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I've started barefoot running and I have to agree that it really helps you focus on running with proper form. People interested in running barefoot should defi

by bhousel 17y ago

I've started barefoot running and I have to agree that it really helps you focus on running with proper form. People interested in running barefoot should definitely start out slow and run somewhere safe, like a soccer field or park. If you decide you like it, I also recommend checking out the Vibram Five Fingers. I only just got a pair a few weeks ago, but so far I'm having lots of fun running in them, and they give your feet a bit more protection against debris.

chasingsparks 17y ago
I run in Vibram Five Fingers. BHousel is right on when he says start out slow. The first day I got them, I excitedly ran my usual w/ shoes length of time. I spent the next two weeks with calve muscles and ligaments so sore that I had trouble walking down any lightly sloping hills or escalators. That was three months ago. I now run exclusively in these shoes. I used to have knee problems; Now, no part of my legs ever are in pain during or after running. Mmm, anecdote.
- hyperbovine 17y ago
  Funny, I did the same thing. I was so thrilled with all the hype surrounding barefoot running that I did 7 barefoot miles (on pavement) the very afternoon I purchased my FiveFingers. Holy fuck that was a bad idea. Bear in mind I am a semi-serious runner who has no problem doing a long, slow 13-15 on any given day. I haven't had significant soreness from running since I started, back in high school. Well. That was before I ran for an hour on my tippy toes. I was partially disabled for a week. Same thing--calves felt like they got hit with a hand grenade, ligaments FUBARed, also some gnarly blisters on the soles of my feet (turns out asphalt is hot in the summer). In spite of this I definitely could see why it's better for you; heel striking is just not an option and you sort of prance instead of planting. OTOH I am among the lucky 20% who have never had a running injury because I tend to tread pretty lightly anyways. I think it's still possible to have a healthy stride in shoes, but going barefoot forces the issue: everything else hurts like a bitch. I have yet to try the anti-shoes out again. The buzz continues to crescendo so I probably will, but let this serve as a warning if you're thinking about trying it out: start slow on these, now matter how much of a badass you think you are.
- bhousel 17y ago
  Haha, yeah I think that's normal. It's hard to set aside that "I'm a little kid again and having fun" feeling that you get from running around barefoot or near barefoot. I paid more of a price for my first actual barefoot on a track a few months ago. One thing about that - your feet go a bit numb, so it's hard to tell if you're hurting yourself. I ran 2 miles easy and ended up with some blisters, but nothing too serious. (interesting note: Running with shoes, you tend to get blisters on the ends of your toes and can lose toenails. Running barefoot, you get them on the bottoms of your toes where callouses should be). Following that, I know to be much more careful, and have been slowly working barefoot runs into my weekly running. My first run in the Five Fingers was just an easy 3mi loop around my neighborhood (my normal runs are 6-10). I still ended up running way faster than I intended to (they are light after all), but luckily no muscle soreness or other problems. Like anything else, I think the key is to make little changes - this week I may do 4, next week 5, and so on. I'm kind of eager to try to race a fall 5k in them.
- gcheong 17y ago
  I'm going through this right now.
JaapSuter 17y ago
Another datapoint on the Vibram Five Fingers; I got a pair of them about four months ago, initially for running only. I quickly realized they were great for anywhere. They have been my regular day to day shoes for most of the summer. Now that it's raining more often I'm back to more regular type shoes. I still use them now and then though, and look forward to next summer.
msb 17y ago
That settles it, I am going to have to try the barefoot run this week. I have yet to come across a bad overall experience by anyone who has run barefoot or used the Five Fingers or the Nike Free. I wonder if returning to lightweight running shoes after a period of barefoot running would help to improve form at all. BTW - Light review and photo comparison of the Vibram and Nike here: http://skylertanner.com/2009/05/17/nike-free-vs-vibram-five-fingers-barefoot-supremacy/ http://skylertanner.com/2009/05/17/nike-free-vs-vibram-five-... for anyone interested.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- ApolloRising 17y ago
  I've been using the Nike Free 3 Series sneakers for the past 2 months or so and have noticed greatly reduced lower back pain. My feet were sore for about 2 weeks while I adjusted to the shoes but after that, I feel that they were a great purchase. They are much lighter than the average sneaker and every time I put on my dress shoes it feels like I have lead weights attached. The Vibram "shoes" would get a lot more attention but the Nike will get the job done. I should have bought more than 1 pair since they are incredibly hard to find now in certain sizes.
Torn 17y ago
I've had Five Finger Sprints for about a year now, and have been heavily evangelising them to my friends. Running barefoot really does feel liberating, especially going off-road through parks, fields and trails. It's like being a kid again and definitely bought the fun back into running for me. I can really hammer out the miles with them now, zero sore legs or calves. :) It took me about a month of a few runs per week (20-30 mins) to adjust -- so not long at all. One of the mistakes I made at the start was going too far, too fast: I tried to do my usual 1h+ runs straight away in the Vibrams and was pushing-off from the ground, concentrating on staying on the balls of my feet. Bad idea. Anyway, here's some tips from someone who has been through it: --------------------------------- - Relax, relax, relax. - Don't push off from the ground, rather, concentrate on lifting your thighs. - Don't aim to balance on the balls of your feet. You're not running on tip-toes, and that's going to put insane strain on your calves. Instead, get the general area of the top half of your foot to land first, almost flat-footed is fine. - Aim to tap the ground with your feet about 2-3 times a second, as if your feet are going in a circular motion, and passing by the ground. It's like you're incidentally propelling yourself along with gentle touches to the ground. - Keep hips relatively low, legs relaxed, leaning slightly forward. If your calves start to hurt, then relax more. - You will get sore calves as your feet and leg muscles get used to the new style of running. Stick with it, and don't overdo it.

by bhousel 17y ago

chasingsparks 17y ago

I run in Vibram Five Fingers. BHousel is right on when he says start out slow. The first day I got them, I excitedly ran my usual w/ shoes length of time. I spent the next two weeks with calve muscles and ligaments so sore that I had trouble walking down any lightly sloping hills or escalators. That was three months ago. I now run exclusively in these shoes. I used to have knee problems; Now, no part of my legs ever are in pain during or after running. Mmm, anecdote.

hyperbovine 17y ago
Funny, I did the same thing. I was so thrilled with all the hype surrounding barefoot running that I did 7 barefoot miles (on pavement) the very afternoon I purchased my FiveFingers. Holy fuck that was a bad idea. Bear in mind I am a semi-serious runner who has no problem doing a long, slow 13-15 on any given day. I haven't had significant soreness from running since I started, back in high school. Well. That was before I ran for an hour on my tippy toes. I was partially disabled for a week. Same thing--calves felt like they got hit with a hand grenade, ligaments FUBARed, also some gnarly blisters on the soles of my feet (turns out asphalt is hot in the summer). In spite of this I definitely could see why it's better for you; heel striking is just not an option and you sort of prance instead of planting. OTOH I am among the lucky 20% who have never had a running injury because I tend to tread pretty lightly anyways. I think it's still possible to have a healthy stride in shoes, but going barefoot forces the issue: everything else hurts like a bitch. I have yet to try the anti-shoes out again. The buzz continues to crescendo so I probably will, but let this serve as a warning if you're thinking about trying it out: start slow on these, now matter how much of a badass you think you are.
bhousel 17y ago
Haha, yeah I think that's normal. It's hard to set aside that "I'm a little kid again and having fun" feeling that you get from running around barefoot or near barefoot. I paid more of a price for my first actual barefoot on a track a few months ago. One thing about that - your feet go a bit numb, so it's hard to tell if you're hurting yourself. I ran 2 miles easy and ended up with some blisters, but nothing too serious. (interesting note: Running with shoes, you tend to get blisters on the ends of your toes and can lose toenails. Running barefoot, you get them on the bottoms of your toes where callouses should be). Following that, I know to be much more careful, and have been slowly working barefoot runs into my weekly running. My first run in the Five Fingers was just an easy 3mi loop around my neighborhood (my normal runs are 6-10). I still ended up running way faster than I intended to (they are light after all), but luckily no muscle soreness or other problems. Like anything else, I think the key is to make little changes - this week I may do 4, next week 5, and so on. I'm kind of eager to try to race a fall 5k in them.
gcheong 17y ago
I'm going through this right now.

JaapSuter 17y ago

Another datapoint on the Vibram Five Fingers; I got a pair of them about four months ago, initially for running only. I quickly realized they were great for anywhere. They have been my regular day to day shoes for most of the summer. Now that it's raining more often I'm back to more regular type shoes. I still use them now and then though, and look forward to next summer.

msb 17y ago

That settles it, I am going to have to try the barefoot run this week. I have yet to come across a bad overall experience by anyone who has run barefoot or used the Five Fingers or the Nike Free. I wonder if returning to lightweight running shoes after a period of barefoot running would help to improve form at all. BTW - Light review and photo comparison of the Vibram and Nike here: http://skylertanner.com/2009/05/17/nike-free-vs-vibram-five-fingers-barefoot-supremacy/ http://skylertanner.com/2009/05/17/nike-free-vs-vibram-five-... for anyone interested.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
ApolloRising 17y ago
I've been using the Nike Free 3 Series sneakers for the past 2 months or so and have noticed greatly reduced lower back pain. My feet were sore for about 2 weeks while I adjusted to the shoes but after that, I feel that they were a great purchase. They are much lighter than the average sneaker and every time I put on my dress shoes it feels like I have lead weights attached. The Vibram "shoes" would get a lot more attention but the Nike will get the job done. I should have bought more than 1 pair since they are incredibly hard to find now in certain sizes.

Torn 17y ago

I've had Five Finger Sprints for about a year now, and have been heavily evangelising them to my friends. Running barefoot really does feel liberating, especially going off-road through parks, fields and trails. It's like being a kid again and definitely bought the fun back into running for me. I can really hammer out the miles with them now, zero sore legs or calves. :) It took me about a month of a few runs per week (20-30 mins) to adjust -- so not long at all. One of the mistakes I made at the start was going too far, too fast: I tried to do my usual 1h+ runs straight away in the Vibrams and was pushing-off from the ground, concentrating on staying on the balls of my feet. Bad idea. Anyway, here's some tips from someone who has been through it: --------------------------------- - Relax, relax, relax. - Don't push off from the ground, rather, concentrate on lifting your thighs. - Don't aim to balance on the balls of your feet. You're not running on tip-toes, and that's going to put insane strain on your calves. Instead, get the general area of the top half of your foot to land first, almost flat-footed is fine. - Aim to tap the ground with your feet about 2-3 times a second, as if your feet are going in a circular motion, and passing by the ground. It's like you're incidentally propelling yourself along with gentle touches to the ground. - Keep hips relatively low, legs relaxed, leaning slightly forward. If your calves start to hurt, then relax more. - You will get sore calves as your feet and leg muscles get used to the new style of running. Stick with it, and don't overdo it.