The Plan
Back in February, after a year of limping around with knee pain, I decided to "start over" and reinvent myself as a runner.
I had a simple 5 part plan:
- Stop - Stop running races and hurting myself.
- Get Healthy - Fully Recover from the beat down I received in Uwharrie, as well as the catalog of lingering aches and pains from last year.
- Learn to Run - All over again, but this time barefoot. (Actual barefoot, not Barefoot®). Toss all of my cushy shoes that I have been hurting my knees with.
- Go Minimal - Once my legs and feet were strong enough, learn to run on trails in my Trail Gloves
- Train - for a trail half marathon
A reasonable amount of time to achieve all of these goals was about 12 months.
But after looking at the calendar, I decided to shorten it up a bit.
I thought, "Meh. 10 weeks should be enough."
Then I signed up to run the Trail Half Marathon in Pinckney, MI at the end of the 10 weeks.
Done!
The 10 weeks are up. How did I do?
Well, I gave it my best shot. I ditched the cushy shoes and only ran barefoot on pavement or on single track in the Trail Gloves.
But it turns out the reinvention schedule was just a tad aggressive, and my impatience awarded me just about every type if "-ITIS" one can have from the ankle down. I have become yet another TMTS(Too Much Too Soon) casualty of the minimalist movement.
In case it's not obvious, the "Done!" declaration is a joke. I have a long, long way to go.
Here are some stats:
10 Week Training Stats
| |
| Barefoot Miles | 55 |
| Merrell Trail Glove Miles | 120 |
| Bike Miles | Lots |
| Number of runs 2 miles or less |
75
|
| "Long" runs (12 miles) |
2
|
| Number of Races I Ran even Though I Shouldn't Have |
3
|
| Things that feel better |
Knees
|
| Things that feel worse |
Achilles, soleus,
calves, top of feet, bottom of feet, side of feet, toes |
| Times I stepped on something and said "ow" |
23
|
Here are my observations on barefoot and minimalist running, so far:
The Bad
- Building up strength and coordination in the lower legs and feet takes a long, long time.
- I have an old metatarsal injury (2008) that keeps getting re-aggravated.
- Running on rocky terrain is harder and takes much more energy and concentration.
- I cannot run as fast down rocky descents as I used to with cushioning.
- My running speed on pavement (barefoot) is currently much slower than it used to be.
- On single track, I am generally faster in the Trail Gloves than I was in the cushy shoes. I set a PR for the Umstead Figure8 course.
- Arthritic knees are much better than last year.
- Barefoot feels really good (most of the time). For someone running over 20+ years in shoes, it is a revelation.
Ready Or Not....
So despite a messed up left foot, last weekend I flew up to Michigan to run the Running Fit Trail Half Marathon. It would be my longest run since Uwharrie 3 months ago.
Race report to follow...
Oh, now you're making me want to go all barefoot and stuff.
ReplyDeleteDon't do it, Ash! Pretty soon, you'll be tossing all your shoes and doing RockFit!! (tm).
DeleteYeah, you know, be careful with that RockFit!!(tm) stuff. It was the day after the RockJumps!!(tm) video shoot when my achillecalfnkle started a-painin'.
DeleteI just typed "a-painin'."
DeleteYou are certainly a-painin'...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete+1 on the building strength. I've been at it 2+ years now and only recently have I felt that my feet were strong enough for longer and harder trail distances (Uwharrie was a big test for RunAmocs and my feet did fine). The metatarsal issue is trickier. That's not a question of strength if the met head is damaged. I have a damaged second met in my left foot.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the TG's rock! I'm still waiting on your review....
Ditto on the waiting for the Trail Glove review -- still.
DeleteTwo years really isn't that long, I'd be happy with that.
DeleteYeah, the meta thing is definitely a limiting factor. If I do too many miles in a week it feels like a marble stuck in my foot. But ever so slowly I am able to push that limit.
As for the TGs, I did a review already:
Deletehttp://www.running-down.com/2011/04/merrell-trail-glove-review.html
What, you want another one?
You promised, so yes, I would like another review. I pay top dollar to subscribe to this blog!
DeleteI can related to the marble thing. That's exactly the feeling I get when I engage in too much barefooterie. Sucks. I also have a 15 year old heel spur I like to complain about occasionally. Wait, this post was about *you*, right? Oh well, as I was saying, that heel spur hurts like hell when I step on a sharp rock...
dammit, I have to stop promising things. I'll try to do a review soon. My ideas for blog posts far exceed my ability to write them.
DeleteOnce you figure out speed without shoes, your mind will be blown.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for keeping us all in the dark, by the way. I've been waiting for this race report all week.
You remind me of myself. A year ago I followed similar path, but got hurt. Once I was healed, I started back more conservatively, in a 4mm drop shoe. The good news is that my form had already been improved substantially, thanks to my time spent bare foot. Now I am working in zero drop shoes to the repertoire and really, really loving my new form. It has been an incredible transformation!
ReplyDeleteYay, to Barefoot. But go slow. GO. SLOW. Build one layer at a time. One little teeny tiny strand of ligament, one little teeny tiny strand of tendon, and one little teeny tiny muscle fiber at a time. It will be stronger in the end that way.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fresca! Yes, I agree, and I am taking it very easy barefoot. Since it is so new to me, I have no pressure to go fast. If it is only 1 mile at a 12 minute pace, I don't care, because it feels so good.
DeleteBut the same advice applies to minimal shoes as well, and this is where I fail. All of my aches and pains are from running too fast in the Trail Gloves.
Your observations about yourself; the pains, misfortunes, anxiety, and goals. What a great post. I hope you run smooth and finish laughing.
ReplyDeleteHarold, you are a wise man and a poet. "Run smooth and finish laughing" is all the advice any runner needs. It will be my new mantra.
DeleteThanks!
Failure to deliver on the promised Trail Glove (Wide Edition) Review aside, I sympathize with you on those "things that feel worse". You may already be thinking this, too: But, I've noticed through internet searchings that my similar foot pains, especially with regard to tendons, are predominantly due to weak calf muscles. Strengthening calf muscles makes those pains go away. Tired, weakened calf muscles makes them return. Might be something. Might be nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe medical-type sites that always show up in search results first do not explain it this way. They don't tell you to make your calf muscles stronger when your plantar fascia band acts up or that peroneal tendon gets sore. They just tell you to lay off what you are obviously doing to much of and stretch a little bit. So, I just thought I'd share.
I am in no way a medical professional whose advise should be taken with anything close to a grain of salt.
Ding ding ding ding! I, with the same lack of medical expertise you have, agree. I would add that there's a difference between tired and weak calf (or any) muscles: weakness requires exercise and rest, tiredness requires rest. It can be hard to know which is which, unfortunately.
Delete