As you may have surmised from the title, I have an announcement.

After three months of painful walking and not being able to wear my Fivefingers, I’ve made the only logical decision I could in good conscience make – to place MyFivefingers in the hands of someone more capable to engage the brand and the lifestyle.

Since decade-old injuries have prohibited me from the freedom I’ve wished to enjoy, another has come to fill my shoes. Literally and figuratively.

Over the past week, Dan Hinckley and I have been in the process of negotiations and the transfer of all site content. He, and maybe a few friends, will share their thoughts and experiences with Fivefingers and take this site to the next level.

I couldn’t be more thrilled. When you own 12 blogs you can’t keep up, finding a good match for even one of them is no small relief. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store for the site. I’ll be checking in now and then. You may find me lurking in the comments section.

Want to stay in touch?

If you’ve been following me on @myfivefingers, you can come on over and say hi to me at my primary Twitter account, @danielthepoet. Dan and crew will maintain the @myfivefingers account along with the blog, so be sure you stay tuned for more good stuff there.

My New Project

If you’re a little curious about what I’ll be up to now, you can come find me at my new startup project, DailyBlogCrush.com. I set up the site earlier this year but couldn’t find the time to commit to it. No time like the present, eh? I’ll be reviewing my favorite and some of my not-so-favorite blogs and critiquing them. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about winning blog design, content, and strategy. I’ve always learned more from stories and illustrations than straight lecture. It will be a great place to discover blogs you’ve never seen before and also brush up on your own blogging strategies and tactics.

See you there.

And when you get a chance, drop Dan Hinckley a note or a comment and welcome him to the Fivefingers web community! He’ll be introducing himself and his crew shortly.

It’s been a blast. I hope to run into each of you somewhere out there on the interwebz. Until then, keep rockin’ the VFFs!

As I mentioned on Twitter just a little while ago, the end is near for me and VFFs. I let my heel hurt for two months before doing anything about it. I wanted to wait and see if it was just a bruise that would heal. Dumb. Since then, I’ve been going to a chiropractor who specializes in extremities (shoulders, knees, feet, hands). We x-rayed the foot and he diagnosed me with calcific tendonitis (extremely rare for a foot, I’m told), plastic degeneration (ligaments are too stretched to naturally return to original size and shape), sesmoid non-union of the first metatarsil, and fallen arches.

Do What?

I COULD explain all that. But I won’t.

Blah blah blah! You were a stupid teenager and could have prevented most of these problems. Way to be irresponsible!

Love, Doctor.

Awesome. So on Monday, I went in to the doctor’s office and asked to be scanned for orthotics. I stood on what looked like a cross between a scale and a digital scanner. They scanned my feet again and ordered the custom orthotics. They’ll be inserts I slip into whatever pair of shoes I’ll be wearing. In other words, no more Fivefingers. Not for a while, anyway. My foot is in so much pain, I’m probably going to wear these puppies every waking moment. I just need relief from chronic pain. I’ve had my friends pray for my foot half a dozen times at least. It hasn’t been healed yet, but I’ll keep asking and praying. In the meantime, I’m wearing orthotics. I’m no dummy…. Well, anymore.

So I may have nothing to say to you for a while. I love the Vibram community. You are some hardcore peeps. Hopefully something will turn around and I’ll be back.

My Doctor’s Take on Barefoot Versus Running Shoes

I’ll leave you with this little tidbit: When discussing the option of orthotics, I asked my doctor a few questions. I wanted to know what he thought of other orthotics like Ideal Feet, and I wanted his take on the barefoot running versus athletic shoes debate. I’d already heard from the barefoot folks, and was fairly convinced by their argument. But it’s not enough to hear one side.

He told me that, although adjusting your stride to a barefoot mid-strike does cause fewer foot injuries, it leads to increased knee injuries. With a traditional shoe heel-strike, the foot absorbs most of the pounding and distributes the shock throughout the arches and tendons of the foot. With a mid-strike, the foot takes very little abuse but requires the knees to handle much more of the shock.

He says a person with healthy arches could have success running barefoot without knee damage. But a person in my condition, with fallen arches, is only asking for trouble.

I’m not saying I believe him 100%, but his argument was compelling. He’s not just any doctor. I wouldn’t believe 95% of medical specialists in ANY field because they think within the box they were given at school. This guy is top notch everything, and he’s worth trusting. He doesn’t know EVERYTHING, though. My regular chiropractor (who is far from average) is much more invested in organic living / whole foods / wellness, and he believes that even plastic degeneration MIGHT be reversed by the right nutritional protocol.

He tells me that the human body can heal just about anything that is wrong with it if you only give it the right amount and type of nutrients. The protocol may call for a hardcore ultra strict juicing diet for a few months, but it “could” work. No promises, but he won’t close the door on the possibility until I’ve tried it.

So that’s still an option lying out there. The juicer you need for this diet is like $2k, though, because of how finely it processes every bit of the fruit and vegetables. That’s not in the forecast right now, so we’ll see what happens in that arena over time.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot ‘em over to me, either in the comments below or through the contact form. Thanks for stopping by and being apart of this community!

- Daniel

Want to Keep the Community Going?

Don’t want to see us close up shop? You can keep it from happening. If I can find two or three of you  to contribute a weekly post, we’ll keep the MyFiveFingers community alive and kickin’. Hit me up if you’re interested in contributing. I’m only interested in people who are willing to commit to one post per week for six months.

It’s been awhile since I blogged on this site. I have a confession: I don’t wear my Fivefingers anymore. Except to the local pool. You may have read why I started wearing them in the first place. Well, my feet have overall NOT improved. My arches (who knew there were three on each foot?!?) are worse, not better. But the latest and most severe problem is my heel.

My Unpleasant Surprise

About two months ago, I woke up one day and got out of bed. My very first step was a stabbing pain through my heel. So was the second step. And the third. Throughout the day, the pain seemed to fade until I couldn’t notice it anymore. Within a week, the pain was an every day / all day experience. Worst when I walk barefoot. So I began wearing my flat Diesels. They add some cushion without hiking up my heel above my toes.

GWAW WHAT?

I’ve had a very painful procedure done twice – Gua Sha. The doctor scrapes EVERY part of the foot with a piece of polished bone or plastic to break up the scar tissue around joints, tendons, and ligaments. When I say “very painful”, I mean don’t even think of bringing your children to watch.

We tried to take X-Rays this week, but the machine was malfunctioning. I’ll go back next week. Just to make sure I don’t have a fracture. Even with the scar tissue broken up, the pain in my heel is still REALLY intense.

I’m Such a Judas

So I’ve at least temporarily given up the Fivefingers. I hope I’ll go back someday, but not at the expense of my quality of life. In the meantime, I’ve switched my blogging fascinations over to BLOGS! Check out my rants at DailyBlogCrush.com -> where I review all my favorite blogs (yes, I have a crush on them).

Running a marathon isn’t just about running. It is also very much about balance. Try this simple test.

Stand up. Go ahead, I promise this won’t hurt.

Now lift one foot about 2 inches and hold it relatively close to (but not touching) your other leg.

Now balance on the other foot for one minute.

Switch legs.

Repeat.

So? Hard? Easy? If you’re like me, the first time doing this exercise probably didn’t go well. Your hips probably shifted back and forth, one or both of your arms moved in or out to counterbalance you, or you just plain lost your balance completely and had to put your other foot down.

Now consider this: A marathon is 4-6 hours spent balancing on one foot or the other. Balance is one of the key components to running. When running barefoot, or in VFFs or other minimalist shoes, balance is even more important because you don’t have a shoe trying to support you. In a thick soled running shoe, the shoe itself provides a rather flat and level surface to meet the ground. But your foot isn’t flat. It isn’t perfectly level. So balance is even more important when running minimally.

What is Balance?

Balance is strength. Balance is strength in your core, your feet, your ankles, your hips, and your lower legs. Balance is the whole body. If any part of the body is weak, your balance will suffer. Not only does your body need to be strong, but you need to have the endurance as well. Balancing perfectly for 3 miles is an accomplishment, but it won’t get you through a marathon. As you progress in your training, you need to continue to work on your balance.

Improving Your Balance

Luckily, there are several really easy things (and a lot of really hard things) you can do to increase your balancing abilities. This week we’ll tackle a few of the basic exercises. Try doing these exercises three times a week. You should see gains in your balance after just a few days. Remember, I’m not a doctor, or a physical therapist, or even a personal trainer. Consult your doctor before starting any workout program and if something hurts, above all… STOP.

One Leg Stands

This one is pretty self explanatory. Balance on one leg. Make sure you’re somewhere with no distractions. Watching TV, seeing the toddler crawl around, or the dog run across the room can seriously mess with your balance.

Pick a fixed point on the wall or the floor and then balance on one leg. Try to hold each leg for 30 seconds to one minute. Engage your core. Stand up straight. Try to keep the raised leg very close to the anchor leg. Switch legs. Do three sets. (A set is one session on each leg)

One Leg Stands with Ball

Once the one leg stands are starting to get easier, add some weight to it. Hold a 2 pound medicine ball (or water bottle, or can of tomatoes, or a hand weight) near your core in the hand on the same side of the body as the leg you’re raising. Now just repeat the first exercise but keep that hand with the weight near your core. Switch legs and hands. Do three sets.

One Leg Stand and Twist

This is the third variation of the same exercise. Now, keep that weight in the hand on the side of the body as the leg you’re raising. Lift your leg, keeping your foot close to the anchor leg and bring the weighted hand straight out in front of you. Engage your core and twist to one side and then the other, slowly. Do this for 30 seconds, all while balancing on one foot. Switch legs and hands. Do three sets. Next Week… working the core.

Over the next few weeks, we will work our way up the body, talking about your breathing in addition to that rotator cuff pain you’re having at Mile 4 of your run, but this week we’ll take on something that sits a little closer to your feet.

As a reminder from last week’s article, I gave an introduction to The Egoscue Method and described to you how we look at the body and what the designed alignment of the body should be. I also told you that Egoscue believes that the vast majority of musculoskeletal pain, be it that never-ending headache, plantar fasciitis, or anything in between, is due to misalignment of the skeletal system.

We believe that you are designed to move! There is no such thing as a bad motion, and pain is simply your body’s way of telling you that something isn’t quite right. When we address your pain and when talking about overall function and biomechanics we have to keep in mind the kid’s song that states, “The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone.” You can’t forget that the body is a unit, and as we address the cause of your pain we need to stay focused on the big picture.

This week I want to tackle your hip pain. I’m sure some of you reading this article are dealing with a degenerative hip and have been told that you’re headed for a hip replacement. And, you very well might be. Whether you have been told that you need one or not isn’t really what you should be concerned about. The bigger question at play here is the one focused on “why” you have the pain. Yes, surgery can instantly take pain away but the true cause, or the mechanism of pathological movement, has not been addressed. That is where YOU come in. Let me ask you this question and see if it gets your attention. What if you could avoid, or at the very least, delay, that hip replacement and hang on to your original parts for as long as possible?

Think about this: When you cut your arm, it doesn’t stay cut. When you break your leg, it doesn’t stay broken. When you get your hair cut, it grows back. You are a living, breathing organism, and your body is in a constant state of renewal. Your degenerative hip is no different. There is a reason why your hip is degenerating, just like there is a reason why the right front tire on your car is going bald and the others are not. If you eliminate the cause, you’ll eliminate the symptom.

Remember, we are talking about your Vibram FiveFingers (VFFs) and how they, when given the chance, will help you stay functional. So let’s talk about how the VFFs impact your hip function.

When we compare the VFFs to the vast majority of other shoes, if not all shoes, we realize that the VFF is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Go look in your closet and you’ll notice that every other shoe you own has a tapered toe box and brings the toes together. It is, most likely, extremely stiff, and allows for little-to-no motion. In comparison, the role of the VFFs is to let your foot spread and move freely with each step you take in life. We at Egoscue have basically adopted these amazing shoes as our own! They really are that good…but you already knew that! They allow the bones of your feet to spread apart and then compress together as your foot progresses through the normal walking or running motion. With stiff shoes, this just doesn’t happen. The VFFs call upon the muscles and arches of the feet to do their job properly, without worrying about “constriction”. When the muscles of the foot and arch function better, so does the ankle, knee, hip and spinal column. The load joints above the foot are finally doing their job (and ONLY their job, rather than compensating) because of the functional domino effect that begins with a more neutral, free-moving, foot. Because the VFF is extremely pliable and malleable, they create a free-flowing mechanism to happen in your feet without disturbing your busy lifestyle. I can’t say enough great things about them, and just to be clear, I don’t work for Vibram, I just love the concept and product!

Is this starting to make sense? I hope you can see that there is a huge connection between what the foot is being allowed to do and how the hip responds. Just for fun, let’s play a game of anatomical “connect-the-dots”:

In an effort to not get overly technical and anatomical, take a look at your leg. That’s it, just look down. See how your foot is connected to your hip? Congratulations! You just played your first game of anatomical “connect-the-dots”. If you can see that the two are connected, then we have to assume that your shoes are greatly impacting your hip. There aren’t any hidden secrets here. You don’t have to have an anatomy degree. It truly is that simple. The foot bone is connected to the leg bone!

Try this on for size! What would you say if I told you that your “overly pronated” feet, diagnosed by your nearby shoes store, are that way in an attempt to create a locking mechanism during your standing posture and your walking? This locking mechanism is crucial to correct foot, knee, hip, and spinal motion. Kind of makes you think a bit, especially when you have been told that pronation is a bad thing. Egoscue begs to differ, and the reason we differ is that we have faith in the human body doing exactly what it should be doing at that time. So instead of hindering your motion, let’s increase your motion and what better place to start than your feet! If you let the foot move like it should, it will relearn exactly what it is designed to do, and do it! Remember, your symptoms are signals that something is not working as it should. Your hip pain or your degenerative joint issues are symptoms of something much larger at play. This must not be overlooked, and the VFF shoes could be just the answer you are looking for.

Trust me, I’m not expecting the guys at Vibram to come out and say that your degenerative hip will be cured by wearing their shoes, but I am here to say that their shoes will play a huge role in your hip joint regaining full function because of what the VFFs allow your foot to do and the way they positively impact the rest of your load joints.

Once your gait is changed, the hip will be allowed to function properly and, only then, will the body have a chance to heal itself. Remember, you cut your arm and it doesn’t stay cut, you break your leg and it doesn’t stay broken, why is your hip joint any different? The answer is, it isn’t.

Get in your VFFs (regardless of how weird they might look) and let your body function at its optimum level. If you’re wanting to get a head-start on your overall function and biomechanics you can CLICK HERE to download four e-cises that will help you start living life PAIN FREE!

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The premise of The Egoscue Method is postural therapy: realigning the body to its original design blueprint through proper functional muscle engagement and without the use of drugs, surgery or manipulation. John Elder is the Clinic Director and Owner of the Franklin, Tennessee location. John found the Method at the age of 16 after suffering for two years with a bulging disc in his lower back. He has lived the last 16 years pain free and the last 5 years as an Egoscue Therapist sharing his story of hope with others throughout the south. Contact John today by emailing johne@egoscue.com or by calling the Nashville Clinic at 615.771.8556.

Today we’re going to talk about that dark topic of injuries. Injuries are a part of nearly every long distance runner’s history or their future. A quick Google search indicates that anywhere from 40-70% of runners are injured at some point during their running career. Does that make you want to stop running? Well, it shouldn’t. Injuries might be common, but they are a) avoidable and b) surmountable.

I’ve been injured a lot. A lot. I’m a bit overweight, have a family history of weak knees, and overall, I’m not shaped like a runner. I’m short, kind of squat, and curvy. So what can you do to minimize injuries and recover from them faster? Here are a few tips.

Increase Distance and Intensity Slowly

Conventional running wisdom is to add mileage at a rate of 10% per week. When you start running, this may be as little as a quarter of a mile each week. As you build distance of course, you can add more each week, but don’t fall prey to the temptation to eek out just a couple of extra miles when you’re just starting out.

The same rules apply for intensity. After your first successful 5 mile flat run, don’t go out the very next week and throw eight or nine hills into the mix. Start with one or two smaller hills instead. If you’re comfortable at running five miles at a 12 minute mile pace, don’t go out on your very next run and try to do five miles at 10 minute miles. Add a few quarter or half mile speed sessions to your next five mile run after you’ve warmed up sufficiently.

Don’t Run Through the Pain

We’ve al been there. You’re out on a run and something starts to hurt. Badly. Sure, it might just be temporary. But it might not be. If something starts to hurt, STOP. Walk for a few minutes. Stretch a little bit. Then try to run again. Better? Ok then, keep going. No? Then stop. This is one of the main reasons why I always bring a cell phone and a couple of dollars with me on my runs.

I know very well the temptation of just continuing on. I have a little game I play with myself that’s so far kept me from injuring myself too badly (though as I’ll tell you about next week, I did dislocate my cuboid bone two months ago). If something hurts, I do the stop and stretch game. After that I start running again. I give myself 20 steps. If I’m still hurting (and it’s not just muscle soreness from a hard run) after 20 steps, then it’s time to stop and either walk home, call for a ride, or get on a bus.

Assess and Treat Quickly

If you’ve hurt something on a run, it’s important to treat the injury as quickly as possible. Keeping an ice cup in your freezer is a great idea. You can buy a freezable ice cup (usually with carrying case) from most running stores. Ice massage is a great way of treating an injury. Just seven minutes of ice massage can do as much or more as 15 minutes with an ice pack. Practice good RICE techniques (REST-ICE-COMPRESSION-ELEVATION). If you wake up the next day and the pain is gone, then it probably wasn’t anything major and you can continue on with your training program. However, if you wake up and the pain’s still there, then keep practicing RICE and don’t run for one week. If the pain is still there after three days, it’s time to call a professional.

Know When to Call In the Professionals

If you’ve been hurting for a couple of days and don’t seem to be getting any better, it’s time to call a professional. If you have the ability, pick a physical therapist or a sports medicine doctor over a general practitioner. Why? Because in my experience, general practitioners are much more likely to tell you to stop running than to actually treat the root cause of the problem. Sports medicine doctors are better, but my money has always been on physical therapists. A physical therapist’s job is to get you back doing what you were doing before. If there’s a way to get you back running, a good PT is going to find it. Not only that, but a good PT will help you figure out why you hurt yourself in the first place. When I dislocated my cuboid, the PT was able to not only guide it back into place, but also to give me tips and exercises to fix the issue that caused the dislocation (weak hips and balance issues). Had I just gone to a general practitioner, he or she probably would have just relocated the bone and sent me on my way.

Next Week: Supporting minimalist running with cross training and strength training

I am very excited to be guest blogging for Daniel as he chronicles his Vibram Fivefinger (VFF) journey.  I am an avid VFF wearer and have told countless clients and friends about them and the benefit that they provide for overall function and biomechanics.

The Intro

By way of introduction, I am John Elder and am the Clinic Director for The Egoscue Method Nashville.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Egoscue (pronounced e-GHA-skew), we are the world leader in non-medical pain relief and help our clients eliminate all types of musculoskeletal pain on a daily basis.  We see everything from chronic migraines to back pain to knee pain to plantar fasciitis.  And, we work with a full spectrum of clients, including runners, politicians, stay-at-home moms, and professional athletes.

This is the first entry in a four-part series (and maybe more if we get a good response) on function and biomechanics and how those relate to those of you wearing your VFFs.  I will talk a lot about running and injuries suffered by runners, but if you have questions about injuries that either aren’t caused by running, or you don’t believe they are caused by running, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

My Fascination

I have been fascinated by the VFFs since I first laid eyes on them.  They completely go against what most of us have thought of as “normal” when it comes to our shoes.  The common line of thinking is that if you pronate, let’s put you in an anti-pronation shoe.  If you supinate, let’s put you in an anti-supination shoe.  You need custom-made orthodics.  You need more stability.  The thought of wearing less of a shoe is so foreign to so many people, yet I couldn’t agree more with that thought.  Years ago Nike came to Egoscue headquarters in San Diego, CA and pitched an idea for a shoe.  A couple years later, the Nike Free hit the shelves.  It was the first running shoe designed to allow for movement through the foot and touted “Barefoot Technology”.  That was, by far, the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn…until I got my first pair of VFFs.

Reader Poll

How many of you are struggling with any of the pains I listed above?  How many of you are struggling with a pain that wasn’t mentioned?  My guess is that somewhere around 75% of you reading this are hurting.  If you are a runner, I’m sure you’ve been told that you “upped” your mileage too quickly and you have “Runner’s Knee” as a result.  Perhaps you’re wondering how in the world you recently acquired “Tennis Elbow”, when you have been playing the game for 25 years.  Or, maybe you are the weekend warrior who plays basketball every Saturday and your hip pain is chalked up to “overuse”.

But, do you really believe it?  Think about it: If you upped your mileage too quickly and Runner’s Knee is the result, then both knees should be suffering instead of just one.  When it comes to your tennis elbow, you didn’t get a “bad” elbow all of a sudden after all these years of playing.  In addition, just like Runner’s Knee, both elbows should hurt if the game is to blame.  Again, we can use the same thinking with that pesky hip pain.  How can your hip pain be an “overuse” injury if both hips are running up and down the basketball court, and only one hurts, or one hurts worse than the other?

Focus on the Biomechanics

For our answer, we have to stay focused on the overall function and biomechanics of the body.  For those of you wondering what function and biomechanics mean to me, I’ll tell you: Maintaining proper joint positioning (posture) throughout a movement, regardless of the activity.  You are an amazingly created piece of machinery.  You are designed to move, and do it without pain or limitations.  And, you are designed to move BAREFOOT.

Being barefoot allows for optimum function in the body.  Your metatarsals are allowed to spread, the muscles of the foot and arch are allowed to do their job, and you create a functional domino effect up the rest of the body.  The ankle, knee, hip, spine, and shoulders all start to function better.  Remember, “the foot bone’s connected to the leg bone…”.  We can’t forget that good ol’ kid’s song when addressing musculoskeletal pain and overall function.

Take a look at these pictures.  These represent our design blueprint and where our bodies should be:

Notice that in both views the shoulder sits directly above the hip, knee, and ankle (and in the side view the ear is above the shoulder).  Now, take a look in the mirror and compare these diagrams with your current joint positioning.  How do they line up compared to what you see?  My hunch is that you’re “off” a little bit, and if my hunch is true, then I can assume that your body isn’t moving as efficiently as it can (and needs to) be.

Check Yourself

Do your feet point out to the side?  Which direction are your kneecaps pointing?  You might have one hip higher than the other.  And, don’t forget about your shoulders—I’m guessing they are rounded forward (if so, you’ll be seeing the back of your hands when you look in the mirror), and you might have one shoulder higher than the other in a similar fashion to your hips.

Rest assured that these deviations from the design blueprint are simply the result of muscles moving bones.  All we have to do is get the muscles to engage functionally and properly to move the bones back into their designed position.  We can’t brace that injured knee, or treat that pronation with corrective shoes, both of which decrease motion and function.  Instead, it’s imperative that the body is allowed to function like it’s designed to.  Remember that you are designed to run, jump, climb, crawl and fall…and do them all pain free.

Looking Ahead

In the coming weeks we’ll discuss how you can eliminate your shoulder pain, change your breathing pattern, and increase function in your degenerative hip simply with the combination of VFFs and The Egoscue Method.  You will be well on your way to living PAIN FREE for life!  If you want to get started on living life pain free, CLICK HERE to receive four e-cises that will help kick start your path to optimum health.

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The premise of The Egoscue Method is postural therapy: realigning the body to its original design blueprint through proper functional muscle engagement and without the use of drugs, surgery or manipulation.  John Elder is the Clinic Director and Owner of the Franklin, Tennessee location.  John found the Method at the age of 16 after suffering for two years with a bulging disc in his lower back.  He has lived the last 16 years pain free and the last 5 years as an Egoscue Therapist sharing his story of hope with others throughout the south.  Contact John today by emailing johne@egoscue.com or by calling the Nashville Clinic at 615.771.8556.

When Jessica Mullen and I moved from the Midwest to Austin, Texas in June of 2008, we were overweight, out of shape, and drank a lot of vodka. We were not very productive.

But there is something in the water in Austin.

Now, almost two years later, we have given up boozing, don’t touch caffeine, eat a strictly vegan diet and prefer running to put us under the influence.

But it was by no means a simple switch. We began by making incremental changes to improve our quality of life, and with each new adjustment came many more questions to answer and opportunities for growth.

We started by bicycling 20 miles per week (4 miles each weekday), and Jessica took up counting our daily calorie intake using a self-tracking website.

That was just the beginning. The more we tracked our progress, the more progress we wanted to make. We used lifestreaming as a life-design methodology.

Lifestreaming is the act of documenting and sharing one’s life online. Combined with support from our social networks, this public self-evaluation made us more accountable for our actions, increased our self-discipline, and strengthened our reputations. With this tool, we learned to recognize and eradicate the patterns and social structures that negatively impact our lives.

We started running in November of 2009, just a few short months ago. Before then, neither of us had run a mile in our lives (outside of gym class requirements). Ironically, we were looking for a way to increase our activity level so we could eat more pizza and drink more wine.

December 14th, we went vegan. February 14th, we ran our first half-marathon. February 28th, we gave up caffeine. March 6th, we gave up drinking (maybe not forever, but for now).

And now here we are. Running changed us. We were on the right track, but running altered our entire outlook on life. It is a lifestyle. Its something we want to maintain for as long as possible, meanwhile eliminating as many unnecessary influences as possible.

Which is why we purchased our first pair of Vibram Fivefingers on March 14th— minimal running shoes for a minimal lifestyle. Our posts here will chronicle our process of adapting to both.

Since this site is about you, I want to hear from you. What do YOU do in your Fivefingers? Tell me what style(s) you wear and what you do in them. Running, walking, karate, yoga, rock climbing, swimming, surfing, parkour, wrestling, cow tipping, whatever.

I wear MY Fivefingers all day every day. I’ve done some yoga and jogging in them. I wear mine more for continual foot health. Walking just feels more natural in them.

What about you?

There are almost as many marathon training plans as there are marathoners. Every runner is different and even two runners who use the same training plan are going to adapt it for their own needs.

Schedule, cross training preferences, speed, fuel, rest days… you need to think about all these aspects of a training plan and even more. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some insight into my training plan. I’m not a doctor, or a certified trainer, and I can’t dispense medical advice. This plan is (so far anyway) working for me. It may or may not work for you.

Starting Out

If you’re starting the conversion to minimalist running (barefoot, VFFs, etc), don’t expect to ditch your old stability running shoes and start on a standard marathon training program 12 weeks before a marathon and be successful. I’m sure people have done it before, and I’m sure they will do it again, but most people need a lot more time to adapt than a standard marathon training plan allows.

Minimalist running requires you to switch from the typical heel striking pattern to a mid-foot striking pattern. This mid-foot strike changes the impact absorption from your knees, hips, and back to your feet. Our feet were designed to absorb this impact, but they do this by using the arch muscles and tendons that atrophy as we age and wear shoes most of the time. When I started minimalist running, I got a pair of VFFs and I started running in them 1/4 mile at a time. Initially, even 1/4 mile would leave my feet tired and sore and my calves tight.

So start small and short. Go for 1/4 mile run. Wear your VFFs (or go barefoot, or use other minimalist shoes) and go for a walk every day. Work on your form. Add mileage slowly. Start adding just 1/4 mile at a time. No more than 10% a week and I’d even suggest being conservative for the first few months and add 5%/week.

Barefoot Exercises

There are some great exercises you can to do help strengthen your feet and help you progress on your training plan faster. First, roll up a hand towel lengthwise and lay it on the floor. Now use your toes to pick up the towel. You don’t have to lift it very far, the point is just to use the muscles of your foot and arch to grip the towel. Repeat 10 times for each foot.

Start running the stairs barefoot. It’s nearly impossible to run up stairs while heel striking. Now go down stairs on your midfoot as well. Be careful going down though! Find a stairway with a railing just in case.

Practice balancing on one foot. Stand for 30 seconds on each foot. You’ll be using all of the muscles of your lower legs and your feet and engaging your core in order to keep yourself steady. If that’s easy for you, then hold a baseball or a medicine ball in your hands out in front of you while doing it. Engage your core to hold yourself steady. Repeat 3 times for each leg.

Building On a Good Foundation

Once you’re running 2-3 miles at a time, you can start working on a standard marathon training program. However, be prepared to take some extra time with the plan. Just like I’d tell anyone doing a couch to 5K program that there’s no shame repeating a week of the program here and there, marathon training plans are no different. If you need to repeat a week, or take an extra day off once in a while or shorten a couple of runs here and there, do it. The last thing you want in the middle of your marathon training is an injury.

Next week we’ll talk a bit more about injuries, how to tell the difference between good pain and bad pain, and what to do if you’re injured.