Home made Huarache sandle

Did my first mile tonight in home made Huaraches they worked well, no slip or slid they did not move at all, at 2mm they did not offer much protection but were perfect on the road I would like to find some 4mm leather to try on a trail if anyone has any idea of a source let me know, I used an old pair of laces to tie them on again I would like to source a leather tie for this.

Dogs Dangly Bits

KSO Treks are the dogs dangly bits.

Ran from Tyndrum to Beinglass in the Treks for the Glee club run.
They have good grip and fit well, they offer much more protection than the standard KSO but you still have to take care to avoid stone bruising on the ball of foot.
From Tyndrum up through the woods and along the open section to Carmyle cottage was fine but after that the last couple of miles on the trail into Beinglass I was finding it hard work.

On inspection of my feet at Beinglass I had 1 hot spot on inside edge of BOF of my left foot, Stuck a compeed on to protest it and then changed into the Inov@8 F-Lites for the return journey. These are a really great shoe weight is only 230 grams and again do not offer much protection but they felt like moon boots after the Treks.

It took me a couple of miles to get into running with the F-Lites and I was slower on the return leg, I think the concentration of running in the Treks and the use of the Hamstrings rather than the Quads had taken more out of me than I had realised.

On Sunday we did part of the Heart of Scotland 100 route from just outside Dunkeld to Aberfeldy as it turned out this section was a marked cycle route so navigation was not an issue we did 14.5 miles and I ran in the F-lites but the terrain was such that had my feet not been tired the Treks would have been just fine.

My toes are beginning to spread I have gaps where I never had before this can only be a good thing. I am not sure how long the process will take but so far so good.

Mine is small and deformed.

I walked round the changing rooms of the leisure centre the other night looking at everyone else’s they were all longer and fatter than mine, I am deformed.

Why was I born with pinkie toes a good 15mm shorter than my second toes? It does cause me issues when wearing the VFFs

Folks are asking why minimal shoes.

Normal shoes tilt your body forward which puts all the muscles and ligaments in your feet under stress and there are 650 muscles and 250 ligaments so that’s a lot of stress.

I feel the raised heel limits the movement of my ankles and promotes heel strike.
By running in a minimal shoe with no rise from front to back I don’t heel strike and it allows full stretch of my Achilles and calf muscles, which seem to be adapting just fine.

When your barefoot or minimalist you just don’t heal strike simples.

This means that I run with a shorter stride at a higher cadence and land with my weight over my centre of gravity with bent knee, the bent knee is like a big spring and takes up all the shock from the body much better than an inch of gel could.

My Treks arrived yesterday and I wore them for 12 hours straight and they are fantastic, I did a 5 mile run in them off road and they have much more grip on wet grass and mud.
They did dull the feeling under foot a little but that’s what I wanted as I have been feeling everything way to much during this transition.

So do I wear them this weekend on the WHW training run , decisions, decisions

Ultra Sensitive Dod

Running ten miles in the VFF KSOs last night hurt.

So what's going on I ran a ten-mile loop 1-mile road 1 mile rough track with gravel then 6 miles trail then back down the gravel and road. Last time I did this route was before UTMB and was in the VFF classics and everything felt good. Last night I felt every little rock and stone.

I found the following statement on a Barefoot running site


Quote

Our feet need to feel the ground so we can walk and run naturally. When we block this sensation by wearing shoes, our feet try even more to feel the ground. We develop an ultra sensitivity in our soles. After years of being blocked, we remove the shoes, and our feet are over stimulated. And we think, how did we possibly run around and play barefoot when we were kids?

So Perhaps my feet are going through a sensitive period before they toughen up a bit.

I have been living barefoot as much as possible and wearing minimal footwear so I think they are going through a period of adjustment.

Here is the list of what I am trying to achieve while running.

· Weight on ball of foot, or flat footed (on rougher surfaces or at slowspeeds)
· Let heel down gently· Bent ankles
· Lean forward from ankles (not waist)
· Bent knees· Hips under body
· Torso vertical
· Lift foot
· Swing left arm with right leg
· Allow torso to twist
· Swing right arm with left leg
· Elbows approximately right angles

And you though running was just a case of putting one foot in front of another.

Do the pelvic thrust

18.2 miles today the longest run so far in the F-lites if felt good with an average pace of 9:13 on an undulating off road trail so 2 hours 47min. I ran without the support blanket of a full back pack and just had 2 slices of Soreen cake with me, I ate them more because I wanted than needed them, I was a bit thristy by the time I got back but your hardly going to die from dehydration in Scotland in September.

To try and run with better form especially during intervals I am trying to engage my core and tilt my pelvis forward to make sure that my centre of gravity is over my ball of foot, to do this I have to place my hand on my back and tilt pelvis forward its not easy at 6:15 min mile pace but when it works I find my self at 5:15 min mile pace its not for long and it looks a bit Gay but its working.

When not running I spend most of my time walking around in old running shoes.
I realised this week that it was kind of stupid to be running barefoot or minimal shoes and to be barefoot around the house but to be wearing supportive shoes at all other times, which lets face it is longer than the times I spend running.

So I splashed out this week and bought 2 pairs of new shoes now if you google minimal shoes you get canvass shoes at £40 a pair but if you google canvas shoes you can find them for £6 a pair sorted.

I am wearing them without socks at least until it gets really cold this will help enhance the proprioceptive feedback loop.

Because I have spent most of my life wearing shoes my Achilles tendons and calfs have shortened and so feel tight when barefoot, wearing minimal shoes should speed up the adaption process. But just like you need a rest day in an exercise program I think I still need to spend time in support shoes on some days during the transition process.

Seems like I am not only learning to run barefoot but now I also have to learn how to walk barefoot or minimal.

I have not as yet been brave enough to throw out all the old running shoes and I have not figured out what to wear on my feet in the depths of winter when at work.

Barefoot Dod, The experiment continues

Picture of the new Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek, the next shoe on my wish list

I am trying to run more efficiently and believe that by running barefoot or close to barefoot that I will be able to listen to my body more and be able to do this while also injury proofing my body,

There are more nerve endings in our feet than any other place, so it seems to make sense to listen to the information we get from these than ignore them by covering them with an inch of rubber and gel etc.

I ran the UTMB in Roclites not exactly a minimal shoe weighing in at 315 grams but much lighter and with much less support than what a lot of folk choose to use.

The balls of my feet took a fair bashing and I discussed this with my coach as I was concerned that perhaps some times you can be to minimal. Here is his reply.

I suspect that the number of people who finished, no matter WHAT they had on their feet, who didn't have bruised Balls Of Feet will have been zero!That said there is a balance to be had. You want to avoid too much 'point' bruising from sharp stones that you fully 'weight' (you know what I mean, I'm sure!!) but also, the more distance and cushioning that you have between your foot and the ground, the harder you will hit it (because of the dulling of the proprioceptive feedback loop from your feet to your brain).Personally, I think the more you do, the more your feet will accustom themselves to that kind of usage.I think that the more that you do in the VFF's or barefoot, the hardier your feet will get, and the tender BOF thing will lessen!.


My main training shoe of choice at the moment is the F-Lite 230 grams I would class these as a transition shoe.

This Saturday I did 13.5 miles in the f-lites and then on Sunday did 6.5 miles in the Vibram Five Fingers KSO, on Monday I did 4 miles in the Vibram Five Finger classics.

So a small step forward in my plan to run the Devil close to barefoot