Let me apologize for the length here- just trying to get accurate information. Please skip to the bottom for a short summary if you do not wish to read. 
So here is my story- I have been running for a long time as a result of being a Marine- however I was always bigger into lifting than running. Back in 2011 I had been reading and hearing a lot about Vibram Five Fingers and "barefoot" shoes in general. In the summer of 2011 I went to a running store that videotape me on a treadmill, showed me that I over-pronated (more with my right foot) and gave me some Brooks GTS shoes with some decent arch support (I am flat footed). I ran in these with relatively no issues, in fact I never really had issues when running before at all. I trained in them, and ran my first Tough Mudder in October of 2011 and had no problems again. I bought a pair of Vibrams around this time but decided to hold off on running in them until after Tough Mudder.
In hindsight, part of me wishes I hadn't changed to Vibram's as I have heard a LOT of folks say that if you don't have problems or injuries running in normal shoes, there is no need to switch to minimalist. However I took the plunge, and now I am committed to stay with them. I started (SLOWLY) training in my Vibram's after Tough Mudder, to prepare for my 3 mile PFT run in April. A week before my PFT I took one 3 mile run in my old Brooks GTS shoes just to see if they felt better before my PFT. When I got home my knees hurt so bad- it was more of a soreness than pain, but it was definitely NOT the shoe I was going to run the PFT in. Interestingly enough I had no issues with the Vibrams throughout this time, and ended up running my fastest PFT ever- whether it was the training or the shoes is up for grabs. I continued to run and train in my Vibram's for the next few years, running multiple 5k's, and 10-13 miles Spartan Races and Tough Mudders in them with zero issues. However, when training for those races I never ran more than 5 miles at a time. I focused on the lifting, and ran every other day typically 3 miles, sometimes up to 5 on a day that I felt like it- always on pavement/concrete sidewalks.
Last year was when I really started to understand that changing shoes wasn't the only thing to going minimalist. I started studying form- excessively- and still do. I bought a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes that I could wear everyday instead of the huge clunky boots I used to wear all the time, and occasionally ran in them instead of my Vibrams. I have learned that even today I must constantly re-evaluate my form throughout my runs. I started having back issues in 2012-2013 that I believe are totally unrelated to running- but I started seeing a NUCCA chiropractor, who confirmed that I had an imbalance- I always thought I had a leg length issue. 8 months later I am balanced out on both legs, even weight distribution and no back pain. I never stopped running during this time because it only hurt to sit down, standing/running was fine. He is a fan of the minimalist shoes- so even though I was debating going back I decided to stick with them.
This year I decided to go all out and get serious about my running. I am signed up for a number of road races, a marathon at the end of the year, obstacle races, a couple half marathons, etc. I am following a marathon training plan that obviously has me working up to a ton of mileage- currently at about 20 a week- on pavement/sidewalks. I am learning that my minimalist shoes feel WAY better on 10 miles grass/trails than they do on 10 miles of pavement.
Current issue: I ran a PR 13 mile Spartan Beast and ended up i think 6th in my age group back in late October of 2013, but ran the entire race with a weird ankle injury that had been lingering since August- and decided to take most of the winter off of running and get back to lifting. I still ran occasionally, but the break seemed to help because my ankle is fine now after nagging me for months. I slipped on the Vibrams in February, and started my marathon training. I started out just doing 1.5 mile runs for a week to make sure nothing felt wrong, worked my way back up to three in a week or two, then up to 5, and then started doing long runs (8+ miles) about a month and some change after getting back to the Vibrams. I am realizing that because I took so much time off for the winter, I may be a victim of "too much too soon" and perhaps should have started slower- unfortunately my first two races were in April and May. I started using my Vivobarefoot shoes with the insole for a little extra padding for anything over 3 miles to try to avoid some injuries.
The problem I am/was having: The biggest thing that worried me was what I thought for SURE was plantar fasciitis. However, I'm not sure now but don't want to aggravate it if I can stop it now. I hear it is harder to heal the longer it lingers- if that is what it is. I have zero pain when running, thought my feet do get a little "tired" after 5 or so miles. I also very occasionally had pain starting out on my runs but generally only after 3 or 4 days of running a good amount in a row, and it goes away quickly after I start- and is gone after my first rest day. Because the pain is rarely- if ever in my heel- I think this may be more of an arch problem- that they are either getting stronger, or just not strong enough for the distance I am doing.
I wake up with a feeling in my feet that I think is best described as "pins and needles"- but it is not painful, and it is kind of all over the bottom of my feet, but not in the heel. It goes away after a few steps- which is one of the reasons I was thinking it was PF. They mostly just feel "tight" and that I need to get them loose. I have been following treatment for PF (stretching calves and achilles throughout the day, foam rolling, standing/rolling feet on a frozen golf ball, pulling toes towards shins before getting out of bed in the morning) and all of that seems to help that pins and needles feeling in the morning, and relieve some of that tightness. The other issue that cropped up this month- I ran an 11.03 mile road race last weekend. The week before I went for a short 3 mile run in my Vibrams, and when I finished my right arch (the foot I apparently overpronate more than the other), between the heel and the big toe- felt incredibly tight. It almost felt like a charlie horse in my arch, that I could not stretch out. I walked around for a bit and it went away, but it freaked me out. I decided not to run my race in Vibrams, and opted for the Vivobarefoot shoes with the insoles put in. As an added note the top of my first metatarsal on my right foot has been sore, which is why I am thinking I need more padding or I am landing too hard- but maybe I am still overpronating that foot?
I ran a good time, 1:27:00 even and had a pace of around 7:50 which is good for me, my long runs usually are around 8:30-9:00 minutes, and this run had a lot of hills. I noticed around mile 8-9 the balls of my feet were burning a bit. I finished the race, took a few days off and have felt fine. Wednesday I ran 3 miles, and did 4 the next day both in my Vibrams and feel fine today. I can't really let off the gas too much because I have a half marathon May 18th, but I am looking for advice. Does this sound like Plantar Fasciitis? If so, how can I be doing these distances without pain, just the "pins and needles" in the morning? Especially the 11 miler- I feel like I should have been really hurting after that but I felt fantastic- I feel like PF would have ruined me the next morning.
To close out- I have decided that I should probably get something with a bit more padding for now, just to try it out while I get my feet used to these longer road runs. I am also thinking that Vibrams for a marathon in October may not be doable just yet, and maybe I should go with more padding for the marathon. I bought a pair of Altra One's, Instinct 1.5, and Saucony Virrata's last night to figure out if that helps- I don't plan on keeping all of them but I can't try these shoes on without traveling over an hour- thank you Amazon Prime. Did I go too much in terms of stack height? Will I be going backwards in progress if I start going from 6mm stack height in my Vivobarefoots to 16+mm height for my long runs? Just curious if I should have gone somewhere in between, like 8-12mm total stack to allow myself to better adjust my feet and strengthen them?
I have always heard that flat feet are terrible and flat footed people will have terrible pain with minimalist shoes- until recently where I have read some new studies that go against that claim- by the way my arches are much stronger and not nearly as flat as when i started in minimalist shoes. I was considering going with something that had a 4-8mm drop for my long runs- but I am not sure what that would have helped if anything- so I went with the extra padding. Was this the right choice? I see a pair of Inov8 Road X-Lite 155's on sale today that I am tempted to try, but there is no free return shipping and I don't know that the 3mm drop would be beneficial at all?
Too long, didn't read: Flat footed minimalist runner for 3 years with no issues at short distance, occasional long trail runs, took the winter off and got back up to about 15-20 miles a week within a month. Pins and needles feeling in the morning- is it PF? Should I stick with Vibrams for marathon/long runs since my marathon isn't until October and I have time, or should I use more padding/arch support/more drop for those? I basically don't know if the feelings are my feet getting stronger, or telling me to slow down/add support. And if it is support do I go stability/arch support, zero drop with more padding, or a normal shoe with a low-ish drop? ANY advice is appreciated!!
So here is my story- I have been running for a long time as a result of being a Marine- however I was always bigger into lifting than running. Back in 2011 I had been reading and hearing a lot about Vibram Five Fingers and "barefoot" shoes in general. In the summer of 2011 I went to a running store that videotape me on a treadmill, showed me that I over-pronated (more with my right foot) and gave me some Brooks GTS shoes with some decent arch support (I am flat footed). I ran in these with relatively no issues, in fact I never really had issues when running before at all. I trained in them, and ran my first Tough Mudder in October of 2011 and had no problems again. I bought a pair of Vibrams around this time but decided to hold off on running in them until after Tough Mudder.
In hindsight, part of me wishes I hadn't changed to Vibram's as I have heard a LOT of folks say that if you don't have problems or injuries running in normal shoes, there is no need to switch to minimalist. However I took the plunge, and now I am committed to stay with them. I started (SLOWLY) training in my Vibram's after Tough Mudder, to prepare for my 3 mile PFT run in April. A week before my PFT I took one 3 mile run in my old Brooks GTS shoes just to see if they felt better before my PFT. When I got home my knees hurt so bad- it was more of a soreness than pain, but it was definitely NOT the shoe I was going to run the PFT in. Interestingly enough I had no issues with the Vibrams throughout this time, and ended up running my fastest PFT ever- whether it was the training or the shoes is up for grabs. I continued to run and train in my Vibram's for the next few years, running multiple 5k's, and 10-13 miles Spartan Races and Tough Mudders in them with zero issues. However, when training for those races I never ran more than 5 miles at a time. I focused on the lifting, and ran every other day typically 3 miles, sometimes up to 5 on a day that I felt like it- always on pavement/concrete sidewalks.
Last year was when I really started to understand that changing shoes wasn't the only thing to going minimalist. I started studying form- excessively- and still do. I bought a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes that I could wear everyday instead of the huge clunky boots I used to wear all the time, and occasionally ran in them instead of my Vibrams. I have learned that even today I must constantly re-evaluate my form throughout my runs. I started having back issues in 2012-2013 that I believe are totally unrelated to running- but I started seeing a NUCCA chiropractor, who confirmed that I had an imbalance- I always thought I had a leg length issue. 8 months later I am balanced out on both legs, even weight distribution and no back pain. I never stopped running during this time because it only hurt to sit down, standing/running was fine. He is a fan of the minimalist shoes- so even though I was debating going back I decided to stick with them.
This year I decided to go all out and get serious about my running. I am signed up for a number of road races, a marathon at the end of the year, obstacle races, a couple half marathons, etc. I am following a marathon training plan that obviously has me working up to a ton of mileage- currently at about 20 a week- on pavement/sidewalks. I am learning that my minimalist shoes feel WAY better on 10 miles grass/trails than they do on 10 miles of pavement.
Current issue: I ran a PR 13 mile Spartan Beast and ended up i think 6th in my age group back in late October of 2013, but ran the entire race with a weird ankle injury that had been lingering since August- and decided to take most of the winter off of running and get back to lifting. I still ran occasionally, but the break seemed to help because my ankle is fine now after nagging me for months. I slipped on the Vibrams in February, and started my marathon training. I started out just doing 1.5 mile runs for a week to make sure nothing felt wrong, worked my way back up to three in a week or two, then up to 5, and then started doing long runs (8+ miles) about a month and some change after getting back to the Vibrams. I am realizing that because I took so much time off for the winter, I may be a victim of "too much too soon" and perhaps should have started slower- unfortunately my first two races were in April and May. I started using my Vivobarefoot shoes with the insole for a little extra padding for anything over 3 miles to try to avoid some injuries.
The problem I am/was having: The biggest thing that worried me was what I thought for SURE was plantar fasciitis. However, I'm not sure now but don't want to aggravate it if I can stop it now. I hear it is harder to heal the longer it lingers- if that is what it is. I have zero pain when running, thought my feet do get a little "tired" after 5 or so miles. I also very occasionally had pain starting out on my runs but generally only after 3 or 4 days of running a good amount in a row, and it goes away quickly after I start- and is gone after my first rest day. Because the pain is rarely- if ever in my heel- I think this may be more of an arch problem- that they are either getting stronger, or just not strong enough for the distance I am doing.
I wake up with a feeling in my feet that I think is best described as "pins and needles"- but it is not painful, and it is kind of all over the bottom of my feet, but not in the heel. It goes away after a few steps- which is one of the reasons I was thinking it was PF. They mostly just feel "tight" and that I need to get them loose. I have been following treatment for PF (stretching calves and achilles throughout the day, foam rolling, standing/rolling feet on a frozen golf ball, pulling toes towards shins before getting out of bed in the morning) and all of that seems to help that pins and needles feeling in the morning, and relieve some of that tightness. The other issue that cropped up this month- I ran an 11.03 mile road race last weekend. The week before I went for a short 3 mile run in my Vibrams, and when I finished my right arch (the foot I apparently overpronate more than the other), between the heel and the big toe- felt incredibly tight. It almost felt like a charlie horse in my arch, that I could not stretch out. I walked around for a bit and it went away, but it freaked me out. I decided not to run my race in Vibrams, and opted for the Vivobarefoot shoes with the insoles put in. As an added note the top of my first metatarsal on my right foot has been sore, which is why I am thinking I need more padding or I am landing too hard- but maybe I am still overpronating that foot?
I ran a good time, 1:27:00 even and had a pace of around 7:50 which is good for me, my long runs usually are around 8:30-9:00 minutes, and this run had a lot of hills. I noticed around mile 8-9 the balls of my feet were burning a bit. I finished the race, took a few days off and have felt fine. Wednesday I ran 3 miles, and did 4 the next day both in my Vibrams and feel fine today. I can't really let off the gas too much because I have a half marathon May 18th, but I am looking for advice. Does this sound like Plantar Fasciitis? If so, how can I be doing these distances without pain, just the "pins and needles" in the morning? Especially the 11 miler- I feel like I should have been really hurting after that but I felt fantastic- I feel like PF would have ruined me the next morning.
To close out- I have decided that I should probably get something with a bit more padding for now, just to try it out while I get my feet used to these longer road runs. I am also thinking that Vibrams for a marathon in October may not be doable just yet, and maybe I should go with more padding for the marathon. I bought a pair of Altra One's, Instinct 1.5, and Saucony Virrata's last night to figure out if that helps- I don't plan on keeping all of them but I can't try these shoes on without traveling over an hour- thank you Amazon Prime. Did I go too much in terms of stack height? Will I be going backwards in progress if I start going from 6mm stack height in my Vivobarefoots to 16+mm height for my long runs? Just curious if I should have gone somewhere in between, like 8-12mm total stack to allow myself to better adjust my feet and strengthen them?
I have always heard that flat feet are terrible and flat footed people will have terrible pain with minimalist shoes- until recently where I have read some new studies that go against that claim- by the way my arches are much stronger and not nearly as flat as when i started in minimalist shoes. I was considering going with something that had a 4-8mm drop for my long runs- but I am not sure what that would have helped if anything- so I went with the extra padding. Was this the right choice? I see a pair of Inov8 Road X-Lite 155's on sale today that I am tempted to try, but there is no free return shipping and I don't know that the 3mm drop would be beneficial at all?
Too long, didn't read: Flat footed minimalist runner for 3 years with no issues at short distance, occasional long trail runs, took the winter off and got back up to about 15-20 miles a week within a month. Pins and needles feeling in the morning- is it PF? Should I stick with Vibrams for marathon/long runs since my marathon isn't until October and I have time, or should I use more padding/arch support/more drop for those? I basically don't know if the feelings are my feet getting stronger, or telling me to slow down/add support. And if it is support do I go stability/arch support, zero drop with more padding, or a normal shoe with a low-ish drop? ANY advice is appreciated!!
