Between these entries I have been running with shoes and vibrams as well as cross training. The eventual goal being to run without shoes exclusively. Here are all my barefoot runs to date and any complications due to them.
Sept 19th - Ran one mile on chip seal pavement. Ran one mile on grass. Bottom of feet were very sensitive and I had trouble relaxing my legs. No ill effects the next day.
Sept 23rd - 2 miles on chip seal / concrete sidewalk. No ill effects.
Sept 26th - 3 miles on chip seal. No ill effects
Sept 30th - 5 miles on chip seal. Raining very hard. Initially the wet ground made my feet more sensitive but it had no extra effects. Ran across a stretch of crushed acorns that were fairly painful. Left ankle very stiff after run. I am beginning to notice the more I relax the more my body gets looser during and after the run. My hips and lower back have loosened a great deal which is allowing my feet to strike midfoot with less concentration. Feet definitely sore the next day and some of the acorns cut up my feet.
Oct 3rd - Ran 6 miles. On concrete sidewalks and chip seal. It was along the ocean so there was many pebbles and much sand spread over the route. Feet had some hot spots at the end but no ill effects the next day.
Oct 6th - Ran 1 fast barefoot mile and several after with my Vibram's. Just wanted to see what the increased pace would feel like / do to me. Faster was a lot harder to stay in proper form/relax. Think I need more time to strengthen my feet and ankles before I can run at faster paces. Feet a little sore the next day but No blistering.
Oct 7th - Attempted 6 miles barefoot on chip seal and concrete sidewalks. My feet were tender at the start due to yesterday's experiment. Had to stop at 4 miles and walk 2 miles home. Bad day. Very sore despite attempting to relax. Chalk it up to too much two days in a row. No blisters the next day but feet fairly sore, particularly my left foot. My hips have loosened to the point that the are swiveling front to back now which is allowing my left foot to land less on the outside of my soul and more evenly. So I think these new areas seem tender because they have not been used in a verrrry long time.
Well, there it is - my first couple weeks. I plan on taking a break (barefoot) until Oct 12th when I am going to barefoot my first 5K.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Age of Enlightenment
In August of 2008 I decided to try going to see a chiropractor. I have had some success with seeing a chiropractor several years earlier. It wasn't a huge surprise when he told me I was a mess. I could see where my spine was twisted in two places on the x-ray. This was causing my hips to twist - one forward and one back in my bodies attempt to keep pressure off my back. My body was so tight I never felt comfortable in any position.
I wish I could say that he made one adjustment and I felt 100% but that is not what happened. After the first adjustment i did feel a lot of pressure release in my spine and neck but the muscle tightness diminished only slightly. I began to realize that in addition to adjustments I needed to seek out ways to release the tension in my body. You see, I was the one controlling these muscles but I couldn't figure where the off button was. I was so used to feeling the back pain that I had twisted my body and it did not want to go back.
I have some experience with yoga and I have also read about chi running while I was injured. So I felt that yoga might loosen me up now that my spine was straighter where as before I believe I was just twisting myself more. In addition I thought the gentleness of chi running would keep me from tensing up my body daily but still allow me to begin running again. This two prong approach led me back to the barefoot running of my youth. Slowly through the breathing concepts introduced to me during my yoga practice I was able to release the tension in my body and started to untwist the muscles (a painful and annoying process). In conjunction with the yoga I dove into the chi running form as much as my body would allow during its varying stages of improvement.
I realized for years now I have been trying to power and hold my body with my backside rather than my core and gravity. No wonder my muscles were so tight. In this era of couches, computers, and cubicles we move our bodies in a way that weakens our core and tightens/shortens the muscles that are behind us. I needed an awakening and it came through the yoga and using the principles of the chi running form. Each day I found myself drawing into my core and loosening the rest of my body. My hips were coming loose, back did not hurt, muscles were lengthening, and I just felt like I was getting younger instead of older.
Problem. During my yoga practice it was apparent that while the rest of my body was strong, my feet and ankles were very weak and lacked flexibility. How did this happen? I can remember in my youth how people marveled (actually they acted as if I was a freak but I prefer to remember differently) at how I would go barefoot everywhere all the time on any surface for hours.
Wait......in my youth I went barefoot.....there was some connections being made in my brain through this realization that was blowing my mind. I remembered reading somewhere that the chi running form had similar characteristics to the form your body will take on naturally when you attempt barefooting. Chi, Breathing, Relaxing, Core, Lengthening, Midfoot, Gravity, and Youth. Yes I had come to a conclusion and it was that barefooting would bring me closer to what I was looking for. Well maybe I mean reintroducing barefooting would bring me where I wanted to go. The loose, relaxed, easy, playful stride that comes naturally with no shoes when you are a kid.
So just like that I took off my shoes and tried to run. I wish I could tell you my stride was a thing of beauty but I would be fibbing. It was choppy, too short, rigid, and my feet hurt! Maybe I should not have started on pavement (not the smooth kind either). O.K I said to myself, you need to relax and let your core and gravity do the work. You know what happened, it worked. The looser my I could allow my body to get the better it felt (except the bottom of my feet got tender fairly quick). Barefooting forces you body to use the principles of chi running naturally. Well, my first attempt only lasted for a mile before I thought about the rule of gradual increases we all should adhere to but almost never do. So I stopped, put my shoes back on and kept running.
A barefoot runner was reborn that day. Was I enlightened or is the age of enlightenment just beginning? If you are an aspiring barefooter looking for somewhere to start or just curious about the weird guy with no shoes - keep reading. I have decided to share with you my trials as I attempt the complete transformation into a barefooter. Welcome to thebarefootproject!
I wish I could say that he made one adjustment and I felt 100% but that is not what happened. After the first adjustment i did feel a lot of pressure release in my spine and neck but the muscle tightness diminished only slightly. I began to realize that in addition to adjustments I needed to seek out ways to release the tension in my body. You see, I was the one controlling these muscles but I couldn't figure where the off button was. I was so used to feeling the back pain that I had twisted my body and it did not want to go back.
I have some experience with yoga and I have also read about chi running while I was injured. So I felt that yoga might loosen me up now that my spine was straighter where as before I believe I was just twisting myself more. In addition I thought the gentleness of chi running would keep me from tensing up my body daily but still allow me to begin running again. This two prong approach led me back to the barefoot running of my youth. Slowly through the breathing concepts introduced to me during my yoga practice I was able to release the tension in my body and started to untwist the muscles (a painful and annoying process). In conjunction with the yoga I dove into the chi running form as much as my body would allow during its varying stages of improvement.
I realized for years now I have been trying to power and hold my body with my backside rather than my core and gravity. No wonder my muscles were so tight. In this era of couches, computers, and cubicles we move our bodies in a way that weakens our core and tightens/shortens the muscles that are behind us. I needed an awakening and it came through the yoga and using the principles of the chi running form. Each day I found myself drawing into my core and loosening the rest of my body. My hips were coming loose, back did not hurt, muscles were lengthening, and I just felt like I was getting younger instead of older.
Problem. During my yoga practice it was apparent that while the rest of my body was strong, my feet and ankles were very weak and lacked flexibility. How did this happen? I can remember in my youth how people marveled (actually they acted as if I was a freak but I prefer to remember differently) at how I would go barefoot everywhere all the time on any surface for hours.
Wait......in my youth I went barefoot.....there was some connections being made in my brain through this realization that was blowing my mind. I remembered reading somewhere that the chi running form had similar characteristics to the form your body will take on naturally when you attempt barefooting. Chi, Breathing, Relaxing, Core, Lengthening, Midfoot, Gravity, and Youth. Yes I had come to a conclusion and it was that barefooting would bring me closer to what I was looking for. Well maybe I mean reintroducing barefooting would bring me where I wanted to go. The loose, relaxed, easy, playful stride that comes naturally with no shoes when you are a kid.
So just like that I took off my shoes and tried to run. I wish I could tell you my stride was a thing of beauty but I would be fibbing. It was choppy, too short, rigid, and my feet hurt! Maybe I should not have started on pavement (not the smooth kind either). O.K I said to myself, you need to relax and let your core and gravity do the work. You know what happened, it worked. The looser my I could allow my body to get the better it felt (except the bottom of my feet got tender fairly quick). Barefooting forces you body to use the principles of chi running naturally. Well, my first attempt only lasted for a mile before I thought about the rule of gradual increases we all should adhere to but almost never do. So I stopped, put my shoes back on and kept running.
A barefoot runner was reborn that day. Was I enlightened or is the age of enlightenment just beginning? If you are an aspiring barefooter looking for somewhere to start or just curious about the weird guy with no shoes - keep reading. I have decided to share with you my trials as I attempt the complete transformation into a barefooter. Welcome to thebarefootproject!
The Age of Injury
Here is a chronicled history of all the different strategies I adopted during the period between Jan 2007 - Aug 2008, also known as the self proclaimed "age of injury".
Jan 2007 - Rest. I took about a week off from running and other exercises since I could barely walk or pick up anything.
Feb2007 - Tried to slowly work into running. Very painful in my lower back, legs and hips.
March 2007 - August 2007 - Began an aggressive stretching and strengthening program while continuing to run limited volume (less than 15 miles per week verrrry slowly). No progress.
August 2007 - Went to see a doctor of orthopedic medicine who was mystified by my ailments. told me nothing was wrong with my knee and he thought I could have a herniated disc. Did not go back or get a second opinion since I did not have insurance at the time.
August 2007 -November 2007 - Started a yoga practice. Continued to stretch. Stopped Strengthening while continuing to run limited volume. Regression with increased back pain and a further twisting of my hips causing knee pain in my left leg.
December 2007 - Stopped all activity due to extreme back pain and Quasimodo's walk/run gait.
Jan 2008 - April 2008 - My back pain went away from the rest so I slowly incorporated limited jogging with a stretching/strengthening routine. Adding in pilates/yoga in March/April my back condition came back with a vengeance and my knees and hips continued to pester me.
April 2008 - July 2008 - Stopped all activity with the exception of walking. Depression began to creep in and even though the pain in my back dissipated, the pains in my hips and left knee stayed.
In August I finally decided that I needed help and it would require me to spend some hard earned cash to find the right answers. The first place I looked was my local chiropractor. I had seen a chiropractor several years earlier in a different area with some success so I figured it was a good start. This is where the age of injury ends and the age of enlightenment begins.
Jan 2007 - Rest. I took about a week off from running and other exercises since I could barely walk or pick up anything.
Feb2007 - Tried to slowly work into running. Very painful in my lower back, legs and hips.
March 2007 - August 2007 - Began an aggressive stretching and strengthening program while continuing to run limited volume (less than 15 miles per week verrrry slowly). No progress.
August 2007 - Went to see a doctor of orthopedic medicine who was mystified by my ailments. told me nothing was wrong with my knee and he thought I could have a herniated disc. Did not go back or get a second opinion since I did not have insurance at the time.
August 2007 -November 2007 - Started a yoga practice. Continued to stretch. Stopped Strengthening while continuing to run limited volume. Regression with increased back pain and a further twisting of my hips causing knee pain in my left leg.
December 2007 - Stopped all activity due to extreme back pain and Quasimodo's walk/run gait.
Jan 2008 - April 2008 - My back pain went away from the rest so I slowly incorporated limited jogging with a stretching/strengthening routine. Adding in pilates/yoga in March/April my back condition came back with a vengeance and my knees and hips continued to pester me.
April 2008 - July 2008 - Stopped all activity with the exception of walking. Depression began to creep in and even though the pain in my back dissipated, the pains in my hips and left knee stayed.
In August I finally decided that I needed help and it would require me to spend some hard earned cash to find the right answers. The first place I looked was my local chiropractor. I had seen a chiropractor several years earlier in a different area with some success so I figured it was a good start. This is where the age of injury ends and the age of enlightenment begins.
A brief history
For the past two years I have struggled not only with my running but also with my health as my body was continuously injured. Many times I felt that I would have to give up my passion for running and really any type of exercise to include fast walking. Dating back to the summer of 2005 I can pinpoint several injuries and sub sequential changes in running style due to those injuries. To understand where I am going with this barefoot project I must cover where I have been. Here is a timeline that briefly shows my experiences as a runner to include highlights, injuries, and gait changes.
1975-born
1989-began to run on a regular basis. I ran cross country through high school and ran several road races every year. My stride was light and compact, a midfoot striker with good posture. I credit this to being barefoot the majority of my adolescence.
1993-started to run longer distances to prepare for my first marathon (Burlington Vt.) at 17 years old. Training was of course inadequate but I did manage to finish before the clock hit four hours. Boy was i sore. I think my first real experience with how changing your gait can destroy your body.
1998-several years of training for shorter races with some degree of success have gone by without the urge to revisit a marathon until 98'. Trained for a finished the Marine Corps Marathon in roughly 3:36 (can't remember exactly). This one did not hurt all that much due to the higher volume of training which allowed me to hold my naturally good form for most of the race.
2004-Beginning to dabble into mountain and trail running and that leads to another marathon finish in Bristol NH (3:45?). My stride begins to change I believe heel striking more. Possibly due to a number of factors including mountain running, tighter muscles due to lack of stretching, and being heavier.
mid 2005-lose all my extra weight but didn't lose the heel strike. Hurt my back playing golf.
late 2005-ran stowe Vt. in 3:36 and decided to complete my first (and only to date) ultra marathon at the Pisgah Trail 50K in NH (5:35?). Body continues to tighten as my mileage increase probably protecting my back due to injury, heel striking, and lack of stretching/loosening exercises.
early 2006-Ran Bank of America Marathon in Tampa (broke 4). Ill prepared to do anything but finish.
mid 2006-re injured back playing golf. Took a few days off and went right back to running without changing my approach to anything.
late 2006-trained as hard as I ever have to run the NYC marathon despite my back problems. Began to notice that my right foot severely turned out upon landing while running. Probably to take pressure off my back my body twisted my hips (one forward and one back). Ran race very hard and finished 3:11:00. One second from qualifying was heartbreaking but little did I know this was just the beginning of my troubles. After The race I began to experience odd feelings in my left calf and knee as well as extreme tightness in my right leg and lower/mid back.
Early 2007-Fell off an extension ladder roughly 30 feet. My left leg landed hard on the ladder making me walk with a pronounced limp for a couple of months. During this time my right leg got stronger (and tighter) and the left got weaker. The twisting of my hips became more exaggerated and my back was tight and painful all the time.
I believe that this information is all the pertinent history to account for my inability to run from early 2007 until early August 2008. In my next two blogs I will cover my injured time and my period of awakening so to speak (post august 2008). The period in which I attempted to train while injured is important to examine all the strategies attempted that did not work (my poor fiance' put up with this far too long). Subsequently, August of this year is when things began to change for me and I will examine the steps I took that snowballed me back in the direction of healthy running. After that we can get down to the meat and potatoes of why you might be interested in this blog...........the barefoot project!
1975-born
1989-began to run on a regular basis. I ran cross country through high school and ran several road races every year. My stride was light and compact, a midfoot striker with good posture. I credit this to being barefoot the majority of my adolescence.
1993-started to run longer distances to prepare for my first marathon (Burlington Vt.) at 17 years old. Training was of course inadequate but I did manage to finish before the clock hit four hours. Boy was i sore. I think my first real experience with how changing your gait can destroy your body.
1998-several years of training for shorter races with some degree of success have gone by without the urge to revisit a marathon until 98'. Trained for a finished the Marine Corps Marathon in roughly 3:36 (can't remember exactly). This one did not hurt all that much due to the higher volume of training which allowed me to hold my naturally good form for most of the race.
2004-Beginning to dabble into mountain and trail running and that leads to another marathon finish in Bristol NH (3:45?). My stride begins to change I believe heel striking more. Possibly due to a number of factors including mountain running, tighter muscles due to lack of stretching, and being heavier.
mid 2005-lose all my extra weight but didn't lose the heel strike. Hurt my back playing golf.
late 2005-ran stowe Vt. in 3:36 and decided to complete my first (and only to date) ultra marathon at the Pisgah Trail 50K in NH (5:35?). Body continues to tighten as my mileage increase probably protecting my back due to injury, heel striking, and lack of stretching/loosening exercises.
early 2006-Ran Bank of America Marathon in Tampa (broke 4). Ill prepared to do anything but finish.
mid 2006-re injured back playing golf. Took a few days off and went right back to running without changing my approach to anything.
late 2006-trained as hard as I ever have to run the NYC marathon despite my back problems. Began to notice that my right foot severely turned out upon landing while running. Probably to take pressure off my back my body twisted my hips (one forward and one back). Ran race very hard and finished 3:11:00. One second from qualifying was heartbreaking but little did I know this was just the beginning of my troubles. After The race I began to experience odd feelings in my left calf and knee as well as extreme tightness in my right leg and lower/mid back.
Early 2007-Fell off an extension ladder roughly 30 feet. My left leg landed hard on the ladder making me walk with a pronounced limp for a couple of months. During this time my right leg got stronger (and tighter) and the left got weaker. The twisting of my hips became more exaggerated and my back was tight and painful all the time.
I believe that this information is all the pertinent history to account for my inability to run from early 2007 until early August 2008. In my next two blogs I will cover my injured time and my period of awakening so to speak (post august 2008). The period in which I attempted to train while injured is important to examine all the strategies attempted that did not work (my poor fiance' put up with this far too long). Subsequently, August of this year is when things began to change for me and I will examine the steps I took that snowballed me back in the direction of healthy running. After that we can get down to the meat and potatoes of why you might be interested in this blog...........the barefoot project!
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