The Minimalist Transition

I am very much in the process of transitioning to minimalist running shoes.  I did too much too soon and got myself a super minor injury.  I'm actually glad I got my baby injury because it has pushed me to learn much more about running than Born to Run has to offer.  Born to Run is not about the technicalities of being a runner, but more about the spirit of being a runner and the biological history of human beings runners.

If you're making a similar transition, here are a few things I wish someone had told me at the outset.

Take One Day Off:  If you are like me, you might go out and try running on your forefoot and you might land a little too much on your forefoot instead of your midfoot and you might tear your calves up in the process and you might not be able to walk quite right for a couple days.  You might gimp around feeling antsy taking a day off because all you want to do is go back out and run for miles.  You might enjoy this new running form and philosophy so much that you start running every evening, even heading out at 6 pm when it's still 95 degrees outside.  Then, two weeks later, you might pull your ankle and be done for a couple weeks.  Then, you might be incredibly frustrated for doing too much too soon!

After a lot of reading, I recommend taking one day off in between runs, even if they're small runs.  The Wharton's Stretch Book explains that each time you work out, you tear up your muscles, and then they rebuild a little stronger.  If you work out every single day, your muscles don't have time to recover and get stronger, and you may injure yourself (like me).

Do Good Stretches:  Scott Jurek recommended the Wharton's Stretch Book in Eat and Run.  I went to the Wharton's website to check it out and found this great video about stretches for minimalist running.  This video explains the Wharton's Active Isolated Flexibility method.  I found the videos so useful that I went ahead and bought the book and I've definitely enjoyed it.  My ankle has felt great recently (I'm doing 1/2 mile runs every other day, but no further yet) and I'm not sure if it's due to purposeful stretching, but it might be!

Above is a photo of my home stretching tools: yoga mat, mens sock with a bag of brown sugar in it (stolen from boyfriend... had to buy boyfriend some replacement black socks), double loop around belt for a stretch rope (have since bought this one), dish towel, and small jar of coins to pull on dish towel.  This will all make sense if you watch the minimalist stretching video.

Run Barefoot:  So, I had written off the whole running barefoot thing.  It just seemed a bit too much, and terribly impractical for Dallas.  However, as I read about how to recover from an injury, I kept coming across people who said that barefoot running can do wonders for preventing and recovering from injuries!  A lot of people also support developing good form barefoot before running in minimalist shoes.

I decided to give it a try just to see what the hype is about and, I'm serious, it was loads of fun.  I only ran for 5 minutes.  I went to the Verandah where I'm a gym member because they have ridiculously nice grass that surrounds a 1/4 mile track (I considered using the lawn in front of Dallas Hall at SMU or one of the many parks in the Park Cities... all have really nice poke-free grass).  It really did feel fun and childlike, and there were muscles sore in my feet that I had never felt before.  Also, my ankle still feels great!  So I'm going to try it out once a week sticking with just 5 minutes for now.

For some more thorough and great advice on barefoot or minimalist running, check out this post at Barefoot Monologues!

Running for Pure Love

A few weeks ago, I read Born to Run by Chris McDougall and started running again, but running in a totally new way.  Practically speaking, I ditched my traditional sneakers and changed my form, but I changed something deeply mental and emotional about my running, too.

McDougall argued that too many people run to get something (usually a smaller waist) instead of running for pure pleasure and peace of mind.

To paraphrase Scott Jurek, whose book Eat and Run I'm reading now, it's better to run one mile in peace than ten terrible miles fighting with yourself to move forward.  That's how I used to run (except not the ten miles part).  After about a mile I was miserable and had to try force myself to keep going, which usually failed.  I ran with a heavy heel strike stride.  When I changed to a midfoot/forefoot strike, shortened my stride significantly, slowed down, and relaxed, something felt totally different.  I was smiling and running at the same time.

A lot of people think they are just not runners, but if you run this way, I promise you that you can be a runner.

Bummer is that I did what the minimalist/barefoot running community calls TMTS - too much too soon.  I ran about five miles total the first week I changed shoes and form.  Then, I ran about ten miles total the next week.  Then, I felt an uncomfortable pull in my left inner ankle.  I've spent the past couple weeks taking time off, easing back in, and then going a little too far, so now I'm taking time off again until it heals up completely.  Frustrating but necessary, I think.

I was lucky to have a pair of Merrell Barefoot sneakers given to me right before I was seized with the desire to head out and run like a child.  I have loved running in them.  They're not the cutest by standards, but terribly comfortable.  I just ordered some Merrell Barefoot Run Dash Gloves that I am stoked to try out.