Adventures In Barefoot Running Part II

I wrote in a previous post that I went for a 3 mile run in my Vibram Five Fingers on a beach in SC. I also mentioned I had a stiff Achilles the following day. That day turned into a week, and the week turned into a couple months.

After turning up the intensity on my training, my achilles became more and more sore. While a good warm up took away most of the pain during my runs, the morning after was a-whole-nother story. After spending the day after my CrazyLegs Run in pain I reached out to a friend of mine that is a Physical Therapist.

She suggested a strict regiment of rest and ice. What!? Rest!? That's outrageous! It's a diagnosis most runners fear, taking time off. I've now gone over a week without running and I am going a bit stir crazy. Today we had a wonderful rain storm that made me want to throw on an old pair of shoes and go sloshing around in the rain.

Instead I am spending some quality time with a bag of frozen peas and a bag of frozen corn. I want rest and get over this injury but with my Ragnar Relay just a few weeks away I feel like I'm fighting the battle of rest vs. training. Hopefully any one considering a minimalist style of running will learn that taking it slow is obviously the most important thing.

Adventures in Barefoot Running

I met up with a friend of mine from Highschool to watch our alma mater play in the playoffs. She is a runner too. She even joined my Ragnar Relay Team for the Madison to Chicago 200 mile overnight running relay. When we talked about running she asked me if I ever did any barefoot running. I quickly responded no.

As I was driving home I realized that I had quite the adventure running in my bare feet. I played Football in HS (oddly enough my least favorite part was running) and after a Friday night game I went to relax with a another teammate at a classmates house. Her older brother and his friends came over with a few cases of beer and started to party. Being the good kid that I was I declined their offers to join them.

The boys started to get louder and before I knew it, police had pulled up to the front door. I decided this would be a great time to get some wind sprints in and headed out the back door. As I ran through the dark, I quickly hopped a fence and lost my sandals in the process. There I found myself running barefoot down the residential road.

After the wind sprints I decided to stretch out my legs in the woods for what felt like forever. When I thought the coast was clear I headed back to my car. Halfway down the street I saw a car with a search light on it pull down the road I was walking on. I quickly dashed into a nearby bush for some yoga. As I did my best Crouching Praying Teenager pose, the searchlight came, but most importantly it kept going.

My racing heart eventually slowed down when the neighbor let out their dog. I was on one side of the fence as a large dog with his hot breath barked at me from the other side. After a few minutes the woman came out to scold her dog to be quiet and that no one was out there!

After the dog quieted down I decided to make my move. I positioned myself to get up and as soon as I snapped a twig, I learned the dog was silently waiting on the other side of the fence to continue his barking. I could hear the owner of the dog scolding him again when I took off from behind my bush. I finally made it back to my car and got my first experience with barefoot driving.

I did decide to try some Vibram Five Fingers after seeing a decent discount at a local running store. I took them out on a trip to Myrtle Beach this weekend and went for quick 3 mile run with my wife on the beach.

I ended up with one blister and a very tender achilles heal. Who knew that impromptu barefoot running would lead to less discomfort than running with Vibrams. I think a pair of Smartwool toes socks from my sponsor might be needed.