News and articles from Running Training Plan
It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Over a year, and a lot’s happened. BUT, most excitingly I have had a breakthrough with my barefoot technique, hence this new post.
I live in the Mendip Hills, so much of my running is cross-country, and I love it. But, I work in Bristol, so inevitably I still run around the streets. However, I was less keen on this, as the repetitive
My last post and back to the Bristol Half Marathon. Come 2011 I ran it in my Evo II minimalist shoes. I ran a minute slower than 2010 but came 100 places higher up the field – so a great result.
However, my calves were incredibly stiff for the three days following the race. This is the one area where I find barefoot or minimalist running has a detrimental affect on my body – road running.
By May the Inov-8 off-road shoes I had run the 2010 Half Marathon in had well and truly worn out. My birthday was coming up in June and I was very excited as Inov-8 had made the move into truly minimal shoes. So a month later I received a pair of Bare-Grip 200s – an off-road shoe with no midsole, no cushioning and no height differential between heel and toe.
Again, a great pair of
In February I went to Sri Lanka and while I was there I did a couple of runs – one on a beach and one round a town, in and out of the Evo IIs. But after each I was hobbling. And the hobbling continued for a good couple of days afterwards. I had burning on the insides of my Achilles Tendons but didn’t know why.
When I came back I bought a small ultrasound device, after I saw a friend
It’s been six months since my last post now but I’m still an aspiring barefoot runner, if not blogger. Perhaps that should be a committed minimalist runner, which, for me, seems more practical in the UK. To get up to speed and with the benefit of hindsight I’m going to reflect on the year between the Bristol Half Marathons of autumn 2010 and 2011 in four short posts.
In 2010 I ran
Yes, I know, it’s been a long time. And the reason for staying away so long?
I was dealing with an injury caused by these (above). Not the best running shoes, I know, but I was walking across the Brecon Beacons and thought they would be fine, especially as it was wet underfoot. Apparently not.
The strain they put on my calves and Achilles tendons was not apparent until a week or
