Done a couple so far - the ground's warming up nicely so I don't finish with numb feet
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Done a couple so far - the ground's warming up nicely so I don't finish with numb feet
I've thought about the baregrips but the price???????Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphin
Can't see my self going totally bare foot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Twister
Hi
I have done about 3 miles too, feet are a bit soft after a winter in shoes!
Iandarkpeak, just do it!
James
Just reading Born to run at the moment and getting inspired. Will do more definately.Quote:
Originally Posted by jhb0510
I've been doing bits of barefoot right through the winter (except when it was icy). It's not much fun in the cold, but it seems to be good for my achilles tendons and after four years of tendonitis that's worth a bit of discomfort.
I've recently started running in Luna sandals, which I made myself from the DIY kits that Barefoot Ted sells on his website. I've been running in little else for the last couple of weeks, and I really like them. They feel like running barefoot, but stop me having to worry about sharp stones and bits of glass. And the best thing is that my achilles tendons seem to like them just as much as going barefoot, which hasn't been the case with any other minimalist shoes that I've tried.
May have a go at making a pair myself
They're very easy to make. I'm no-one's idea of a craftsman, and mine turned out ok. I bought a set of leather punches for a fiver off ebay to make the holes, and the rest was pretty straightforward. I used scissors to cut the soles out, but next time I'll probably try a knife as I think the lines will be a bit cleaner - doesn't really matter for running, but they don't look quite as neat cut with scissors.
I'd definitely recommend lacing them with the slip-on method (BFT has posted videos of how to do it on YouTube). It means that if you come to some nice ground where you want to run barefoot for a while, it's no problem to just slip the sandals off and back on again when you need to.
I used my sandals (just a cheap general purpose pair) yesterday for the first time this year (last summer I did a lot of training in them because my feet got too hot in socks and shoes), and took them off for the final 1.5 miles. Today I wore shoes, but took them off when I was on easy grass and ran about 3 miles. I've just finished Born to Run and now realise how my running style changes without shoes.
Mandovark, I was intrigued by your DIY sandals, so I found Barefoot Ted's site, and will definitely order a pair.
I've fancied running in sandals in the summer and tried the home made ones can't stand all the string around my feet. I spotted (and preordered) the Terra Plana Achillies running sandals here. Given the usual high price of Terra Plana shoes these don't seem too expensive.
I haven't seen those before - they look pretty good, definitely more space-age than the Lunas. I kind of like the laces on my home-made sandals: I guess I just like the old-school look.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by overthecrowroad
For anyone thinking of ordering Lunas, I discovered that if you order more than one kit at the same time Ted only charges one lot of shipping, so if you're likely to want more than one you can save yourself a bit of money by ordering everything at once. My guess is that the same would apply to custom sandals, but I haven't tried that.
This is really interesting stuff from Lee Saxby
HERE
Endorsements from both Prof Lieberman & Chris McDougall
5 mile for me this morning, trying to concentrate on technique at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Insider
On the moors last night in my £4.95 pumps wont be long before fully barefoot. Have run through the winter every so often in pumps which has helped. I'm not a big fan of the bunny runs for those of you who know them but I am going to do BR3 this year and will definitely be in pumps may go the whole hog if the weather is Ok. Anyone else up for it?
I'm glad I found this thread, I can stop saving up for expensive shoes... I'm a cyclist but have decided to get into running, cos I'm moving to some hills in a few weeks, and for the past few weeks I've been run/walk bit by bit. Being hard up and very new to it, I've been plodding in very cheap shoes - £20 from Mountain Warehouse, and really worrying I was doing massive injury as most of what I read so far went on about "buy the best shoes you can afford". Having read all this, I may as well swop from the cheapo trainers http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/wom...hoe-p2646.aspx to my flat thin pumps before I get into any bad running habits. Yay!
This is interesting, for the past 6 month I have been running 2-4 times a week using my inov8 x-talons with no issues. About 4 weeks ago I started to run to work a few times a week which is mostly on the roads so decided to get some Inov8 roclite320s. Since then I am constantly turning my ankles and am convinced that the cushionning is at the expense of stability. I am not ready to go too minimal but want to reduce the cushionning before I do some long term ankle or foot damage. What shoes would make a good starting point for me, I am looking at something like the roclite260 then maybe some new beargrips for racing???
Thoughts please guys.
If you're already getting on fine with the x-talons off-road, I'd be tempted to get a pair of f-lite 195's for your runs to work. Your shoe line up would then be very similar to mine...
off-road training: Baregrips
off-road racing: x-talons 190's
trail/road: f-lite 195's
Works great for me. I don't race in the Baregrips because I can't quite completely let go in them on rocky stuff but, for training and encouraging good running form, they're superb.
Hi mate,Quote:
Originally Posted by martmason
You could also use an 'old pair' of X-Talons for the road...
The baregrips are awesome - well worth the financial investment...I was worried that the sole/grip may give up, but after using them for the past six weeks running (av 10hrs+ a week) the soles are showing very little wear - that's on rock and moorland/peat terrain..I prefer the BG's to the X-Tals for grip and certainly inspire confidence on those steep technical descents....
Cheers Nikalas and Alpine, think I might just try to run my x-tals into the ground and treat myself to the beargrip for races etc then concentrate on posture and fore foot landing etc. Is it hard to master and intensive on the calves as the articles lead you to believe?
Posture - yes, forefoot landing - no. Don't try to land on your forefoot, just try to run with good form and try not to overstride, your footstrike will sort itself out. Deliberately landing on the forefoot is not how barefoot runners run (unless that was their original style anyway). If you're wearing fairly low profile minimally cushioned shoes then your style will become more natural anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by martmason
Depends on your current style and if you ignore the advice above. Landing too far forward on the forefoot is why people often suffer sore calves and achilles, once you learn to relax and run with more of a heel drop and relaxed calf muscle, the soreness etc. goes away.Quote:
Originally Posted by martmason
Hi Rob, thanks for the advice although after just posting on your thread about twisted ankles dont think i will be doing much of anything for the short term. Looks like the MTB will be seeing some action this weekend....
[QUOTE=Rob Furness;402538]Posture - yes, forefoot landing - no. Don't try to land on your forefoot, just try to run with good form and try not to overstride, your footstrike will sort itself out. Deliberately landing on the forefoot is not how barefoot runners run (unless that was their original style anyway).
sorry rob but landing on the forefoot or mid foot is exactly how you need to land when running bare foot, its impossible to land heel first unless your completely mental and never want to run again. to run bare foot its a very good idea to do posture drills, its essential to get this right along with the placement of the foot on landing. its taken me three months of training to run this way but now i get no injuries and just completed a half with no real side effects.
Yes you will run mid/forefoot when barefoot but if you try to land on the forefoot you will likely overcompensate and point your toes down which will overstress your calves. Barefoot running should be forefoot > flat foot > forefoot (meaning your heel will touch the floor lightly each step with your calf relaxed) running entirely on the forefoot will very quickly put you out of action (unless you naturally run this way anyway).Quote:
Originally Posted by fellrunnerreuben
I didn't at any point suggest landing heel first, what I said was that if you concentrate on form and relax, your footstrike will sort itself out
Agree completely with this. When I first started reading a bit about running technique a few years ago, I made the mistake of switching to a forefoot landing instead of thinking about my whole form. I was still running in cushioned shoes, pointing my toes and overstriding, and I ended up with achilles tendon problems that still bother me now. It's only since I started rebuilding my form from scratch (or as close as possible) that my footstrike has really begun to sort itself out - I've been amazed how much my form has changed in the last year or so since I started running only barefoot or in minimalist shoes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Furness
The guys the question from me is; After running most of the winter in x-talons with no issues the decision to swap to roclite320 was followed by several painfull ankle turning issues and the start of a knee niggle that is probably leading to "runners knee". I have listened intently to both sides of the discussion regarding natural running and minimal shoes to make the most of our long forgotten proprioception and proper running form. So to start my rehab should i go back to using the x-tals for 90% of my fell training, some new f-lites for the commute to work and light trail runs and maybe funds permitting some beargrips for races/fell. My thinking being the rehab weeks will be steady and the ideal time to teach an old dog new tricks, sound idea???. If so how where do i start??
If you're running comfortably in x-talons then it sounds like you're well on the way. Roclites are probably less stable than x-talons (although I don't own any roclites so can't be 100%) because x-talons are very low to the ground. Try the f-lites and see how you get on. I'm at a similar point myself, my current road shoes have died and I only have racing flats left so I'm, thinking of using them permanently for road work from now on.
There's the rub Rob, yes i was running with no issues in my x-tals. In the defense of the roclites though i have upped my training and doing more on road but i do believe they are far more unstable and to be honest that runs through my mind whilst out now which is also having an adverse effect. Never had all this bother on my MTB....
so just by running bare foot my "form" should change, I'm trying to run with my body more upright as I'm supposed to?
Not sure IDP is that a statement or question? Im getting confused??Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
yes ! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by martmason
Hi Ian,
When I was first moving towards the minimal shoe way I found this website useful: -
http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html
Cheers
Phil
good reply rob totally agree sorry i think i must of just miss read your previous post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Furness
Yes exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
A simple exercise is to stand in your barefeet, now jump up and land on your heels.
You will feel all the shock come through your body, you may be able to do this a few times but it aint a lot of fun.
Now jump but land on the fatty pad (forefoot) I would guarantee that you could do this for at least 10 minutes.
Thats what we do when we run naturally, landing forefoot on the pad.
The link I posted to the Lee Saxby article really does explain about posture, technique etc. HERE
CORRECT RUNNING POSTURE
JUMPING
POSTURE EXERCISES
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphin
thanks Phil and Insider? i'll read up a bit moreQuote:
Originally Posted by Insider
At least my enforced lay off will give me chance to read and understand as much ad I possibly can and to save up for some f-lites. Just one point my physio made was, yes its good running natural as intended but mix it all up a bit to keep all your muscle groups working.
I wonder if a number of physios/podiatrist are coming round to minimalist running. It certainly seems like its not a fad any more...
Seems that way twister, mine did say she has seen an increase in people with injuries relating to natural running but mainly because they swap to that style building the relevant muscles and neglect other muscle groups. She was very positive about the benefits of the light springy style and higher cadence being much quicker.
I think it's more about acclimitisation. I found my calfs would seize up after about 5 miles at first but I really wish I'd read that post by Rob, above, because, looking back, that's exactly what I was doing. Trying too hard to land on forefoot rather than lettting the foot land naturally. Age is a factor too, I feel, (or perhaps an excuse?) as I have a lot of years of running badly to correct for.
just finished "born to run" found the first few chapters abit heavy but it finishes like a true Utra with a breath taking sprint to the end. A great and inspirational book
best book i have ever read, only thing is i think i have only read about four books.:-)
I've got a feeling that hill runners in general would take to minimalist running quicker than flat landers. Do you do most of your miles on hills? The reason I say this is that most fell runners are wearing pretty much minimalist shoes anyway, and running up a lot of hills will help stretch the calf's (as long as you try to put your heels down a bit).Quote:
Originally Posted by Nigel
That's what I've always theorised based on my own experience. I can get away with about 20 miles in my VivoBarefoot Neos till I'm ready to give up. [After about 2 years of changing to minimalist] my calf's are usually the last thing to complain, I find my feet get sore on the top if I do too much, which is a classic symptom.