Monthly Archives: May 2011

5 Barefoot Running Myths in Born to Run

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Anyone who’s read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage)
will be convinced head to toe that barefoot running is a cure-all. MacDougal makes it sound as if you can just throw off your shoes and run ultras with no problem. That’s TOTAL BS!

You can’t run the same way barefoot as you did with shoes. You will screw up your feet if you do. You Must alter your stride, you must decrease impact, you must EASE into it. Barefoot running is NOT a treatment for foot, knee, and back problems. Barefoot running is a style of running that strengthens your feet, lower leg, and diminishes high impact on the joints and back. It’s also the key to instant enlightenment; anyone who runs bare will tell that each naked step awakens you to true experience of running.

Here are 5 Myths about Barefoot Running in Born to Run:

  1. Myth: Barefooting will Cure Plantar Fasciitis

    If you don’t ease yourself in to barefoot running on hard surfaces, running unshod can GIVE you Plantar Fascitis. If you’re running barefoot to treat plantar fasciitis, you’re in deep trouble. You’ll probably aggravate it ten fold, especially if you run the same distances and speeds you did when you ran in shoes.

  2. Myth: Bare-footing will fix Weak Achilles Tendons

    Running barefoot on concrete can aggravate your Achilles problems, especially if you’re calf muscles aren’t up to task yet. Never try to “run through” Achilles pain. You risk snapping the tendon. Because shoes baby your Achilles by slightly raising your heel, just walking around for long periods without shoes can irritate the tendon. Calf exercises and stretching will help your Achilles adjust, but definitely don’t try to run through Achilles pain barefoot.

  3. Myth: Bare footing will Fix Knee Problems

    Any type of high impact exercise can inflame knees. Running barefoot with a hard stride will hammer up your knees and back. You’ll feel it right away. Running with a bobbing, jackhammer stride is bad for your joints. However, it IS true the ever so mystical proper, softer barefoot stride can ease knee and other impact driven problems. Why? Because the stride is softer than the shoed stride. When you’re running properly, impact is much lower without shoes. Wearing a necklace while run barefoot can help you track your stride. It should NOT bob around too much. It’s gonna bounce a little, but it should NOT be smacking you in face, chin, or hitting your chest forcefully.

  4. Myth Bare-footing will stop top of foot pain

    As far as I know, barefooters and ballerinas are the only ones with top of foot pain. Why? Running, jumping, or dancing on rock hard surfaces flexes the foot in curious ways. Top of foot pain is common for beginners. The foot stretches in how to run like a ballerina will help alleviate and prevent top of foot pain. Don’t do the stretches if you experience pain.

  5. Myth Bare-footing is for EVERYONE

    People who have weird feet, eg. abnormally high arches, should ease themselves into it, VERY SLOWLY. My wife has worn orthotics most of her life. She read Born to Run and just started running in Vibrams. Now she’s battling plantar fasciitis, top of foot pain, and Achilles pain. She’s wearing shoes and inserts to help recover, but the barefoot bug has bitten her and she’s eager to go back to barefoot shoes. But this time she’s doing it right. She’s taking a few a minutes a day to WALK bare. Next week she’ll jog in place barefoot for a minute or two. If you want to run barefoot. Read my “How to Run Barefoot” Page.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an avid barefooter and I love barefoot running, but I know from first hand experience how hard it is on your feet, especially when you’ve been wearing your shoes most of your life. There’s nothing wrong with wearing shoes and even inserts to make the transition.

The Kenyan runners and Tarahumara Indians GREW UP barefoot. Their feet are already well adapted to running unshod. The rest of us will need to ease into running barefoot.

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5 & 1/2 Funny Barefoot Jokes

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  1. Change a Lightbulb

    Q: How many barefooters does it take to change a lightbulb?
    A: Lightbulb!!!? Before the Big Energy Companies came around, Candles lit the world perfectly fine.

    1/2: Joke
    Q: How many barefooters does it take to change a lightbulb?
    A: Two. One to remove the old bulb and another to charge the new bulb hundreds of dollars so it can learn to run naturally.

  2. Under the Stars

    A Barefoot Runner and Shod Runner are camping.

    They climb into their sleeping bags and then gaze at the night sky. The Barefooter says, “Look up, my shod friend. What do you see?”

    The shod runner says, “I see thousands of glittering stars.”

    The barefooter says, “And what does that mean to you?”

    “Well,” says the shod runner, “I guess it means we will have another nice day running tomorrow. What does it mean to you, my barefoot buddy?”

    “To me,” says the barefoot runner,”it means you forgot to pack our tent, AGAIN.”

  3. Crossing the River

    Three cross country runners were trail running when they came upon a raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had no idea of how to do it.

    The first one prayed to God saying, “Please God, give me the strength to cross this river.” Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was able to swim across the river. It was a struggle, but he made it.

    Seeing this, the second man prayed to God saying, “Please God, give me the strength and ability to cross this river.” Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river and stay dry.

    The third one caught on and prayed saying, “Please God, give me the strength, ability and intelligence to cross this river.” And Poof! God turned him into a barefoot runner. He looked at his map, then ran with perfect stride technique–the real miracle–across the bridge.

  4. The Bar

    A barefoot runner walks into a bar owned by horses. The bartender says, “Why the short face?

  5. Broke

    A barefoot runner limps into the Doctor’s office and says “Doctor, I ran a marathon barefoot. Now my right foot is killing me. Can you take a look at it?”

    “Sure,” says the doc, “let me get my stethoscope, so I can take a listen.” The doc puts the stethoscope to the top of barefooter’s foot. He hears a scraggy voice say “Doc, can you give me 5 bucks?”

    Then the doctor moves the stethoscope to the runner’s ankle. He hears another scraggy voice, “Hey Doc, can you give me 10 bucks?”

    Then he puts the stethoscope to the sole of the runner’s foot and hears yet another a scraggy voice “Doc, can you give me a 20 bucks?”

    The doctor sighs.

    “Well, doc.” says the barefoot runner,”What’s wrong with my foot?”

    The Doctor shakes his head from side to side and says, “I’m afraid your foot is broke in three places.”

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The Secret to Superhuman Feet Finally Revealed

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Have you ever wished for steel feet?

Ballerinas have unlocked the secret to superhuman foot strength. Ballet is insanely hard on feet; dancers suffer the same types of repetitive foot and strain injuries that barefoot runners have to endure. Ballerinas also have to abide by strict schedules and rigorous training. Over the years they have developed a system of strengthening their feet to superhuman levels. Here are some of their secrets.

  1. Secret Ballet Foot Stretches

    Ballerina Foot Stretches.

  2. Esoteric Top of Foot and Toe Stretches

    Secret Stretch moves.

  3. The Occult Power of Ballerina Footwear

    Ballerina Flats are ideal for barefoot runners, they have all of the qualities of “barefoot shoes” without the nasty mark-up. They are also designed to mold to the your foot and are perfectly suited to running.

    The Samra Ballet Flat/Barefoot Running Shoe is particularly suited to barefoot running. Flats are slightly less breathable than some of the expensive barefoot shoes, but they work just as well and cost a heck of lot less.

  4. Sublime Energy of the Tutu

    There is a mysterious quality to fabric of the tutu. It is both opaque and transparent. If a man wears a tutu while he runs barefoot, it will make other drunken males want to chase him, thereby increasing his speed training. Plus, he’ll look absolutely fabulous whilst staying in shape.

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Barefoot, Captain Kirk Style Teleportation

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Space Age Barefoot Technology

I am not a mega huge Science Fiction Fan or reptilian humanoid, but I appreciate, Star Trek style, “beam-me-up” technology when I see it. Case in point, GPS. Although there’s something inherently spooky about having the eye of a satellite on you at all times, it’s handy–literally.

I bought a wrist GPS from Amazon to help me easily track my “stone-age human teleporation” mileage. The GPS works great, but it’s klunky as heck to use. I have to know how fast I want to run and how far I want to go. It doesn’t easily allow me to just take my naked ass feet to the streets and track my barefoot mileage as I run, which is kinda why I bought the thing.

Another runner told me about his Garmin Forerunner 405. His has a heart rate monitor (which I would never use, I hate tracking that kind of crap). The feature he likes most is the ANT+Sport wireless technology. Like a Star Trek teleportation, it automatically transfers data from the wrist GPS to his computer. Completely wireless: no cables, no hookups. He also reverses it, sending workouts from his computer to his Forerunner. He’s into speed and distance training. We hardly ever run together. I freaking hate competitive running; I’m much more for a Zen/Chi runner. I run for the fun of it, not to pit my stone-age human teleporation skills against someone else.

Whether you’re a soul runner like me or competitive freak like my friend, the Garmin Forerunner GPS is hard to beat. Best of all NO SHOES REQUIRED.

Buy Garmin Forerunner 405

Yes, that WAS A SHAMELESS AFFILIATE PLUG, you’re welcome.

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What Everybody Ought to Know about Barefoot Shoes

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Did you know that Bare foot shoes are for ADVANCED BAREFOOT RUNNERS?

Nike, Tera Plana, and, heck, even Chris MacDougal won’t say that aloud. But it’s true. The fact is if you simply slap on some Vivo Barefoot Kalis and run as fast and as far as you normally do in traditional shoes, YOU WILL PROBABLY SEVERELY INJURE YOURSELF.

Just listen to what Barefoot Ted has to say to beginning barefoot runners:
“[Barefoot Running] is not good if you are thinking it is some sort of cure-all that only requires taking off your shoes and starting to run injury free without radical changes in the way you may have been thinking of running up to now. If your running strategy has been about very specific time or distance goals, and you have been willing to push through pain to injury, then I would caution you: your bare feet will not allow you to continue this way. ”

Besides the Ridiculous Name, What’s Wrong with “Barefoot Shoes”?

First Consider the Qualities of Barefoot Shoes:

  • ZERO arch support

    If you wear shoes, your arch is weak. Running improperly or properly without it will put stress on your arch. Too much stress means injury.

  • ZERO heel cushioning

    This means your foot hits flat, causing your Achilles tendon to stretch. Regular shoes baby your Achilles. If you put too much stress on your Achilles, it can SNAP leaving you in a world of misery: surgery, cast, and lots of physical therapy.

  • ZERO stability or motion control

    You will automatically pronate when you run without shoes–shoe padding has prevented you from pronating for as long as you have been running. Pronation is nature’s course, but when you start to pronate after years of “forced stability,” you’re knees and lower leg won’t be ready for it.

  • ZERO TOE CRAMPING

    Barefoot shoes allow your toes to splay. This helps with impact. But some of your bones may be stiff from lack of use, which can result in aches.

The problem isn’t barefoot shoes. It’s what they allow you to do: GO TOO FAR OR RUN TOO FAST. The protective sole on barefoot shoes allows you run further than you would in bare feet. Furthermore, the sole, no matter how thin does provide some cushioning. The minor cushioning prevents all the necessary feedback you need to correct your stride. It also tends make you want to run as fast as you did when you wore regular shoes.

I know the forums are lighting up with barefoot running injuries. In fact most of the hits to my blog are for barefoot running injuries. Why? Because when you take off your shoes, you magnify everything. The world comes alive, but so do your atrophied muscles, and stiff tendons and ligaments. If you just “run through the pain”, your feet run the pain through you. If you piss them off too much, they’ll put you on your back.

I love to run, hike, and be barefoot. Removing my shoes has opened me to a world of new experience. But even the majestic Redwood only adds one ring a year.

There is a time for shoes and a time to be bare. The Barefoot Running Gods Welcome all. They told me that WEARING TRADITIONAL SHOES IS NOT A SIN WHEN MAKING THE TRANSITION TO BAREFOOT RUNNING.

BEGINNERS BEWARE OF RUNNING TOO FAR IN THE BAREFOOT SHOES

That said.

Let your Feet be the Judge

If barefoot shoes alleviate some of straight bare ills, by all means wear them. The ultimate goal is running safely and as comfortably as possible.

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How to Use Google Maps to Plot Running Routes

 

It’s easier just use a free smart-phone app called RunKeepr. But for historical reference, I’ll leave the info about Google Maps intact. It’s also worth knowing that Google Maps tends to UNDER ESTIMATE MILEAGE. I thought I was running 3 miles, but my GPS showed that I was actually running 4!
(BTW, if you’re going to run with barefoot shoes, these Invisible Shoes are hard to beat.)

You don’t need to use a fancy, custom running route APP to plot your course and get your mileage. Google has done all the hard work for you. All you have to do is learn a little about how to create custom maps. It’s easier than you think. Plus, you can add images and share your routes with other barefoot runners:

Step By Step:

Use Google Maps to Plot Running Route

First Make Sure you Enter Your Start Address

Use the “My Maps” Link

Click the “Create New Map” Link

Enter a Snappy Name for Route and write a clever description of it. Also decide whether you want the route to be public or private.

If you entered your start address the map should be at your start location. Use the LINE TOOL to DRAW YOUR ROUTE. The LINE TOOL is BEST because it DOESN’T LIMIT YOU TO STREETS. The LINE TOOL also CALCULATES DISTANCE.

Hit “Save”. You’re done. Not too bad was it?

If none of that made sense, don’t worry. This video will show everything you need to know:

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