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.
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