Born to Run Review: Barefoot Running

When I went home for Christmas, I started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, which I've posted about before here (along with some of my other current reads at the time).  I posted a brief overview of it there.  Going in, I kind of knew it was a book kind of about barefoot running, but as of Chapter 22 (where I was when I last posted about it (at that last link)), there really hadn't been much of anything said about it.  Yes, it was clear that the people in this Indian tribe don't wear running shoes, but it focused more on their remarkable endurance rather than anything specific about what they wore on their feet. 

Well, apparently I was right on the cusp of the big barefoot discussion (though to me, it wasn't the overwhelming theme of the book).  There's lots of stuff about how we weren't born wearing shoes and how well our feet and bodies adapt to running long distances over uneven terrain.  He mentions that humans are "the only tailless running biped."  It was interesting but I'm not converted.  I've never tried running barefoot (or with Vibrams), but I don't think it's really an option for me for several reasons.

First, I run with a group and follow the group routes (which I do not choose) and those are run 100% on streets or paved trails, so running in the grass (which is how barefoot running should be done apparently, there's no claim we were born to run barefoot on asphalt and concrete) is not a workable option for me.  I suppose there are some places I could run in the grass or on the dirt right next to the running trail, but I'm guessing I'd step in dog $hit within a mile -- both the lake and the trail that have grassy areas next to the path where people run are popular dog-walking spots.  To run in the grass alongside the dark streets where I run would invite more dog $hit, or sprinkler heads, or newspapers, or curbs, and about a million other perils -- just no idea really how or where I'd do it most of the time. 

Second, I don't seem to be particularly injury prone while wearing shoes.  The author says running shoes work well for people with good form but make people with poor form have even worse form, primarily in the sense of heel strike.  I definitely do not have good form, but I'm not a horrible heel-striker either most of the time.  I've definitely had a few years where I've had injuries, but very few have put me out-of-commission for very long, some (like the sprained ankles) would have happened with or without shoes, and I don't think I've had more injuries than a normal runner.  There are always an ongoing series of tight muscles, aches and pains, and I feel like maybe 1/3 of the time, something is nagging a bit and I watch it to see if it turns into an actual injury (and try to ice and stretch if it's isolated), but for the most part, it never does.  I think that comes with running.  I could certainly sit on my couch pain-free, but that would lead to another series of problems.  Running doesn't seem to beat me up too much.  My chronology of injuries impacting my running (first comprehensive list I've maybe made ever of these):

1. In 05, I pulled a groin/hamstring muscle (not while running) less than a month before the NY marathon (but I was still able to run it).  Far and away the most serious injury I've ever had.  I ran NY, ran a couple more disastrous races before the end of the year, and then did not walk normally for months.  Running was out of the question.  Got back into it in the spring of 06, and was completely healed by then.  But seriously, several months of zero running (and minimal walking) was necessary.  The most amusing part of this, I met my now in-laws for the first time in January 2006.  I was still injured but never discussed with them.  When I met them for the second time (months later, after I'd healed), my now mother-in-law exclaimed that she'd thought I was disabled!  Oh my.  It was definitely a bad time for my running! 
2. In 07, I strained my upper gastrocnemius (a calf muscle) about a week before Chicago (still able to run it), but was fine shortly afterward.  My doc wanted me to wear a calf compression sleeve thing during the race, but I'd only run about 3 or so marathons by that point and I was too nervous about trying anything new on race day, so I declined.  A week or so off after the marathon was all I needed to recover. 
3. In 08, I tripped on a pothole and sprained an ankle mildly.  On crutches for a day, running again about a week later.  Felt like it was easily strained when I stepped at a weird ankle for a couple months, but it didn't get seriously injured again. 
4. In 09, I had some pain on the outside of one of my feet and my doc told me it was my peroneus longus tendon that was inflamed (he recommended orthotics, I never got them, it went away on its own and I also got new shoes around that time). 
5. At the very end of 09 (12/29), I fell (at the SAME intersection as in 08, but a different part of it) again and sprained my other ankle pretty severely.  Crutches for several days, insane swelling.  No running at all until 1/11/10 (did a long walk on 1/10 to make sure it would hold up). 
6. In 10, it was the plantar's (see below).  Also resolved, all while wearing shoes. 
7. Also in 10, I wiped out at work (fell down the stairs) and twisted my ankle, but it was mild and I was running two days later.  I was wearing flats at the time, but blame my overloaded arms and not watching my step. 

Third, the most recent injury I had seemed worse whenever I was barefoot.  I got plantar fasciitis during the summer of 2010 (injury 6 above).  According to the book, plantar's is "the vampire bite of running," and once plantar's sinks its teeth into your heels, you're in danger of being infected for life.  While I haven't fessed up to any of my running buddies, I know full well what caused it and I've confessed/explained it here.  I finally went to a doc, which I posted about here, made an informercial purchase in hopes of combatting the pain, and also got advice from other more experienced runners.  The conclusion from all sources was that I was better off not being barefoot whenever possible.  The doc specifically said that some people are able to keep running with plantar's, some are not, it completely depends -- I was.  My pain was only bad in the morning when I got out of bed (barefoot) or when I first started walking after being seated for a while (usually wearing some kind of shoe, running, work or otherwise).  No pain when running (in shoes).  While the problem gradually went away, I definitely noticed a major difference if I spent hours and hours standing in the kitchen cooking while barefoot, as opposed to when I'd spend hours and hours standing in the kitchen wearing slippers with my orthotics in them and standing on my gel mat that hubby gave me for my bday.  I was much less sore and much more comfortable when I was not barefoot. 

Fourth, the "more natural" theory doesn't really matter to me.  We're not born wearing clothes, but I put them on when I'm cold.  I also tend to think these elites who primarily grow up running without shoes according to the book would choose to wear shoes in races just for sponsorships or some other unspecified reason. Like if Kenyans run barefoot growing up, why do some of those same Kenyans now choose to wear shoes to race? Honestly, I put a lot of credence in the fact that so many people wear running shoes. All the data used in the book about random programs or people here or there who don't wear shoes aren't statistically significant when looking at the big picture -- track meets all over the country at various levels, marathons all over the country, etc. Maybe if I ran in the outback on soft grass, barefoot would be the way to go, but for places and events that I run, I don't see those who are most successful choosing to forgo shoes. And I really think they would if that minimized their injuries or could make them get faster.
Fifth, I value the comfort of running shoes.  The author basically admits that running shoes make bad form more comfortable and it feels like you're running on cushions.  I don't like pain, and I don't want running to be painful.  Even if my shoes encourage my poor form, it doesn't seem to be hurting me.  I finished a 15k in July (the day I got the flat tire) and in my finish line photos, I was right next to a guy who was running in Vibrams.  We'd talked a bit over the last mile and I could tell how much he was hurting.  Well, looking at the photos, his form was absolutely atrocious and he's pretty much grimacing with every step.  I'm not certain at all that he would not have been in pain if he'd been in shoes, but I am pretty certain I'd be hurting too if my feet were slapping the pavement the way his were. 

And finally, I'm not convinced barefoot runners really have fewer injuries.  I've yet to run with someone who completes an entire marathon training season injury-free not wearing shoes. 

So I'll keep my shoes on.  I'll replace them whenever I think it's needed.  I'll probably still chuckle at how silly the barefoot shoes look (but I'm sure others chuckle at my mismatched outfits, my bad form, whatever).  But I'm certainly not one to give advice to anyone else -- if barefoot shoes seem to work for you, go for it!  I'm very live-and-let-live about that stuff and it has no impact on me, so I couldn't care less.  But I think for right now, shoes are the right choice for me.  Who's to say whether that will still be true a few years from now, but for now, shoes have been good and are working well for me.

As for the Born to Run discussion of my thoughts on the book's point about why a vegetarian diet has worked best for history's greatest runners (as a vegetarian runner, the subject is near and dear to my heart), I'll do a separate post on that hopefully in the next couple days.