortable, pain free and pretty easy on every part of my body. That's what I need to focus on. I will do the drills in Ken Bob's book, I will do my Asian squats and 100-ups, but when I run, I will just try and run without any discomfort.
That will take time (again), and in the meantime I have races to run where I'm raising money for the hospice that looked after my lovely mum earlier this year, so I will wear the trainers for my training runs, and do barefoot miles here and there for now until after the half marathon in October. Then I'll start barefooting again in earnest. It's disappointing, but I want to do it right.
Showing posts with label barefoot running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barefoot running. Show all posts
Friday, 30 August 2013
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Weekly roundup
I didn't manage my long run this week (supposed to be 7 miles), but I did do a good 6 mile tempo run, well above target pace, and a 3.5 mile run in bare feet, followed by a PB at the park run this morning of around 26.40 minutes (waiting for the official time to come in).
I'm beginning to notice that my speed is picking up again. I knew that learning to run in minimalist footwear or bare feet would mean a significant loss of speed for a fair amount of time, and I'd sort of forgotten that I actually can run at a decent speed (decent to me, if not to anyone else!). But it was only really today that I've hit (and possibly even improved upon) my old targets. My form has changed significantly - it's been a long time since I've suffered with those awful shin splints I used to get on every single run, and even my joints and muscles don't seem to suffer in the same way. In the past, I've put this down to the slower speeds, and more gentle footfall. Now I can see that my new form (which feels completely natural to me now) is starting to reap benefits, and with the pace picking up, I'm feeling better than ever.
Happy days :)
I'm beginning to notice that my speed is picking up again. I knew that learning to run in minimalist footwear or bare feet would mean a significant loss of speed for a fair amount of time, and I'd sort of forgotten that I actually can run at a decent speed (decent to me, if not to anyone else!). But it was only really today that I've hit (and possibly even improved upon) my old targets. My form has changed significantly - it's been a long time since I've suffered with those awful shin splints I used to get on every single run, and even my joints and muscles don't seem to suffer in the same way. In the past, I've put this down to the slower speeds, and more gentle footfall. Now I can see that my new form (which feels completely natural to me now) is starting to reap benefits, and with the pace picking up, I'm feeling better than ever.
Happy days :)
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Speed
Today I did a tempo run in my Merrells. I uploaded the workout to my Garmin before I left, so it was all programmed in: 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at 9.33 min/mile, 1 mile cool down.
My Garmin shows me an average pace for the entire run. I always run slowly at the start as it seems to take a while for my joints and feet to warm up, so by the end of the first mile, the average pace was showing around 10.20 min/mile. When the Garmin beeped to warn me to get ready for the middle 4 tempo miles, I checked my watch, still slower than 10 min/mile, so I sped up. The Garmin quickly beeped to say I was in the 9.33 min/mile zone, and then shortly after beeped again to tell me to slow down.
This seemed odd, as I didn't feel I was going much faster than at the end of my warm up mile. I didn't trust my watch. I felt I wasn't pushing hard enough, so I ignored the irritating beeps until they gave up on me, and I just kept running at a comfortably fast pace.
When I got home, my watch told me that I had done the middle 4 at 9.14 min/mile! This is significantly faster than the target pace, and makes me wonder if my form is beginning to show signs of speeding up without too much effort. So far in my barefoot/minimalist running story I have found it difficult to run anywhere near as fast as I could have in trainers. That (and the lack of structured training) have kept my pace pretty slow, though speed is not really of concern to me.
It was interesting to run today and feel like I could probably go faster than that, and maintain it, at least for a 10k if no more. I did enjoy reading an article about adding speed to your barefoot running from Barefoot Beginner which came up on my Twitter feed a few days ago, and I even had a go at copying the video drill. I thought about that whilst I was running, trying to replicate pulling up my feet from the hamstrings and keeping my ankle in line with my knee. Maybe that has something to do with it.
My Garmin shows me an average pace for the entire run. I always run slowly at the start as it seems to take a while for my joints and feet to warm up, so by the end of the first mile, the average pace was showing around 10.20 min/mile. When the Garmin beeped to warn me to get ready for the middle 4 tempo miles, I checked my watch, still slower than 10 min/mile, so I sped up. The Garmin quickly beeped to say I was in the 9.33 min/mile zone, and then shortly after beeped again to tell me to slow down.
This seemed odd, as I didn't feel I was going much faster than at the end of my warm up mile. I didn't trust my watch. I felt I wasn't pushing hard enough, so I ignored the irritating beeps until they gave up on me, and I just kept running at a comfortably fast pace.
When I got home, my watch told me that I had done the middle 4 at 9.14 min/mile! This is significantly faster than the target pace, and makes me wonder if my form is beginning to show signs of speeding up without too much effort. So far in my barefoot/minimalist running story I have found it difficult to run anywhere near as fast as I could have in trainers. That (and the lack of structured training) have kept my pace pretty slow, though speed is not really of concern to me.
It was interesting to run today and feel like I could probably go faster than that, and maintain it, at least for a 10k if no more. I did enjoy reading an article about adding speed to your barefoot running from Barefoot Beginner which came up on my Twitter feed a few days ago, and I even had a go at copying the video drill. I thought about that whilst I was running, trying to replicate pulling up my feet from the hamstrings and keeping my ankle in line with my knee. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Monday, 8 July 2013
Confidence is growing
On Friday, I should have done a 5 mile tempo run, but things conspired against my OH and myself, and we ended up doing a 2 and a half mile easy run, which I did mostly in Merrells, with the last half mile or so bare foot.
On Saturday, I did the park run with my daughter. I wanted to run with her as she is trying to beat the 30 minute barrier, and I was very proud that she did the race in 28 minutes and 43 seconds, 2 seconds faster than me as she sneakily threw in a sprint finish which caught me unaware!
On Sunday it looked like a scorcher of a day, so my OH and myself went out for an early-ish run. He was suffering from a little over indulgence the night before, so we only wanted to get a few miles in, and with no target pace. I decided therefore to set out in bare feet. I carried my Classics in case I needed to put shoes on at some point, but I was really pleased that I managed to run my furthest distance to date - 3.5 miles - all in bare feet. The picture above is of my feet at the end of the run - a little red in places, but with no damage at all. Our average pace was 10.40 minutes per mile, but we weren't looking to run particularly fast.
So I had a great week of running. This morning (Monday) I walked the dog in the woods at the back of our house. I've often looked at the ground in the woods thinking it would probably be quite dangerous to run through bare foot, as it is covered with bark, twigs, dirt and all sorts of unknown bits and pieces. Today, being such a warm and beautiful day, I walked up there in flip flops. As no-one was around, I took them off for a moment, and ran a few steps - just to see how bad the ground would be to step on bare-footed. It wasn't as bad as I'd expected. A little further into the woods, I took them off again, picked them up, and ran, very slowly and gently, through 50 metres or so of woodland. Just as with the pavements, I found it much less difficult to run on than it looked. Yes, I took care not to step on any large twigs and branches, but the ground was actually much softer than I expected. I find this with pavements and roads too - when I'm in trainers, I look down and think "That's too rough or stony to run on", but when I take off my shoes, it's never as bad as I had thought.
I've started to contemplate running the 10k in September in bare feet as my confidence grows. I wonder what the race organisers would think about that....
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Battling the demons
This week sees the start of my half marathon training plan. Today's run was planned as a 2 mile easy run, pace around 11 min/miles.
Not wanting to forfeit all the hard work I've been doing on my barefoot running, I'm planning to do all my training runs in minimalist footwear (Vibrams, Merrells, Vivos) and my easy runs in bare feet. 2 miles in bare feet is definitely do-able for me, but those demons inside my head started chattering away early on this week....
I rarely set off bare foot: usually, I wear footwear for at least a mile, until I've summoned up the courage to take them off, and then I run home bare foot. When I say courage, it's not courage to put my bare soles on the floor, it's courage to face the oncoming traffic, friends, neighbours and dog walkers, who look at me a little bit funny, as if to say 'do you know you've got no shoes on..?', 'is it safe to talk to that weirdo?', that must hurt, dog poo, glass etc etc etc. I'm fearful that I'll step on a giant shard of glass the second a person catches a glimpse of me, so they can see the pain written on my face, and smugly nod as if to say 'I told you so'. I'm convinced that the police will stop to 'have a chat' with me, or that I'll twist my ankle on a pot hole and have to be whisked off in an ambulance, where the doctors will shake their heads at my foolhardy ways.
Of course, I could easily twist my ankle in shoes. I could step in dog poo and spend twenty minutes at the sink trying to dig it out of the grooves in my trainers.
I find this fear very difficult to get over, the demons chatter away at me right up until the second I walk out the door, sometimes they win and I put my shoes on, today they didn't. I stepped out of my front door without my shoes, and started running. I ran along the main road, waiting at the side of the road for the traffic to slow before safely dashing across in front of a neighbour's car and giving a slightly awkward wave to her.
I confess that I did veer off the main road to head along a country lane for the most part of the run, and this is not a route I would normally choose because it's quite hilly and it's recently been resurfaced, so the tarmac is quite rough still. However, I met only one car along the way, and it was lovely and quiet with my silent footfall and my dog's quiet padding.
At just over a mile in, I turned around to head back. Safely back at home, with a perfect overall pace of 11 minute miles, I feel suitably proud of the fact that I did what I set out to do and I banished those demons, for today at least.
Not wanting to forfeit all the hard work I've been doing on my barefoot running, I'm planning to do all my training runs in minimalist footwear (Vibrams, Merrells, Vivos) and my easy runs in bare feet. 2 miles in bare feet is definitely do-able for me, but those demons inside my head started chattering away early on this week....
I rarely set off bare foot: usually, I wear footwear for at least a mile, until I've summoned up the courage to take them off, and then I run home bare foot. When I say courage, it's not courage to put my bare soles on the floor, it's courage to face the oncoming traffic, friends, neighbours and dog walkers, who look at me a little bit funny, as if to say 'do you know you've got no shoes on..?', 'is it safe to talk to that weirdo?', that must hurt, dog poo, glass etc etc etc. I'm fearful that I'll step on a giant shard of glass the second a person catches a glimpse of me, so they can see the pain written on my face, and smugly nod as if to say 'I told you so'. I'm convinced that the police will stop to 'have a chat' with me, or that I'll twist my ankle on a pot hole and have to be whisked off in an ambulance, where the doctors will shake their heads at my foolhardy ways.
Of course, I could easily twist my ankle in shoes. I could step in dog poo and spend twenty minutes at the sink trying to dig it out of the grooves in my trainers.
I find this fear very difficult to get over, the demons chatter away at me right up until the second I walk out the door, sometimes they win and I put my shoes on, today they didn't. I stepped out of my front door without my shoes, and started running. I ran along the main road, waiting at the side of the road for the traffic to slow before safely dashing across in front of a neighbour's car and giving a slightly awkward wave to her.
I confess that I did veer off the main road to head along a country lane for the most part of the run, and this is not a route I would normally choose because it's quite hilly and it's recently been resurfaced, so the tarmac is quite rough still. However, I met only one car along the way, and it was lovely and quiet with my silent footfall and my dog's quiet padding.
At just over a mile in, I turned around to head back. Safely back at home, with a perfect overall pace of 11 minute miles, I feel suitably proud of the fact that I did what I set out to do and I banished those demons, for today at least.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Yay - 2 miles plus
Headed out again today in my Vibram Classics with the intention of clinching that 2 miler that I missed on Friday.
Shoes felt good, though I did notice a bit of Top of Foot Pain at the site of my old stress fracture, so I didn't push it, just ambled along. I took them off earlier than yesterday, telling myself that I could always put them back on if I needed to.
I ran the same route, and stayed barefoot for the whole of the run after that first mile or so. My feet did feel a little bit sore - still recovering from Friday's 1.99 miles, and in particular, my left foot, on the far side at the base of my little toe felt a little uncomfortable. There's not much padding there, and whilst I avoided most of the friction, there was still a bit of that tarmac rub which is noticeable now, a good few hours later.
Did have an amusing moment when a cyclist passed me and said 'enjoy your run'. My brain took a while to engage, and what came out in return was 'yes..... thank you..... and you...... on your bike....'. Doh!
Still, I'm well chuffed, as I've done 2.2 miles Barefoot today, with a total of 3.5 in all, and that takes me over 50 miles in bare feet since I started last year.
Shoes felt good, though I did notice a bit of Top of Foot Pain at the site of my old stress fracture, so I didn't push it, just ambled along. I took them off earlier than yesterday, telling myself that I could always put them back on if I needed to.
I ran the same route, and stayed barefoot for the whole of the run after that first mile or so. My feet did feel a little bit sore - still recovering from Friday's 1.99 miles, and in particular, my left foot, on the far side at the base of my little toe felt a little uncomfortable. There's not much padding there, and whilst I avoided most of the friction, there was still a bit of that tarmac rub which is noticeable now, a good few hours later.
Did have an amusing moment when a cyclist passed me and said 'enjoy your run'. My brain took a while to engage, and what came out in return was 'yes..... thank you..... and you...... on your bike....'. Doh!
Still, I'm well chuffed, as I've done 2.2 miles Barefoot today, with a total of 3.5 in all, and that takes me over 50 miles in bare feet since I started last year.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Not quite a 2 miler!
Last Sunday would have been my mum's 70th birthday. We had a family get together planned to mark the event, but early in the morning I decided to get out for a run. The weather was beautiful, and whilst I had only planned to go a couple of miles, I felt good, my Vivos felt comfortable and the dog was running well too, so I decided to head for a slightly longer route which took me away from the main road and up into the countryside.
When I got to the lanes, I took off my Vivos and ran barefoot. Instead of thinking about sad things, I relished the feel of the road on my feet, and the peace of running without the slap, slap of trainers, and things felt good. I did just over a mile in bare feet, then put the Vivos back on to reach a total of 3.5 miles in all.
Yesterday I took the same route, this time setting off in my VFF classics, which I haven't worn for a while. They felt incredibly comfortable, and I enjoyed the greater degree of feedback from the pavements, even in comparison to the Vivos. I took them off earlier in this run, and my feet felt so comfortable that I didn't put them back on all the way home, clocking up a total of 3.52 miles, with 1.99 in bare feet. In fact, I reckon I could do that whole circuit barefoot, just with a slight caveat that there tends to be a lot of broken glass along the main road on the second half a mile out (which I can avoid on the return journey).
What I really enjoyed from this second run was a surprise moment: we overtook an old lady walking along the road, my husband and the dog first, and then me, silently padding past. As we ran past, I felt incredibly light footed, as if everything had fallen into place and I could run forever. It was really quite an exhilarating moment. I hope that if I can continue to improve my distances in bare feet I will get that feeling more and more.
My feet were not at all sore when I got home. The soles were warm and tingly (and remained so for most of the day), but as usual, I was amazed to look at them and see no visible signs of wear and tear, even though in places I knew I had stepped on some sharp stones. My next run? Well, I'm going to have to hit that 2 miles in bare feet, and then I'll be almost at the point I was before Christmas when everything else in my life went a bit pear shaped.
When I got to the lanes, I took off my Vivos and ran barefoot. Instead of thinking about sad things, I relished the feel of the road on my feet, and the peace of running without the slap, slap of trainers, and things felt good. I did just over a mile in bare feet, then put the Vivos back on to reach a total of 3.5 miles in all.
Yesterday I took the same route, this time setting off in my VFF classics, which I haven't worn for a while. They felt incredibly comfortable, and I enjoyed the greater degree of feedback from the pavements, even in comparison to the Vivos. I took them off earlier in this run, and my feet felt so comfortable that I didn't put them back on all the way home, clocking up a total of 3.52 miles, with 1.99 in bare feet. In fact, I reckon I could do that whole circuit barefoot, just with a slight caveat that there tends to be a lot of broken glass along the main road on the second half a mile out (which I can avoid on the return journey).
What I really enjoyed from this second run was a surprise moment: we overtook an old lady walking along the road, my husband and the dog first, and then me, silently padding past. As we ran past, I felt incredibly light footed, as if everything had fallen into place and I could run forever. It was really quite an exhilarating moment. I hope that if I can continue to improve my distances in bare feet I will get that feeling more and more.
My feet were not at all sore when I got home. The soles were warm and tingly (and remained so for most of the day), but as usual, I was amazed to look at them and see no visible signs of wear and tear, even though in places I knew I had stepped on some sharp stones. My next run? Well, I'm going to have to hit that 2 miles in bare feet, and then I'll be almost at the point I was before Christmas when everything else in my life went a bit pear shaped.
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Running further
Well I've been keeping up with the short barefoot runs at the end of my other runs, and I can feel my soles getting stronger each time. My feet are starting to look much nicer - instead of dry and picky skin after months of wearing fluffy socks, the pavements are working like a pumice stone and my feet are starting to become presentable!
After a 5k last weekend, I dropped my shoes (Vivos) at the house, and then did 0.6 miles in bare feet around the block.
Yesterday, we did just over 6 miles. I wore my Vivos most of the time, but in the middle, I took them off and ran shoeless for just under a mile. My feet felt great, really strong. There were some very tough gravelly areas to get through, where the pavements had deteriorated badly. These were made up of hard packed gravel with lots of loose stones, and I found these really hard going, but it made the 'normal' bits of pavement seem easy in comparison. I put my shoes back on a bit earlier than I would have liked because of these sections.
One thing I notice is that when I run with shoes, I survey the ground to see if it would be good barefoot running, and my estimation of how difficult a particular bit of ground might be is often more cautious than the reality - i.e. I think it looks rough, but when I'm actually in bare feet on it, it's not as bad as I anticipated. Pavements with small bits of strewn gravel are much less of a problem to run on that you might think, as my feet seem to curve around small stones. The most difficult ground I've done so far is the hard packed gravel, as it can have some very sharp stones in and there is no respite.
A few weeks ago I did a bit of grass running, which I've never done before. That was quite good fun too, but slower than I expected - it's actually quite demanding to run on uneven soft ground.
Anyway, I've really fallen for my Vivobarefoot shoes. They are a tiny bit on the small side (my left big toe just clips the end of the shoe from time to time), but the toe box is really roomy, the sole is much the same as my Vibrams, and they are brilliantly light to wear.
After a 5k last weekend, I dropped my shoes (Vivos) at the house, and then did 0.6 miles in bare feet around the block.
Yesterday, we did just over 6 miles. I wore my Vivos most of the time, but in the middle, I took them off and ran shoeless for just under a mile. My feet felt great, really strong. There were some very tough gravelly areas to get through, where the pavements had deteriorated badly. These were made up of hard packed gravel with lots of loose stones, and I found these really hard going, but it made the 'normal' bits of pavement seem easy in comparison. I put my shoes back on a bit earlier than I would have liked because of these sections.
One thing I notice is that when I run with shoes, I survey the ground to see if it would be good barefoot running, and my estimation of how difficult a particular bit of ground might be is often more cautious than the reality - i.e. I think it looks rough, but when I'm actually in bare feet on it, it's not as bad as I anticipated. Pavements with small bits of strewn gravel are much less of a problem to run on that you might think, as my feet seem to curve around small stones. The most difficult ground I've done so far is the hard packed gravel, as it can have some very sharp stones in and there is no respite.
A few weeks ago I did a bit of grass running, which I've never done before. That was quite good fun too, but slower than I expected - it's actually quite demanding to run on uneven soft ground.
Anyway, I've really fallen for my Vivobarefoot shoes. They are a tiny bit on the small side (my left big toe just clips the end of the shoe from time to time), but the toe box is really roomy, the sole is much the same as my Vibrams, and they are brilliantly light to wear.
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Long time no barefoot
Well it's been a pretty poor start to the year. We were plagued with illness over the festive season, with my other half ending up in A&E with the start of pneumonia, and we all had coughs, flu, sickness etc etc. Then we had the freezing weather, and running was hazardous to say the least. Lastly, my mum's cancer returned with a vengeance and after a month of racing back and forth across the Severn Bridge, she finally lost her battle on Valentine's Day.
So running has taken somewhat of a backseat, though I have managed a few soul searching runs with my husband and dog. For these runs I have stuck to trainers, simply because concentrating on something else seemed too much to deal with.
But over the last week I've taken to my old habit of removing my trainers for the last 0.3 miles of each run, and I haven't been disappointed. Yes, my feet have softened up a bit, and the ground seems super prickly, but I don't think my form has suffered, and I've not had any worrying aches or pains.
So yesterday, I took the plunge and wore my Vivos for a 4 mile run. I was a little dubious about this, because I'm very conscious that I've not put in the work in bare feet for a while, and the last time I made that mistake (ie running too far in minimalist shoes without the barefoot groundwork before it) I ended up with a stress fracture.
However, the run was absolutely great. My feet felt very light (after wearing heavy trainers), I felt like I'd retained my barefoot form despite not having run barefoot for well over two months, and I really enjoyed it. I did suffer a small developing blister on the top of my foot from the shoes - just another good reason to go without!
Today I did another 2 miles with the dog and wearing my Vivos. For the last 0.3 miles I took the shoes off and let the dog carry one for me. The blister formed by the Vivos developed and now I've lost a bit of skin on the top of my foot, but my soles are doing well and I'm definitely back in the game. I hope that my mum is watching me from somewhere xx.
So running has taken somewhat of a backseat, though I have managed a few soul searching runs with my husband and dog. For these runs I have stuck to trainers, simply because concentrating on something else seemed too much to deal with.
But over the last week I've taken to my old habit of removing my trainers for the last 0.3 miles of each run, and I haven't been disappointed. Yes, my feet have softened up a bit, and the ground seems super prickly, but I don't think my form has suffered, and I've not had any worrying aches or pains.
So yesterday, I took the plunge and wore my Vivos for a 4 mile run. I was a little dubious about this, because I'm very conscious that I've not put in the work in bare feet for a while, and the last time I made that mistake (ie running too far in minimalist shoes without the barefoot groundwork before it) I ended up with a stress fracture.
However, the run was absolutely great. My feet felt very light (after wearing heavy trainers), I felt like I'd retained my barefoot form despite not having run barefoot for well over two months, and I really enjoyed it. I did suffer a small developing blister on the top of my foot from the shoes - just another good reason to go without!
Today I did another 2 miles with the dog and wearing my Vivos. For the last 0.3 miles I took the shoes off and let the dog carry one for me. The blister formed by the Vivos developed and now I've lost a bit of skin on the top of my foot, but my soles are doing well and I'm definitely back in the game. I hope that my mum is watching me from somewhere xx.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Gravel, twigs, stones and floods
After a mile or so in my Vivos yesterday, I came across a flood, going across the whole of the country lane I was running down. I was at the point of taking off my shoes near there anyway, so it seemed as good a point as any.
It felt quite liberating to splash through the water - though I was quite wary of the fact that I had no idea what was under there, so my tread was very light. The water was probably a couple of inches deep in places, and it felt very cold.
The remainder of the lane was quite difficult to negotiate. As there had been water running across it, it was covered in debris - small stones, gravel, twigs, leaves, mud and even small branches. It meant I needed to slow down the pace (even more than usual), but it certainly helped me concentrate on form. Once out of the lane, I ran along a tarmac road, which I always find tougher if it's wet, but I continued on to the main road.
I considered putting my shoes back on, but with a bit of encouragement from my other half to just keep going, I did exactly that. It wasn't that my feet hurt, just a mental barrier of running barefoot along a trunk route from the M4 into town.
The M4 rounadabout was a challenge. It was made more pedestrian friendly just before the Ryder Cup in 2010, with the addition of small, firm gravel walkways between the numerous sets of lights. In the past, I would not have even attempted these sections bare foot, but the stationary onlooking traffic is a great motivator, so I padded along and crossed over the roundabout in 3 places, avoiding looking directly at any of the drivers and passengers.
All in all, 2.2 miles in bare feet. A triumph for me, not just because of the challenges of the terrain, but also overcoming the mental barrier of running in such close proximity to busy traffic and the public glare.
And my feet... well, here they are: A little muddy round the edges, but not a single scrape or cut. Aren't feet brilliant??
It felt quite liberating to splash through the water - though I was quite wary of the fact that I had no idea what was under there, so my tread was very light. The water was probably a couple of inches deep in places, and it felt very cold.
The remainder of the lane was quite difficult to negotiate. As there had been water running across it, it was covered in debris - small stones, gravel, twigs, leaves, mud and even small branches. It meant I needed to slow down the pace (even more than usual), but it certainly helped me concentrate on form. Once out of the lane, I ran along a tarmac road, which I always find tougher if it's wet, but I continued on to the main road.
I considered putting my shoes back on, but with a bit of encouragement from my other half to just keep going, I did exactly that. It wasn't that my feet hurt, just a mental barrier of running barefoot along a trunk route from the M4 into town.
The M4 rounadabout was a challenge. It was made more pedestrian friendly just before the Ryder Cup in 2010, with the addition of small, firm gravel walkways between the numerous sets of lights. In the past, I would not have even attempted these sections bare foot, but the stationary onlooking traffic is a great motivator, so I padded along and crossed over the roundabout in 3 places, avoiding looking directly at any of the drivers and passengers.
All in all, 2.2 miles in bare feet. A triumph for me, not just because of the challenges of the terrain, but also overcoming the mental barrier of running in such close proximity to busy traffic and the public glare.
And my feet... well, here they are: A little muddy round the edges, but not a single scrape or cut. Aren't feet brilliant??
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Frosty, frosty, frosty
I woke up to a sharp frost today. 'Shoes it is' I said to myself.
Last night though, I read an article in the Barefoot Running magazine I receive via email. It was about running barefoot in cold weather. A few days ago, I went out in my VFFs with very cold feet, and it hurt. My old stress fracture site ached, and my ankle just didn't feel right. This article quotes Barefoot Ken as saying 'numb feet are dumb feet' - and this certainly rings true.
So, I opted for my Vivo Barefoot shoes this morning and set off. After almost two miles, my feet were really toasty warm, so I took a route high up along some pretty country lanes, and I took my shoes off.
I intended to run around a mile or so, and put my shoes back on before hitting the main road again, but my feet felt great, plenty warm enough, my soles felt tough and strong, and so I kept them off all the way home.
I had a few odd glances, and my first ever look of complete disgust from a woman gardening, wrapped up in coat, hat, gloves and wellies. But I'm really pleased, because I've just clocked my longest barefoot run (2 miles) and on the coldest day of the year so far. Happy days.
Last night though, I read an article in the Barefoot Running magazine I receive via email. It was about running barefoot in cold weather. A few days ago, I went out in my VFFs with very cold feet, and it hurt. My old stress fracture site ached, and my ankle just didn't feel right. This article quotes Barefoot Ken as saying 'numb feet are dumb feet' - and this certainly rings true.
So, I opted for my Vivo Barefoot shoes this morning and set off. After almost two miles, my feet were really toasty warm, so I took a route high up along some pretty country lanes, and I took my shoes off.
I intended to run around a mile or so, and put my shoes back on before hitting the main road again, but my feet felt great, plenty warm enough, my soles felt tough and strong, and so I kept them off all the way home.
I had a few odd glances, and my first ever look of complete disgust from a woman gardening, wrapped up in coat, hat, gloves and wellies. But I'm really pleased, because I've just clocked my longest barefoot run (2 miles) and on the coldest day of the year so far. Happy days.
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Further and further
I've managed to up my distance the past few days.
Yesterday, we ran through a local village, along a long and windy country lane. I started in my TrekSports, and once we were on the lane, I took them off and ran barefoot. My first experience of squishing in mud was encountered (rather nice), and we stopped to chat to a couple and their dogs, who acted like running barefoot was perfectly normal, and they didn't even acknowledge the shoes in my hand.
After 1.4 miles I rather relunctantly put my shoes back on for the main road, but I rather think I could have gone a bit further. My feet had felt very comfortable without shoes.
Towards the end of the 6.5 mile run, I took them off once again, making a grand total of 1.95 miles in bare feet - a further to date.
Today we did a rainy 3 miler. Again I started in my TrekSports, but they really rubbed in the rain, so taking them off was less of a risk than leaving them on. In fact, it was a pleasure to remove them just under a mile before we got back, even though the ground was wet - something I usually find harder to run on.
Good progress then - it certainly helps having a supportive partner to encourage me to take off my shoes and not worry about what everyone thinks.
Yesterday, we ran through a local village, along a long and windy country lane. I started in my TrekSports, and once we were on the lane, I took them off and ran barefoot. My first experience of squishing in mud was encountered (rather nice), and we stopped to chat to a couple and their dogs, who acted like running barefoot was perfectly normal, and they didn't even acknowledge the shoes in my hand.
After 1.4 miles I rather relunctantly put my shoes back on for the main road, but I rather think I could have gone a bit further. My feet had felt very comfortable without shoes.
Towards the end of the 6.5 mile run, I took them off once again, making a grand total of 1.95 miles in bare feet - a further to date.
Today we did a rainy 3 miler. Again I started in my TrekSports, but they really rubbed in the rain, so taking them off was less of a risk than leaving them on. In fact, it was a pleasure to remove them just under a mile before we got back, even though the ground was wet - something I usually find harder to run on.
Good progress then - it certainly helps having a supportive partner to encourage me to take off my shoes and not worry about what everyone thinks.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
A lot going on
Yesterday (Saturday) I dropped my son at his gymnastics class and got chatting to a fellow runner. I told him I've been running almost exclusively barefoot or minimalist for some time, and he made my day by asking "Doesn't it hurt?" and "What if you step on dog poo?". No-one has blatantly asked me these classic questions yet, so it made me chuckle. When I got home, I tried my new Vivobarefoot Evo's for 0.8 miles, which I found really comfortable - just a slight bit of rubbing on the left big toe, but I think these will make a great substitute when barefoot's not an option, or for days when I'm keen to keep a low profile and look 'normal'!
Today (Sunday) I've run just over a mile without any footwear. The weather is getting colder, and I thought it would be interesting to see how my feet fared on the cold pavement. Air temperature just under 8 degrees Celcius, and the pavements were noticeably warmer on the sunny side of the road, but my feet coped admirably and have suffered no ill effects. I did notice that the ground seemed more gravelly and ouchy today - I'm not sure if that was the cold or the fact that we've had lots of rain...
My OH graciously agreed to accompany me on this run, forfeiting his own pace to match my slower one, and I was very grateful for his company when a bus pulled up and offloaded it's passengers just as we ran past. Pity there weren't any trees to hug I guess!
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Bit of a lull?
The last few weeks have felt like a bit of a lull. The weather is getting colder and wetter, and for some reason I've been feeling more self conscious - not the nervous excitement I started out with, more of just wanting to get on with it quietly on my own away from public comments and stares. Not that I blame anyone, I would surely have stared and passed comment a year ago if I had seen someone mad enough to run in bare feet.
Anyway, on Friday, my OH persuaded me to go for a run with him, so I put on my VFF Classics and we did just over 3 miles together. I pushed the pace to keep up with him in his trainers, so ended up with a respectable 5.8mph - not bad considering I haven't broken the 10 min mile pace on more than one occasion.
Today is Sunday, so I got up and out early (ish) to avoid too many people, and did a nice 1.3miles in bare feet - my further BF run to date. Temperature was around 11 degrees C. I kept it slow as I knew I wanted to increase my longest distance, so only 12 min miles, but I can report no aches and pains or sore feet of any kind, so I'm more than happy.
On the VFF note - what I did notice was that whilst my thighs burned whilst I was running (I've not done 3 miles for some time), I had no post run soreness, even the following day, so I'm convinced my step was light and my form was good.
My OH has asked me to run a 10k with him in mid November, and I'm now toying with the idea of doing it in my Fives.... Just a thought at present, but it's been ages since I've worn trainers for running now!
Anyway, on Friday, my OH persuaded me to go for a run with him, so I put on my VFF Classics and we did just over 3 miles together. I pushed the pace to keep up with him in his trainers, so ended up with a respectable 5.8mph - not bad considering I haven't broken the 10 min mile pace on more than one occasion.
Today is Sunday, so I got up and out early (ish) to avoid too many people, and did a nice 1.3miles in bare feet - my further BF run to date. Temperature was around 11 degrees C. I kept it slow as I knew I wanted to increase my longest distance, so only 12 min miles, but I can report no aches and pains or sore feet of any kind, so I'm more than happy.
On the VFF note - what I did notice was that whilst my thighs burned whilst I was running (I've not done 3 miles for some time), I had no post run soreness, even the following day, so I'm convinced my step was light and my form was good.
My OH has asked me to run a 10k with him in mid November, and I'm now toying with the idea of doing it in my Fives.... Just a thought at present, but it's been ages since I've worn trainers for running now!
Sunday, 9 September 2012
The Sweet Spot
A fab run this morning, so I felt the need to blog it.
According to my (unwritten) schedule, I was to up the distance today to 0.8/0.9 miles, and this meant heading out towards the main road, away from the safety of the estate. I was in a different mindset, that being "I want to do this, but I wish people wouldn't stare". This is different to how I've felt before, when I've felt self conscious to the point of embarrassment, rather than annoyance.
Anyway, I set off, shouted a cheery good morning to the ex-policeman at the end of our road who was washing his car, and headed out. My feet felt great. Weather was a cool but sunny September morning.
At the start, I could feel my feet scuffing as they passed under my body (ie at the back), so I adjusted my form slightly, and that quickly disappeared. Cadence felt good, not too fast but definitely close to 180 (if not faster).
The main road was fine - no encounters, and still my feet felt great as I turned back into the estate, just slowing a little over the very gravelly section by the bridge. I ran past the old lady with the dog, who had shown great concern at my exploits several months back, and as I passed her I said "morning, it's the mad lady with the bare feet", and she said hello back and asked "aren't your feet cold this morning?".
Got back to the house feeling like I could easily have run further. 0.93 miles, with my fastest pace to date of 5.4mph (11.08min/mile). I can only describe the pace here as finding the "sweet spot" where everything just seemed to click into place. Lovely.
According to my (unwritten) schedule, I was to up the distance today to 0.8/0.9 miles, and this meant heading out towards the main road, away from the safety of the estate. I was in a different mindset, that being "I want to do this, but I wish people wouldn't stare". This is different to how I've felt before, when I've felt self conscious to the point of embarrassment, rather than annoyance.
Anyway, I set off, shouted a cheery good morning to the ex-policeman at the end of our road who was washing his car, and headed out. My feet felt great. Weather was a cool but sunny September morning.
At the start, I could feel my feet scuffing as they passed under my body (ie at the back), so I adjusted my form slightly, and that quickly disappeared. Cadence felt good, not too fast but definitely close to 180 (if not faster).
The main road was fine - no encounters, and still my feet felt great as I turned back into the estate, just slowing a little over the very gravelly section by the bridge. I ran past the old lady with the dog, who had shown great concern at my exploits several months back, and as I passed her I said "morning, it's the mad lady with the bare feet", and she said hello back and asked "aren't your feet cold this morning?".
Got back to the house feeling like I could easily have run further. 0.93 miles, with my fastest pace to date of 5.4mph (11.08min/mile). I can only describe the pace here as finding the "sweet spot" where everything just seemed to click into place. Lovely.
Friday, 7 September 2012
Back to the Classics
I was starting to get a bit twitchy from not running anything more than about half a mile, so this morning - a beautiful hot sunny day - I decided to get back in my VFF Classics and go a little bit further.
I ran 1.9 miles in these, and then 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end.
What I noticed was that since I've been running exclusively in bare feet for a few weeks, my VFF technique seemed better - shorter steps, faster cadence, and better foot position. It was lovely to go a bit further, but towards the end I really wanted to take them off and 'free my feet' (sorry, sounding very hippy there!), so I did. Interestingly, whilst I thought my VFF technique was pretty good, I instantly noticed that my heels were going doing more in bare feet - ie a ball of foot touch quickly followed by a pretty much flat foot, with toes and heels down together. I also noticed my stride shorten instinctively.
I think not wearing VFFs for a few weeks has been good for developing my form, but I can certainly still go further (and feel way less self conscious) in them than in bare feet (at the moment)!
I ran 1.9 miles in these, and then 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end.
What I noticed was that since I've been running exclusively in bare feet for a few weeks, my VFF technique seemed better - shorter steps, faster cadence, and better foot position. It was lovely to go a bit further, but towards the end I really wanted to take them off and 'free my feet' (sorry, sounding very hippy there!), so I did. Interestingly, whilst I thought my VFF technique was pretty good, I instantly noticed that my heels were going doing more in bare feet - ie a ball of foot touch quickly followed by a pretty much flat foot, with toes and heels down together. I also noticed my stride shorten instinctively.
I think not wearing VFFs for a few weeks has been good for developing my form, but I can certainly still go further (and feel way less self conscious) in them than in bare feet (at the moment)!
Friday, 31 August 2012
Action Plan
After a week off with my sore heel, I decided to put a more consistent plan into action.
This involves sticking at a comfortable distance for a few weeks without any pain or injury before upping the distance by approximately a quarter of a mile and repeating the process. This was always sort of in the back of my head, but I was not really keeping track of my progress and tempering the distance increases perhaps as much as I should. I was reminded of this process after reading the "Lose the Shoes" plan on Runnersworld.com.
So, here's the progress so far:
25/8/12: 0.5 miles - 7 mins 2 seconds
26/8/12: 0.52 miles - 7 mins 7 seconds
27/8/12: 0.53 miles - 7 mins 0 seconds
29/8/12: 0.5 miles - 6 mins 32 seconds (on account of having to run away from lots of people I knew!)
31/8/12: 0.61 miles - 8 mins 21 seconds
I'll now stick with the 0.6 mile distance for two weeks (and here's the reminder to myself) ie mid September.
The last run on the list (today's) was a fantastic run. It's a beautiful, cool but sunny morning and my feet felt really good and strong. I could have easily been tempted to do more!
This involves sticking at a comfortable distance for a few weeks without any pain or injury before upping the distance by approximately a quarter of a mile and repeating the process. This was always sort of in the back of my head, but I was not really keeping track of my progress and tempering the distance increases perhaps as much as I should. I was reminded of this process after reading the "Lose the Shoes" plan on Runnersworld.com.
So, here's the progress so far:
25/8/12: 0.5 miles - 7 mins 2 seconds
26/8/12: 0.52 miles - 7 mins 7 seconds
27/8/12: 0.53 miles - 7 mins 0 seconds
29/8/12: 0.5 miles - 6 mins 32 seconds (on account of having to run away from lots of people I knew!)
31/8/12: 0.61 miles - 8 mins 21 seconds
I'll now stick with the 0.6 mile distance for two weeks (and here's the reminder to myself) ie mid September.
The last run on the list (today's) was a fantastic run. It's a beautiful, cool but sunny morning and my feet felt really good and strong. I could have easily been tempted to do more!
Monday, 20 August 2012
Pause for thought
I've had to be sensible and take a few days off. Things were going really well: I've braved the main road, and for two consecutive days I ran a mile completely barefoot.
However, I'd developed a small bruise-like pain on my right heel - outside or lateral edge, underneath my ankle bone. When I was running on the second day (a 2.5 mile run, first 1.5 in Vibrams, last mile barefoot) I could feel pain developing quite rapidly in this area. It scared me a bit because it reminded me of the pain I got when I had my stress fracture. I slowed for the last 400 metres or so, and iced the area on my return.
I little later I could see a small amount of swelling in the area. I did a bit of research and found an excellent website for pinpointing foot pain. It is either posterior heel pain (though this seems to present much more at the very back of the heel), or more worrying - a developing stress feature of the calcaneal. Another classic symptom of this is that that there is pain in this area when the achilles is 'pinched' on both sides simultaneously - something that I can definitely confirm.
That was the 17th August. I've been good and rested my foot now for a few days, and whilst there is still a little pain, it's much improved. Symptoms now are only noticeable when I walk - on flexing the ankle to lift the foot up at the end of each stride - or if I squeeze the area. I'm not limping.
So another little set back. I think, as runners we accept that our running life is never straightforward - except for the lucky few. Have I been put off running barefoot? Certainly not. In fact, as I drove down a local road the other day, I commented to my daughter that it looked like it would be a great road to run down barefoot, because it was a little bit rough and gritty, and I thought it would feel nice on my soles. It's frustrating to wait, but I know it'll be worth it.
I thought it was important to make this post, because I'm guilty of raving about how great barefooting is, but (for me at least) it's not a quick route to faster and longer runs.
However, I'd developed a small bruise-like pain on my right heel - outside or lateral edge, underneath my ankle bone. When I was running on the second day (a 2.5 mile run, first 1.5 in Vibrams, last mile barefoot) I could feel pain developing quite rapidly in this area. It scared me a bit because it reminded me of the pain I got when I had my stress fracture. I slowed for the last 400 metres or so, and iced the area on my return.
I little later I could see a small amount of swelling in the area. I did a bit of research and found an excellent website for pinpointing foot pain. It is either posterior heel pain (though this seems to present much more at the very back of the heel), or more worrying - a developing stress feature of the calcaneal. Another classic symptom of this is that that there is pain in this area when the achilles is 'pinched' on both sides simultaneously - something that I can definitely confirm.
That was the 17th August. I've been good and rested my foot now for a few days, and whilst there is still a little pain, it's much improved. Symptoms now are only noticeable when I walk - on flexing the ankle to lift the foot up at the end of each stride - or if I squeeze the area. I'm not limping.
So another little set back. I think, as runners we accept that our running life is never straightforward - except for the lucky few. Have I been put off running barefoot? Certainly not. In fact, as I drove down a local road the other day, I commented to my daughter that it looked like it would be a great road to run down barefoot, because it was a little bit rough and gritty, and I thought it would feel nice on my soles. It's frustrating to wait, but I know it'll be worth it.
I thought it was important to make this post, because I'm guilty of raving about how great barefooting is, but (for me at least) it's not a quick route to faster and longer runs.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
I braved the main road
Very brave today (and to be honest, I've annoyed myself with my fear of public barefoot running). I ran to the end of our estate, and then along the main road. This is significant progress, as so far, I've only run around the houses on our estate, or along a very quiet country lane. I didn't take any shoes (even though I felt they'd be added security and I could put them on if I felt too conspicious).
I've checked with all my family that they aren't embarrassed (a bit tongue in cheek on my part - I'd probably do it anyway, but it's lovely to have their support). My friends just think I'm a bit wacky. I don't suppose it really matters what anyone else thinks.
My feet felt fantastic, the ground felt lovely, and when I got back there was not one single ache or blister. This is the way forward I think. 0.88 miles and rising.
I've checked with all my family that they aren't embarrassed (a bit tongue in cheek on my part - I'd probably do it anyway, but it's lovely to have their support). My friends just think I'm a bit wacky. I don't suppose it really matters what anyone else thinks.
My feet felt fantastic, the ground felt lovely, and when I got back there was not one single ache or blister. This is the way forward I think. 0.88 miles and rising.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Back from our hols
I've had over two weeks off running because I've been living it up in Florida. Plenty of walking in flip flops or bare feet (in the water parks), and a couple of days in VFF Classics, so my feet felt like they'd had a great workout every day and I was confident that they'd feel strong on my first run back.
I ran just under two miles in my Classics - pretty slowly as I had my son in tow, but as expected, my feet felt great. None of the twinges of my stress fracture were present, and I loved my final 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end. Great to be running again.
The following day I did a four mile run in my trainers. This certainly felt like hard work - whether because of the break from running, or because I've only been wearing very light shoes for two weeks, or because I'd had a short run the day before, I cannot say. The following day, my thighs and calves were all very achey, and I really noticed the hip pain which I suffer from, which I've not had for the two weeks off running, nor had it returned on my VFFs run.
Today I've been for a two mile run in Classics, followed by 0.3 miles barefoot. Much nicer than trainers, and I averaged around 9.40 min miles which is by far the fastest I've gone in minimalist footwear.
I'm thinking of signing up for the September 10k, and wonder whether I should go for a fast time (52 mins or so) in trainers, or whether to just go for any time, but in my Classics.... Decisions, decisions...
I ran just under two miles in my Classics - pretty slowly as I had my son in tow, but as expected, my feet felt great. None of the twinges of my stress fracture were present, and I loved my final 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end. Great to be running again.
The following day I did a four mile run in my trainers. This certainly felt like hard work - whether because of the break from running, or because I've only been wearing very light shoes for two weeks, or because I'd had a short run the day before, I cannot say. The following day, my thighs and calves were all very achey, and I really noticed the hip pain which I suffer from, which I've not had for the two weeks off running, nor had it returned on my VFFs run.
Today I've been for a two mile run in Classics, followed by 0.3 miles barefoot. Much nicer than trainers, and I averaged around 9.40 min miles which is by far the fastest I've gone in minimalist footwear.
I'm thinking of signing up for the September 10k, and wonder whether I should go for a fast time (52 mins or so) in trainers, or whether to just go for any time, but in my Classics.... Decisions, decisions...
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