Starting over with running/minimalist shoes

It is the perfect time to rebuild your running. What does your doctor say?

I have a similar experience with using minimalist shoes, both to help with knee issues, and to recondition from scratch after a long period of relative inactivity. In my case they also helped a lot with my hatred of running  
Here's what I can think of from my experience: 

- Whichever shoes you pick, make sure they fit well. I know that goes for any shoes, but since minimalist shoes are made to be close-fitting it can be hard to tell which ones are just right. Try on 3 sizes of every minimalist shoe in the store if you have to. (Or, if you're doing the water shoe thing instead, no worries -- who cares if you have to grab a different size when they're $5 a pair.)

- Start VERY slowly. Couch to 5k is a really good idea, actually. 

- Be prepared to feel fatigue in muscles you never noticed before! It's a little bewildering at first.

- You will still need to pay attention to your form -- minimalist shoes just make it a lot quicker and easier to tell when you're doing something wrong. 

- If you wear shoes that are visibly different from regular shoes (like Vibram FiveFingers), get ready for a lot of attention! I never meant to become a VFF evangelist, but almost every time I wear them, I get questions from at least one total stranger who wants to know what is up with my crazy shoes. Common ones are "are they comfortable?" (heck yes) and "can you really run in them?" (also heck yes).

My left knee used to really hurt during and after long runs.  I started wearing Nike Free in June or so and haven't had any trouble since.  Ran a marathon in them in October.  Tried my traditional running shoes a couple times recently and was reminded why I stopped wearing them.

Seems to me you've got nothing to lose by trying minimalist shoes since you're building up slowly anyway.  Hopefully it will help with your knee issues.

Read Born to Run and then decide.

Which is really my way of saying, "go for it". I wouldn't advise Newton's though, I've seen a lot of people get injured with them. They try to "help" you learn a forefoot landing when you don't really need help to learn, just the right shoes.. (none, VFF or Free's). That's just my vicarious experience with them. I've been running in my birthday shoes.

Edited by AdventureBear 2009-12-20 6:34 PM

I don't know the answer to your question, but I can tell you my experience.  I had a knee surgery (before I started running).   I started running in cushioned shoes, and had no serious problems -- I did have to stop for a week a couple of times because the knee pain was more than I thought wise to run through, but otherwise, I was fine.  I am in the midst of gradually transitioning to running in racing flats all the time -- about half my time now is in racing flats.  So far, the knee is neither better nor worse than running in cushioned shoes (Asic Gel Nimbus mostly).

I'm curious, what benefits do you think you'll get from a minimalist shoe or no shoes at all?

There's more discussion here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=189017

I've just started running barefoot, and I like it.

Sorry to hear about your long term knee issues.  Sounds frustrating.  Good luck with your return to running.

I've been transitioning to Nike Free shoes for the last month or so.  My primary motivation was interest in the idea.  I also had/have some nagging, low-grade injuries and wondered if this would make a difference.

Basic observations so far:
1  I like the feel
2  Achilles tendons were very tender at first, but are getting better
3  My prior nagging issues are neither better nor worse (so far)
4  I didn't need to buy Nike Free's.  Taking the insole out of a pair of light weight trainers feels quit similar.

The benefit is that by runnign barefoot you will naturall avoid landing on yoru heel because it hurts and there is little natural cushioning. Your foot, however, has two perpendicular arches along with the soft tissues and fascia which are built to absorb and distribute load while ambulating (walking or running) which does a better job of absorbing shocks than padded runnign shoes with heel landing/overstriding.

Check out a copy of born to run from your local library, he goes into quite an extensive discussion in the last third of the book.

Traditionally, I have hated running and simply tolerated it. Since I started running in my birthday shoes, I really look forward to it and feel energized for several hours afterwards.

Thanks Suzanne.

The reason I asked the OP the question, though, was that I want to know what they think they're going to get out of it. 

I understand what the benefits are supposed to be and I've read the book (and some studies) as I've considered this change.  The book is an enjoyable story, but hardly a fair assesment of the benefits/drawbacks to BF or minimalist running.  For example, not everyone has a foot type, foot strike or conditioning that can effectively transition to BF.  What about prior injuries, foot, ankle, leg and hip mechanics or imbalances? 

The issue that I see with Born To Run and the hype about BF running is the science is not conclusive about BF running.  I'm also not sure its safe to asssume that BF and minimalist shoes are appropriate for all runners (even if they take it slowly).

Just some food for thought. 

Yeah, I'm just kind of toying with the idea, since it's a totally fresh start for me. I read Born to Run, and was actually disappointed it didn't go into the topic a bit more. I've had a couple of friends try to make the switch, and it seemed tricky because they didn't really want to cut back on their miles and didn't know how to balance a switch without losing fitness. Actually the big thing was that I noticed that my instinct on the few occasions I did "run"--like when I was hustling across the street to avoid cars, etc. was to avoid a heel strike at all costs, trying to protect my, knee I guess. I didn't think anything much of it until I noticed similar form when I watched a video of the Born to Run author running and I wondered if there was something to it.Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try and see what happens. I have plenty of heavy boat-like shoes to fall back on if it doesn't work out for me...

Well, it's certainly no scientific proof of anything, but I switched to running in much more "minimal" shoes (basically racing flats) earlier this year, and MY feet love it. My feet used to feel achy & fatigued after long runs in more cushioned shoes, I had nagging low-level chronic pains in my ankles, etc. I get none of that running in the LESS cushioned shoes. I made the transition gradually, starting by running very short runs (2 miles-ish) in the flats, and the rest of my weekly runs in my old cushy shoes. I just gradually built up the distance in the flats, eventually added additional runs each week in them, and now all my running is in flats. I don't see myself going back to more highly engineered shoes. My feet feel MUCH happier in "less" shoe. I'll probably try to incoroporate some barefoot running over the winter (indoor track & treadmill) and see how that goes for me as well.

Give the Vibram 5 Fingers a shot.

Since you're starting up again on a treadmill, I can't think of a single reason (other than the cost) try start with the drastic minimalistic solution.

My reasoning is that cushy padded running shoes have only been around for what..20, 30 years? Heck, even when I had pumas as a kid there was hardly any padding. People have been running for tens of thousands of years without them.

can everyone do it? My guess is yes. Does everyone want to? Probably not. If you're not having any issues and enjoy running as you currently do, what would your motivation be to switch? There would be none.

Scientifically, things like injury reduction are very difficult, if not impossible, to prove with a well designed, well powered study that has statistically significant results. It's just not practical to enroll people in studies like that. most ex phys studies have 8-20 people enrolled, and this sort of analysis would likely require hundreds of poeple or more enrolled over years if not longer. It's also impossible to create a double blinded study for this sort of thing.

So my guess is that there will never be studies that prove or disprove the re-emergence of minimalist running shoes as being better (or worse) for your long term joint health and short term running enjoyment.

In my personal case, it was really a no brainer. I have quit running three times now. The first time I picked up Chi Running and followed some of those things and those changes enabled me to train for and complete Escape from Alcatraz in 06. Then as I tried to work up to half marathon distance, it just became too painful, even with what I learned from Chi. Next came working with Bobby McGee. he enabled me to run for another year and a half. But I was still painfully slow and it wasn't fun, even though my form improved.(by improved, I mean that not only was i looking more like how he recommended...it also hurt less...in fact, didn't hurt at all...I was just slow)

I just came back from spending 12 hours with Bobby McGee over 2 days at the USAT clinic in CO Springs in October. While he didnt' specifically discuss barefoot running as something people should switch to, he did discuss differences in training in the US and in South Africa where he is from. He discussed how many of these runners grew up without shoes on, never lived in heels of any height, traditionally rest by squatting on the ground with heels flat, which effectively keeps the achilles stretched out in a way that Westerners have never experienced in their lives. All of that translates into reasons why some people based on upbringing (south africans) might be better barefoot runners than others (us for example, unless you're from certain parts of appalachia!).

but in my case, since I wasn't running anyway, it was soemthing worth trying. Because I wasn't running, starting off slowly was not a problem. I'm still not doing a lot, only half a mile at a time, but I love it adn I look forward to it everytime I do it.

So havinig always considered myself the worst runner in the world (best running pace in a tri was 10:54 min/mile), and having been told by my doctor that I didn't have a runners body and shouldn't do long distances...I reason that if I can figure it out, anyone can.

it's just a matter of what your motivation is to try and most people won't be interested.

^^^^  Suzanne, I can see from your experiences how BF/minimalist makes sense for you.  I wish you all the best.

And to the OP; you know yourself, your limitations, and your injury history best.  Its good to ask around but be carefull jumping onto the BF/minimalist/VFF bandwagon.  Its not a new thing, as many of us have run BF striders for years or use racing or XC flats, and its not a bad thing, but neither is the approach for everyone. 

My point to you is to question why you want to incorporate this and ask yourself what you expect to achieve from the minimalist approach?  If this approach makes sense for you, try to incorporate it into your training, changing only one thing at a time, and watch carefully for success or failure and for the least sign of injury.