More Barefoot

So, I ran the Freedom 5K in my Vibrams and felt awesome. The walking to the parade, standing around to watch the parade, and walking back to the van from the parade didn't feel so awesome.

I've run 4 and 5 mile runs in the Vibrams and felt pretty good. The thing is, I wake up in the morning and my ankle is stiff and my navicular is occasionally tender. Once I get running it starts to feel better. After the run, things feel pretty good. Then I shower and put on my shoes with my orthotics to pretend to listen to my podiatrist and not overdo the barefoot thing. By the end of the day my ankle is sore and my navicular is tender again. Is it the barefoot running or the orthotics? When I wear my Keens, the same thing happens. I'm really just about done with the soreness and tenderness. I think it's about time I feel completely wonderful. Just tell that to my foot...

So any conclusions? Well...
...I'm glad I had the surgery. It's really been very beneficial, for the most part.
...I think the barefoot running is helping. I can feel my left foot getting stronger.
...I'm still waiting for all the discomfort to go away and the desire to run a marathon descend upon me. (Don't hold your breath for those though!)

And, on a completely unrelated subject, I miss my hubby. He is in Washington, getting ready to climb Mt. Rainier and will come home to me in 11 days. I am counting down...

BFRE, Days 2 & 3

(Note to readers: You can skip the BFRE posts. They're mostly for me so I can log my progress. Truly, my feet are not so fascinating that you need to spend a few minutes of your life reading about them each day!)

So, yesterday I ran 1 mile in my Vibrams and 1.5-ish today. Feeling pretty good. My calves don't tighten up as much, which is good. No injuries to speak of. I can tell that I favor my left foot. I think it's because it's weaker and can't run correctly yet. Hopefully that will change. Tomorrow I will wear my Sauconys with my orthotics to run 3 miles. When I get home I plan to cool down a nice and easy 2 miles in the Vibrams. We'll see how it goes

The Barefoot Running Experiment, Day 1

This evening I began The Barefoot Running Experiment. These are my Vibram Five Finger Running Shoes:


I've been researching Minimalist Running and decided to give it a shot. I respect my podiatrist and believe that he really knows what he's doing. I am glad he sliced open my foot and removed my extra navicular bone. I'm just not so sure about the orthotics and all the orthotic-tweaking he's been doing. I made it through the Wasatch Back with Naproxen, Tylenol, my Keens, and my running shoes (complete with orthotics), but now it's time for something completely different.

It's important to ease into barefoot running. Tonight I ran 1/2 mile in my Vibrams. Tomorrow, if I don't notice any discomfort from today, I will run 1 mile. My goal is to run the Freedom 5K on July 5th in my Vibrams.

My observations through and after tonight's run:

Don't think. Just run. This, in addition to being my personal and our Wasatch Back team motto, held true for me tonight. I was trying to pay close attention to my feet -- how I was landing on my heel, trying to lighten my heel strike, how my calves were feeling, etc -- it was too much attention. When I quit worrying about my feet so much, I fell into a natural rhythm that was comfortable and even. I wanted to go further, but I knew if I overdid it I could hurt myself pretty badly.

After the run my calves were a tiny bit tight, but not too bad.

Other than that, I feel really good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run and to increase my mileage.