Category Archives: barefoot running diaries

Well, that was good fun!  Ran the Bristol 10k this morning with a time of 51 mins 11 secs in my Luna sandals.  That’s actually my best time since I set my PB about 5 years ago of 48mins something.  What makes me feel even better about it was that this came off a 6 week training plan, which I started 2 weeks after almost 3 months off training after my achilles injury.

I decided on my Lunas in an effort to keep my feet cool and dry to stave off the blisters, and it’s worked perfectly.  I got a few funny looks on the way to the start line, but I was in the starting pen with a few people in fancy dress and a guy in a running kilt, so I got a bit less attention then!  I took it very easy over the first 3k, I was aiming for any time under 1 hour, but I felt good after 3k so I picked up the pace a bit under the bridge heading up to Portway.  At the turnaround it was mostly downhill back into town, so I kept my cadence up and let gravity pull me down the hill.  That’s a really useful trick, by the way, it helps you rest while keeping the speed up.

Around Spike Island, I kept a decent pace, I knew I was on for at least a 55min run at that point, and at about 7km I decided to pick up the pace some more.  Someone actually ran alongside me for a bit there and asked about my sandals, I only had the breath and the time to say how comfortable they were before he said something along the lines of keep it up, you’re looking good, and disappeared off into the distance!  The final 1k or so felt really comfortable, I was able to stretch out and even had enough for a sprint finish at the end.  I felt like I could have pushed harder, but like I said a couple of weeks ago, it wasn’t my intention to race it today, just use it as a chance to see how I felt.

My Lunas performed admirably.  I was worried at first, because I’d been having problems with getting the heel strap to stay on, but I managed to get the tension just right so it stayed on for the whole 10k, plus the walk down there and the walk home.  They were very comfortable, I have no more blisters, no bruising on the soles, nothing.  All in all, I’m very happy with how it went today!

• Total weekly miles

11.5 miles including the race.

• Number of running sessions

3.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

0 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

0.

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and road.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

N/A.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

Lunas for the race, RunAmocs and Moc3s on the shorter runs, as I was trying to find a shoe that wouldn’t aggravate my existing blisters, or give me any more!

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

N/A.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

No problems this week.  I took a couple of days completely off training as a small taper running up to the 10k, this let my blisters heal up.  I’ve no extra problems from wearing my Lunas, no blisters between my toes or anything, which was something I was worried about.  Flip flops always gave me blisters initially when I wore them before, but no such problems with the soft leather laces on my Lunas.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

Some funny looks at the start of the race, as mentioned above.  I bumped into some friends after the race as well, they couldn’t believe I ran in sandals.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

No chnages really.  But I was happy to see that I can run fast and still keep (I think!) fairly good form at the end of the race.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

None.  I think my calves will hurt tomorrow though!

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

None this week.

• Total weekly miles

8.5 miles.

• Number of running sessions

2.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

0 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

0.

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

N/A.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

Lunas on my shorter run, RunAmocs on my long run.  I had to miss a session this week because of some foot pain.  I didn’t want to push through it, especially this close to the 10k.  I think the pain might have been from over-tightening my Luna laces.  Seems I have a bit to learn about tying them…  Might not wear them for the 10k after all…

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

N/A.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

Somehow I’ve managed to get more blisters on the balls of both feet after my long run on Sunday!  Really gutted…  I really don’t know why.  It might be that I’m getting nervous about the race and am pushing it too much in my runs, it might be that because I didn’t do any barefooting this week my form is off, it might be my RunAmocs are too big (well, I know they are, but I haven’t run this far in them before)…  So I’m a bit stuck!  Really not sure what to do in terms of what I should wear for the 10k.  I know my feet aren’t conditioned enough to run the whole distance barefoot.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

Nothing.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

My short run today felt really hard.  I never really got going.  I found my self trying to force my pace too much, with knock on effects on my form.  I think it’s probably down to my crappy diet over the last couple of days.  Too much white bread and crisps, not enough fruit and veg!  Will have to remedy that for the rest of the week before the race.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

Again, a bit of calf pain.  My new blisters hurt too.

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

None this week.  Feels like a bit of a regression.  Too little milage, too many blisters.  Maybe after the 10k I’ll take a week off, let my feet heal and re-assess where I am.  I think now with summer coming I can probably ditch the shoes for at least the first f couple of miles of the majority of my runs, maybe running purely barefoot will stop my blister problems?

• Total weekly miles

11 miles.

• Number of running sessions

3.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

1.5 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

1 (at the end of my 3 mile shod run).

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

Pavement.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

Luna Sandals on 2 shorter runs (2 and 3 miles respectively), Moc3s on the 5 miler, which turned into a 6 miler.  I’ve had the Lunas for a few months now ( I bought a DIY kit, which is much cheaper than a ready-made sandal, and much more fun to make!), but only recently got the tension in the lacess right enough for them to stay on for more than a few hundred metres.  Had no problems with them at all while I was running, they stayed on for the duration with no need to adjust the laces.  I’m thinking about wearing them for the 10km…

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

Damp and slightly muddy on trails, but nice and dry on pavement.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

Blisters are still healing nicely.  The dead skin is coming off (I’ve resisted temptation to cut/tear it off and left it to heal by itself), and the new skin underneath is toughening up nicely.  No new injuries or blisters.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

Nothing.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.  I thought I had stepped on a glass shard at the end of my barefoot run, but it was just a small tear in the dead skin at the edge of one of my blisters that took a bit of healthy skin with it.  No problems with it subsequently, and I ran the last 1/4 mile home with no problems or pain.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

Not sure if there are any changes, but it does feel smoother than before.  I think I was right last week in that a barefoot run of over 1 mile each week will really help to keep me honest with my form, rather than doing all my runs in minimal shoes/sandals.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

Again, a bit of calf pain.  Some foot pain after the 6 miler, but I’m putting that down to tiredness, as my feet feel fine today.

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

A six mile run the day after you get back from a stag weekend is painful!  But then again, it’s good penance for all the beer and crappy food consumed over the weekend!  That’s my top tip this week…

• Total weekly miles

12 miles.

• Number of running sessions

4.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

1 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

1.

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

Pavement.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

RunAmocs on three runs, Vivobarefoot Evos on my long run because of pouring rain.  Much as I love my RunAmocs, they aren’t much cop when it’s really wet out.

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

Damp and slightly muddy on trails, but nice and dry on pavement.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

Blisters are healing.  No other injuries.  I ran a mile barefoot with no discomfort or pain, so I think my sole conditioning has come back.  Barefoot running was limited this week by the cold temperatures and the wet conditions.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

Nothing.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

No changes.  I ran continuously further barefoot this week than last week.  I think that running that far barefoot really ironed out the little issues I had with my form.  I intend to try and run at least one continuous mile barefoot each week from here on, obviously depending on the weather and temperatures.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

As last week, no injuries, just calf stiffness.  I expect that this will be a more or less permanent feature of my running since I’m aiming to run at least one half marathon this year, so it means that my long run distance will increase week on week.  If or when I reach a plateau at which I’m comfortably running a consitstant distance each week, then I expect the calf stiffness will go away.

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

There are three weeks to go before the 10km race I entered.  I’m pleased with my progress, I ran for 5 miles yesterday with very little discomfort or tiredness at what I think was a pretty reasonable pace.  I’m still running by feel, so I have no idea what sort of time I took to run that far.  I do know that I could have quite happily carried on for at least another couple of miles at the pace I was running, so that can only be a good sign.

I remember feeling very frustrated early on in my transition that I was stuck running such short distances, and being unable to up my mileage by any significant amount through fear of injury.  However, I think I’ve reached a point now where I can pretty much increase my distance at will (within reason) and the limits I face are down to my fitness rather than worrying about my feet, soles, TOFP etc.  So if there is anyone out there reading this who is contemplating transitioning to barefoot/minimalist running, or is transitioning and is at that ‘frustrated’ stage, stick with it!  You will be able to run far again!  Although I should say that ‘far’ is entirely subjective!

• Total weekly miles

9 miles.

• Number of running sessions

3.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

1 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

2.

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

Pavement and earth trails.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

RunAmocs on all runs, removing them for about half a mile each on 2 runs.

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

Damp and slightly muddy on trails.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

The blisters continue to heal slowly.  Barefoot running has been limited because of them and the fact that it’s been cold and wet here.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

No comments, lots of looks though.  I think that there’s slightly more awareness of minimalist/barefoot running in the UK now than even 6 months or so ago when I started.  There have been articles in running magazines, newspapers and mentions on the TV, so maybe it’s greater awareness that’s making more people look, rather than “ooh, look at that weirdo!”.

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

Still midfoot landing, so no real changes.  I do find that when I remove my shoes, I slow down and I run more lightly.  So my shoes, even minimal ones like RunAmocs, definitely do affect my running style.  Maybe this is just the added protection from the sole of the shoe that allows this.  I think I need to try and up my barefoot mileage anyway.  Once I’m running further and faster barefoot, then I can think about the effect shoes are having on me more.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

No injuries apart from the blisters and they are healing.  Still getting calf stiffness after my long run (4 miles again this week), but that only lasts a day or so.

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

I don’t usually wear socks when I run in my minimal shoes.  But I found this week that wearing socks when you have blisters helps a lot, they allow my feet to move around in the shoe with less friction, and therefore less aggravation to my blisters.  Without the socks, I could feel the dead skin over the blisters pulling at the healthy tissue, which was pretty uncomfortable.  I think I’ll continue to wear socks over the next couple of weeks while the blisters clear up.  Not much of a tip, and pretty much useless if you already wear socks, but there you go!

A long gap here between posts… But it’s not as bad as it seems!  I’ve been back running for just over a month now after inuring my achilles tendon just before christmas.  My achilles took about two and a half months to improve to the point that I could run again, and it’s taken me another month or so to get to the point where I feel I’ve got something to write about here (and to get to the point where I don’t feel like I’ll be jinxing myself by announcing my return to running!).  If you want an idea of the kind of running I was doing over that month, just look at the previous entries here.  I started off with 1/4 mile runs, then built up from there.  My longest run to date was yesterday, 4 miles.

I think that the reason my achilles went “ping” before christmas was that I jumped into the speedwork and hill sprints way too soon.  Too much to soon doesn’t just apply to distance, but also intensity.  So I’ve decided to scrap the training plan I was trying and have taken up another training plan which is basically just about setting down a good mileage base at the moment.  I’m running three times a week, doing HIIT a couple of times a week, and also doing a couple of sessions of cross training on the exercise bike.  If I’m feeling good on this plan over the next couple of weeks, I’m hoping to do a 10km race at the end of May.  I won’t be racing it, I’ll just be aiming to cover the distance and get a free t-shirt!

• Total weekly miles

8.5 miles.

• Number of running sessions

3.

• Total weekly barefoot mile

0.5 miles.

• Number of barefoot running sessions

1.

• Running terrain

Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.

• Ground surface of barefoot runs

Pavement and earth trails.

• Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.

RunAmocs on two, one in Moc3s.

• Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)

Dry, but slightly muddy on trails.

• Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters

A few blisters (which is why my barefoot running is limited at the moment).  But these are from treadmill running a couple of weeks ago.  I was staying in a hotel which had free gym passes for the David Lloyd’s over the road, so thought I’d take advantage.  My first run in minimal shoes (Moc3s) on a treadmill.  It was horrible.  I never realised that the belt of the treadmill got so hot!  This, coupled with the fact that the Moc3s have a kind of neoprene lining, which is brilliant for when it’s cold outside but less good in hot conditions, meant that my feet were very hot and very sweaty.  I ran for 20 minutes and ended up with three or four different blisters.  However, they’re healing, and I’m not getting any more now thanks to the fact that I’m back running outside.

• Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’

No comments, although I got a lot of attention in the David Lloyd’s gym.  Lots of people looking at my Moc3s, which, to be honest, do look a bit odd!

• Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any

No problems this week.

• Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.

It’s weird actually, my first run after my injury, I automaticaly fell into a midfoot landing.  I’ve felt no tendancy to heel strike at all, even at the end of my long runs (which are up to 4 miles at the moment) whereas before, I’d find my form getting sloppy due to tiredness.  I think the long break from running might have helped me to forget about my old heel striking running form and made the midfoot landing much more instinctive for me.

• Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.

No injuries apart from the blisters. I’m finding that my achilles occasionally feels stiff and sore in the mornings, but it’s been a steady improvement over the last month.  I’m at the point now where this pain first thing in the morning is unusual rather than the norm.  I’m getting a bit of calf stiffness the morning after a long run, but nothing too bad!

• Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.

Biggest tip – too much too soon injuries can come from upping the intensity of your runs as well as distance!  I thought that since the hill sprints I was doing before christmas were only about 50 metres long, they couldn’t do much damage.  But they did.  I’m almost certain that it was this jump in intensity that caused my achilles to give up.  Now, I’m focusing on getting a good mileage base of long, steady runs down before trying anything like that again.  Even if I do begin speedwork again, it will probably be based on fartlek running rather than hill sprints, which are horrible things anyway…

I’ve also read “Chi Running” by Danny Dreyer.  While he doesn’t specifically recommend minimal shoes or barefoot running, it’s an approach that has helped me improve my form.  It’s definitely worth a read, I think!

Total distance:  8km (treadmill)

Distance Barefoot: 6km (treadmill)

 After a week skiing (not a very barefoot friendly activity), I was back on it this week.  The relative rest gave my calf strain time to recover and now feels absolutely fine, but the cold weather seemed to follow me home and it’s been a bit cold and snowy this week.  So far I’ve managed a couple of barefoot runs on the treadmill.  I find that treadmills seem to blister my soles even more than asphalt – think it’s the heat of the belt, so I kept them fairly short and extended one a little bit by putting my VFFs on for 10 mins or so.   I tried to stop just before blisters actually develop, and think that I’ve managed to hit that sweet spot – feet felt a little tingly but seemed fine the next day..  Hopefully this will help my soles cope with tarmac when it’s more reasonable out there.

 Other than a fairly unimpressive weekly distance, I’ve put my money where my mouth is and entered Windsor half marathon.  It’s not ‘til October, so I should have loads of time.  The course is 100% tarmac, and being in Windsor Great Park should mean there is little by way of debris to worry about – if i can get through the training on the streets of London it should be a walk in the park..