Barefoot update

For the past several weeks now, I have been running barefoot. To be exactly clear, I have not worn shoes of any sort to run for the last two weeks. (I also had several barefoot runs in the two weeks before that.)

This is my report:

Given the pain in my feet (not so much the soles of my feet but in my feet) I am running less than 1/3 of the miles I was running in shoes. I had hoped to be able to build up the miles more quickly, but my old feet seem to need more time to adapt to the new approach.

In fairness to my old feet, I had been running in the softest running shoes on the market, Hoka Bondi Bs. I have just loved those shoes. I’ve been through two pair and bought a pair for my son’s girlfriend, too (long story).

All that said, I’ve had some classic runner’s injuries that have prevented me from running a few times. My knees have ached since I started running (they didn’t ache before I started). Within the next three years my goal is to complete a full Iron Man, but I fear the training miles required would put me out of business altogether. All in all, I’ve been intrigued by the idea that running barefoot would allow me to run farther and longer with less injury.

So, I won’t lie. I’m disappointed that I’ve experienced so much pain in my feet. Right now, I feel like I’m trading foot pain for knee pain. I really have not had any knee pain when running barefoot.

When I run, I follow Barefoot Ken Bob’s advice, to let the soles of my feet decide how long to run. That seems to make sense. During a run, my feet don’t ache in the same way that they do for days after a run. They only ache when I walk. (So the pain does not interfere with my sleep or my enjoyment of reading or watching television or blogging.)

At present, on the route I currently run, I can only do about 2 miles before the soles of my feet really start to scream at me to stop. I want to get back to my six mile runs as soon as possible–I’m gaining weight.

Still, all these issues taken into consideration leave me planning my next run barefoot. I like where this is headed even though I don’t like where I am.