A little set back, but hopefully not for long...

Well I'm currently on my 2 week break from work (it's so nice working for a school district) and I'm all ready to run!  I'm hoping to get in at least 3 good, longer, runs a week.   Currently I do about 2.5 to 4 miles 2 to 3 times a week, but with all this extra time I want to up my mileage a little.  I even found a new running partner to run with over the break (she is currently a shoed runner  but is considering switching over after next 1/2 marathon, thanks to yours truly)! 

But I have noticed some set backs (and improvements) during my last couple runs.  First thing is that, I am really learning what my body needs to run, and that is water!  I mean I drink a lot of water anyways, but I can tell when I haven't drank enough when I run.  If I am not hydrated enough, my left foot always reminds me by cramping up after about 2.5 miles.  It sucks because I can be going really well, at an awesome pace, and then all of a sudden my foot will cramp up in the arch.  When that happens I pretty much have to walk for sometime to work the cramp out.  Sometimes I can continue to run again but most of the times, its game over, which is really disappointing.  So listen to your body and take notes!  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

The other thing that my body will tell me is if my gate gets a little to long.  To be a minimalist or barefoot runner, the first thing I had to say goodbye to was a long gate.  That was a hard thing to do, because with having a shorter gate, comes a slower pace until you adjust (and then, no pun intended, you will pick up the pace).  I have noticed that if my gate is too long, the outside of my right knee will begin to hurt (just like it used to when I was a shoed runner).  Before, when I was a shoed runner, that pain meant game over for my run.   Now I have realized that if I just shorten up my gate, the pain goes away and I can continue on.  Your body is an amazing thing and again, if you just listen to what it is trying to tell you (through aches and pains) you can adjust and then go further then you had ever thought possible.

Now on to something good!  I have been running in minimalist shoes since May 2011.  When I first started off, one of the first things I noticed, was that my pace was affected severally.  I have never been a record breaking time runner, but as a shoed runner, I had, what I considered a good pace of right around 10min miles.  When I started in my Pace Gloves my pace went into 12min mile area.  That was super disappointing.  But the more I researched  minimalist running, the more I learned that my pace would, in time, improve.  And low and behold, it has!  During my last couple runs, I have reached my 10min mile mark and even surpassed it a couple time by going into the 9min zone!  I couldn't have been more excited!  It was a great thing to get back to 10mins, but to get into the 9min zone was a PR!

I was runnnnning in the rain.....just runnnning in the rain!

Ok, so I have both of my holiday runs under my belt now.  I did the 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  First time I ever ran that far in my VFF's.  It was an awesome run.  Over 20,000 people attended.  The amount of people made it hard for me to get my pace where I wanted it to be, but I still ran the whole thing and was very happy that I burned all those calories before I sat down to eat like there was no tomorrow that afternoon!  Finished in 1 hour, 5.2 miles, at a 11:40 overall pace.

(Thunder Cloud Subs T-Shirt Logo for 2011 Turkey Trot)

Now this morning I ran a 5k called the Jingle Bell 5k for MADD.  It was at The Domain, which is like a higher end, outdoor, shopping center.  I had done this race before, back in 2008 and really liked the course, so that's why I decided to make it my Christmas run again this year.  Unlike in 2008, I ran this year's run in my VFF's with jingle bells included!

This was a rain or shine race and boy oh boy did it rain!!  It has been raining here in Austin, TX for 2 days now and today the temps had dropped into the 40's with a breeze coming in from the north as well!  So it was an interesting race for me because I had never run in the rain before.  Let me say that I felt like running in the rain somehow brought me closer to a "Zen-like" feeling.  It felt great to have the rain on my face and even though my VFF's were totally soaked, they actually kept my feet warm, almost like wearing a wetsuit for my toes!  I absolutely loved this race.  There were maybe 500 people (I haven't checked the website yet for the actual sats, but that was a good guess), which made getting to my pace very easy.  Once over the starting line, it was easy to get out of the crowd and find an open space to run.  I only saw maybe 3 other people in VFF's and a handful in other minimalist shoes.  I was thankful that I didn't have to take every step in a soggy, squishy, "normal" running shoe.  Even though I could feel every puddle, I had great traction and I wasn't "retaining" any water.  My ending time was 34mins, for 3.2miles, at a 10:45 overall pace, and I jingled all the way!

Stem Survival Origins (Women) Personal Review

Ok, so I have to take a little break from my personal story and write a little review on my newest pair of minimalist shoes.  I recently bought a pair of  Stem Footwear, Survival Origins in a women's size 39, (US size 8-8.5).

(Color is Earth Brown)

I decided to by these shoes for daily wear.  I wanted a pair of minimalist shoes that looked more like a regular shoe (sometimes VFF's don't go with every outfit).  I wear these to go to the store and just to walk around town in.  So far they are very comfortable and have a great minimalist feel.  I still think my Vibram Five Fingers offer the best "virtual barefoot" feel, but these come in close second.  I would definitely rate them above my Merrell's; they are much more flexible and the toe box is just a slight bit roomier. 

I was a little concerned about what size to order.  Seeing that Stem is not available nationwide in retail stores (yet), I was worried that I wouldn't get the right size the first time without being able to try them on.  I followed their sizing guide on www.Stemfootwear.com and it was very accurate for me.  In a non-running shoe I wear from a 7.5 to an 8 and in a running shoe a 8 to 8.5.  I decided on the 39's which is the US size 8 to 8.5.  It fit just right.  Not too big, plenty of room in the toe box, and my heel stayed right in place, no slipping out.  The web site states that the shoes run small and to order them a 1/2 size bigger.  My mother was also planning on ordering a pair and wasn't too sure what size to order, so she called Stem and they were more then happy to help her decide on a size.  She wears a size 6 in her everyday shoes, and she was planning on wearing them with Smartwool socks, so the gentleman at Stem advised her to order a size 38, which is a US size 7 to 7.5.

I have worn them with and without socks.  Without socks, they felt ok.  The inside was a tad bit scratchy in a few places where the seams came together but other then that it felt fine.  When I do wear them with sock, I wear them with Injinji toe socks.  They feel wonderful with the toe socks.  My Injinji's are a very thin sock, so they don't take up a lot of room, but if you plan on wearing something like a Smartwool sock or a thicker sock, I would advise sizing up 1/2 on the shoe itself.  I think if I were to wear my Smartwool running socks with them, they would fit more snuggly, which then is defeating the barefoot, light, free, feel.

I really like them for their style.  They look great with jeans and I'm sure I will wear them with shorts as well.  The rich Earth Brown was my favorite color but they also come in a Frost Grey which is called the Primal Origins (the only difference between the two names is their color).  I also like that they came with a standard style shoe lace and not the tether pull style lace that was shown on their prototype pair.

All and all I really like my Stem Survival Origins shoes and would recommend them as a good minimalist shoe.  They are a great shoe for everyday use.  I have not run in them, and honestly don't plan on using them to run in.  I have read reviews from people who have run and hiked in them and loved it.  The website doesn't really state that they are for running and when my mother called them, customer service told her as well, that they are not really designed for running.  I guess it will be up to the individual to decide that.

Going from Pace Gloves to Vibram Five Fingers

Ok, so as I stated in my last post, I had bought a pair of Merrell's Pace Gloves as my first pair of minimalist running shoes.  The reason I went with them was one, I thought the VFF's just looked ridiculous and two, I had bought previous pairs of Merrell brand shoes before so it felt like a safe choice. 

All and all, I really liked them.  They were a great way to start into minimalist running.  They have a nice open toe box, breathable mesh upper, and were super flexible.  I thought when trying them on, that the sizing would be different, but the girl at REI suggested to get them in the same size as my current (Mizuno) running shoes.  After trying them on, and running around in the store a couple times, I was sold.  The girl at REI also suggested, that if I was going to wear socks with them, to purchase the Injinji brand of "toe socks".  She said by wearing the toe socks inside the open toe box of the Pace Gloves, it would help my toes to further spread apart.

(Injinji Original Mini-Crew Gray)

I was so excited to have my first pair of minimalist shoes and even more excited that my toes each had their very own little "blanket" to be in, inside of them!  I must say that wearing the Injinji's did help with acclimating my toes to the idea of being free to spread apart inside or out of a shoe.  What I have learned (especially 7 months later) is that, the more your toes have room to spread apart, the better balance you have and the better grip you have either running or walking.

I started off super slow learning (or should I say re-learning) how to run in minimalist shoes for the first time.  Amazingly there isn't too much to learn.  Your body will naturally want to correct its form and run with a more natural gate.  I found myself with better posture and a smaller stride right away without even thinking about it.  And heel striking will be a thing of the past as well!  Without that huge lump of foam under your heel your body will automatically want you to land on your mid-foot.  But you do have to start super, super slow!

I learned the hard way that if you try to push yourself too fast, you will experience pain.  I mean your foot has most likely been in a conforming, toe crunching, laced too tight, shoe for most of it's life.  Now you have given it space to expand and feel the ground beneath it.  So you will have awakened all the little bones and muscles (most of which you never even knew you had)!  Your legs will also need time to adjust.  Mainly my calves were sore right away.  Your mid-foot strike will allow your foot to work with your legs more naturally like a spring.  Therefore activating your calf muscles to work harder, the way they were intended to.  But you know what they say "no pain, no gain".

So, even though I started by only running .5 of a mile a day, I did experience pain.  I had top of the foot pain, ball of the foot pain, as well as heel pain.  Each area of pain came separately from the other.  I felt like it was just my foot's way of recalibrating itself.  So when you read in books or on other blogs or magazines, to take it slow, LISTEN!  You don't want to over due it and have to put yourself out by taking time to recover.

Of course, like I'm sure you won't either, I didn't listen!  I was frustrated that I went from running 3 miles at a time to only .5 of a mile.  So I pushed myself to a mile and 1.5 miles too soon and the foot gods came down and punished me for it.  I could barely walk for over two weeks because I had sever top of the foot pain.  I even went to my chiropractor and had an x-ray just to make sure I didn't have a stress fracture.  Luckily for me, the x-ray came back in my favor, no stress fracture, but I did have to take time off from running (or even walking) and then had to start all over again! Ugh.

After about three weeks off from running, I started over, vert slow, and made progress.  I also started to wear my Pace Gloves to work as well.  I work in a warehouse and am walking and getting in and out of trucks all day.  When I would wear normal gym shoes to work (with awful squishy heels and padding) I noticed my feet hurt even more!  They were searching for the nice feel of the hard, stable ground and all they felt was uneven squishiness.  Going back and forth from work shoes to my minimalist shoe was not working for me.  Once I started wearing the minimalist shoes all the time, whether at work or not, the pain eventually went away all together.  Which led me to buy my next pair of Merrell's, the Trane Contour Glove in Black.

(Merrell Barefoot Trane Contour Glove Black)

 

The Trane Contour Glove was a great work shoe for me.  Unlike the Pace Glove, which is made of an extremely breathable mesh, the Trane Contour Glove has a leather upper and allows for your feet to feel little more safe from the elements (cold temps and water).  They still have a wide toe box and the same fit as the running shoes.  Also, I forgot to mention that all of Merrell's Barefoot line has a very durable Vibram 4mm sole.

So now I had my running shoes and my work shoes.  But the best was yet to come.  Within a week of buying my Trane Contour's I decided that I wanted a shoe that I could wear on the weekends or just whenever I needed something to walk around town in.  Here enters in my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers  (one of the best footwear purchases I ever made)! 

Introducing my Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek's in Brown kangaroo leather.

Let's get started, one foot in front of the other.

I had been a shoed runner for about 4 years.  I have been a minimalist runner for 7 months, and I would never go back to running in "normal" shoes again. 

I'm sure my chiropractor will miss me.  Before I started minimalist running, I would go to my chiropractor at least twice a month and at my worst, twice a week!  I suffered from lower back pain and knee pain.  My chiropractor would tell me time and time again, "maybe you shouldn't be a runner".  Not be a runner?  What?  I had found something that I really loved and looked forward to doing (almost as a form of therapy) and now I was being told that I shouldn't do it?  Well I didn't listen.  I also continued running in my Mizuno Wave Inspires and therefore continued to have pain.

I was fitted with my Mizuno's at a local running store.  They had me run all around the store and then came to the conclusion that I "overpronated" when I ran.  They had me try on all different kinds of shoes that would help with the overpronation.  Well, I figured, if the guy that worked at the running store said that I needed a shoe for overpronation, then it must be true.  So, I took his advice and bought my first pair of expensive, fitted for me, running shoes.  These were my first pair of running shoes that I bought that weren't chosen for their style or color.  In fact, I thought they were ugly and I hated the sea foam green color that they were.  But running store guy said that they would help me run better, run more naturally. 

(Not actual sea foam green one's, but the same style just newer)

Run more naturally.  That's interesting.  How could I run more naturally in a shoe that gave my heel a 2 inch lift and lined my whole foot with a squishy platform??  Back then, that made perfect sense to me.  I mean if you're going to run, and be going from heel to toe, then of course you would want all that extra padding, right?  (Well not exactly but we'll get to that later.)

See part of the reason my chiropractor was trying to steer me away from running, was because running was hard on your joints.  Makes sense, I thought.  I mean running is a high impact  sport when you are going from heel to toe.  As soon as your heel hits the ground it sends a shock wave up your leg and into you knees, hips and lower back, sometimes even affecting your neck.

So I had my new shoes and I continued to run.  I got faster and started running in some local 5k's.  I was proud of myself.  I had found a sport that I could enjoy just about anywhere.  It was a good tool to use as a cross trainer for the Tang Soo Do I was also doing at the time.  And it made me feel good mentally.  When I ran, I could clear my mind and feel free.  Free from work, family, bills, and every thing else that came with everyday life.  But still not free from pain.  Ugh!

I eventually ran some more 5k's and even did my first 10k.  But the pain started to become more and more of a hassle and I started to cut back.  I kept going to see my chiropractor and after I had been fitted with a heel insert (for my anatomically shorter leg) I had just about stopped running all together.  I started to feel better.  Less pain, less visits to the chiropractor.  That was good I suppose, but I started to miss what I loved.

More time went by with less and less running.  One day, I had a co-worker, whom had just started running, start to ask me if I had ever thought about running barefoot or in those crazy looking toe shoes?  We got to talking and I told him I really didn't know a whole lot about barefoot running or toe shoes.  That day, he set a fire in me.  That afternoon I googled, "toe shoes" and learned all about Vibram Five Fingers and minimalist running for the first time. 

It was a lot to take in.  I mean just thinking about running without the padding of a traditional shoe made me think "ouch"!  But the more I read the more I learned that the effect of barefoot/minimal running was the exact opposite.  It was the natural way to run.  The "greener way of running" in a sense.  So I eventually drove myself to my local REI store and tried on a few different pairs of minimalist running shoes.  I tried on the Vibram Five Fingers as well as Merrell's Pace Glove.  Mentally, I couldn't get past how goofy the VFF's looked, so I settled with the Merrell's.  And so started my journey down the road (literally feeling every little rock and crack in that road) of minimalist running.

(Merrell Pace Glove's in Dark Shadow color)