One of the big things I want to cover, and was the initial inspiration for writing in the first place, was my journey into Minimalist running.
For people who don't know what this is, it is a form of running that takes out of the aspect of new age shoes, and focuses on running either barefoot, or with a "barefoot like" shoe.
The concept behind this is that with the new age athletic shoes, they have put a ton of focus on making them soft and forgiving. One of the ways they have done this is by making a giant heel, that is full of cushion (Like the giant air pockets in Nike air's.) I have loved these types of shoes since I was able to afford to buy them. But the problem lies with running.
When we run with these shoes with the giant heels, it forces us to run on our heels. when you stride forward the first thing to make contact with the ground is the very back of your heel, then your foot comes down, you roll up to your toes and push off. it seems pretty natural, but it isn't.
when you take a large step forward at a fast speed, and your heel strikes the ground, it creates a shock wave throughout your lower leg, thigh, hips and low back. as soon as your heel hits the ground your foot dorsiflexors (think muscles that bring your toes up off the ground) have to activate to keep your foot from slamming into the ground. This constant stress causes what many know as shin splints. This is what I suffer from, and the reason I looked into minimalist running.
When you start to wear minimalist shoes, it forces you to shorten your stride, it forces you to land softly onto your feet, and it forces you to land on your mid or forefoot.
Think about standing in place and jumping off the ground over and over. When you land, what do you try and land on? Your heels or your toes? The same concept applies when it comes to running. It turns out all those cushions in our shoes has made us lazy and has ruined our running stride.
I have just started my journey into minimalist running. I have done two treadmill runs, and then did something stupid and set out on a long run in the neighborhood. Without listening to the expert advice I had read, I went for a full 5 mile run, and I am paying for it today.
If you are thinking about making the move into minimalist running, I strongly suggest you do some research. There are small steps you must take to retrain your muscles, and not going too far too fast is key.
The shoes I have chosen to use this transition are a pair of Vibram 5 fingers Bikram model for my runs, and I also bought a pair of Merrells from my everyday shoes.
The Vibram shoes, although weird to look at, are amazingly comfortable, and were amazing so far on my runs. (I did get blisters, but that is expected while my feet are still adjusting to the new stride.)
I will update with a new blog about this topic very soon!
This explains the basics of how barefoot running is different
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