Jason Robillard's ABC's of Barefoot Running - With Video!

So, I've been on a hiatus for two months now.  What have I been doing?  The list is actually pretty short:

1. Adjusting to having two kiddos at home instead of one. (Change is hard for me, even when I love my kids.)
2. Trying to learn how to not be flustered by change.
3. Working.
4. Running.
5. Playing Xbox (Batman: Arkham City - thanks to my wife for the b-day present!)
6. Annoying my wife by playing Xbox and a sometimes surly attitude.
7. Apologizing to my wife for the annoyance.

I realize both of my readers have been wondering when I would get back to posting again so lets do this!

In true lazy form this post is just pirated info and a link!  A few months ago I did a post on the ABC's of barefoot running as presented by Jason Robillard.  Now there's a video!

Check out the video for a visual "how-to" and get started today!

Barefoot Running Coach Certification - Is it necessary?

Everyone likes to be a certified something.  Lord knows that a lot of my time has been spent acquiring more letters to put behind my name.  Is it always a good thing?  Is it necessary?  Do the letters guarantee results or can you put stock in them at all?  I think that the letters behind my name actually create more responsibility in my everyday life.  I see them as a mandate for keeping up with current understanding of the human machine and the best ways to help any given patient that walks in the door.

That being said, does a certification imply responsibility or can it be just a way to push your way into a place of authority?  Jason Robillard created some controversy when he published a blog post asserting that certifying Barefoot Running Coaches was a bad idea.  Christian Peterson jumped in the conversation with a well thought out post on the other side of the argument.  Christian's post alerted me to Angie Bee's thoughts on her own certification, and Katie Kift's "uneasyness" on certification.

I realize you are just dying to know where I stand on the issue.  It's a question that keeps you up at night and makes you jittery all day.  Well get ready for it, because here it comes!

I'm fine with certification, especially since the certification comes from Lee Saxby and VIVOBAREFOOT.  I've read Lee's awesome "Proprioception" publication and watched some video of him on YouTube and he really knows his stuff.  I was having a lot of trouble with form when I first started and Lee's video help was a great asset to my learning.  It was something I just couldn't understand from reading.  It was like I needed a coach or something...

I think the real trouble will start when anyone and everyone starts their own "certification" program.  What happens when Sketchers starts a "Natural Running" certification and starts teaching people how beneficial it is to run in Shape-ups because they "replicate a natural barefoot experience".  Think I'm kidding?  That is a direct quote from the GOrun section of their website.  I'm not going to link to it, but go check it out.  Look at some of the pictures of people happily overstriding, but landing "midfoot".  They have to land midfoot because there is a giant lump of foam in the way of landing on their heel.  It's really bad stuff.

I guess that's why I'm just fine with Saxby's program.  Get someone who knows about running out there first.  Good luck competing with Sketchers' marketing dollars though.  The point of this post is not to hate on Sketchers so I'll just say go check out their site and be amazed at what you see, then do the opposite of everything they say.

I think the important thing is to help each other out in the pursuit of better running form, barefoot or not.  Bad form kept me from a running career for years and that's almost distressing to me now that I have come to really enjoy it.  Absent a local coach, it is up to each of us to share our experiences and give our own tips and tricks to anyone who will listen, all the while encouraging people to research multiple perspectives until they find the way that works for them.  Share your thoughts on a forum or blog.  Here's a post I did on the topic.  Ask lots of questions and spark discussions on other people's blogs.

I envision a certified coach teaching larger groups on how to get started, but I'm not sure of the utility of teaching one on one.  Maybe it will be beneficial, but I know I probably wouldn't have paid someone to teach me.  I'm sure there are people out there who will, though.  I don't suppose it is that much different than taking golf or tennis lessons, but then again I've never paid for those either.  Maybe that's why I'm such a crappy tennis player.  More power to ya, Coaches!

I'm no pezzonovante in the barefoot running world, but I do have opinions.  What's your opinion?  Do you think running coaches, specifically barefoot coaches should be certified?  Leave a comment below or on Facebook!

Barefoot Running Form - From "A" to "C"

I've wanted to do a semi-educational post for a while rather than just relaying my modest accomplishments, so here it is!  Hold on interwebs, we are rocketing to Planet Knowledge!

As is the case with all good knowledge, most of what I'll relay to you is stolen from others.  Mostly from Jason Robillard.  I hope he wont mind.  He seems pretty laid back, so we should be just fine.  You know what they say about the quiet ones though...

A couple weeks ago I got to meet Jason when he was in Rochester to present a barefoot running clinic.  I even got some proof:

Jason and I at Tradehome Shoes.

Jason presented the new, simplified barefoot instruction program he and the folks at Merrell developed.  They call it BareForm Running and teach it via "The ABC's".  You can (and should) read the post on his blog about it  here, but I'll summarize quickly:

A= Align Posture.  Stand tall with a slight forward lean at the ankles, knees slightly bent.
B= Balanced Foot Strike.  Feet land under the hips, almost flat.
C= Cadence.  180 steps per minute.  A fast cadence helps ensure the balanced foot strike.

That is honestly enough to get you started.  You can check out his book to get some more details on form and such but the ABC's will get you going.  He is still giving his book away, or you can find it on Amazon if you want the hard copy.  I have the hard copy.  I like circling and highlighting things.

So, here are some tips and things I've learned the easy way (from others) and mastered the hard way (practice).

•  It is true that barefoot running leads to a forefoot or midfoot landing, rather than landing on the heel.  That does not mean that the heel doesn't touch the ground.  In fact, the heel and toes touch the ground a split second after the ball of your foot does.  Your foot lands almost flat.  This was a concept that I struggled with in the beginning and it caused me some problems, namely Achilles Tendonitis.  I was staying on the ball of my foot the whole time rather than letting my heel come down.  Which leads me to my next point...

• If you are thinking about trying barefoot running, go barefoot.  Don't try to change your form while wearing the same running shoes you have been wearing, which is exactly where I went wrong.  I developed my Achilles problems after doing a 5K wearing my New Balance shoes, but running "on my toes" the whole time.  At the time, that was how I understood barefoot form.  Had I taken my shoes off, and continued to run "on my toes", I would have soon gotten blisters or some severe foot pain and had to stop running.  My feet would have told me pretty quickly that I was doing something wrong.  I had shoes on though, so I missed the message.  You should save the minimalist shoes for non-barefoot friendly terrain too.  Go barefoot and learn faster.  Once you have good form, those minimalist shoes like the Merrell Trail Glove or Vibram Five Fingers are great for hostile environments.

• Do a lot of barefoot walking outside.  No amount of walking around the house barefoot can prepare you for the sidewalk down the street that is littered with acorn or walnut shells.  Squirrels by nature are evil creatures and they hate people, especially barefoot people.  Their primary means of attack is covering sidewalks with sharp pieces of debris.  Walking barefoot outside will help desensitize your feet to the small debris that will likely be in your way.  It may also give you a clue on routes to avoid when you are out running barefoot.  Your feet become accustomed to little rocks and debris, but not if you stay on carpet.

• Speaking of soft surfaces, don't try to start on grass.  Find some pavement or a smooth gravel or dirt trail.  Grass is a reward for good form.  Running on a hard surface will give you more feedback and allow your form to improve faster.  I have found that when I'm running on grass I tend to start heel-striking right away.  When I got lost on a run a few weeks ago, I veered on to the grass for a bit when my feet started to get sore and I immediately started to land on my heels.  

• Start small and work up from there.  If you are already a runner, don't go out and just do your normal mileage barefoot.  That will likely hurt.  There are a few superheros out there that can transition really quickly with no ill-effects, but most of us need to build distance and speed with a healthy dose of time.

There's a few tips to get you started.  The only way to learn is to go out and practice.  Kick those shoes off and take a walk around the block.  Bring your dog with you.  He will appreciate the walk, and you just might start to remember that being barefoot is fun!  My next post will give some visualization tips on proper running form.  I need some things explained to me a few times in a few ways before I really understand so my hope is to get you thinking about form in different ways to find the best way for you.

Questions, thoughts, or just want to tell me to buzz off?  Leave a comment below or search Barefoot Chiropractor on Facebook.  Look for the picture of my feet!

Day Off

I've been running every other day for the last three weeks now.  That's a much better schedule than I was able to do between my injury in June and the Warrior Dash.  The Warrior Dash on July 23rd was the last time I've worn shoes to run and I've been steadily increasing my distance even since.  In fact, my first barefoot run was only one mile just to see if I could do it.  I went out last Saturday evening and did 3.4 miles!  That was my third 5K distance last week.  I guess you could say that its been going pretty well.  I've been careful to not do too much and to just listen to my feet while I am out and the miles have come pretty naturally.  i'm pretty psyched up about my results so far.  I might even be wicked psyched.

I haven't had any new blisters for quite a while, but I'm still having trouble picking my left foot up and preventing a hard push-off.  I've literally been scraping the skin of my left big toe away on each run.  So I figured a day off is warranted.  I pretty much always have some soreness in my feet the morning after a run too.  I'm just assuming that is normal after doing 3+ miles barefoot on asphalt and concrete when you are still new at it.  I'll find out for sure on Wednesday when I get to ask Jason Robillard in person!  Tradehome Shoes and Merrell are sponsoring Jason to come and give a barefoot clinic in Rochester before is appearance at the Naked Foot 5K in Minneapolis on August 20th.  The Robillard's are rolling into Rochester on Wednesday and there is a group run scheduled for that night.  Here are the event detail links for the "Barefoot Week" in Minnesota.  (I just dubbed it "Barefoot Week".  I'm probably the only one, but whatever.)

Group Run

Barefoot Clinic

Naked Foot 5K

On interesting thing that has happened over the past few weeks is the change in how I view rocks on the trail.  When I first kicked off the shoes in July, a rock was any size of pebble on the trail that might be bigger than a grain of sand.  On my Thursday run, I missed spotting one that was your average sized river rock for landscaping and I hit it with the arch of my foot.  I must have been really spaced out at that point to miss a rock that size, but I'm still amazed at my reaction.  The instant I hit it, my whole body reacted and my foot came right off of it.  I hadn't even hit it hard enough to cause a sensation of pain, just a sensation of something that wasn't supposed to be there.  Our bodies can be pretty amazing when we let them!

17 Weeks

Seventeen weeks ago today, April 12th, I began my latest running career.  The goal was to train for and run the Warrior Dash on July 23rd with Sara, my wife.  We had registered for it in December of last year and were really looking forward to it.  We found out the week before we were supposed to start training that Sara was pregnant with our second child. She was hit with morning sickness (lasting all day) about two days later and dealt with that for weeks.  I decided that I was going to train and run the dash anyway, and my office manager Terri ran in Sara's place.  I was disappointed that Sara wouldn't be able to run since it was something we were going to get to experience together but I wasn't just going to give up, and Sara encouraged me to get training. (Here is a re-cap of the Dash if you missed it.)

I downloaded a program from Jeff Galloway and got moving.  The first run was supposed to be 10-15 minutes.  Jeff is big on run/walk intervals so I decided that I would do three intervals of four minutes, broken up by one minute of walking in-between.  I made it, but it wasn't pretty.  I had started though, which is sometimes the hardest thing to do.  My shin splints returned immediately and I started icing my shins after each run.  I won't re-hash that whole story so go here if you need a refresher.

The main point of this post is this: at some point I have begun to enjoy running, and I'm getting pretty good at it.  I'm not good at it like some people, but I'm having a lot of fun and I think that is what makes a good run.  I still have goals, but the goal on top of it all is to have fun and enjoy it.  All of the other goals come secondary to that.  The run for fun idea is again attributed to Jason Robillard, the mentor I've never met.  After reading a post on his blog, I stopped doing intervals, and timing everything, and mapping everything, and posting each run to Facebook.  I'm just enjoying the process now.  It is the process of becoming a better runner with more strength and endurance, transitioning to all barefoot running, and hopefully inspiring someone else to believe they can do it too.  I will confess that I do still map my runs after I get home, but mostly because I get a charge out of seeing the distance increase. 

Tonight I went out about 9:00, wearing my Merrell minimal shoes due to the impending darkness and completed 2.5 miles.  Never stopping, no shin pain, no stitches in my side, no foot pain, just a lot of fun and a little time to myself.  I've come a long way in the last 17 weeks.  I finished a 5K in June.  I did the Warrior Dash in July.  I've lost 16 pounds.  My lungs and legs are stronger.  I've discovered barefoot running.  I sleep better.  I eat less.  I feel better.  The idea of going out to run excites me now, rather than annoying me.  It's just fun.

Fun or not, I still need a goal.  The spirit to complete things still lives inside me.  I love to check stuff off of lists, but I'm also a procrastinator of the worst kind.  The next goal is this: I registered for the Med City Half Marathon next May!  I registered this early for two reasons.  I figure I need to start training now, plus by registering on the first day it was open I saved ten bucks.  I'm cheap.  Thanks to Vanessa at Vanessa Runs for the heads up on the deal!  You can check her out here.  I'm also reviewing a couple of books for her as a guest reviewer so keep your eyes glued to her site for those.  (I promise I'm not procrastinating on those reviews, Vanessa! I'm 1/3 of the way through the first book.)

My plan is to do the half-marathon barefoot.  There is already a group of barefooters signed up, though I think most are doing the full marathon so I'll be on my own after 10 miles when the courses split.  I just figure that means I get to hit the after-party first!  Doing it barefoot will be a challenge.  I worry that I won't have my feet ready in time after the Winter months.  I'll just have to ask for advice from the pros and semi-pros and do what I can!  One cool thing has already come from registering for the half marathon.  I was talking with my friend Dave just before I registered about how I was planning on signing up.  I saw him a week later and found out he had registered too!  He told me I had inspired him to do it.  I'm quite influential, you know.  Now if only I could get him to ditch his shoes...