It's really worth it!

I am happy to report that my flat feet are continuing to feel better and better each week! I've been going barefoot everywhere I can and wearing my huarache sandals everywhere I need shoes and my feet are thanking me! It has created a lot of strange looks and interesting conversations but my ankles haven't felt this good in 20 years!!! I can be on them for a whole day and have very minimal discomfort vs being in mediocre pain in the past. It's so crazy for me to think that what the doctors were telling me to do my entire life is the exact opposite of what I really needed! As I've alluded to in the past, as long as I can remember I've had a callus right in the middle of my arch on each foot from my orthotics. That callus is totally gone. It's so weird having the bottom of my foot be all soft now. Everybody jokes with me that I must have big thick calluses on my feet but it's actually the opposite, my feet almost feel softer now. Sidewalk exfoliation? :) The skin is thicker though. I was digging a small sliver out of the bottom of my foot the other day and couldn't believe how deep the needle was before I could even begin to feel it. So all of that to say, IT'S REALLY WORTH IT!!! I'm so happy to have been turned toward barefoot running by the people at the RW Barefoot Forum.

I'm also discovering how hard it can be to stay faithful to a running schedule... life has been so crazy that I have only run a couple times in the last three weeks. It seems that life just starts happening and running is one of the first things I let go. When do you go running, or how do you manage to make it a consistent part of your life?

Also, after dealing with lacing issues on my huarache sandals I'm happy to report that I've come up with a new way to tie them that is super comfortable, extremely easy to adjust, and really easy to put on! Seems too good to be true right? I've been using the new laces for about two weeks and gone running in them a couple times and honestly couldn't be happier! I still need to take pictures and get a tutorial together, hopefully this week. TTFN!

My First Bad Run

OK, so today after two days off I went out and practiced some of the drills posted yesterday. I was surprised at how little you have to lean forward to begin forward motion when bouncing on your toes. Otherwise I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to gain from doing the drills, I'm not seeing a direct connection to actual running or form...

After drills I tried running a bit while keeping my knees bent slightly more and not reaching my foot out as far, keeping it totally relaxed. It felt . . . wait for it . . .

Why Am I Running Barefoot?

In the last three weeks following my decision to bare my feet I've had a lot of people ask me "Why aren't you wearing shoes anymore?" and "What's with the barefoot thing?” In as few words as possible I try to explain to them my reasoning while not sounding completely crazy… and I'm pretty sure I fail at the latter part. Honestly, that's fine with me! Let me explain why...

Slowly Progressing

It's been another week and things are progressing nicely, I can feel steady improvement in my evolving pancakes. I didn't touch the orthotics this week and went barefoot as much as possible, only wearing my invisible shoes when I had to have something on. The upside? I experienced little-to-no ankle pain this week like I did when wearing orthotics. One difference though is that my ankles, feet and calves do get tired faster when I'm standing around, I'm sure that this will slowly get better as my muscles strengthen. Usually in the mornings I experience soreness across the top of my foot and a little in the calves but it only sticks around for about 30 minutes.

Tonight we had another softball game and just like last week, my feet feel the best they ever have after that kind of physical activity. One cool thing I noticed tonight when I took my cleats off was that my socks weren't dirty over the whole bottom of my foot (from dust getting in my shoes). Only on the balls of my feet, around the outside edges and my heels were brown, imagine a normal wet footprint... In the past the entire bottom of my foot would be brown because they were so flat. That's pretty exciting for me since I'm only two weeks into the barefoot thing! It seems that I might actually be beginning to form arches! Even if my feet don't change any more than they have in two weeks I can't ever imagine going back to orthotics and motion control shoes. Sure I can stand around longer in them but I'd much rather play and have fun with no painful aftermath...

Oh, I also wanted to note that I did throw on a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's to ride my motorcycle and had to walk in them for about an hour. My little pinky toe has never been so vocal!!! It didn't take long to rub a layer of skin off the outside of that poor little guy. Now I'm starting to see why some of the barefoot runners refer to shoes as foot coffins. ;)

Pain-Free Sports?

Last week I reported that I wore my orthotics in my cleats for a softball game and my ankles just killed for the following 24 hours after having been barefoot for a couple days prior. Well, tonight I had another game and decided to try my cleats without the orthotics seeing as how I've been barefoot for over a week now. Just so you know this is a HUGE step for me. I've wore orthotics in my shoes for about 20 years (I'm 32 now), and I was especially diligent to do so when playing sports. We played our game (and won!) and and the verdict is in . . . I'm pain free! My ankles feel no worse than they do at the end of any other day! It may not seem like much but I am ecstatic, this is potentially a life altering step for me!

Do I already loath shoes?

Today I pushed my barefootedness a little farther and it did cost me a little bit. I went for two short little barefoot jogs on the sidewalk, right at 1/2 mile total. At the end of the second one I noticed some missing skin on the pad of one of my toes where a blister formed and popped. After doing a little reading it sounds like I'm pushing off with my toes which is a no-no when barefoot, I need to focus on lifting my feet off the ground rather than pushing forward off them.

So about the loathing shoes comment... Tonight I had a softball game (Go Oakridge!) so I put on my cleats with orthotics. Within two minutes of putting on the shoes my arches were burning and my ankles were hurting! The whole night I was focusing on trying to not let my feet roll in too bad but walking in those shoes makes it nearly impossible. Tonight my ankles hurt more than they have in a week and it only started after I put on my shoes...

It's just a little one. I'm liking the Liquid Bandage right now...

Welcome To My Experiment!

Through this blog I'm hoping to share my experience of transitioning away from orthotics and motion control / stability shoes to very minimal footwear without orthotics. I've grown increasingly dependent on supportive footwear to mitigate the ankle pain I experience after extended time on my feet and I'm tired of the limitations, and the pain...  After reading quite a bit on barefoot running and some of the benefits that many have experienced, such as reforming fallen arches and correcting overpronation, I've decided to perform my own experiment. I'll be ditching my orthotics and shoes for bare feet and huarache sandals in an attempt to strengthen my feet and regain the arches that I never remember having. Along the way I'll be documenting my progress and posting some pictures of the current state of my feet.

I have to give a shout out to the fine folks at the Barefoot Running section of the Runner's World forums for the great information they've made available and the encouragement they've given me to document this process. I also want to mention a book that I found out about on those forums: The Barefoot Running Book Second Edition: A Practical Guide to the Art and Science of Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Running. I just started reading it and have been enjoying it quite a bit.

I'm quite gitty at the prospect of being able to run! It's something that I've never been able to enjoy because of the pain I encounter from misaligned joints. I hope you enjoy my chronicles and hope we can both gain something from this adventure!

ps - If the name of the blog doesn't make sense it might help to know that my name is Ty... ;)
pps - Here's the post that started this whole thing: SEVERE Overpronator w/ FLAT feet interested in BFR...