Today’s run went well, so I’m hoping it’s something I can keep up. I didn’t feel any pain while running which is fantastic. My crash injury on my right knee still sensitive to pressure but I’m hoping that with daily massages it will heal over time.
The Vebrams were really comfortable. The only complaint is the the seam under the arch of my right foot is rubbing and was quite painful towards the end of the run. Hopefully it will soften over time.
History:
I have done very little running on hard surfaces since having knee issues. 6 years ago I tore the connecting tissue between the medial meniscus and the Medial Collateral Ligament. The injury was caused by running downhill with a heal-strike technique. It took 3 years of repeatedly re-injuring myself to realise that I had to stop all forms of running, including tennis and running for the bus! In addition, had 2 bike crashes on the road where I smashed both knees on the patella. I also have a family history of knee issues. 4 years ago I finally decided to forget about running regularly because I should not expect a body like mine to run. I took up cycling as my main sport instead. A couple of times I ventured back to running, but each time the problems would return and I have to stop again.
So I guess this is another attempt to get back into it. What I’m excited about is that barefoot running is a different approach. In the past I’ve tried to change my running technique to a mid-foot strike, but kept falling back to a heal-strike when not focusing on it.
I have had allot of success with soft-sand running in the last year. The technique is very similar to barefoot running on a hard surface. Although the soft sand offers a cushioning effect, you still naturally land toes first because you need to dig in to get a grip on the sand. So on soft sand you’re getting double impact absorption from the damping effect of the sand and the suspension effect of the forefoot.
Today’s run went well, so I’m hoping it’s something I can keep up.
