Forums >Running 101>Jogging technique... I need advice
I am a casual jogger. I tend to jog on the spot indoors at the moment. I am trying to build up my stamina..but tend to jog in front of the TV late at night. I have a pedometer and set myself a goal of 11,000 steps per day. Of i have not reached my goal I jog on the spot to get to 11,000 steps. THE PROBLEM. is that i am feeling ain in the tops of my feet... I tend to jog barefoot... And I tend to jog on my toes ..is that likely the cause ofmy pain?
Is this something that will go away if I rest? My feet ache on the top even when I am in bed resting them and walking first thing in the morning is uncomfortable....I would love some advice from you veteran runners.... i was hoping to progress to theopen roads.
Thanks for any advice
Running in place doesn't stress your muscles in the same way as running. As you have discovered, it's also far more stressful on your feet. When you are running on the road, or on a treadmill, much of the force of your stride is applied horizontally, to move you forward. In contrast, running in place puts the force of all of your body's weight in a vertical plane, onto your feet. To make matters worse, you are landing, with all of that force, directly on the balls of your feet, and severely stressing the muscle on top of your foot, as it repeatedly acts as a brake, and then a spring, over and over.
The best way to prepare yourself for running is to actually run, whether that is outside, or on a treadmill. If you feel you don't have the stamina to go very far yet, it's OK to take a walk break, and then return to running when you catch your breath. The main thing is to just get out there for now, and put time on your feet, for at least 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week. If you are consistent, you will improve. Gradually, you will do less walking and more running, until you find yourself running for a full 30 minutes at a time.
Running in place doesn't stress your muscles in the same way as running. As you have discovered, it's also far more stressful on your feet. When you are running on the road, or on a treadmill, much of the force of your stride is applied horizontally, to move you forward. In contrast, running in place puts the force of all of your body's weight in a vertical plane, onto your feet. To make matters worse, you are landing, with all of that force, directly on the balls of your feet, and severely stressing the muscle on top of your foot, as it repeatedly acts as a brake, and then a spring, over and over. The best way to prepare yourself for running is to actually run, whether that is outside, or on a treadmill. If you feel you don't have the stamina to go very far yet, it's OK to take a walk break, and then return to running when you catch your breath. The main thing is to just get out there for now, and put time on your feet, for at least 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week. If you are consistent, you will improve. Gradually, you will do less walking and more running, until you find yourself running for a full 30 minutes at a time.
I can't run right now due to a hamstring/glute issue, but I experimented with jumping rope. That doesnt' bother the hammy/glute. However, my feet are killing me, and I also think it's harder on the knees than running is. Given it's 100% up and down, what you said all makes sense.
Just go outside and run. If you need to walk...walk. If you need to go slower...go slower. It's the only way to get better
Just dont call it jogging.
Latent Runner
+1
Fat old man PRs:
CT JEFF
HI - When I run barefoot, I dont get the problem you describe, or at least I havent noticed it yet. When I run long distances (over 10 miles) I would sometimes get soreness on the top of my foot when I was wearing shoes. This summer I was doing 13 mile long runs barefoot and never noticed it, but after a couple weeks rest, just got back up to 12 and did it in shoes and felt the top of foot muscle soreness.
When I started running, I was doing 3 days a week. Possibly you are getting similar muscle pain due to over-use, you said "nightly" right? Giving yourself a couple days off when there is soreness should help you to come back stronger. There may be something to your form / landing that is causing the problem as well. Try different things out, sneakers, socks, whatever. If you are committed to staying barefoot, it is quite different than running with shoes. Reading a book like BAREFOOT STEP BY STEP might be a good first step (you see what I did there?) Good luck. Sorry I couldnt be of more help.
RUN SAFE. Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!
Feeling the growl again
You are not jogging or running, you are bouncing up and down in one spot in front of the TV. So you have no normal footfall, you are landing on your toes and all that stress is going through the top of your foot.
I would recommend you go run outside or in a gym on a treadmill....as slowly as you need to go to get started. Speed is not important.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
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