Half Fanatic #846
"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!
Queen of 3rd Place
Ex runner
#2867
Run to Win25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)
I've been having similar ankle issues - I've been increasing my barefoot mileage over the past few weeks, maybe too fast?
But here's the thing - in previous training cycles in regular running shoes, I get the same ankle aches once I start hitting higher mileage (for me, that's consistent runs over 6 miles or so). So is this an underlying issue that I need to address with a doctor (probably, right? I'm fishing, I know) or something I can minimize by backing off some of my barefoot runs until my feet are stronger?
Barefoot and happy
I did it again - I think I started with too much BF running again. Last week during two of my normal 7 milers I took off the shoes and did 2 miles of it barefoot. I have those pains back again (top of foot and ankles), but also some aches in my lower legs as well (calves seem extremely tight)
So what is a normal build up phase for BF running? Shoudl I start at 1 mile or less, and how much should I build up each week.
The problem is that the actually BF running part feels great. I like it a lot. It is the "after-effects" that are killing me. My legs felt like crap last night on my 5 miler. I was struggling (really struggling) to hold a pace that was probably 30 seconds slower than what normally woudl be an easy pace for me. I ended up dumping the shoes for the last mile, and it felt better to do that at least. But I had to ice my ankles last night because they were a bit achy.
Any helpful advice? My plan was to do 2-3 of these 1-2 mile BF sessions in the middle of some runs during the weeks for the next week or two and tehn try to increase to 3 miles after that. Should I just suck it up and the pains will go away as my feet strengthen and just consider this my transition phase, or should I back off and go slower?
Well, I really don't know what is normal, but I do know what is working for me at 62. Early last year I worked up to 4 miles BF very gradually when injury stopped me for a few months. Now I'm back at it; started at 1/4 mi., then increased every other day or so, BUT by only .05 mi. (.25, .30, .35...). Today I'll do .90 mi. I can sometimes feel weird temporary "pains" (not really pain - probably new or different muscles being stressed) but only once in awhile when I'm running BF. When I get to one mile, I plan to keep it there 3-4x a week until the end of the year, then slowly increase from that BF base.
Although you run a lot and you run every day (man I wish I could do that!!), basically starting out BF at 2 miles and only once a week or so would be a big change for anyone. Run a half mile BF every 2-3 days for a while and adjust from there. Just one way of doing it IMHO - YMMV Look at your long-term goals also...
Bill