Thursday, September 24, 2009

Longest barefoot run to date.

I think I have gotten past most of the calf pain so far and now it is just a minor anoyiance and I will have to work on strengthening them. I did about 4 miles in about 45 minutes, partially in the wet grass from the rain and on the road. It seems like running on grass is so much easier than running with shoes on the grass. Your feet naturally adjust to the subtle changes in the ground. The steep downhills and uphills are still a challenge and I have to walk on them and that will come with time. Since my calves are good I plan on doing the 4 mile Indian Summer Distance Classic this comeing Saturday.

4 comments:

  1. I'm also transitioning. Staring with Nike Free 3.0 then I'm going to switch to VFF's, then to barefoot. I'm about 2 weeks into the Free 3.0 and worked up to 1 mile a day with only slight calf pain. I'm still doing 2.5 miles daily in big cushy Asics, but plan to switch those miles to BF. Right now my calves are a bit achey, as you described in your blog.

    Are you going to do the full 4 mile Saturday run barefoot?

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  2. I strongly recommend starting barefoot first. Your feet will tell you if you are doing to much. Learn proper form first when running barefoot and then transition to the VFF.

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  3. I do plan on doing the full 4 miles. I will most likely be walking up and down any steep hills as my legs are not strong enough.

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  4. Awesome! I am recovering from back surgery, but find that in my VFFs I am able to do a little running. Proper form with VFFs saves my back from pretty much all the shock of landing, since my feet, achilles, and calves do the work.

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