A Dose of Health

Admittedly I’m early in the running barefoot game, but I’ve got to say that running in my water shoes is a pleasure.

After the initial shock to the system of using foot and lower leg muscles that have been dormant for quite some time, my body seems to be adapting nicely to the change; no shin splints, no knee pain, no hip pain. I’m enjoying it so much that I’ve decided to take running a wee bit more seriously and train for a 5K.

I know that a 5K is just a trot to the bathroom for experienced runners, but for beginners like me, making a statement about running a 5K is a big thing. To top it off, I’m going to do it barefoot (well, not really barefoot, but in my water shoes).

Why the Decision to Run a 5K

There are two reasons why I decided to do run a 5K.

1. My knees don’t hurt when I run
2. To promote barefoot running

A Small Digression

The other day I was talking to an experienced runner about running style and speed. He mentioned that after a recent race, a runner who finished quite a distance in front of him offered a bit of advice. His advice was “get off of your heels.” Well, he didn’t really say get off of your heels. What he did say is you spend too much time on your heels when you run and it slows you down.

That story, in my opinion, gave credence to barefoot running. When running barefoot or in minimal support, the body naturally switches up from the heel toe running stride to a forefoot toe running stride. The heel is bypassed. The body does this instinctively. After all, it only takes a couple of yards of slamming your unsupported heel into the pavement before you realize the forefoot is a much softer more cushioned landing.

The soft landing on the forefoot takes the heel out of the equation and speeds up the run.

End of Digression

Because I’m no spring chicken, I’m taking this 5K training thing slowly (not to give away my age, but I remember when you could get on the subway without a MetroCard and the token was 20 cents). My mature bones, muscles and tendons don’t like shocks, so I’m adding mileage slowly.

At the rate that I’m going, I should be ready for my barefoot 5K by the end of July or beginning of August. Just to play it safe, I’ll wait until September when the weather is cooler. In the meanwhile, I’ll keep running in my water shoes and walking in my running shoes (the extra heel cushion in the running sneakers come in hand with the heel toe action of walking).

Okay, I didn’t listen to the experts and start ‘real’ slow with this barefoot running stuff. I thought I was going slow with running/walking two miles. While I felt great the day I ran/walked I realized the next day that I had nudged a few muscles that I had not used in a while. It wasn’t until two days later that I realized how much of a nudge I had given those sleeping muscles.

Muscle Discovery

Being awaken at 1:00 am by the low battery sound on my cell phone, I got out of bed only to wonder, “What the heck have I done to my lower leg muscles?” Not an expert in anatomy let me see if I can describe the muscles that were annoyed with me. I think I annoyed my peroneus longus and peroneus brevis. I also think I annoyed my soleous a bit too.

Wow, what a jolt at 1:00 am. I shut off my phone and went back to bed. I’ll deal with the pain when I wake up later.

Not too Bad

The pain isn’t really too bad. I realize that by running without the support of traditional running sneakers, I engaged muscles that have been long dormant. Rather than aggravate them any further, I decided to stretch them and rest them until they weren’t angry with me anymore (at my age it took about 4 days before they stopped hissing at me).

I love the fact of knowing that I’m actually developing different muscles that will help me in the long run with my new running habits. It’s just that its a little painful at first. Oh well, a small price to pay.

It’s been a few days and now I’m back at it again; so far so good.

Okay, it’s not a revolution, but folks are running barefoot. They have found that tossing their shoes out have helped them run with fewer injuries. I’m not talking about Kenyans, Tarahumaras or any other culture where running barefoot was a way of life, I’m talking about Brits, Yanks and other countries who bought into the Nike, Adidas, Asics and other brands of running sneaker marketing campaigns.

If you’ve had a chance to read one of my other running posts (there are few), my muscle pain caused me to do some research before purchasing new running sneakers. After performing my research, I realized that my problem just might be my running sneakers. The continual heel toe running method of running is a recipe for injury. Yes, high tech sneakers serve to cushion and soften the impact of the heel hitting the ground, but it seems that it’s not enough. Runners need to pick up the pace and get off of the heel.

A Little Experiment

I’ve read the studies and have spent years wearing traditional running sneakers. Although I’m not an avid runner, I have run a few miles in my lifetime and I know how my knees, hips, shins have responded (they get angry over a period of time). If tossing the sneakers away can prevent such injuries why not give it a try?

What do I really have to lose in running barefoot? Well, not really totally barefoot. I’ve decided to go minimal. I want just a bit of protection between my foot and the ground so I decided to purchase a few pairs of water socks/shoes.

Amazon sells them for $14.99 but I was able to get a few pairs on a sale at Dicks Sporting Goods for $9.99. They don’t provide any foot support but they offer some protection from pebbles, small rocks and glass. After I read how one runner was able to put 1000 km (621 miles) on one pair of water shoes, I decided I truly have nothing to lose.

Starting Slow

Everything I’ve read about running barefoot is to start slow. There are a number of reasons for doing a little at a time. First of all it takes some getting used to. I found that running in water shoes automatically changed my running gait from running heel toe to running on the forefoot (not quite on the balls of my foot or on the toes). Running on the forefoot caused me to run a little faster (or so it seemed). I’m not a very fast runner, but it seemed that my pace picked up just a bit.

It’s not difficult for me to start slow because I’m only doing about 2 miles every other day right now. So, integrating minimal support running wasn’t so hard. I ran some and walked some just to get used to the new feel. After my run, I realized that I had engaged different muscles running “barefoot” than I did when running in sneakers. The muscles weren’t angry. They just wanted to let me know that I had discovered them and woke them up.

I’ll continue to run/walk 2 miles every other day for a few weeks until it becomes comfortable to run the two miles without event. As my chiropractor says, health and exercise is a lifelong commitment. I don’t have to go from 0 to 60 in one day.

In the meanwhile I’m working on strength/stretching exercises to help ease the transition from wearing sneakers.

For more information on barefoot running, check out these sites:

• Barefoot Running University
• The Running Barefoot
• Science Daily: Running Shoes May Cause Damage to Knees, Hips and Ankles, New Study Suggests