Author Archives: Haselsmasher

In 1995 I took up running by accident.  I wanted to buy a Nordic Track and, as my wife will attest, I have this horrible habit of buying stuff with the best of intentions and then having them turn into fantastic dust collectors.  So I told myself if I got up every morning and went for a walk (for a full month) I’d go buy the machine.  Well the walk itself became fun.  One day I decided to jog the last 1/10th of a mile of my 3 mile walk route.  After a few weeks I was running the whole thing.  The rest is history, as they say.  Since that time I’ve done countless races, including one half-marathon.  Running truly has become an integral part of my life.

In 2006 I started having hip pain.  I’d had my share of running injuries through the years but I’d never felt this before.  Getting resolution of that problem has put me on a path that I still haven’t come out of.  At first the docs thought it was a bad disk in my back.  Then they concluded I had a tendon issue in the hip.  Then they concluded it was Piriformis Syndrome.  At one point the belief was that my rigid orthotics, which I’d worn for seven years, might be causing the problems.  Getting rid of those set off a raging case of Plantar Fasciitis that I’m just now getting over.  I truly hated getting out of bed in the morning.  I’d limp around for a while as things loosened up.  At that point running wasn’t even a consideration – I could hardly walk.  My new flexible orthotics made things feel better.  I had to wear my motion control shoes full time and, slowly, with time, things started feeling better.  I’d try running – but I could never really kick that last bit of pain.  I couldn’t even come close to getting back to my “normal” 20-25 mpw running volume.

In the Fall of 2009 I read two books that completely changed my perspective:  Born To Run by Chris McDougall and The Pose Method of Running by Dr. Nicholas Romanov.  I made a conscious decision to get out of my orthotics, get out of the motion control shoes, let my (incredibly flat) feet move more and get stronger, and adopt the Pose method of running.  I hired a Pose coach and in January 2010 was able to successfully get out of my orthotics and big clunky shoes.

I want to use barefoot running for two very specific purposes.  First, I see it as a fantastic way to build the strength of my feet.  I’ve currently only done a few barefoot runs but I can definitely tell it helps the feet.  Second, I see barefooting as a great way to get immediate feedback on my form.  The first couple of runs were on concrete and both times I got a minor hot spot on one toe.  Most recently I did a barefoot run on a local running track and that was much more damaging.  When I sat down to put my shoes back on what I thought was a hot spot was actually a blister that had already been rubbed off and was bleeding nicely.  Well – I said I wanted feedback on my form and I guess I got it!

Jim

Re:  Haselsmasher:  When I was a teenager I played a lot of racquetball.  I had a reputation for hitting the ball very hard.  The first time I played with a good friend of mine he took some liberty with my last name and labeled me Haselsmasher.  We’re still friends – and he still calls me that.

Went out Sunday for a 1/2 mile run.  Overall it felt fantastic.  To be clear:  My goal is not to run barefoot 100% of the time.  I’m highly focused on learning the Pose Method of running – and I see barefooting as a way to build my foot strength as well as give me feedback on my form.

There were two significant improvements in this run compared to previous ones.  First, the hot spots I was getting on my 4th toes (each foot) did not happen.  (When I ran on a track one “hot spot” became a torn-off blister, literally, before I realized it.)  I must be doing a better job of picking up my feet and not trying to grab the ground with my toes.  Second, I realized the urge to push off (with my foot) is much more deeply ingrained than I thought.  I caught myself a few times – because I didn’t have shoes and I could really feel the friction between my foot and the ground.  While a minimalist shoe is better in this regard than a cushioned shoe, I can see how barefoot is even better than the minimalist shoe.  My feet (I’m recovering from Plantar Fasciitis) felt fine during the run, however I did have a bit of post-run pain.  This is what is holding me back from doing more.

I’ve added another activity into my barefoot activities:  I started going for walks barefoot on the chip-sealed road that is in front of my house.  If you’re not familiar with chip-seal it’s an inexpensive (and common) method for resurfacing roads.  After a thorough cleaning a layer of tar is placed on the road surface, then the road is carpeted with small sharp gravel, then the gravel is rolled/pressed into the tar.  One of the benefits of this surface is “skid resistance”.  To a barefooter that translates into “really rough”.    My hope is that by just walking on that type of surface I’ll get much better foot stimulation than I am by walking on my nice smooth wood floors and wake up those foot muscles even more.

Jim

Did a .5 mi session over the weekend.  Felt great.  The 4th toes, where I was getting some blisters previously, seem to be much improved.  I think the foot lift is getting much better.

I’m still struggling with heel pain post run – whether barefoot or with shoes.  I’ve decided to stop the shoe running and focus on strength training for the feet/ankles.  I’ll continue the .5 mi barefoot sessions – maybe trying 2x/wk.  The walks on the chip-seal road in front of my house are going well.  I think those help.  They’re also getting easier.  The feet are toughening up.

I’ve got to crack the code on why this heel is hurting.  Actually – I know why it’s hurting:  It’s a leftover from Plantar Fasciitis.  I guess what I really need to do is crack the code on how I get it better.

Jim

I’ve been delinquent in my postings the last couple of weeks.  This lingering heel pain has continued to be just that – lingering.  It became slightly worse and, as a result, I haven’t done any barefoot runs in the last couple of weeks.  I’ve been staying with my minimalist shoe runs hoping things would improve but they haven’t.  I’ll get on the table right away the fact that this heel pain is not a result of barefoot running.  In fact, one of the things that has attracted me to barefooting is using it as a way to strengthen the feet and help resolve this pain.  I developed really bad Plantar Fasciitis in 2008.  I got new (flexible) orthotics to help calm it down, with the intent of weaning myself off of those.  In Jan 2010 I successfully did that.  It’s this last bit of issue in my left foot I’m trying to eradicate.

I went to my Podiatrist yesterday and he is strongly recommending a sequence of ASTYM.  He said the Plantar Fascia on my problem foot is really tight.  I’m very enthused.  I’ve read a lot of great things about ASTYM.  After all the work and studying I’ve done around orthotics, foot strength, etc. I’m very interested to see how this goes.  One of the interesting aspects of the technique is they want you to do some level of activity while going through the process.  It helps retrain the tissue while it’s going through the healing process.  I’m going to have to leave it up to the PT as to what he recommends in that regard:  What type of activity and how much.

As somewhat of an aside I ended up talking to the Podiatrist about barefooting in general.  He was very supportive of it and thinks it makes sense.  He said his concern is when he sees people that think the form issues “fix themselves” when the shoes come off.

Jim