Barefoot type running continued

The barefoot type running hasn't been going quite as smoothly as I might have hoped. After a run in the Merrell's on the 14th I ended up taking a break from using them until the 26th. Somehow on the 14th I put a lot of strain on my feet. I think this may have been due to running up and down a fairly constant hill, trying to push for pace, and making the technique mistake as a result of this of running 'on my toes'.

i - Forefoot landing - try to keep this light, with knees a bit bent
ii - Heel comes down
iii - 'Stepping up and forward' - I think here it is important to 'roll forward' from the heel, rather as you would in typical running shoes. 'Stepping up' from your forefoot puts a lot of strain on the foot, and isn't sustainably over any significant distance.

Since being able to return to barefoot type running I have been making sure that I'm no longer worrying about pace, which was definately premature. Just managing 1-1.5 miles most days in the Merrell's is the goal for the time being. I often prefer to do this after a short (e.g. 3.5 mile) normal run, which serves as a good warm up and means my fitness shouldn't drop away quite so much.

On a semi related note, I now think that my foot problem was definitely not helped by letting my normal day shoes grow rather old, with a sole that had worn unevenly.