Minimal Running Shoes: My Experience

My favorite Disney princess is Pocahontas. Why? She runs around barefoot. I'm serious! That is why I love her, and why I hated running in what I now refer to as my moon boots. When I first started running I was told I over-pronated, and I never questioned it again, however my feet have changed since I was 11. While I do have some pronation I also have the ability to control how my feet hit the ground because I have a strong lower leg.

When I ran in my moon boots it felt like I had slabs of cement on the underside of my feet. I slapped the ground everywhere I ran, and it hurt. I had runners knee, plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome, and my muscles were actually pulling away from my bone up and down my leg (there was significant bruising). After she examined me, I was told by a sports trainer, that it was coming from "how your body naturally is". How my body naturally is? My body naturally hated me? I bought her little schpeal and I also bought orthopedic insoles. 

As if the problems could get worse.

I was limping instead of walking.

I was then told "try running to warm up your muscles and get them to relax". So yes. I then limp-ran on my injuries.

Eventually the pain was so bad I had to stop running. Getting out of bed wasn't painful, it was excruciating. I have run and competed on injuries, and I have toughed out a lot of pain, but there is nothing like bone pain. 

I figured that my body hated the sport, and that despite my passion for it, my running career was over at 18. Over before it began.

Months later, when I could walk normally, I had a bad day. As most runners know, a bad day can be a perfect running day. I didn't have my moon boots at school, but I had some Nike Frees that I had bought because they were pretty, and I figured, why not? A 2 miler won't kill me. 

The first thing I noticed was the silence. I didn't slap at all, the soft Frees molded to my little lady feet that were too weak to bend the sole of my moon boots. It was freeing, I felt amazing. It didn't matter than my cardio was weak compared to how it used to be or that my legs were tired before I made it to the end of the block, I was running and I was thrilled. So then...

A two miler turned into a 7 miler. When I got home I felt great, but I figured it was the calm before the storm and decided to RICE anyway. Aside from muscle soreness I was aces the next day. I thought it was a fluke, but curiosity got the better of me, and I went for another run. Just 3 miles. Just to see.

Again I was completely fine.

I continued running in minimals for the remainder of the semester, never once experiencing anything that a day of rest or frozen peas couldn't fix. 

The day I returned from break I put on the moon boots, to see how it would be (I'm a sucker for experiments). By the end of my road I knew something was up. It wasn't pain, it was just like I was having a harder impact with the road...and something was way off. Dull aches were coming back and I didn't want to push it any further, so I turned around, and walked home.

I refuse to run in a shoe that is not minimal from now on, I don't need the extra support, my body is done forming itself! I don't need the extra support and stability and orthopedics -- I'm no longer a growing 11 year old! The moral of this story is to get your feet rechecked frequently, especially if you've been running in the same model for a long time.

I ran in the same model for over 8 years, and changing that was scary, and I still have a lot of nostalgia for those shoes, I mean, I ran my first race in them, I won my first medal in them. But at the end of the day, they didn't love me as much as I loved them.

If you want to learn more about transitioning to minimal running and all the benefits it can yield click here!

Female Fitties: The 3 Most Common Struggles

While I'm a runner I have participated in my fair share of sports, from lacrosse to soccer to gymnastics and dance, I've seen it all and had almost every injury and issue in the book. While a lot of issues that can arise in exercise cross gender-lines some do not, there are plenty of "lady-only" issues. Here are the top 3:

1. Iron. We bleed every month and lose tons and tons of iron. The average adult woman need 15-18mg of iron per day, but because women typically eat less than men they are more at risk of anemia. Runnersworld.co.uk says that "Good sources of calcium are dairy products, dark leafy vegetables, broccoli, canned sardines and salmon, while foods high in iron include liver, fortified dry cereals, beef and spinach". Try to incorporate these foods into your daily meals, but do not take an iron supplement before consulting a doctor as high iron levels can be toxic to your body.
2. Periods. But more specifically cramps. When I have cramps I don't want to leave the fetal position, much less leave my bed. But on days when my cramps are at their worst I drag myself to my closet, put on my running clothes, and I go for a run (walk). Start small, just a half mile, now a mile, now 4 miles. Focus on your breathing and the pain will melt away before you know it.
3. Boobs, Butts, and Feminine Bodies. Men and women are built differently (as I'm sure you discovered in the 5th grade), and so our bodies take impact (like smacking cement on one leg with twice the force of your body weight - ie: running) differently. In fact the reason that you hear that slapping noise is because your shoes are too stiff (and your less muscular female foot cannot bend the material). Another example of women being the under-dog is a single leg squat. While both men and women can complete this movement it is more stressful for a female's body. This is because a female's pelvic girdle is wider and enhances the valgus stress on the knee. For the entire list click here. 

Sources:

active.com

med.nyu.edu

runnersworld.com

runnerworld.co.uk

running.competitor.com