I don’t like resolutions.\u00a0 They’re all a bit set up to make you feel bad if you fail.\u00a0 Ambitions are much more positive because when (if?) you realise them you feel great.\u00a0 My running ambition for this year is to run a half marathon barefoot.\u00a0 A few years ago my ambition was to run a marathon and I thought that the more people I told about it, the less likely I was to back out of it.\u00a0 The purpose of this blog is to tell as many people as I can and to share my experiences.<\/p>\n
Last year was probably the worst year for running that i’ve had.\u00a0 I was training for the Paris marathon and was on track for a pretty good time when I got shin splints really badly and had to drop out.\u00a0 Having recently read a lot about barefoot running I blamed spongy shoes and the forces necessary to control the foot on landing.\u00a0 Seeking a solution I thought I’d try minimal shoes and went to a barefoot running workshop.\u00a0 Running in Five Fingers was great, but i got carried away and ended up with achillies tendonitis.\u00a0 Again, I blamed the shoes.\u00a0 I blamed my old built up running shoes for shortening my achillies\/calf muscles, and I blamed the Five Fingers for letting me do too much too quickly.\u00a0 I tried barefoot as a way of regulating how far and fast I was running\u00a0and got up to about 40mins\u00a0on pretty rough surfaces\u00a0but the achillies\u00a0made itself known again.\u00a0 Following the birth of my daughter I had less time for training so I cut back on running and focussed on kettlebells and conditioning.\u00a0 Before I noticed, months had passed without running and I started really missing it.\u00a0 I tried running again but each time after a couple of runs, the achillies would twinge and I’d be very disheartened.<\/p>\n
In November I decided to do something more proactive and started a daily routine of calf stengthening and stretching, with a bit of self massage with a roller.\u00a0 I bought a pair of Vivo Barefoot Aqua and started wearing them whenever I could.\u00a0 Around Christmas I thought I’d give it a go and went out in some racing flats.\u00a0 These have a small heel drop so I thought they’d be a good transition from my old shoes towards completely flat.\u00a0 After a few runs it all seemed fine so I’m back running in Five Fingers and Vivos and taking it very slowly this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I’ve also ditched my previous obsession with training paces and target times so my watch has stayed at home.\u00a0 I’m trying to stop myself getting competitive, but I don’t think this will last..!\u00a0 So far this year, the longest i’ve been out has been about half an hour(ish) –\u00a0I’ve got a long way to go before I’m running a half.\u00a0 I\u00a0got my feet out\u00a0for a stretch today and even though it was cold I loved the fresh air between my toes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Introductory Summary:<\/p>\n
years running: more than 10, regularly for maybe 7.<\/p>\n
weekly milage: very low at the moment, used to be 20-30 – more if I was training for something.<\/p>\n
PBs:\u00a0 Marathon 3:32 (shod); Half-marathon 1:31 (shod)<\/p>\n
barefoot experience (apart from running):\u00a0 10 years of capoeira 2-3 times a week;\u00a0 2 years muay thai before that; always barefoot when using kettlebells or circuit training.<\/p>\n
previous foot landing:\u00a0 heel strike; transitioned reasonably successfully to midfoot in 2010, noticed an increase in speed, enjoyment, blisters and\u00a0plantar faciitis.<\/p>\n
previous running shoes: originally heavily cushioned, slight motion control shoes like Asics Kayano or Brooks Trance.\u00a0 Moved to neutral, more flexible shoes in 2010 to complement midfoot landing (Mizuno Wave Rider)<\/p>\n
Previous injuries:\u00a0 ITB pain; knee fat pad impingement (solved when I switched to mid-foot landing in normal shoes); PF (started when I switched to midfoot landing in normal shoes); shin splints (recurring, but not recently)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I don’t like resolutions.\u00a0 They’re all a bit set up to make you feel bad if you fail.\u00a0 Ambitions are much more positive because when (if?) you realise them you feel great.\u00a0 My running ambition for this year is to run a half marathon barefoot.\u00a0 A few years ago my ambition was to run a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-barefoot-running-diaries","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2781"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2783,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions\/2783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningtrainingplan.com\/runningpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}