Why do I run barefoot?

A recent entry on the Runners Forum asked those who have posted on the thread on barefoot and minimalist running to say what motivated them to start. I found myself pondering this question in the middle of the night.  Rather than clog up the forum with a long and probably rather boring essay on my thinkings, I thought I'd write it here.

I've been running for about six years.  For the first two years, I suffered terribly with shin splits.  In hindsight I think this was due to bad form - big heel striker and far too much overstriding (I thought this was how you were supposed to run).  At that time, I read a lot about barefoot running, because I was looking for anything that might help with my problems.

Gradually, my form improved - painfully slowly, and I built up strength in my shins and calf muscles which also helped.  For the last couple of years I've had no shin splint problems.  Along the way I've picked up various minor injuries - thigh strain, dodgy knee, sore ankle - and I've been for physio and rested, then picked up again.  Trainers have been good to me on the whole.

But always in the back of my mind I've had a fascination with the idea of barefoot running.  I really can't explain why.  I wanted a pair of Vibram FiveFingers, but couldn't justify the expense.  I hoped I might get some for my 40th, but I didn't.  Last summer I read Born to Run, and by October, I'd persuaded myself that several years of Googling Vibram FiveFingers needed to end:  I needed to have a pair of my own.  I got them for my 41st birthday.

I built up really carefully, starting out with a quarter of a mile, then half a mile, and so on, until over a four week period I'd built up to just over 3 miles.  Then one wintry day at the end of November, I set out for a 3.5 mile run, but my feet were freezing.  I expected the top of foot pain I experienced to disappear after my feet had warmed up, but a mile in it just kept getting worse, and after half a mile of walking and gentle jogging, I knew I had done some damage.  Turns out I'd got a stress fracture in the second metatarsal of my right foot.  Ouch :(

I duly rested, and watched my other half go out running every other day.  As I couldn't run, I read about running instead, and in particular I did more research on barefoot running.  I couldn't understand how I'd got a stress fracture when I'd been so careful.  I read Ken Bob Saxton's Step by Step guide to barefoot running, which was one of the first books I downloaded to my Christmas Kindle. I conversed with a fellow forum runner who had had an almost identical experience on switching to FiveFingers.  It began to make sense.  Whilst I had built up my distance slowly, the FiveFingers were tricking me into thinking I could run further than my feet were ready for.  The only way to truly build up distance would be to run completely barefoot.

Late in January, when I decided it was time to try a very short run for the first time in almost six weeks, I wore my trainers.  I felt that I needed the support, and I was incredibly nervous about injuring myself again.  You'd think that my experience with VFFs would have put me off barefoot or minimalist running for life, but it only served to make me more determined.  Perhaps determined is too stubborn a sounding word - it was more about being curious.  After a couple of weeks in trainers, I ran a short distance in my FiveFingers and it was ok.  Shortly after that, I took my first, very self conscious steps outdoors in bare feet.  That's where this blog really begins.

I now run barefoot at the end of every shod run I do, and I also bought a pair of FiveFinger Classics which are thinner than the TrekSports to enable me to increase my distance on rougher surfaces.  Do I think barefoot running is the holy grail to avoiding injuries?  No, definitely not.  It hasn't made me faster, and I cannot run as far as I can (and still do) in trainers.  But I have started to love the freedom I feel when my feet are in direct contact with the ground, I've built up my confidence in being seen barefoot in public, and my feet feel stronger.  In short, I think it's added a bit of spice to my running, and brought me a fresh challenge.  It is for those reasons that I will continue to run barefoot for the foreseeable future.

"I've found a new bit of my foot"

This is what I said to my daugher a few nights ago.  She looked at me as if I was behaving slightly more oddly than usual.

Credit: http://vanessaruns.com/2011/07/05

What I mean is that since I've been running barefoot, I've noticed a new bit of my foot developing and toughening up.

I already have tougher skin around the balls of my feet, the outer edge and the heel - it's not calloused, just a bit thicker and stronger than other areas (see the grey lines on the pic). Since I've been barefoot running, I've noticed that a new area is beginning to toughen up - the area inside the dark circles.  It's as though being barefoot now allows this area to contact the ground, because my feet can spread out much more than when they're inside shoes.

After a longer run in FiveFingers (around the 2 mile mark), and then a short stretch of barefoot (0.3 miles), I began to notice last week that I'd developed a sore spot in this area, not quite a blister, but nearly.  So I've been very sensible, exercised restraint, and that area is now thickening up - not just the skin, but in fleshiness too, as if my feet are learning to develop in areas that they've never needed to before.

It's interesting looking at my feet and seeing how they are changing.  It's subtle, but definitely happening.

Today I ran a mile and a half, the last 0.6 miles in bare feet.  The skin is now happy and not at all sore.  Progess :)

Top of Foot Pain (TOFP)

Went for a rather sweaty 1.75 miles today in my FiveFinger Classics.  Was going really well, but noticed a pain beginning in the top of my right foot at just over a mile in.  Alarm bells started ringing because of my old stress fracture, so whilst I kept running, I concentrated on whether the pain was getting worse or not.

At 1.45 miles, I planned to take off my Classics and run the remaining 0.3 miles barefoot (as usual).  I was curious to see if the pain got worse without the shoes, but was surprised to find completely the opposite.  No pain at all.

The pavements were lovely and warm, and I didn't feel at all self conscious today, and because the TOFP went away when I took the shoes off, it felt easier running barefoot than in shoes!  No aches and pains now.  Just can't wait to up the distance really!

Lush

I don't say 'lush' very often.  For me, 'lush' is something inexplicably 'nice', a bit indulgent, a bit special.

Yesterday I went for a run.  I was a bit short on time (roast dinner waiting!) so I ditched the 3-miler shod run I had planned in favour of a one-miler in my new FiveFinger Classics (which I've been wearing in over the past week walking around).

The Classics are thinner than the TrekSports, so I needed to get even closer to a barefoot technique than I had in the TrekSports.  It's still not the same as running completely barefoot though.  So, after two thirds of a mile (and once back away from the main road and in the safety of my side roads), I pulled off the Classics (much quicker than taking off trainers) and ran the last third of a mile in bare feet.

It was a sunny day, the pavement was warm under my feet, and the ground felt great.  Slightly scratchy, warmth from the earth, and the quiet 'pad, pad' of my feet.  My feet felt strong, my soles felt tough, but sensitive, the pavement seemed less scratchy than on previous runs.  It was liberating and fun.  As I ran through my front door, all I could say was 'lush', because that's exactly what it was.

I woke up this morning in a really good mood.  I'm definitely making progress, and I'm almost craving the feel of the ground on my feet. I think I'm turning a bit hippie!  Can't wait to go a bit further.  I might even be brave enough to hit the main road soon!

Proprioception

Now there's a big word.  Whenever you read about barefoot running, there's that word 'proprioception' like a beacon on the page.  Is it to add scientific value to the discussion?  Probably, but when I run outside without my shoes, I think of this word.

If you look it up in the dictionary, it means something like "the sense of how your own limbs are oriented in space" or "the body's ability to sense movement within joints and joint position".  I suppose it's about what your body feels like when you move it.

Advocates of barefoot running say that it's only when you have nothing on your feet that you can truly experience proprioception, and I'm sure I've read anecdotes that imply that it's addictive - once you've felt it properly, you feel that trainers 'muffle' all those sensations.

I think I'm starting to agree.  I'm no scientist and will not cite references for the above comments.  What I will say is that I've noticed that when I now run with trainers on, my feet seem to get hot, and I really notice the way that the soles of my feet slide up and down (only a tiny bit, but there none-the-less) inside my trainers.  My socks feel woolly when I wear them.  On my last two shod runs, I've actually taken off my trainers for the last 300 metres and run barefoot.  I've almost craved the sensation of the pavement on the soles of my feet.  And it feels nice - like having a foot scrub (not that I'd like a foot scrub really!).  Today, I was even able to feel the gaps in the block paving that makes up our road outside.

I'm still not fully body aware - I'm trying to relax and keep my cadence up.  The difference is in my feet at the moment - and I wonder if that will gradually extend up my body as I do more.

Speed it up

I haven't run barefoot for a week.  No reason, just haven't got round to it.  Yesterday, though, I had a limited amount of time to run, so I went out (in trainers) for a swift 3 miler.  After a mile or so, I decided to reset my lap timer and run all out for the next mile, just to see if I could get a sub 8 minute mile (something I've been toying with trying to do since October 2011).

When my mile lap peeped at me, I was amazed to see a time of 7 minutes 40 seconds.  Granted, it was a little downhill (about 50ft according to Garmin), but even so, I was very surprised.

Not quite trusting the Garmin, I went out again today with the sole intention of trying to repeat the fast mile, but on the flat.  I took a slightly different route, out for 1.6 miles and then set a new lap and pumped my legs.  It felt great to turn up the speed (well, apart from the splitting lungs and burning thighs!), but I really wanted to see if could hit another sub 8 on the flat.

My time came in at 7 mins 35 secs!  This is fab.  I haven't trained to go particularly fast - although I did do a series of short, fast runs over the Easter hols, but nothing at this pace.  In fact, I've rarely hit less 8 mins 30, so this difference seems quite amazing.

Could my barefoot 'drills' be the cause?  Has my technique improved as a result and given me the edge I've lacked ever since I started running?  Maybe, or maybe not, but the evidence definitely shows that my speed has improved.

For the last 400 metres or so on warming down, I took off my trainers and ran barefoot.  My feet felt great, the ground felt great, and I didn't even mind the two lads on their bikes laughing at me!  I love running :D

A trainer day

I was planning to only run barefoot this week, but the dire weather (torrential rain) and the fact that I have only run distances of 2 miles max over the last few weeks (in trainers) left me craving a longer run, and that meant trainers.

So I did just under 5 miles in my trainers with a 9 minute mile pace, and on the return leg I found myself wishing I could feel the wet tarmac beneath my feet.

When I got home, I took off my soggy trainers, and ran 0.4 mile in my bare feet.  The wet ground felt lovely and cool, but I was considerably slower than on some of my previous barefoot runs - only doing just under 14 min miles. I think this was because the heavy rain made it more difficult to see the ground clearly, and there seemed to be lots of debris - small stones, twigs, puddles and so on, so I was more careful.  In fact, I would say that it also felt less comfortable - which I think was because of the rain - it seemed more abrasive than when it's dry.

Anyway, only a couple of odd stares today.  Another runner who I see quite often, who usually smiles at me, but stared right down at the floor as she passed me as if to say 'I have no idea what you are doing, and I'm afraid to ask', and a van driver, who seemed to slow down as he passed me.  Or maybe I'm just paranoid!