Progress with the Merrells

During early July I had another go at running barefoot, but frankly some of the pavements in my area just feel too sharp and abrasive. During mid July I also ran a timed mile at maximum pace while out on the Bristol Downs, managing 6.30 pace which wasn't too bad for my first timed mile in many months, but which then left me with the usual right foot problems the next day. I had been vaguely considering that in future I would be using typical running shoes about half the time, but in view of this I'm now thinking about a complete transition if possible.

So for the most part I have been focusing on using the Merrells and trying to find a good technique. This has meant my total mileage has been fairly low as I'm still not in a position to be putting in high mileage or run consecutive days.

My next attempt at a different barefoot type technique in the Merrells involved kicking my feet quite high behind me, and stepping down through the forefoot from quite a high angle. This would mean the toal descent time between when the forefoot touches the ground, and when the foot is flat to the ground, would be maximised. Maybe this would cushion the landing better? The pace was reasonable, but the strain on the foot was far too high. Kicking your feet high behind you might be fine, but it definately felt like the wrong approach for landing!

Since then I have been trying to run with a shallower profile of forefoot landing, with my toes held slightly up between steps (something mentioned in the barefoot running book). This seems to have been working much better, as I have pushed on to distances of up to 4 miles at a time, with an average pace of 8.30 or so over hilly terrain. The after effects have tended to be some soreness and stiffness in the muscles (esp. calfs), as opposed to strain within the foot, so that is also encouraging.

Hopefully by the end of this month I will be up to 5 miles distance runs with a reasonable level of comfort. If this goes smoothly it would suggest my transition from normal shoes to Merrell barefoot type shoes took somewhere in the region of 7-8 weeks to achieve a reasonable minimum distance.

There are other technique adjustments I still have to make however, such as running downhill leading to unexpectedly rapid pace. For example a fairly modest downward incline on grass left me running at sub 5.30 pace and wondering if I could get my feet in front of me in time for the next step!