Getting into Barefootrunning 20.01.2018
Time to do this transition
So a little while ago i got my first barefoot shoes - Vibram V-Trail - and it's finally time to do the transition into barefoot running with them. My final trigger to get started was that i got the wrong pair of running shoes after i decided to get new ones since my Nike Revolution 3 are actually destroying my toes. The new ones were those Under Armor Charged Bandite 3 (i think it's 3) - my problem was actually that - while the right one sits quite okey, a bit rough but okey, the left one was actually hurting my bit toe while testing it - it was just too tight.
So i did it similar as when i quit vaping and - for now - decided to screw all that and simply run barefoot now which was my goal anyway. Luckily those fivefinger socks are helping on these cold days.
My first barefoot run
I figured that about one mile is a recommended start range and tried to select a rout which matches that.
Well, it turned out to be a 3.7km run which is a bit more than two miles.
There are two reasons why i couldn't keep up with my pace:
- My calves hardened with every step i did - my muscles are (still) not really ready and need time to be able to do it.
- I tried to do as much trail as possible but there is only about one kilometer of trail so i tried to run beside the street - where i got seriously slower was a muddy field, not too simple to run on.
Also i noticed how ... odd running felt, the right foot was definitly stronger than the left so i was in permanent unbalance.
My theory is that this is caused by my daily work at my parents farm where i have at least 14x14,5kg of chickenfeed to carry a day which i am doing with my right hand.
I was happy to arrive at my goal point, actually, my legs were very exhausted. As you see on the graph, i wasn't really able to speed up again. The next two days were a pain because, at least when i had to stand up, my calves hurt af. It took around four days until i was able to walk normal again.
My second barefoot run
Okey, six days after this totally new experience, i went for a new attempt in running barefoot. Actually this was already way different in my opinion: i was way less, if even, unbalanced, my steps were more secure, quicker and shorter. After a little while i had a quick look at my watch and noticed a 4:45 pace for my own surprise as i didn't really care about my pace - it had priority for me to let the body do its job properbly.
At the same time i noticed that my calved were actually not that much hardening this time, wow!
So i let it happen and continued running how it felt right - without disturbing thinking about what i am doing:
This time i seriously had fun - exploring and running...this time i didn't try to avoid streets, it was fine to run on them - maybe not the most confortable but definitly no problem.
After i was done with the longer way up you can see in the graph i actually noticed that my legs were getting weaker and my calves harder but i still felt like running and was very motivated so i expanded a little more once again, found back to energy after a few meters and ended my run with a kinda sprint - dude it was so much fun to run this fast barefoot! :D
Incredibly i got personal records too!
So yea i ended up having hard and hurting calves once again but i think it's fine because the body now knows that it has to work on them now, haha. It was a pain hiking to our sheeps after that and an even bigger pain to walk downstairs.
I am writing this one day after my second run - unlike previous run, where the pain increased the next day, i feel great. Don't get me wrong, my calves still hurt a bit but they aren't as hard and not as much hurting as after my previous run. I am actually able to walk as normal and i don't feel disabled like i felt before.
don't think i will run tomorrow but i also think it wont take six days again.
