It's a very slow process - two steps forward, one step back - but I'm inching in the right direction. - Rob Reiner

November 14, 2011

Barefoot by Nature??

So, as most of you who follow my blog know – I’ve been pretty unlucky in the injury arena.  I’ve had my fair share of injuries, as I know many of you have as well.  Injuries tend to make us branch out and try new things.  I am pretty willing to try just about anything at this point to see if I can improve my current situation and make sure I get to Disney for my marathon in January

Last week I had ART (active release therapy) done twice.  I also had a wonderful/painful massage on Friday.  I go to a VERY good massage therapist.  I asked her to work on my hip and she did.  I was literally bruised within an hour of the massage with about 15 bright red bruises around the top of my left hip, and a few more on the right.  I should note that I bruise pretty easily.  She spent 30 full minutes on just the hip, hip flexors, and psoas muscle.  During my run on Saturday I had very little pain in my hips and it was so wonderful.  By Sunday, the pain was back, but not quite as intense.  I am seeing some improvement.  I was encouraged by the fact that some of the things I am doing are beginning to help.

I have also started reading the book Born to Run – which is awesome by the way.  It’s not at all what I expected.  It’s a lot of really exciting running stories kind of pieced together.  I’m a little further than half way through the book, and I know at some point that talk more in depth about minimalist/barefoot running, but they have barely touched on it at this point.  However, that said I have been doing a little reading and thinking of my own about the whole minimalist thing. 

My husband Jim very adamantly thinks the minimalist running thing is a fad, and maybe it is.  I guess only time will tell if it is a fad that goes away in a few years, or if it is a fad that keeps going and becomes more of a movement.  Do I think that all running shoe companies have gotten on board to make sure they don’t get lost in the dust – yes I do, but is there something to the whole concept?  I don’t know.  I know I ordered my first pair of minimalist shoes this weekend – the new Brooks Pure Cadence.  I tried them on at Dick’s and they felt AWESOME.  Instantly AWESOME.  I figure even if I don’t like them for running, I think they are super cute and will be a great addition to my shoe collection if nothing else.


Brooks Pure Cadence - a minimalist stability shoe


Anyway, this morning – just for an experiment I decided to try barefoot running.  I only had a 3 mile recovery run on the schedule so it would be the perfect time to try.  I decided to run the first mile in my shoes to warm-up – which I did and my hip was hurting pretty good this morning.  After the first mile, I took my shoes off and ran in just my socks (while carrying one shoe in each hand – I’m sure I looked a little ridiculous).  I decided to see if I could run a half mile….I didn’t want to do anything too crazy to start out.  I ran a half mile just fine and you know what I felt GREAT.  Within 2 strides I had zero pain in my hip – ZERO!!  I’m serious.  It was not what I expected at all.  I figured without the cushion of the shoe my hip pain would be worse.  I thought well it might help my form in the long run, but it’s going to hurt bad, but it didn’t.  Maybe it was all in my head.  After a half mile I put my shoes back on and ran another half mile – my hip was hurting again.  Then I decided to try another half mile barefoot again.  Same response – no pain in my hip.  I ran the last half mile with shoes on – pain in the hip again.

So am I a barefoot runner convert?  No.  It was however a great experiment.  I seriously can’t wait to get my new shoes though and see how they impact the pain level.  Like I said, I’m willing to try new things at this point.  Isn’t that what the endurance world is really all about?  There are so many different things out there – different ways to eat – Paleo, Vegetarian, Raw foods, etc.  Many of us are Garmin addicts, but some never even wear a watch.  I think you keep experimenting until you find what works for you.  And what works for you may not work for someone else and that’s ok. 

28 comments:

  1. Good luck! I hope the experiment works for ya!

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  2. This is so cool....last night we (me and my sibs) decided to test out our "true" running gait on the tready and go barefoot it was so interesting to see how our feet hit the tread. I liked it a lot better

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  3. I definitely believe there is something behind the science of barefoot running, but I think it is only healthy and beneficial when running on a soft ie grassy surface. We were developed to run without shoes, but not on pavement. Therefore running on pavement requires some kind of footwear. I'm excited to see your review of your new kicks, I have frees and vibrams, but I tend to stay on the safe side and run in my neutral shoes.

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  4. It is all trial and error. You can read everything you want but it comes down to how does YOUR body respond. What works for you.

    I wear minimalist shoes to run and just ran 20 miles in the Brooks T7. I figured I would only wear this for a half-mary but then decided to see if I could go longer and I did and it felt good.

    Keep figuring it out.

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  5. Hey, whatever works for YOU is the right thing to do! We are all different! Good luck :-)

    BTW, my husband is with Jim & won't even consider changing...he has has been wearing the same style of shoe for at least 17 or 18 years.

    Personally, I'm considering drinking the Newton koolaid in the near future ;)

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  6. I absolutely love that you are willing to try new things to find what works for you. You are just great and I hope this works for you. When you get the shoes make sure you ease into them. Don't start doing high mileage in them because they will work different muscles and it will take your body time to adjust.

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  7. No. Way! So awesome that you discovered a pain-free "alternative"! Wearing shoes is, obviously, best for not killing your feet on rocks and stuff, but hey... if your hips don't hurt, that's amazing!

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  8. So with you on doing what will help with the pain. I have hamstring and buttock pain when I run in my Saucony Ride 3, but when I run in vff I dont have that pain. I'm working on getting back into my vff's. But I was having some ankle issues with the vff's not sure if it is my form or what. I was training for a marathon so couldnt chance having any issues with my ankle and not be able to run the marathon. Glad you are finding something that works for you. It hard to go out of our comfort zone and be different than what people think we should be like. Go Michael

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  9. That's SO cool, Michael! I really do think that we each have to figure out what works best for our bodies... there just isn't a "one size fits all" solution for sports-related injuries. Don't give up! I'm sure you can figure out something that will enable you to compete injury-free. (and then you can share your "secret" with me! LOL!)

    I'm excited... I go see the dr tomorrow for my 2week post-op appointment and I am hopeful that he'll release me to start swimming again! I am SO ready to go again!

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  10. Love the new shoes. I've had my eye on that exact pair the day Brooks announced their pure project!

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  11. Good luck!!! Definitely keep us posted!!

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  12. Do you have the correct shoes to run in now?

    My own personal research, I competed in a barefoot sport the whole time growing up and into my teens. I can wear any shoe-running or casual-and be perfectly fine. Never have had any plantar or any other foot issue!

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  13. That's great that running barefoot was pain free! You were also smart and did short intervals. The first time I tried I did a whole 3 miles. My calf muscles were sore for days, but not my feet or my joints. I now run in Nike Free shoes. My husband runs in Vibram FiveFingers. I think running in minimalist shoes does help you to improve your running form.

    Here is a helpful resource: http://barefootrunninguniversity.com/

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  14. Also, this is a recent article by Christohper McDougall on running form. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/magazine/running-christopher-mcdougall.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

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  15. See!! I knew you would love it!! I miss it pretty bad. I've run a couple times in the Vibrams since the marathon and am loving it. I'm glad your hip pain went away!!

    I'm ready to buy a new pair of shoes so I'm gonna give those you just bought a try. I was thinking about going back to Mizuno's since those were the ones I use to wear before ITB set in.

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  16. Wow! That's pretty awesome that there wasn't any pain. Injuries such, especially hip and knee. My advice (because I'm such an expert at dealing with dang injuries ;) is to STRETCH like crazy. and of course, get some new shoes!

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  17. OHH those are cute! I just recently went with the Saucony Kinvara's and love them..well the little I've actually gotten to run in them. I'm hoping that as I heal from my @$$ issue they will be the shoe for me.

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  18. I hope this works out for you, those shoes look really nice!

    I agree with Jason this is a trial and error project..took 3 different shoes for me to find one that works

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  19. What you said is so true- we're all different and our needs are different. But when you're having injury issues it's good to ask around and see what worked for other people and give it a go. It's be interesting to see if there's much change in your gait when you go bare foot.

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  20. Those shoes are cute!!...and I say go with what works for YOU.

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  21. I used to do some barefoot running when we lived near the athletic fields at CU. I loved it too, but I never have seen it as something I'd do for long runs that might involve pavement. I do want some minimalist shoes, though.

    And I LOVE Born to Run. Some parts of it are just laugh out loud funny.

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  22. I love the shoes! I got a pair a month (or so) ago and love them. I added neon green laces though, I recommend it.

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  23. Well, you know my thoughts on it--it's awesome! A few things to keep in mind: Keep the amount of BF to a really small amount for now. Spend time just walking around BF as much as possible to help strengthen your feet. It's much more about foot muscle strength than the toughness of the bottoms of your feet that you need. Also, do the BF portion first--this will help your body remember how to run properly when you put your shoes back on. Email me if you have any specific questions! Also check out the Natural Running Center web site for tons of info.

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  24. "what works for you may not work for someone else" that is a huge fact!!
    So I recommend to you to try put the
    minimalist stability shoe. It could fix your hip probs.

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  25. definitely love the shoes! good luck with your experiment! i hope you can find something that will work for your hip!

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  26. Cool discovery. Maybe you should be a barefoot runner. You know what they say, "If the shoe fits...", er, doesn't fit, as the case may be.

    I wouldn't try barefoot running outside, but I think I would on a treadmill.

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  27. I have always wanted to try running in minimalist shoes, but I always wuss out. I'm afraid it will hurt my feet for some reason (as in hurt while I run, not injure). I have weird hangups. I did love Born to Run, though and I found this post very interesting!

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  28. I keep hearing more and more people convert to the barefoot running. I have not been completely won over yet, but I've had my share of aches and pains, so it's only a matter of time! :-)

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