New here and new to this..

Line Kolbe

Line Kolbe

Barefooters
Jul 23, 2013
375
818
93
45
Sweden
#1
Hi all

I'm Line Kolbe and I live in Sweden.
I have a pair of Fivefingers Spyridon on their way in the mail for me (I went for those because I only run trails and the trails here are very rocky with big sharp rocks). I ordered them yesterday and I'm very very excited about this. I'm reading (almost finnished it) "Born to run" and got so inspired.
I've been running on and off for 20 years but never "the right way" and I've always had problems with my knees and shins when I got up in milage.. no wonder..

So there you have it :) I'm here to learn and meet like minded.
I'm glad I found this place.
 
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#2
Welcome Line Kolbe. Just remember to take it slow when first transitioning into the fivefingers. It takes a while to transition and people get too excited at first and sometimes get hurt. Like it can take months and even years for some to transition and for their muscles and bones to adapt. Not sure if you've had any advice on how to transition safely, so if you haven't you definitely should ask for advice so as not to end up hurt like so many of us have. Running minimalist/barefoot is so fun and feels so much better that we often get too excited and end up doing too much too soon.
 
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#3
Thank you Nick
Yeah I know... and taking it slow will be a huge challenge :D
At this moment I run 4 times a week, 7-10 K each run. I know I need to start over.
I've been reading different things. Some say you can keep running the mileage you are at and then transition little by little to your fivefingers by decreasing mileage in the normal shoes and increasing the mileage in the fivefingers, and others say that it's best to really start over. Not run in the normal shoes but cut all mileage down and work it slowly up in the fivefingers.
I can't decide what to do. I think it's best to start over and not run in the normal shoes, and also in that way give the whole body a better chance to adjust. But I can't decide if I want to cut my mileage that much..
 
#4
Hey Line, I'd recommend not using "normal shoes" for running once you start the transition. When I transitioned, I tried switching back and forth and it didnt really help. Your stride changes based on what you have on your feet (or dont have on your feet). For me, switching made it harder to get used to the new stride. Definitely keep it slow and do a LOT less than you feel capable of doing. While you sound like you are in great cardiovascular shape, dont let that force your feet to do something they are not ready for. I experienced the dreaded "Top of Foot Pain" and trust me, it really hurts.

Good luck and welcome!
 
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#5
Welcome, Line! Please feel free to join the Sweden Chapter (Chapters link above). It's a little small, but hopefully, it can get active.
 
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#6
Thank you Joel
I'm thinking the same.. that it's best to just throw away the old normal shoes. And yes I will definitely be in a better cardiovascular shape than my feet will be able to handle. I look so much forward to start running in the ff and I also really don't look forward to starting over and run so little.
 
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#8
I agree with Big Joel completely. Just cut the mileage and set your expectations at starting completely over. Transitioning is not a race and you really need to take as long as it takes to transition. Best to just get rid of all goals for right now and just start completely over as if you are a brand new runner. Better to stay injury free than to keep having setbacks due to injury.
 
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#9
Welcome Kolbe and don't be affraid to start all over from zero.
I was running lots and lots of miles including three marathons when I transitioned to barefoot running.
I went cold turkey into barefooting and started to build up my mileage again from zero miles to a marathon in six months and since I have ran three marathons and an un-official 50K. If I can do it anybody can do it too!
So if you're carefull when transitioning and not pushing it too much it doesn't really take that long to build up mileage or km for you.
One more thing, don't forget to post your progress on the weekly mileage thread.
 
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#13
Line Kolbe said:
Thank you all for the advise. This is exactly what I need.

I needed to hear that I my hunch that it's best to start all over will be best and I needed to encouragement to do it.
:)
Click to expand...
You're a girl!!! based on your name I assumed you were a dude. Dude!!:oops::sorry::embarrassed:
 
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#14
Barefoot Dama said:
You're a girl!!! based on your name I assumed you were a dude. Dude!!:oops::sorry::embarrassed:
Click to expand...
I suspect her name is pronounced like Lena!

Hello and welcome Line - enjoy your running! Take it easy and you'll be fine - just don't rush anything.
 
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#15
Welcome to the BRS!
You're gonna love it here.
 
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#16
Welcome Line,

For the opposite perspective, I tried the shod-BF alternating idea this time around, starting with 500m barefoot runs in between my 5-8km shod runs (in flatter running shoes), and built it up from there. The trick for me was to avoid the temptation to ramp up the BF distance too quickly - I took a month before I stepped up to 1km, then another month to move to 2km, then 3km in the third month and then went from 3 to 6km over the next two months. Super-conservative, but I was coming back after a bout of TOFP, which the good folks here advised me to beat (successfully) by rolling my calves, front and back, after every run.

I then started pushing the distance out on my shod runs, and this led to some knee problems, so I can't say if this is a warning against doing shod/BF, or if it is a pointer to say that I should have started ditching the shoes completely once I got my BF distance up over 6km.

I hope this doesn't muddy the waters too much, but either way the message is the same. Start very slow and don't do too much too soon. Good luck!
 
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#17
He he... yeah I'm a girl :D
It's a Danish name (I'm originally from Denmark, but moved to Sweden in 2008)
My name is pronounced Leenay :D

Thank you for your input Larry.. your approach is what I also considered.

At this point (even though I don't run more than I do, about 30 km a week) my shins hurt from my running, my knees swell when I get above 5 km (so I wear knee protections when I run) and the best thing I can do is start all over and build up again.

What I do wonder though.. could I do some of my normal tracks but walk them and run very very little and then slowly add the running parts of them?
Would that be too much? I mean.. I normally take walks (length about 5-6 km) the days I don't run so I am also used to walking.

I could skip the walks and rest on the days I normally walk. Then I could cut down the runs to 2 runs instead of 4 a week. And then I could do those 2
(at about 7 km each) with very very little running in the beginning and build those 2 runs up before adding another run and so on.

How does this sound?
 
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#18
I also did some short BF distances, alternating with some longer shod runs for a while. It seemed to help at first with keeping my aerobic fitness level up, but after 7 or 8 weeks, the shoes began to feel funny, so I went to totally BF. But like Larry, it let me build up a little more BF distance early on without quitting my normal distances abruptly.
 
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#20
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