Into (mostly) Barefoot Running

Since my first half marathon back in late October 2012, I felt I needed to make some major changes if I wanted to run better. First was to my change of shoes. I had begun running in a regular pair of sneakers, which caused me unbearable knee pain. I figured this was partially due to being a soccer player and having sustained knee injuries over the years (kicks, twists, nothing that major). So I switched to a pair of NB Minimus. I loved these shoes! Except as I gradually increased my miles, I noticed horrible pain developing on the side and bottom of each foot. I figured this was the feared Plantar Fasciitis...but never actually went to the doc to get it checked out.

So with self-diagnosis accepted, I proceeded to massage, roll out, and do all sorts of foot strengthening exercises (toe curls, towel grabs), which helped to alleviate some of the pain. But then I'd be on a run and it would be back within a mile or two. So more reading, including the now-famous Born to Run, and I decided to start doing some barefoot running on the grass. Not only did my feet feel These short runs in the grass equalled no pain! So immediately after my October half marathon, which included a fair amount of foot pain, I immediately switched to trying out a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, the Treksport style.

Within one week I was transformed as a runner! The foot pain I had experienced completely disappeared, which convinced me that the NB shoes were the culprit, especially given that they featured a heavy rubber strap across the top width of the foot, which must have been restricting my foot from expanding fully as it hit the ground. All the stuff out there about taking it easy is absolutely right though. Over the first two week in the VFF I did small walks and slow short jogs, nothing over 2 miles, but even a two miles run left my calves burning and the balls of my feet little devilish hotspots. Some improvement, right? But at least my feet didn't hurt, and I figured that at least these barefoot shoes were supposed to strengthen feet over time. I just had to wait it out.

Patience is not a virtue of beginning runners though. The first 'long' run I did at the end of 3 1/2 weeks was only 6 miles, but it was one of the toughest 6 miles I'd ever done. I ended up shuffling through the last 2 miles with semi-cramped calves. And after each successively longer distance in the VFF my calves would scream at me, and it would only be painful self-massage and ice baths that prompted muscle recovery. Eventually though, once I could take on a 9 mile run, my feet and calves suddenly were a non-issue! This entire process took about 6 weeks, with me only running in VFF and walking in them as much as possible during the day. Now my feet are spoiled - I can't seem to find a pair of regular sneakers that fit quite as comfortably as my VFF, and I'm not sure I want to either.