April 27, 2010

As many of you are aware, a lot of the recent questions and thoughts of running and walking center around the subject of barefoot running and walking as an alternative to what you normally do, which is hopefully wear proper footwear during your workouts. The subject of barefoot running is not a new subject and there are a lot of opinions about whether it's good for you or not. There are many articles on how much you do when you're starting to run barefoot, or whether you just start running barefoot immediately, and what the proper footwear may be if there is any. Recently there have been a few shoes that have come out that are supposed to simulate barefoot running. The most talked about one right now is the Vibram FiveFingers shoe. A few years ago Nike came out with their option of the barefoot running shoe called the Nike Free, with a few different versions of the shoe based on how barefooted you actually want to be; and recently a brand of shoe has come out that emphasizes putting you on the balls of your feet while you run, which is the way most of us would run if we ran barefoot. Or you could just haul off and purchase a racing flat which in most cases gets you as close to running barefoot as you can get.

Do any of these shoes work? Yes they all work and they all serve a purpose, but like anything they only serve a purpose if they are used properly. Recently South Magazine in their April/May issue wrote a small piece on barefoot running, a very poorly written piece that started out by saying, "ditch your shoes and bare your sole". I knew the article was not checked out by the magazine and its staff because in the same article they also mentioned the Tybee Marathon, Half marathon, and 5K as a Savannah Strider event, which we all know belongs to Critz BMW, Mercedes, and GMC, and of course there is no longer a marathon. I really enjoy reading South Magazine and all they have to offer but they missed it big time in their writings on both the Tybee event and barefoot running.

So although I am not the end all in information as itpertains to barefoot running, I have been in this industry for over 20 years and have seen the good and bad, the hits and fads come and go. Barefoot running, like anything new you take on or change in your workout regimen should be taken slow. In the barefoot craze as in South Magazine they always refer back to the same old argument, we were born barefoot and we are meant to run barefoot. Well yes, it is true that we are born barefoot and we are meant to run barefoot if we spend our entire lives barefoot, but most of us don't. When we are born they put little booties on us and as we grow we spend time in all kinds of footwear based on our needs in life; and because of this our bodies adapt to the footwear, angles, padding, support and lack of support based on what we are wearing.

So what about barefoot running and is it good for you? Yes, I barefoot run all the time but at a minimum and in the right conditions. I will do a mile barefoot after a run or workout. I take off my shoes find some soft grass or easy surface and easy, easy, easy jog a half a mile to a mile, which strengthens all the muscles including the small supporting muscles and tendons in your feet. This can never be a bad thing, and in the long run it will help you become more efficient when you run. But if you are not used to running barefoot, and you ditch your shoes and just start running and racing barefoot you have opened yourself up to some good chances of injury, plantar issues, small stress fractures in some of the smallest bones in your body bearing the most weight, achilles injuries or ruptures and a host of other small and large injuries that could slow down your fitness progress.

As a trainer I wouldn't ask you to sprint all out the first few times to improve your speed. As a baseball coach I wouldn't ask you to throw as hard as you can the first few times out to improve your fastball; and I definitely wouldn't ask you to run ten miles or even 5 miles or even 3 miles at first if you were just starting to train for your first marathon. It's all about moderation and understanding that in any sport or activity you must give your body time to adjust and adapt. Derek Jeter was born with bare hands, but the last time I checked, even as one of the best short stops in the game of baseball, he is still using a glove. 
 

robert espinoza

"Keep Your Chin Up for Strength, and Down For Prayer"

Fleet Feet Sports Savannah