Barefoot Bootcamp

01 Wednesday Jan 2014

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I started this year off fresh with a fifteen mile trail run on the LoBo Trail. I launched late morning in 32° under low-hanging clouds. After a tough seven mile run in yesterday’s wind, this was nice. There were a few snow flakes but nothing like what is falling now. I only planned on running twelve miles, but kept going. Why not?

It feels good to run in my trail flats after running the last week in my barefoot Merrell Trail Gloves. I packed my barefoot running flats rather than regular training shoes because they travel better in the suitcase – being so light. I expected a bit of leg fatigue but man, I was near tears after day two. I backed off my mileage and did not run at all on Christmas day, allowing my legs to recover. I did toughen up near the end of the week but didn’t really notice the difference the shoes make until today.

Late last week, my knee pain began to abate marginally but my arches were sore – in both feet rather than simply my left foot where I generally incur pain and injury. After yesterday’s run, which was in my standard trail shoes, my ankles could barely support my weight afterward. It was as if I’d been ice skating. It all came together for me today though. No more pain. And my form was outstanding – short stride and forefoot footfalls. I honestly believe that running a bit in minimalist or barefoot shoes is a great way to work on your stride. I’ve learned you have to be careful to not over do it. I’ve been injured from running in these shoes. Still, I highly recommend working them into your routine. Probably not the barefoot bootcamp I did, but consider running in them once a week.

I’m currently training for my next event – a four mile cross country race in Boulder on January 26th. I’ve formed a team of 5 or 6 harriers from my neighborhood. The men’s open division will be competitive so we won’t likely win. Still, do you think you could form a team of five master’s level cross country runners from within a few blocks of your house? I can. I plan to schedule a few team workouts. Maybe some tempo running in the grass in my Merrell Trail Gloves.

The Finger

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Merrell, Micah True, minimalist

I get way more comments from some of my distribution channels, facebook or twitter, than directly to my blog itself. Some are strange enough that I don’t even understand them, but unless they are clearly from an ad-generating machine, I don’t moderate or censor. The comments I received today, which I’ve included below, came to me via email. They are clearly designed to goad me to respond. Like it takes some really clever rhetoric to tempt a blogger to write online. Thanks for the content Blaine.

Irony is so ironic at times. I just came in from a 4 mile run in my minimalist Merrell Trail Gloves to read Blaine’s observation. He hasn’t read all my blog entries. I’ve written well over 300 in the past 3 years. I should point out to my readers that the search bar in the upper left works quite well. It doesn’t just find tags, the entire blog is indexed. You want to know if I have ever mentioned your name? Use that search tool. I’ve written extensively on minimalist shoes and barefoot running. And I’m a fan. I’m not able to fully transition to the method myself. Too old and delicate. But I support the concepts behind the trend.

I will never consider the “five fingers” types of tread. They freak me out. Not looking at them on the store shelf but when running behind another athlete, in a race, who is sporting a pair of five fingers. I get the sense I’m in a Terminator movie or something. I say this without irony, they don’t look natural. So I go with a standard tread, yet with a zero heel-to-toe drop that meets minimalist specs. For the uninitiated, heel-to-toe drop is what largely defines minimalist running shoes. The heel of a shoe might have 20mm of thickness and the front might have only 5mm. The 15mm difference is referred to as the drop – 15mm is fairly traditional. I don’t really know the exact specs but I believe a drop between 4mm and 10mm is considered minimalist. Under 4mm is referred to as zero drop. I’m not certain what defines a shoe as barefoot. Apparently more than just the near-level slope. It likely refers to very little thickness anywhere in the sole.

I ignored the minimalist trend for several years. I changed my mind after reading, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Unfortunately for me, I ignored all advice. Rather than transitioning into them slowly, I ran in mine non-stop for two weeks, culminating in a foot injury during a 14 mile trail run. Something popped. I never fully understood what the injury was but had to take off 6 weeks to recover. I now only wear them on very short runs, generally 3 or 4 miles in length. But I think they’re great. They assisted me to modify my running form from less heel strike to more mid-foot strike. This is how I ran when I was younger. The change in stride helped me to heal my plantar fasciitis. Blaine, I hope you’re satisfied with my transparent response.

————————–unsolicited comments—————————-

I sometimes browse your blog, cleverly disguised to be about running, to see what you’re not writing about. So far, you seem to be checking all the right boxes:

…women popping a squat on the running trail. check.

…purposely running behind the “talent.” check.

…feigning modesty by wearing your running shorts to a massage knowing full well that you are under strict orders to do so. check.

Now, imagine my surprise when I went looking to see what Ed’s take was on these Vibram Five Fingers running shoes…and there was nothing!

“Set the fleet to condition one,” I thought. Something is wrong.

The truth is, I’ve often wondered if you’re actually some Cylonic skin job masquerading as Ed Mahoney for another attack on us poor humans.

If I’m suspicious, then think of your actual readers.

Do not answer me directly. Publicly explain on your blog why you haven’t written about these shoes. I don’t care anymore if they work or don’t work. Frack, I’m not even a runner!

I just want to know why you haven’t mentioned them. Prove you’re not a Cylon skin job!

Accidental? Purposeful? Distracted?

Don’t dawdle too long. People have been thrown out of airlocks for hesitation.

So say we all,
—
Blaine

Barefoot in the Park

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Merrell

With no more big runs planned, you might think I’d run out of content. A runner can always talk about their shoes. I only had time today for 4 miles and it occurred to me I could revisit my attempt at training in minimalist running flats. Earlier attempts ended with something broken in my left foot last spring, but I know what I’m doing this time around.

I won’t train barefoot on 15 mile trail runs this winter. I expect to be mostly running 3 and 4 miles which is the sort of distance that should be safe and allow me to adapt to barefoot running. So I pulled these down from my gear wall and slapped them on. You guys all have a gear wall in your basement too, right? Well, I love how these Merrell Trail Gloves fit and feel. It’s just amazing how they force my stride to strike the ground on the balls of my feet.

Truth be told, I’ve been limping a tad this evening, but I don’t think I overdid it. One might argue that I’m typically limping after most runs. Generally not the short runs. This will take some practice but that’s the plan this winter. I’ll work these into my regimen. With no upcoming events, the potential impact from injury is low.

Barefoot

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Merrell, REI

REI, like my USAA home and car insurance company, is a Co-op. At the end of each year, they give their ~~customers~~ members rebates. I used my rebate this morning to buy these minimalist trail shoes from Merrell. I even got $5 back in change. From REI, I took Canyon to Broadway and worked my way through The Hill over to Baseline. At the Chautauqua Trailhead, I slapped on my new shoes for my first experiment with the “barefoot running” hype.

The advice, and I’ve received plenty, says to start off with short distances to allow your feet to adapt. Immediately I felt like I probably won’t need to take it slow. I expect to be able to run all week in these. They feel fine. But I only did about a 3 mile hike in them. The Amphitheater Trail is extremely vertical, so I did very little actual running. Today’s workout was more of a shuffle. First uphill and then back down. I ran in spurts but honestly my legs were too fatigued from yesterday’s trail romp in Lyons to do much running today. I covered 3 miles in an hour which is essentially a walking pace, but it was also 1000 feet of elevation in 1.5 miles which is essentially a ladder.

Snow began to fall a mile into my run and the wind picked up as I neared Green Mountain. I was dressed fine for it though with a long-sleeved all-weather gear shirt from Under Armour. The trail was wet from yesterday’s rain. The shoes did well navigating mud but I had to be careful on the descent over the slick rocks and logs. Still, assuming I adapt to these shoes over the next two weeks, I think I might be able to wear them for the 25 mile CPTR.

The experiment with minimalist shoes has been on my radar for awhile. My left foot still suffers from plantar fasciitis. Not nearly as bad – I’d say about 20% of the initial pain remains. I assume part of this is from getting better support in all my shoes but I actually suspect the improvement stems mostly from stretching. The argument for minimalist shoes, or even barefoot running, is that modern shoes cause most injuries. Or said another way, Nike created a boon for Podiatrists with their waffle trainer in the ’70s. The extra protection against impact and pronation and supination isn’t needed and in fact causes us to run in ways that lead to injury. Without modern footwear, runners take a shorter stride and fall more mid to fore foot. And this leads to less injury. The other reason I’m willing to experiment with barefoot style flats is these shoes were sort of free with my REI rebate. We’ll see how the next couple of weeks pan out.