I’ve been running for 30 years and running barefoot for over two years. In the last two years, I’ve participated in wide range of running from sprints to 15km races. HOWEVER, despite two track session each week where my sprints (60-400m) have incrementally improved, my longer runs and races are getting slower. This is, in part, a consequence of getting ferocious blood blisters on the balls of my feet nearly every time I pick up the speed in longer runs and road races. I have tried Vibrum 5 fingers when road racing, but still seem to get blood blisters (but in slightly different spots). I think I can safely say that my technique degrades as the speed increases, that the grass running track is forgiving of poor technique but the road is not.
Two common suggestions to improving barefoot technique (ie, to avoid blood blisters) are to slow down and to increase cadence. If I get much slower, I’ll need a Zimmer frame to stay upright and my cadence is currently 180-185, so I see little scope to improve by these common remedies.
Goals I set 2 years ago are fading rapidly. I’m I condemned to running slow, because I choose to run barefoot?
Who else has experienced a reduction in speed-endurance since going barefoot and how have you overcome this?
Steve
Barefoot and happy
Without seeing your log it's hard to say what's going on.
Are you running more miles or less than you were two years ago?
Ed4,
The recording of my running is fairly haphazard so seeing my running diary will be of little help but my routine is well established.
Thru most of 05 & 06 I was following the Furman FIRST program (http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm) and found it very useful for preparing for the Jacksonville, FL and Sydney, AUS marathons and a fist full of half marathons. Typically training was restricted to 3 workout a week: an interval session, a tempo run (5-15km) and a long run (15-35km). Distances increased as one got closer to the marathon. My steady state training, when not preparing for a race, was an interval session of mostly 300-400m reps, a tempo run of 2 x 3km and a 15-20km long run.
In mid-late 07 (after a 6 month tour of Iraq), I transitioned to barefoot running and reset my goals away from marathons to the Mile. A typical week included a long interval session (300-400m reps on Mondays), tempo run (3-5km on Tuesdays), short intervals (60-100m reps on Thursdays), short XC race (2 or 4km on Saturday) and a long run (10-15km on Sundays). This was punctuated by the occasional 5 and 10km races (Mile races are harder to find).
I have recently added a 5km run most morning and afternoon for the purposes of commuting to and from work (slower than driving, faster than walking and safer than cycling).
My 2.4km fitness tests for work are typically 1 ½ min slower now than in late 07 and my time for the Sydney City to Surf race (70,000+ people running 14km thru beautiful harbour-side and coastal Sydney to Bondi Beach http://www.city2surf.com.au/) has increased by 15 min since 06. The degradation in running times for road races has been at a fairly steady rate – as if I’m slowly losing fitness. In contrast to this, my 60-400m times are improving.
Any ideas?
Professional Noob
Sounds like you're doing a good job of specializing in the shorter, faster races. From everything I've heard and read, it's really hard to be well trained for more than one distance, and if you're improving your sprinting speeds by a bunch, it's not that surprising that your longer distances are suffering.
That's my $0.02. It sounds also like this might be a good question for the coaching forum: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/RACF/Forum as there are a number of experienced runners there who are sincerely interested in helping people solve coaching/training issues.
Good luck!
Roads were made for journeys...
The FIRST program is highly dependent on doing the prescribed cross training. Without all the cross training days, it's not enough distance and it won't prepare you for long races. Not sure if this applies to you, because you didn't mention any cross training.
Your running has been very focussed on the short end, so I agree with Wingz that it's not surprising that your longer races are suffering. Even milers need a big aerobic base to reach their maximum potential.
So the advice is simple. Run a lot more miles. Most of them easy. Doing 10k worth of commute every day is a good start. You may find that it's hard to build up a lot mileage beyond that without dropping some of the speedwork, for the time being. Your speedwork doesn't directly hurt your ability to build a good base, but it doesn't help either and you only have so much time and energy to spend.
Thank you for your observations and recommendations; however, I remain a bit confused. The confusion may stem from my poor ability to describe my circumstances and thus the advice, seems off the mark.
The FIRST program focuses on, as their book says, ‘Run Less, Run Faster’(http://www.amazon.com/dp/159486649X?tag=furminstofrun-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=159486649X&adid=1MXS69NBAXZWC40EQEDX&), and while cross training is an important aspect, training at the prescribed pace (relative to your current fitness) for each of the three key workouts is what the authors identify as the key to the program. Because I employed the program with good success over two years (much to the annoyance of friends who where doing 50% or more training, I was improving speed and endurance) and completing numerous longer races, I am comfortable that I understand the basics of the program. I nonetheless concede that there are many others out there who may know better.
Except for the latter stages in the build up to a marathon (and my recent addition of the commuting runs), my current total tempo and long runs are only slightly less than when I was using the FIRST program, and my intervals distance is likewise similar, but I have now reallocated a small portion (about 500m) of that distance away from longer intervals to short and sharp intervals. Thus the three deliberate changes are that I made in late 2007 are:
a. going barefoot,
b. adding short sprints, and
c. adding some short XC races, in season.
After some reduction in training as I transitions to barefoot (late 2007), my barefoot speed at the distance events (eg 10 km) was good. However, as I developed the blood blisters (mentioned earlier), I slowed down my pace for road runs (the track work did not lead to blood blisters). This stopped the blood blisters; however, if my experience with the FIRST program is correct and the pace is a key aspect of building and retaining racing fitness, this will also account for the progressive de-training effect I have experienced: I was not stimulating my energy systems appropriately. Thus while the reduced fitness is a physiological consequence, physiological influences are not the cause and are not likely to be the solution.
To the best of my knowledge, my blood blisters are caused by repeated relatively small forward, backward, lateral or rotating movements of the foot when in contact with the ground (the consequences being more pronounced when on road than grass due to friction). Hence, the common solution is to get people to slow down and focus on technique, and or to increase tempo to reduce contact time with the ground. Thus, the cause is simple physics, and the solution is likely to be found here (at least I will not be able to address the physiological aspects until the physics is resolved). One solution is to wear shoes and let the poor technique be absorbed by technology and latex. This will bring me back to where I was before I commenced barefoot running.
I fully agree that a coach who is knowledgeable of barefoot technique is likely to be able to guide me in my training, whereas a coach who is not will quickly identify the problem as a matter of physics and will tell me to wear appropriate footwear. Is there a coach knowledgeable of the issues facing barefoot runners and will I find them in another forum or one on barefoot running?
One of key considerations regarding how I would commute to work was would the extra running improve or detract from my running. So far, the extra 40 km a week has had a neutral effect. Will it improve the physiology? Probably not as I’m not actually stressing the system in a meaningful and significantly different way (and physiology isn’t where I think the issue is). Will it improve the physics of my running? Maybe, but I don’t see how practicing more slow running (which isn’t where the problem lies) will help my faster running.
While the foregoing has been longwinded, it was cathartic for me.
I think I need to do more pace specific training on the road. Not so long as to induce blisters, but long enough to ‘feel’ the road at the pace required. Somehow trusting to the body to intuitively adjust. (I don’t think the grass running track gives the feedback required.) Perhaps alternate fast and slow running with every lamp/telegraph/power pole.
I again open the floor for comment.
Professional Antagonist
I would agree with Ed4. Blisters are a function of friction. Friction is a function of parallel contact with the ground. I had a huge blister problem when I dropped down to 5 or 10k distances... I simply could not use my normal gait to run fast. My solution was exactly what Ed recommended- really focus on being relaxed and lifting your feet, do not push off. I like to imagine I'm riding a bike with my feet clipped to the pedals... when you pull up with your feet- that's what you're aiming for. It also helps me to visualize strings attached to my knees lifting my feet off the ground. It is entirely possible to run any distance at any speed barefoot and blister-free. It is just a matter of making subtle tweaks to your form. Slowing down and increasing your cadence will help with the blister problem, but neither will necessarily help your specific situation.
I have dabbled in barefoot coaching, but am not a professional coach. I would be happy to answer any other questions- feel free to email me at barefootchronicles@gmail.com. Please note though, I am not a track guy. I do some speed work on the track barefoot, but it is not a specialty. I normally run marathons/ultras and occasionally dabble in shorter road races (5k-25k).
Barefoot Running University- Jason's barefoot running site