Hi there everyone. I'm new to barefoot/minimalist running, and here hoping to get advice and inspiration.
As to running background -- I used to run about 10-15 years ago, but was always plagued by knee problems (which I only recently got diagnosed as arthritis), so it was always up & down, on & off with training and running races. As to the barefoot part -- my home life and much of my work is done barefoot anyway, and I wear high heels only about once every 5 years, and I've done yoga for decades, so foot/toe articulation and foot muscle balance and development isn't totally new, so that was good grounding.
I was told about 2 years ago that I should no longer run, after an xray showed that there was little cartilege left in my knees, and I was at the time about 6 stone/85 lbs heavier than normal, and experienced severe swelling and lack of mobility in my knee joints after running only a few hundred yards. I had also developed an undiagnosable inflammatory condition in my feet. But anyway -- long story short -- lost the weight, ditched my old running shoes (really, they were 9 years old!), and started learning to run again from scratch about 6 weeks ago. During the 1st week, I ran with my old trainers while trying to apply midfoot/forefoot strking ala Pose Method/natural running methods, and while that plus no longer being very heavy did make a huge difference, the old problems & sadly a couple new ones (IT band issues) developed after I got a few kms of running done -- so I decided to try barefoot running and then got some Vibrams.
So far, so good. I go back and forth between the roads near my home and the treadmill at the gym; half barefoot and half the time in my Vibram KSOs, half the time getting stares and giggles and half the time being ignored.
Having a lot of fun so far, but my OH is sick and tired of hearing me talk about feet and running, so I thought I'd join you guys here and pester you with all my questions and such
As to running background -- I used to run about 10-15 years ago, but was always plagued by knee problems (which I only recently got diagnosed as arthritis), so it was always up & down, on & off with training and running races. As to the barefoot part -- my home life and much of my work is done barefoot anyway, and I wear high heels only about once every 5 years, and I've done yoga for decades, so foot/toe articulation and foot muscle balance and development isn't totally new, so that was good grounding.
I was told about 2 years ago that I should no longer run, after an xray showed that there was little cartilege left in my knees, and I was at the time about 6 stone/85 lbs heavier than normal, and experienced severe swelling and lack of mobility in my knee joints after running only a few hundred yards. I had also developed an undiagnosable inflammatory condition in my feet. But anyway -- long story short -- lost the weight, ditched my old running shoes (really, they were 9 years old!), and started learning to run again from scratch about 6 weeks ago. During the 1st week, I ran with my old trainers while trying to apply midfoot/forefoot strking ala Pose Method/natural running methods, and while that plus no longer being very heavy did make a huge difference, the old problems & sadly a couple new ones (IT band issues) developed after I got a few kms of running done -- so I decided to try barefoot running and then got some Vibrams.
So far, so good. I go back and forth between the roads near my home and the treadmill at the gym; half barefoot and half the time in my Vibram KSOs, half the time getting stares and giggles and half the time being ignored.
Having a lot of fun so far, but my OH is sick and tired of hearing me talk about feet and running, so I thought I'd join you guys here and pester you with all my questions and such
