I ran .8 miles on my treadmill tonight without shoes and it was a success. I am excited about hitting the road one night this week, sans shoes, ( I'll actually carry them and put them back on after a while) and see how far this barefoot thing takes me. I can tell you that the quick experience I had tonight leads me to believe that it is far less punishing on the body to run this way. You cannot heel strike and you will straighten up and run light without shoes on.
I am also reading the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall ( mentioned in the article below) and that will sell you on staying away from the current crop of running shoes, if anything will. I can tell you that I've run thousands of miles with tons of different shoes and I have the injuries to prove it, so I am going to give this a try.
Born to run: Barefoot? Minimalist training trend gaining popularity
By CARLOS FRIAS
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 6:40 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010
Posted: 4:37 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, 2010
In the running culture, it's always about the shoe.
Runners focus (read: obsess) on the next shoe coming out, the revolutionary padding technology, the construction to keep an ankle from rolling, how this-or-that innovation will keep you from turning your feet in or out when you run.
Grown men and women still ask of our running shoes what we asked of them when we were 6 years old: Will they make me faster?
No, the shoes won't do that.
A growing tide among the running community now acknowledges that it is indeed not about the shoe or costly technology. Matter of fact, it's about no shoes at all.
More runners are now training part time or running completely barefoot. Yes, as in, nothing but skin, muscles and fat between the sidewalk and that infinite number of bones in your feet.
But the concept has moved from the fringe to the forefront, especially after the explosion of Chris McDougall's New York Times bestselling book, Born to Run (Knopf, $24.95).
In it, he asks the basic question: Why do my feet hurt when I run? And he finds the answer in the Mexican Tarahumara Indians, who run hundreds of miles a day in bare feet or in homemade sandals just millimeters thick.
"People still think that it's about the shoes," said McDougall, a broken runner himself who found how to run again in nothing but bare feet or so-called minimalist shoes. "The important thing is to change your running form."
Born to Run tells the story of how humans evolved to run on bare feet over 2 million years, how running long distances may be the very reason we evolved from our apelike ancestors to outrun big game. He follows the story to this lost tribe in Mexico and offers an illuminating history of how the running shoe companies created a niche market for comfy padded shoes in the last 40 years alone - and built a nation of ailing runners.
Plus, he tells this story as a journalist and a runner. And I guess that's why it appealed to me. Ten years ago, I ran a 10K, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, got a crippling case of plantar fasciitis (pulled ligaments in sole of my foot) during the race, crossed the finish line hobbling and never ran again.
Until three months ago.
I received the book as a gift just as I'd decided to start running again. I have to admit, the concept of running barefoot not only scared me- "What about glass on the sidewalk? Not to mention dog poop!"- but somewhere I heard my Cuban mother wailing that she has failed as a parent. No, we're used to covering our feet at all times, especially when we run.
But I've spent the past few months speaking with some of the foremost authorities on barefoot running and incorporating it into my runs. And I realized from the very first time I took off my shoes that McDougall was on to something seismic.
The best way to experience it is just to do it. So, just take off your shoes, find a nice smooth (yes, hard) surface and just take off on a slow, short trot.
"You'll get instant feedback from your feet," McDougall said. "Pay attention to what feels comfortable. When it feels uncomfortable, tweak it."
That is, if it seems to hurt when you land on your heel (it should), run so you don't land on your heels. Instead of taking long, galloping strides, take shorter, power-packed steps where you land on your midfoot and the balls of your feet. If you pay attention, you'll notice your heels do graze the ground, but only after you've landed on the widest part of your foot, the forefoot.
"That's what barefoot running is all about, using your natural resources," McDougall said.
Some will argue that the human body wasn't meant to run on concrete sidewalks. And McDougall counters that there is no harder surface than the packed, hard earth of Africa, from where some of the best runners emerge, or in the Copper Canyons where the reclusive Tarahumara live.
Actually, the 1960 Olympic marathon winner, Ethiopia's, Abebe Bikila, ran the race barefoot, in two hours, 15 minutes, 16 seconds - a record at the time. He won it again four years later wearing racing flats from Puma, which sponsored him.
As it is, consensus research says that seven out of 10 runners are hurt every year, in the fancy running shoes, seriously enough that they need to quit running until they are healed.
HOW TO START RUNNING BAREFOOT
- Go slow to go fast. Running expert Mike Sandler stresses you must ease into barefoot running.
- Start by running only 200 meters on your first time out (about halfway around a high school track), running with shoes in hand like 'hand weights,' Sandler suggests. Then, put on your shoes and finish your regular run. Do this 2-3 times a week.
- Next time out, increase your distance in bare feet by 10 percent. That is, if you started with 200 meters, make it 220 meters the next time out.
- If you feel hot spots, or stinging on you feet, stop and put your shoes on.
- Stretch. Sandler suggests grabbing a golf ball with your toes and holding that for 30 seconds. Do that 2-3 times for each foot before going for your run.
- Warm up with a 5-10 minute walk.
ROOKIE MISTAKES
So you're tough, huh?
When you sail through those first 200 meters and your feet feel great, body feels light, and you're running faster than you ever have before (and you will). So you'll keep running.
Yeah, that's what I did. The next day I couldn't walk. But, being tough myself, I pushed through it and kept running. I ended up having to take two weeks off to recover from ankle pain.
Here are some rookie mistakes to avoid:
- Running too far. Running barefoot or in minimalist shoes means running on the front of your foot. So it's like doing 100 calf raises a minute.
- Running too fast: Your feet will feel fleet and you'll go out way too fast. You'll run out of steam and find yourself winded early on.
- Not wearing socks: If you decide on minimalist shoes like the Vibram FiveFingers, you may want to wear special 'toe socks.' Some people get blisters in these shoes if they are worn without socks. Try them without socks first, but if you feel hot spots cropping up, you may want to try Injinji socks ($12,www.injinji.com or search the site for a local retailer)
- Throwing away your old running shoes: You need to transition into barefoot running. Work into the Vibram FiveFingers or completely barefoot over the course of several weeks or months. Remember, you've been in cushy shoes your whole life. It takes time to strengthen your feet.
- Carlos Frias
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