About my barefoot running to an old friend

Preface: An old friend asked me about my barefoot running and I responded to him and thought the response would fit nicely here.

Here is a follow up on your question about me running barefoot.  I started running again back in 2002 or so and had quite a struggle. I was horribly out of shape and had smoked for a large portion of my adult life. I started small and was able to work up to 3 miles a few times a week and settled for that until I met a friend that had run 40+ marathons and talked me into training for one. As I started increasing miles, I started getting more and more injuries. Shin splints were so bad that I couldn’t even walk at times, Knee pain, plantar fasciitis, calf pain where the soleus connects to the bone, hip and back problems.  Basically I was a train wreck.

This breakdown would happen every year as I ramped up my mileage and every year I would reach a point that meant taking off a few months to recover right around marathon season. I had a few years where I could do a few 10 milers but that was all I could muster before the injuries started. Last year I had had enough. The 2009 season was awesome for me because I had worked my mileage to 18 miles when I was slammed with pain again and training was shut down. I went through tons of PT and the therapist started me on some barefoot exercises. A friend told me to try running barefoot about the same time. I was skeptical since I had tried it once before and ended up having massive calf pain.

I started out small since I was in the middle of injuries but I wanted to run and keep the cardio I had in hopes of catching a late season race. After a few weeks of runs ½ mile at a time I bumped up to a mile, then 2 then 3 and soon was running 5 miles. The pain moved from shin splints to calf pain so I had to really monitor that but as the calf muscles strengthened, I started getting better and as we headed into winter I was running 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week completely barefoot and many of those runs were on trails and asphalt. My arches are nice and solid now and everything seems to be well. I still have some ankle issues but I am working through them and getting stronger.

There are no guarantees that as I ramp up mileage in the 2010 season I won’t get injuries but there are many things I am changing. Running barefoot or at least minimal wear like Vibram Five Fingers is the goal along with lots of trail running mixed in with my street beatings. I’ll see how it goes.

As for barefoot and Plantar Fasciitis, I have met many people through various groups that swear they got over PF simply by slowly strengthening the foot with barefoot runs on grassy surfaces. Many College coaches are now doing barefoot training for athletes. I prefer not to run on grass. It seems every time I do I step on something that was left there. On the asphalt, sidewalks and trails, I seem to have better luck. Maybe you could try a few short runs a week just to start building up foot muscle and see how that works over time. Running barefoot isn’t for everyone but it seems to work well for me.

Maybe this summer I can get out that way and can go for a run and get a garlic burger and laugh about old times.

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1. Barefoot Brandon » Three days until the first race of the season! — March 11, 2010 @ 3:07 pm

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