Running is not new to me. I ran cross country and the 1600 and 3200 for both winter and spring track in high school. I ran 5k and 10k races in the 90s and I have run two marathons. One thing that is new to me though is injury free running.
I have started and stopped running dozens of times over the last twenty years. Part of the reason I have stopped running so many times is injuries. I have always been considered a heavy over-pronator. Through my whole life, good running stores have taken a look at my running stride on treadmills and videos and put me in stability shoes to help me compensate for it. As long as I can remember I have run in the Asics GT-10xx and 20xx series shoes. While I still had injury problems in those shoes, they did tend to treat me better than most shoes.
Over the last couple of years I have started running again no less than four times. I do enjoy running, but it never lasts because I have the same injuries over and over and over. No matter what I have done, I could never shake shin splints, knee pain and other lower leg injuries.
That is, until I discovered real running. It is amazing how proper form and proper footwear can can fix everything.. and can do so basically overnight.
I remember the first the first time I heard my friend Tyler Hurst talk about barefoot, or almost barefoot running. I thought he was crazy. OK, he is crazy, but I thought the idea of running almost barefoot with a minimalist shoe was either for the crazy people asking for injuries or elite athletes with perfect form.
What I have learned over the last few months of reading more is we were basically sold a bill of goods. We have been told and sold shoes with stability and motion control built in for years. Each year the technology gets more advanced, and each year we see more, not less injuries. Look at the elite athletes, you will notice most of them over-pronate too, but with proper form, they avoid injuries in racing flats.
After watching the video below and a few others by Brian Mackenzie, I decided to give it a shot.After allwhat’s the worst that could happen, I get shin splints and end upquittingrunning again? That was going to happen anyway.
My first move was to buy a minimalist running shoe. I decided to get the Sauchony Kinvara. The shoe weighed half of what I was used to, had little elevation change between the heel and toes and has zero support. Not a true barefoot shoe, as Tyler I am sure will point out, but a much better shoe than what I was used to running in. I also picked up a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. These were much closer to a true barefoot shoe.
The first week I had the Trail Gloves we went for a six mile hike. I will let you know right now, that was a mistake. Our bodies were designed to walk barefoot. The heel and the toes being on the same level while walking is what our bodies were built for and used to for millions of years. But over the last few decades that is not what my body became used to. So the next day, probably closer to the next three days, my calves were on fire. No matter how much ice I applied, they hurt.
Don’t make the same mistake as me and jump right into these shoes with exercise and long hikes. Wear them around a lot and let your legs get used to them and build up those muscles. This is why I recommend doing as I did, and get two pairs of new shoes. One a racing flat type shoe like the Kinvara, and another a true minimalist shoe like the Trail Glove or New Balance Minimus or Minimus Trail.
Over the last couple of months I have worn my Trail Gloves as my every day shoe. When I run I alternate between the Kinvara and the Trail Glove. This allows my body the chance to get used to them. I highly recommend you do the same. Don’t jump right into a minimalist shoe and start running. Take your time.
The other factor is form. Switching from being a heel striker to a mid-foot striker was not easy, it took work and a lot of concentrating on form while running. But it has made a huge difference. Here is how I explain it to the cross country team I coach. Take your right foot, put it in the air a few inches off the ground in front of you and fall forward. What happens? The heel digs into the ground and stops you from falling forward. It acts as a brake. Now take your same foot, put it directly under you a few inches off the ground and fall forward. What happens? You fall on your face.
Now what makes more sense, when you run do you want your foot to land and catch you, or do you want your foot acting as a brake?Every timeyou land out in front of your body with the heel striking first your foot acts as a brake. Not only does this slow you down, it sends shock waves through your legs. No wonder I was always injured, with my heel striking it was like I was slamming on the brakes in my car over and over. Eventually it is going to make your body take a beating.
I have been running now for two months with proper form and proper shoes. The last time I ran for two months without injury may have been high school. It feels so great to be running again and not worrying about icing my shins or knees every night when I get home.
There is a lot out there on proper running form and minimalist shoes. They can explain it a lot better than I can. If you run with injuries and are tired of it, I recommend you go out there and do the research like I did. I think you will come to the same conclusion.
