It’s been almost three months since I purchased my first pair of barefoot running shoes. I wrote about my 2 year search for a the perfect pair that weren’t over the top expensive and weird looking in my post from June titled Are Barefoot Running Shoes Hype?
I promised to update you all about how I liked my new shoes in the upcoming weeks, and since this is the last official summer weekend of 2012, I thought it appropriate to give you the scoop right about now.
The bottom line? I love my barefoot runners! These shoes really do give you a connection with the ground that is sorely missing from typical athletic shoes.
I took them with me on our summer trip to Alaska and Canada and found them nothing short of awesome for all sorts of activities: long distance walking, hiking, rock climbing, and even zip lining from the treetops as you really do feel balanced and secure wearing them.
I wore my barefoot shoes as much as possible for the two weeks before I left for vacation to get used to them as recommended by the manufacturer.
I did not experience much if any soreness or problems adjusting. While wearing barefoot shoes for athletic activities definitely felt strange at first, it certainly wasn’t uncomfortable and during those early days of adjustment, I always stopped right away if I felt like I was going to overdo it and injure myself.
We go barefoot year round at my house as do many people in Florida, so it really did surprise me how long it took me to adjust to these shoes despite being used to barefoot living for most of my life.
Observation: walking around your house all day long barefoot is quite a different thing from doing something athletic wearing barefoot shoes!
The Downside to Barefoot Shoes
Now, for the nitty gritty.
Despite the fact that I really enjoy my barefoot shoes and find them very comfortable and even pleasurable for all sorts of athletic activities, I have just one beef to share with you:
I still can’t run in them!
I have tried and tried to get used to running in my barefoots, but I can only get to about the 1/4 mile mark before my calves and Achilles feel like they have had quite enough. I always stop and don’t push it at that point because I have no desire to injure myself as that would accomplish nothing in the long run. Any athlete knows that an Achilles injury is nothing to mess around with as it takes you out of commission for an extended period of time!
I shared my frustrations with Paula Jager, the Fitness Editor for this blog, at our local food pickup this past week.
What she said shocked me.
Paula shared that it took her a full year to get to the point where she could run any appreciable distance in her barefoot shoes!
Ah ha!
So that’s the secret!
I just haven’t given the whole thing enough time.
I guess this makes sense. Having been active my whole life and participated in a wide variety of sports and outdoor activities, my leg muscles have good muscle tone and getting them to stretch to the point where the muscle tone is equivalent in barefoot mode is going to take quite a bit of effort and time.
I think if I wasn’t a very active person, I ironically would have had an easier time adjusting to running in barefoot shoes as my calves and Achilles would not have good tone in the unnatural shortened position which occurs over time when you wear typical athletic shoes.
So those of you who are just starting out with running and haven’t really done much in the past, I think you will have an easier time with barefoot shoes than I have. Don’t be discouraged by what I’ve experienced!
Based on Paula’s advice, I am back to wearing my barefoots for running again after nearly giving up on the idea some weeks ago. I am alternating my barefoots with my conventional runners and am giving it until next summer to fully convert over.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I love my Vibrams. It definitely has taken me time to build up my strength but I am finally able to run 3 miles. I switched cold turkey. I tried to swap in my old running sneakers once and I couldn’t stand them.
I just bought some vibram 5 fingers after buying 2 pairs of the Merrell pace gloves and wearing them for a few months. The merrells are the all-purpose shoe and the vibrams I got are specifically for running. My feet/toes are really messed up. My toes point to the angle instead of straightforward, and I’ve always had to wear arch support. So, after a few weeks, I am still getting used to the 5 fingers. I love my pace gloves but I don’t think they are necessarily preferred running shoes. However, I was doing a running class at the YMCA last week and wore my 5 fingers for the first time to it. I thought- well here goes nothing. Once I got going, I realized how they actually were designed to push you forward with minimal effort. I was outpacing everyone else in the class! I wasn’t even pushing that hard. I did get tired though, because I live in South Texas and its still humidly hot here and my heart was pounding with all the hills. So I got tired from that but running in those felt awesome! Even though my feet are so messed up. Anyway, just adding my experiences to the mix.
Whoops, sorry, forgot the link for that particular website.
http://minimalistrunningshoes.org/
Live my shoes!! Except I would have loved some that looked like yours mine are the toe kind…. I hope you enjoyed your time in Alaska, my home!!!
I would love to try these shoes out, but I have 2 problems that I was wondering if anyone has had experience with. I have orthotics for pronating arches. With out them (and trust me I love going bear foot) my feet and knees and back ache. I used to be a life guard and was barefoot a lot. My feet were always sore when I wasn’t wearing my shoes and orthotics.
Also when I was a kid I had stitches on the knuckle of my big toe. The join capsule or sac was also injured and never healed properly. It looks like i have a bunion on my foot, but it is just because of the joint injury. This also aches when I don’t wear supportive shoes. Would barefoot shoes be helpful for someone like me? I have really wide feet and I find I wear out even the widest of shoes.
THanks!
Laura- sorry, I don’t have much experience. What you might try it going to a shoe store, or online place like Zappos where shipping both ways is free. Buying a pair of shoes with lift out inserts. See if your inserts would work. All the shoes I mentioned in my previous response all have removable inserts. So far I haven’t needed to change them as my pronations seem okay. I do plan to go to a local shoestore where they will check your gait. You might want to try something similar to the brooks green silence. Those are not quite 100% minimalist. There are a few other brands that are good, but I’m totally drawing a blank on that. You might want to read up on minimalist and barefoot shoes, and see the differences. There seems to be a total explosion of these shoes coming out now, and it can be confusing. Here’s one that I googled, not sure if it can help, but reading about the height, uses, weight might help. I picked one out of the right column and it seemed to have a lot of info. Although the internet has a ton of info.
I love mine too. I can do about two miles in them, and when I switch back to my regular runner, I get really sore.
You scared me…I thought you were gonna bash bare foot running! Glad you like it – I love it although I don’t run, I hike the Rockie Mountains.
For the girl with the “tons” of kids. I thought people stared at us a lot, we were “that” family on the corner. We homeschooled, and well, didn’t follow the norm. Once people got to know us, that helped a lot. Like, they realized I was not judging them for their choices and they came around. Eventually letting their kids out of jail to play with ours. My kids were eventually popular around the neighborhood, and my house somehow became the “refuge” or the place to go. I disliked it and loved it, love/hate thing.
In your case, I’m surprised the police have not made any suggestions on how to deal with false accusations like this. This should be noted in their files on how many calls there are.
I’d call up the desk/police and tell them your case, the scenario, and ask them for suggestions on what you can possibly do to avoid tieing up police man hours, and reaching some solutions. Might not help, but worth a try. I like the other suggestions also.
Hope you can reach a resolution with this, like life isn’t difficult enough.
I’d love if you were my neighbor!
I love the barefoot shoes, and the pace dasher is on my list of wants. I’m not even a runner. My calves are looking much more toned, and my shoes have helped in my recovery from an illness that left me weak. Of course, bone broth and other things get credit too.
I do wear other shoes, like the J-41’s dash mesh and Jambu. Not all say they are minimalist, but I could definitely tell the difference. Patagonia have some that are minimalist, but don’t look like it. I guess it’s the differential heights. There are many mid range shoes. My Brooks green silence were the best for break in. And at 6 oz. I love the weight.
http://daytripped-running.blogspot.com/2011/05/brooks-green-silence.html
Oh, just wanted to mention, I’m no athlete, am 55, with a 3 1/2 yr old in my home, and lots of other grandkids that don’t realize that the word grandma means you can’t or shouldn’t be running and playing like your 30. Despite setbacks, I try hard, and will try to surf again next summer.
The super achy calves lasted about 3 weeks for me when I started running barefoot and with minimalist shoes (Merrell Pace Gloves). I would run about 30 minutes at a time every other day, just going at a pace that felt good (not even sure of what that early milage is). You are building up muscles that you haven’t really been using before, so you have to take it slow. I can see a hardcore runner taking a year to get back up to their hardcore time, but for normal recreational runners, I think a few months is more like it, as long as you don’t push your body and injure yourself. Also try running in place barefoot focusing on your form. 🙂