My Minimalist Running Experiment, Part II

In my previous post on my minimalist running experiment, I talked about what I went through to learn how to run all over again. While I think it has gone well for me and that’s what I tried to show in the first post, I thought I’d share with you some of the mistakes I made along the way. My hope is that if you were to give this a try, you would not make the same mistakes as I. So, think of the first post as the pros, and this as more of the cons.

easier said than done

I always thought I ran with more of a mid-foot or flat strike than a heel-first strike. So, I thought migrating to more of a fore-foot strike would be easy. Famous last words.  Actually, making the change is easy, sticking with it is hard.  As you first start out, it’s not too hard to strike with the front of your foot, take shorter strides and not reach your foot way out in front of yourself. But, after a few blocks, after going up a hill or two, your calves start to complain. You also start breathing heavier and you’ll want to go faster if you’re used to running. It really does take some continued practice and concentration. I’ve been at this for 3 months now and I still find times when my running form needs to improve. In short, it gets harder to maintain form the more tired you get.

running injuries

The whole idea of running in a minimalist style is to get back to the way things used to be.  Back when people had less leg injuries and aches and pains — as well as no running shoes — thereby allowing you to do what you love more and sitting with ice packs on ankles and knees less.  My ankles, shins, knees and back have never hurt once running this way (and they used to hurt all the time). My calves have been a different story (albeit expected). They took a while to get used to this and remained sore until they adjusted to the abuse.  Also, the tops of my feet would ache in the morning.

The pain went away after I got up and walked down the hallway and the feet seemed to stretch out a bit.  That one baffled me. No one ever mentioned top of the foot pain.  I discovered that my plan to gradually increase my distance and speed was not nearly gradual enough.  You really do need to take it slowly.  If you do too-much-too-soon, you’re going to hurt.  If you don’t recognize you’re doing too much and back off a little bit, you’re setting yourself up for a more serious foot injury.

minimalist running in the cold sucks

I mentioned this to a friend of mine who also is a minimalist runner. His response? “Suck it up buttercup.” And, he’s probably right, but I’m going to list this one anyway to make you aware of it. It’s not that your feet are ever that warm running in Wisconsin in the winter, but running through the frost barefoot is quite literally, a numbing experience. As in, I can’t feel my feet. Granted, I run in the Five Fingers, but that 4mm of rubber doesn’t really insulate your foot a whole heck of a lot.  Especially once the mesh gets wet. There is one silver lining to this that my friend also points out, if your feet are numb, they don’t hurt either.  Well, at least until they start to thaw out.

bizzarro running

I used to despise running up hills and love running down them. Well, that’s now turned upside down.  Running up hills is so much easier now.  Why? Because the fore-foot strike and the shorter strides are what you normally do going up a hill. So, there is not much change.  On the other hand, going down hill and trying to land on the fore-foot is a lot harder than it sounds.  But, think of it, when you’re running downhill with a traditional shoe, what part of your foot touches the ground first? I don’t know about you, but for me it used to be the heel.  Try that in a minimalist shoe or barefoot.  Landing on your heel hurts like hell. You have to pay special attention while going down an incline to the way you step.  Now I hate going downhill and love the long gradual uphill slope.  Kind of masochistic I know, but it’s the truth.

the dreadmill

One thing that hasn’t changed is that the treadmill sucks no matter what running style you use. It’s boring, it’s too easy to shorten a workout by just getting off and it doesn’t mimic real terrain.  I didn’t like it before, and I still don’t like it now.  But, in Wisconsin in the dark months, it’s a necessary evil.  Unless you want to give back all your hard work and start all over again in March or run with numb feet.

I’d still do it all over again and you’re not taking away my Vibram’s, but I don’t want to give the illusion that it’s all rainbows and unicorns.  There have been some bumps along the way, but it has been worth it.

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