I’ve got my new shoes on

I remember when I was a kid, and my mom would spring for a new pair of sneakers for me. I always felt like I could suddenly run like the wind.  Things have changed now, and I am acutely aware of the fact that I don’t really run like the wind. Even though I can run faster and longer than I ever could as a kid, I still feel rather slow and clunky. One of the problems I have had for some time is that the large, bulky running shoes I tend to wear often seem to trip me up. The large padding on the heel, combined with my close-set stride, usually results in me literally kicking myself several times during a run. It happens more frequently as I get tired.

Left to my own devices, I walk on my toes and have a super-high arch. Apparently this is very amusing, because people always ask my why I tip-toe around when I’m in bare feet, which is pretty much any time I am in my house. I could ask why everyone else thunks around on their heels, but that seems rude.

So I did a little thinking and research on this topic, and it turns out that our modern running shoe has this enormous heel to protect our heel bone as we run. Most people, as I mentioned previously, tend to thunk around on their heels, especially when running. Over time and many miles on hard surfaces like asphalt and concrete sidewalks, that thunking creates a lot of impact force that is pushed upward through your shin, knee, hip and back. These forces can eventually lead to injury in some people.

After striking the ground with the heel, a “normal” foot should roll just a little bit (15 per cent, to be exact) to the outside as you run. This helps distribute the impact forces from the ground. In a normal gait cycle, you would then push off from the ground with your weight distributed evenly over the front of your foot.

Modern running shoes are often designed with the goal of keeping your foot from rolling too far to the outside (overpronating) or, heaven forbid, rolling inward (supinating).  That is why a traditional running shoe has a triangular shape at the base of the heel. It’s trying to keep you from rolling too far to one direction or the other, to keep your heel stable. That extended heel base was creating my problem, and that was why I kept kicking myself. Weird, huh?

My other shoe problem was that, as a high-arched person who likes to walk on her toes, I have a natural tendency to try to run on my toes, too. It’s not effective. I feel like I lose power when I only use the top third of my foot. So I have to concentrate on striking the ground at the middle of my foot. And forget about striking the ground hard with the heel. Just not going to happen. So when I wear these big, clunky running shoes with an inch-high heel and a big triangle of support at the heel base, I create a situation that actually reinforces my natural tiptoe stride. Over the past several years of running, I have worked continuously to focus on landing at the midfoot instead of on the ball of the foot, and I have worked on keeping my toes pointed straight forward (not duck footed) so that I don’t kick myself as much, or hurt my knees. But there was still something about the shoe.

When the barefoot running craze became popular a few years ago, I was immediately interested. I am not one to jump right on any bandwagon, but I asked a lot of people about their Vibram Five Fingers shoes. As a fitness professional, I read a lot of articles about barefoot running and I have heard several professionals present research on the subject.

The idea of barefoot running is not so much that you should go burn all your shoes right now and run the Marine Corps Marathon in your naked feet. Rather, it is a style of running in which you focus on keeping your stride as natural as possible. The philosophy is based on some athletes from developing countries who have always run in bare feet. These athletes are able to compete at high levels, and apparently suffer from fewer foot injuries than their shod counterparts in the industrialized world.

The whole barefoot running concept is the subject of much debate. I can sum it up in a nutshell: basically, some kids in Africa who have never worn shoes can kick the running butts of a lot of highly trained first-world athletes who have excellent nutrition, sports coaching, and high-tech shoes. Because of this fact, some enthusiasts think we should all run barefoot. However, in our modern world, we have to run on concrete and gravel and dodge hot cigarette butts and broken Fanta bottles in the middle of the street. We also have weak feet that are accustomed to shoes and don’t know how to protect themselves.

To find a compromise, shoe designers have been working on products that will protect our delicate first-world feet from sharp objects, but will still allow natural foot range of motion. Vibram’s Five Fingers is a “barefoot” style shoe that offers minimal support and protection. Nike’s “Free” series is a “minimalist” shoe that offers a little more support, but still allows freedom of movement. It has a smaller heel base. It does not have an enormous triangular shape to keep you stable. There is less support around the heel than a traditional running shoe. The “Free” is available in several degrees of support.

I bought the 5.0, which is, if you will, a maximal minimalist shoe. When I first bought it, I liked that I could bend the shoe up like a taco. For me, with my high arches, I found the shoe pretty comfortable for regular wear. But I know that no one should buy a completely different style of running shoe and go out to run five miles the same day. So I wore them around town for errands and I wore them in the house for a few days, then took them on a light three-mile jog. I listened to my feet, and wasn’t trying to set any records. If my feet hurt, I thought, I will just walk.

My feet never hurt and I kept going the whole 3 miles. I did not kick myself once. I was able to land on my midfoot without too much concentration, and get more power at push-off because my heel wasn’t so high. I normally have some Achilles tendon soreness after a run because the traditional gigantic heel collar cuts into my ankle—but after the first Free run, my Achilles felt great.

I was expecting a little soreness the next day: after all, I had used a much less supportive shoe than normal. However, I only had a tiny tinge of soreness on my anterior tibialis (muscle on the lower front of the shin).

The only aspect of the run that felt weird was that after about 2.5 miles, I felt like I had to focus on lifting my toes higher as I pulled my feet forward so that they wouldn’t drag on the ground. I am assuming that’s because the Frees don’t have toe springs like your traditional running shoe (toe springs are what make them look like Elf shoes, with the toes pointed slightly up). So instead of having the shoe do the work of keeping my toes up, I actually had to do it myself. I am sure that’s why my shin was just a little sore. And I think that if a person were naturally a heel-striker, the act of having to consciously lift your toe might encourage you to land harder on your heel without the extra padding you are used to, possibly increasing the impact force.

Long story short: If you are curious about the new minimalist shoes, consider your foot. Do you have a strong foot? Do you like to go barefoot at home? Do your athletic shoes feel clunky and inhibiting to you? Then try a less-padded shoe than what you have now. Don’t go crazy with it; just wear it around town for a while. Take it for a short, easy run after a few days or try it on the treadmill. If you like it and it feels good, wear them more often. If it’s not for you, perhaps your new minimalist shoe will just be what you wear for cross-training days (They fit into TRX handles much better than traditional running shoes, by the way).

Best bit of advice I can give for any kind of exercise is to listen to your body. Just because minimalist shoes are the new fad does not mean they are right for you. If your ankles, knees or back start to hurt, go back to your old shoe. Don’t force something that just isn’t working.

For more information

Runners World, “Pronation Explained,” http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/pronation-explained?page=single

Runners World, “Study: Impact Forces Greater in Nike Free than in Pegasus,” By Scott Douglas, July 26, 2013,  http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/study-impact-forces-greater-in...

Nike, “Nike Free,” http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/running/stories/2012/09/nike-free

Faze Magazine, “Running Free, Barefoot Training,” By Mike Ryan, Issue #18, http://www.faze.ca/issue18/nike_free_barefoot_running.html 

Foot and Ankle Associates of North Texas, “The Nike Free Running Shoe,” http://www.faant.com/library/the-nike-free-running-shoe.cfm

Journal of Applied Physiology, “Economy and rate of carbohydrate oxidation during running with rearfoot and forefoot strike patterns,” By AH Gruber, et al, July 15, 2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23681915