I recently started reading Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and The Greatest Race The World Has Never Seen, by Christopher McDougall. From the moment I dove into this book I’ve been itching to get out for a trail run. I read about how the greatest runners in the world run for the love of it; for “sheer joy.” McDougall describes running as “…mankind’s first art, our original act of inspired creation…combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.” Who wouldn’t want to run after reading that?
So on my next run, I set out to simply enjoy the experience. I found myself soaking up the beautiful scenery, appreciating that my lungs could pump hard to keep up with the demand, loving every moment, and wouldn’t you know, I was flying! I hadn’t run that fast in a very long time and it wasn’t my imagination, my Garmin Forerunner showed the numbers to prove it. When I went out for a swim a couple days later, I applied the same wisdom and low and behold it worked there too. I hit my fastest 100 since becoming pregnant two years ago and proceeded to hold that pace for 7 repeats. The thing is, I wasn’t trying to push as hard as I could or force my body to go faster. I was totally present and in the flow. It’s amazing how a little flip of a mental switch can have such an incredible effect on performance. I was thirsty to soak up whatever else this book had to say.
As I read on, I came to the part about barefoot running and was extremely intrigued by the ample data supporting this mode of training to both prevent injury and run faster. When I was 28, I completed my second 50K and my first marathon. On my 30th birthday I was the 3rd woman finisher at a trail half marathon in the Marin Headlands, but only 2 months later I started experiencing pain in my left heel. The diagnosis was plantar fascitis along with a stress fracture. While the injury did wonders for my swimming, it took me out of running for over 8 months. Even after wearing the boot immobilizer and multiple sessions of physical therapy, my foot was not 100%. I was convinced that my days of distance running were over. However, McDougall, who had a history of chronic running related injuries including plantar fascitis, had somehow found a way to not only avert injury, but train for a 50 mile trail race.
In his research, McDougall found that most of the worlds greatest runners use barefoot running as part of their training. In fact, he brings to light studies which reveal a direct relationship between how much you spend on your running shoes and the likeliness that you’ll experience a running related injury. A study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (1989) reported that “Runners in shoes that cost more than $95 were more than twice as likely to to get hurt as runners in shoes that cost less than $40.” This barefoot thing was really making sense to me but running straight out skin to dirt did sound a little painful and dangerous. Just as I began questioning if I’m really tough enough to ditch my sneaks, McDougall totally sold me on the Vibram FiveFinger running shoes. Their complete lack of support and thin rubber sole frees your feet to work the way nature intended, allowing you to reap all the benefits of running barefoot while protecting your skin. I immediately went online and found three stores nearest me who carried them. I had it all planned out to buy a pair the very next day.
Well, it’s a good thing I called ahead because as it turns out, tens of thousands of others had come to the same conclusion: I MUST have these hideous looking freaky toe shoes. Vibram apparently didn’t anticipate the impact that this book would have on their business because according to a rep from one running store, the company “has a 10,000 back-order waiting to be filled” and it would be months until they had my size. What a buzz kill.
Although… as I stared longingly at the $100.00 FiveFinger, it dawned on me that they look an awful lot like my surf booties. Hmmm. Why not give it a try? With way too little research, I headed to the breathtaking trails of Castle Rock State Park with my trail shoes on and my surf booties in hand. My plan was to run mostly in my trail shoes with about 2-3 ten minute intervals in the booties on uphill or flat terrain. I’d read that your first barefoot run will make your calves quite sore, so you should ease into it gradually. About 6 minutes into round two with the booties, the muscles around my ankles started feeling fatigued and I felt a tiny twinge of pain in my heel. Oh no! Was this all a big mistake? What was I thinking going out in my surf booties on rugged trails? I switched back to my trail shoes and focused on maintaining good form with tall posture and a short stride. Thankfully everything felt fine, so I went for round 3 with the booties on the last 10 minutes of the run. Amazing.
As I drove home my feet felt as if they’d been awaken from a long hibernation. They felt alive. I have yet to discover the soreness that will follow, but I’m optimistic about the long term possibilities that suddenly seem to have opened up. I’ve always loved distance running but considering the foot and knee pain that had plagued me in the past, I was doubtful that I’d ever race another ultra. But now… that little thought I’d had about running a 50 miler is starting to look like it might actually be possible. Perhaps I’m putting too much faith in this barefoot running frenzy. Or maybe this is the beginning of something huge.
