Barefoot running/running barefoot

I have joined the barefoot running movement.

Let me explain.

I love love love running! Running, however, does not love love love me back. I took up running with a vengeance in my 20s and completely overdid it. Apparently you are not supposed to run 10 miles a day every single day. Huh. A hip injury in my late 20s led to about three years of frustration while I tried to figure out what was causing the pain and how to fix it. Thanks to a lot of patience and an amazing sports masseuse I started to run again. And promptly took up triathlon with a vengeance. More running and also a lot of cycling = more strain on my hips and quads.

There are some human bodies that are made to withstand a lot of abuse. Mine isn't one of them. I am either not made this way or I've used up my good share of body health. Either way, I cannot run like I used to anymore. Three times a week is my allotment and I am grateful for every single run. I dream of running a stand alone marathon but I truly don't know if my body could handle it. It's a dream I don't know if I can let go.

Earlier this spring I did something stupid while belly dancing in my kitchen (long story) and screwed up my hip. Again. This time I didn't have the luxury of running to my favorite sports masseuse. I found a couple of people in my area who helped some, but didn't understand the long history of my injuries. One of them completely judged me for what I did to my body, but that's a rant for another day. Some how, some way, with a lot of patience and luck I got my hips and quads running again, sorta pain free.

The pain flared up again last month to the point where it hurt to sit, sleep, lie down, walk across the room, and of course, walk. Why was I still running with all this pain? Because I can't not run. It's so built in me. It's who I am, it's how I deal with everything in my life. Not running is like not breathing. I can't stop and I don't want to stop. So I continued to run through the pain. When I run before work I run over to the college track, run around the track for a mile or so and then run home. One morning, while cursing my pain and near tears I got to the track and took off my shoes and ran in my sox.

I am not crazy. Really. Well I am, but running in my sox doesn't make me crazy. There is an entire barefoot running movement that I've been following in a mostly periphery way. Running shoes work really hard to take away your body's natural running stride and conform it to a stride that puts a lot of strain on your body. I checked my notes and training log - my latest injury flare up started when I got a new pair of running shoes. They are the same ones I've been wearing for years but the model had changed just enough to throw off my body. Thus the pain. I figured I didn't have any thing to lose (except ruining a pair of white sox), so I took of my running shoes and ran.

It was amazing! At first it felt weird - running in bare feet is a completely different running stride than running in heavy/supportive running shoes. After a lap or two I felt a little like I was running like I did when I was a kind - free and fast and completely natural. I was probably going the same speed but I felt zippy. My foot sounded so weird when it hit the ground - a completely different sound than my shoes make. Most amazingly my injuries completely disappeared while I was running. Let me repeat: my injuries completely disappeared while I ran!! After a few laps, I put my shoes on and ran home. I felt like I was running on stilts but amazingly, I felt good - strong and purposeful in my stride and no sign of nagging hip pain.

Over the next two weeks I followed the same pattern: run to the track in my running shoes, run a few laps barefoot and then run home in my shoes. Not only did the pain while running start to disappear but the pain while I was not running started to disappear too. I found I could sit, stand, walk and lie down for long stretches without having to contort my body to desperately try to stretch away the pain. I had a few concerns about running barefoot, mainly how my feet will handle the bitter cold and snow in New England winters and how my feet will handle running over glass, rocks, trash and other evils on the ground of my city. A little research led me to find Vibram Five Fingers (VFF). These shoes are like running barefoot but provide a hard sole so you don't cut up your feet on glass and other road debris. They also separate your toes into individual pockets to maximize the way your feet were evolutionarily built to move. A little more research led me to some special sox that fit specifically in these shoes and help keep my toes from freezing off while running in the cold.

I feel fantastic! I am such a believer! I feel like I've been running stronger than I have in months (years?)! It is such a gift to be able to run pain free. I am still getting used to the changes in my stride (barefoot running has put a little more strain on my calves) so I am taking it slow and alternating shoes and barefoot. My toenails are getting gross again from rubbing against the inside of the VFF shoes but several more lost toenails seem like a small price to pay for feeling so good on my runs. I know that my body won't let me run forever but I am not willing to give it up without a fight. If running barefoot can help me extend the life of my running body and re-kindle my love of running than I am a believer.