Snell speaks about myriad items, all of which resonate with the patient and experimental runner.

“It’s a relatively simple formula,” says Snell. “Develop endurance as early as possible. Developing endurance is difficult and time consuming. Developing speed is a relatively short process with a fairly strong genetic component.

“Try and understand the need for adequate recovery,” he says, “a balance between hard training and recuperation. That’s part of the art [of coaching/training]. I still have the thought that the science of training comes primarily from the trial and error of coaches.

There is brilliance in his logical and exploratory type of training and current research.

Check out Peter Snell’s books, which are next on my reading list: Use it or Lose It, Peter Snell: From Olympian to Scientist, No Bugles, No Drums. The only problem seems to be getting a hold of them for a reasonable price for review.

Source: Flickr (hardloperhans)

What can be done to improve your running? Many things involve significant effort and investment: interval workouts, tempo workouts, high(er) mileage, better nutrion, and recruiting a coach.

Sometimes we just look for something simple and easily understood to improve ourselves. If that’s you, here’s what you should consider.

1. Consistency

If there was only one thing you could pick to become a better runner, pick this! Running consistency is crucial.

How do you achieve running consistency? Run more often. Instead of running 8 miles 3 days a week, try running 4 miles 6 times a week.

We start to lose our fitness after 2 days off from running. It only gets worse each subsequent day you take off.

Instead of battling regression of progress with runs, provide your body with a steady stream of runs from which it can recover and steadily improve.

Think of it like this: if you were trying to fill a large container of water, one bucket at a time, would you rather have a big heavy bucket, but there is a hole in the container — or would you prefer a smaller bucket and a container which doesn’t leak?

I’ll take the smaller bucket. Easier trips and no waste!

If you’re already consistent with your running schedule, you still have room for improvement. Run doubles (running twice a day) if you can, even if one run is just 2 miles. This gives your body twice as many opportunities per day to heal.

2. Recovery

Recovery Food. After a run, you should plan to consume carbohydrates and protein as soon as possible, ideally within 30-45 minutes. Muscles rely on carbs for fuel. They rely on protein w/the carbs to stimulate faster glycogen replacement and optimize muscular repair.

You can get very specific with that grams of carbs and protein you should consume based on your weight and effort, however it’s best to start simple. If you’re not used to eating after a run, start by just having a healthy snack after the run which you know has carbs and protein in it.

If you want to dig deeper into nutrion, check out Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. This is a comprehensive guide on sports and food.

Recovery Duration. If you’re beating your body up through quality workouts, you need to ensure proper recovery time between the quality bouts.

If you still feel sore or tired going into a scheduled “hard” workout, make it an easy day. You may not gain anything by forcing yourself through a mediocre workout but you risk quite a bit.

Take an extra easy day and let your body rebuild — after all, you get better at running when you heal, not when you break down.

3. Strides, added at the end of an easy run

Pick it up ( 1 mile to 5k pace) at the end of an easy run by running 4-8 quick strides, 30-45 seconds each. Make sure you jog easily between each stride to recovery fully.

Strides help keep the fast twitch fibers recruited even when you’re in a regimen of running easy every day. Strides also improve your running efficiency and form by stretching out your stride length.

As you run, focus on turning your legs over quickly (do not overstride), feeling relaxed (don’t clench your whole body like you’re going to impact a brick wall), and standing tall (you shouldn’t be hunched over).

4. 180 Steps Per Minute

Keep your stride rate at approximately 180 steps per minute. This is a simple method to determine if you are turning over your legs too slowly.

Regardless of how fast or slow you are running, you should be taking approximately 180 steps per minute. It is your stride length that should change, not the number of steps you’re taking for a given set of time.

To check, keep track of how many times your right foot hits the ground in a 30 second period and multiply it by two. If you’re not in the 85-90 range your leg turnover is too slow and you should improve it.

5. Mix up the surfaces you run on.

If you usually pound the pavement, find your way to a trail, if for only part of your run.

Do you insist on always seeing the forest surrounding you while you run? Try running on the roads to your favorite trail spot.

Your body adapts well to a single types of terrain. Changing up the terrain can improve your strength and flexibility while reducing the chance of getting injured (as long as you step over that tree root!)

What simple advice do you have for others to improve their running?

About me

I’m 27 years old, 5’11”, around 170lbs, and fairly fit. I have always disliked shoes (all shoes trap heat and moisture in a way I find uncomfortable), and I ran barefoot quite often throughout my youth. I’ve also always lived in shoes-off households, so I spent much of every day barefoot even before changing my outside footwear. My previous outside footwear included Chuck Taylors and today’s conventional tennis shoes.

I changed my shoe preferences two years ago because it fit with my general health philosophy (i.e., evolved mechanics are probably best), not because I was experiencing any kind of pain. Also, I was blessed with an uncanny ability to not give a fuck, which helps when starting out barefoot running.

In the last two years, I have spent an embarrassing amount of money on minimalist shoes. I have VFFs, Vivo Barefoots, Unshoes, and Softstars: i.e., minimalist all-stars.

My story

The exact timeline is fuzzy because it’s been a while.

Months 1-6

Relatively soon after I changed my shoe preferences, my problems began. The first thing was plantar fasciitis in the left mid-foot. It was mild at first, but gradually got to the point where every step was painful. I figured too-much-too-soon, switched back to regular shoes until the pain went away, and eased back into minimalist shoes/barefoot . I also went to a doctor who suggested I perform a variety of stretches and exercises: a regime I complied with. That took about 2 months, but once I finished the slow transition, the PF didn’t come back, so I was pleased.

Months 6-12

I noticed calluses building up in my right forefoot. This didn’t bother me for the first 4 months, but after a while, I noticed the underlying bone was very sore. This blossomed into metatarsalgia, and my arches started to fall. It seemed like what I was experiencing matched up with Morton’s foot-type issues, so I tried putting a Morton’s pad into my shoes. This didn’t really do anything, so I went to a podiatrist for the first time. He wanted me to wear $400 orthotics. My response: “LOL NO. Barefoot, barefoot, etc.,” so nothing came of this visit.

Months 12-18

By this point, every step I took with my right foot was painful; my second metatarsal had “dropped,” and it was like I was walking on a stone. Running was completely out of the question, and I just wanted some relief. I tried fancy insoles for a month or so, and those did nothing. My plantar fasciitis came back in my left foot, and I started having top-of-the-foot pain. The latter developed into a visible bump as the tendon over that metatarsal became increasingly inflamed.

I started practicing a number of foot exercises, foam/ball rolling in the hopes that they would help. I still do all of those (because, hey, who knows), but they didn’t resolve my pain.

Months 18-22

This is where I tried toe-spreaders and had real relief for the first time. My plantar fasciitis went away, along with the top-of-the-foot pain. The pain from metatarsalgia greatly decreased, but remained, as did the calluses and the small bump. After easing into them, I wore the toe-spreaders religiously 24-7 in wide shoes for about a month. I could walk comfortably as long I wore them, and I was thankful for the relief.

Months 22-24

Then the metatarsalgia pain started coming back in force, leaving me pretty exasperated. One day in Costco, I saw a pair of arch supports  for $9. I bought them because I had already spent so much money on shoes and other curatives that I figured it didn’t matter. I put them into my Vivo Aquas and started wearing them around. Within three days, my feet were completely pain-free.

It’s now a month later, and I don’t have any calluses, my metatarsal is back in place, and the bump on top of my foot is gone.

Leftovers

My own feelings about this experience are pretty complex. I invested a lot both emotionally and economically into BR. I can’t say for sure that switching to “barefoot” caused my problems. After all, it could have been part of aging, etc. Given my relatively young age, overall health, and the sequence of events, however, I do think it’s more likely than not that the switch did cause my issues.  And that bothers me.

I’m sharing this story because I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did. Scientific and anecdotal evidence suggests barefoot is good.  It works for a lot of people. But, if it’s not working for you and you’ve given it a fair shot, I suggest trying something else. After two years, all I care about is that I can walk pain-free and run again.

For now, I’m still using the arch supports in case the soft tissue hasn’t completely healed yet. I’m hoping I can eventually take the supports out and my feet will be able to function naturally one day.

Source: flickr - beatkueng

There are defeats more triumphant than victories.

~Michel de Montaigne

There are many things you just won’t learn until you’ve gone and screwed up. This is why it’s so important to experiment and determine what works well for you.

It’s also prudent to remember that as time passes, what once worked well for you may no longer fit the bill. What better way to experiment than to make mistakes?

(1) Overtrain. Push yourself point the past of no return. Run too often, too far, and too fast to see what happens to you. Maybe nothing will happen and you’ll have learned something, or more likely you’ll understand what it’s like to overtrain.

Notice your desire to get out and run is dampened. Feel your muscles in a constant state of flux. Experience the nagging injury that you never let heal.  Your joints, bones, and limbs hurt. You keep getting sick. 

If you push yourself too far, you’ll begin to understand where your line is, and what it feels like as you cross it. With that knowledge you will be better prepared to respond to future tussles with that overtraining line.

(2) Push through the pain. When you feel a sharp pain, keep running, see if you can push through the pain. Maybe you’ll be able to, or more likely you’ll pull up limp with an injury.

If you’ve hurt yourself running before, you’ll do everything in your power to stop that from happening again. Perspective on the pain will help guide your actions.

Understanding your pain, specifically what type of pain your experiencing is crucial to running. Knowing when to pack it in and when to push through will keep you healthier and more injury free.

(3) Give up. You’re 2/3 of  the way through a tempo run and it hurts, you want to stop.

Quit, stop running, give up and walk.

See what happens to your mind when you give up. Do you feel guilty for your actions? Do you feel like you’ve cheated yourself out of a quality experience?

How does your body feel after you’ve stopped? Do you think you could have kept going or were you really at the point where you would have simply thrown up on yourself?

Perspective on giving in will make you stronger when the feeling arises again. You’ll remember what it’s like to give up and fight it.

(4) Use what works for others. You’re reading advice here, and most likely elsewhere on the web, in books, from elites, from your buddy, and perhaps many other places.

Everyone has a story about drills, workouts, food, race tactics, etc. which have brought them superb results. Copy them exactly and expect the same results — after all they did it and it worked.

Get baffled when you don’t get the same effect. Why is that? Why was someone else able to do something which had no effect for you? Was it because you’re a different person than they are?

(5) Race over your head. Try to run a marathon on very little training. Or a half marathon.

Sure you’ve only ever run a 5k at a local race, but how much longer is a half marathon anyway? Just sign up for a race, do what you can, and get your butt on the starting line for the run.

You’ll be surprised what your body is capable of.

If you can’t convince yourself to go that crazy, then go out hard in a local 5k — faster than you’d think sane and hang on. You’ll most likely wish you went slower, but what if you finish? What if you learn you’re capable of more than your expectations?

Go ahead and fail already.

Your fear of failure may be the biggest opponent you’ll face on your road to learning to run well. Don’t be afraid to flame out, as long as you learn. You may just stumble on something which truly resonates with you.

Now is a great time to become more of an expert on you.

Source: Flickr - Villamon

Most people don’t like to see something they don’t expect. Being barefoot is public is taboo, imagine trying to run around that way? People see barefoot runners as absolutely crazy.

The media has done a decent job recently of improving people’s expectations on barefoot running but you cant still receive quite a few comments. For many more years now the public has been fed by shoe company propaganda and little, if any, working knowledge about the benefits or methods to barefoot running.

In my experience, people fit into 1 of 2 general categories: the inquisitive and the dismissive.

The Inquisitive. These people are floored with the idea and have an endless stream of questions, even if you tell them you’ve just started. They ask for more information, references, and are very interested in why you’re trying minimalism.

Folks in this category tend to be interested in the idea of being barefoot will probe you for the benefits and your experiences. Chatting with these types of people will revitalize your love of feeling the ground beneath your feet.

This is a great opportunity to promote minimalistic running and pass on your thoughts on the expected (and hopefully received) benefits of the practice.

The Dismissive. The snarky comments, the yells out of moving car windows, and the disbelief can be paralyzing to people experimenting.

When you head out the door without shoes for the first time, you feel like you’re running out the door naked. This leaves your confidence teetering on a thread.

Every person you pass, even if they don’t comment, feels like are staring at your feet and judging you — many are. The worst of these people will say hurtful things like “where’d you lose your shoes Forest”. Ok, not that hateful when you think about it right?

Don’t let the haters get you down. Don’t let the embarrassment temper your attempt.  There’s no better time to try barefoot running than the present. Start slow and put one foot in front of the other. Don’t want to go outside? Try a treadmill!

How do you deal with interaction with the public while you’re running?

I’ve tried both approaches a number of times and have found that I feel cooler and more comfortable sans shirt. There’s something about running with a wet shirt on that makes me feel heavy.

A cotton shirt, or other non-wicking shirt would obviously be atrocious, but if you’re using a normal wicking shirt the heat is still a burden.

The biggest objections I’ve found while researching the topic stem from whether people look disgusting who do it. Who cares what people look like while they’re out running? Is it their job to present something you’ll find beautiful?

There is little published research on the subject I can locate. Searches turn up only subjective accounts, like this one from letsrun:

Both actually say that a t-shirt is not enough to significantly raise core temperature over running shirtless, even in hot humid conditions. It does however greatly affect the comfort of the individual from their work.

 

The athlete/subject feels cooler but the core temp is not the same. In fact, one did mention that depending on the severity of the sunshine, a white shirt can actually contribute to lower body temperature over running shirtless.

 

Now, interestingly, both mentioned that some of the new wicking clothing actually does work to slightly, but significantly, maintain a lower core temperature while exerting in hot environments.

 

They work better than cotton shirts, and they work better than being shirtless (even though the shirtless stuff is not published yet).

Advantages of running shirtless

1. Feel the breeze pass over your body.
2. No chance of nipple chaffing on those long runs.
3. Less clothing – means less to carry, less to remember, and less to wash.
4. Get an even tan, if that’s your bag.
5. It feels cooler, and in your mind, that’s all that matter.

Disadvantages of running shirtless

1. Severe skin damage unless you cover up.
2. Lack of self-confidence if you’re not comfortable showing your skin.
3. Bugs. Your body is a human windshield with all that sweat.

This type of question probably applies more to men than women, and it’s surely subjective, but what do you think?

Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness.

-Dean Karnazes

Changing your stride sucks. It’s awkward, sometimes painful, and it takes an aggravatingly long time. There are myriad excuses for not trying to change from a heel striker to a midfoot landing — the most repeated one is lack of comfort.

“I’ve been running in sneakers too long.”

“I can’t change now, I’m too old.”

“Running like that is for those fast Kenyans.”

All wrong, and all things I’ve heard. The truth is they’re scared. They’re scared of taking a step outside their comfort zone and taking a risk.

It may all blow to hell in your face, but what if it doesn’t? What if you struggle, fight, toil, and one day find yourself at the end of the road? What if one day you find that you succeeded?

You set out to change your stride, you worked at it almost every day for a year (except when you did too much and got hurt), and now you can’t remember what it was like to heel strike. You’ve shifted your comfort zone to something you desired through effort and strain while racking up a thousand or more miles. What could possibly make you happier than that?

Changing your stride takes time, but most of all it takes a commitment.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. – Buddha

Take a step

This spring, as things thaw out and blossom into the heat of summer, is a perfect time to start your transition. Here are a few reason why:

1. If you get caught too far from home, you can walk back without a risk.
2. It’s the perfect weather to let your feet breath daily, running or otherwise.
3. The earth is warm, the mood is rebirth, and they daylight lasts long.
4. Because it’s now, and now is all you’ll ever have.

So take a leap and suffer through your lack of contentment. Your journey may bring you running happiness.

Each of these people tend to focus on one solution being the best. These people are often the most vocal proponents of their methods, as they see their success and want to impress it upon others.

Surely there must be other ways to run? You don’t need to stick to simply one type of shoe (or unshoe)! If you want to try running barefoot, you aren’t locked in to running all of your miles barefoot. This is obvious but it often bears repeating as it’s easy to lose focus on one’s purpose.

Know your purpose

Since you’re reading this site, you’re obviously interested in exploring different forms of running. Why? Is it injury prevention? Because you read about it in a newspaper, online, or elsewhere? What do you want to gain from this exploration?

Why stray from solely barefoot?

For some, there is no reason and that’s just fine.

Whether you stray from solely barefoot depends on:

1. What you value out of running.
2. What your goals are for running.
3. What works for you — after all, no one cares how you run.

Source: James Rohal

Why mix barefoot and minimalist running

I value running fast over trails and other unstable terrain. My goal is to often traverse the area as quickly and as efficiently as possible. I am able to run faster on trails with minimalist shoes than with barefeet. There simply isn’t the need to think as much about footfalls.

Also, the shoe helps ensure each step is more stable and consistent. This helps reduce chance of injury on trails as it dampens the effects of errors due to bad steps.

Running shod leads to deviating from your natural form. The tendency of those wearing shoes is to get too confident, not think enough, and by extension not run with as good of form as possible. This allows you to run faster, however it can also act as a degradation of your running form.

This is where running barefoot comes into play, this is your reset to zero, the removal of your bad tendencies and your migration back towards natural perfection. I think of running in shoes as a fast progression towards bad form, running in minimalist shoes as a slow progression towards bad form, and running barefoot as the baseline for proper mechanics.

Barefoot running is particularly useful for:

1. Learning to run correctly to begin with, when speed shouldn’t even be considered.
2. Continuing lifelong as a method of perfecting, improving, and maintaining running form.
3. Mental stimulation, due to the feedback provided from unhindered feet.

Utilizing minimalist shoes is particularly useful for:

1. Technical Trail running
2. Mitigating footfall variation

What to look for in a minimalist shoe

To reiterate for the hundredth time, each person will be different. In order of priority, here is what is most important to look for in a minimalist shoe:

1. Zero drop - Nearly all traditional running shoes are twice as thick in the heel than the forefoot.  Zero drop running shoes simply applies a 1:1 ratio — meaning that the heel and forefoot are the same distance off the ground — there is no “drop” from heel to toe.
2. Simplest solution to what you need. Any part of the shoe that exists, but does not serve a purpose for you, is a detriment. 
   
3. Lightweight – minimized weight and sole. The less you’re carrying, the less effort you’re expending.
4. Built for surface. Traction is vastly different when traversing technical trails than it is when cruising through the streets.
5. Forefoot protection.

Forefoot protection is key because having a protective plate of some sort in the forefoot not only makes one less timid on rocky, rooty trails (a definite improvement over the bare foot), but also provides rigidity and energy return in one’s footstrike and stride that would otherwise be absent. By having a solid platform to push off of with every footstep, a greater confidence in one’s footing — the ultimate goal — is achieved. [link]

How to implement in your life

1. Make sure you understand why you want to attempt this. If you don’t have a purpose, you won’t have success.
2. Throw out your preconceptions of how fast and how far you should be running. If you are in a marathon training plan, you can not implement this. This transition in itself is a training plan.
3. Start training by learning how to run barefoot. Only barefoot. Pour all of your running energy into learning how to run lightly and gently on nothing but your two feet. Don’t run with sneakers, don’t run with minimalist shoes, and don’t confuse your body by putting anything else on your feet. Force the change you desire by being in the state which allows your body no choice. This can be hard, which is why you spent time earlier deciding why you wanted to accomplish it. Remember these reasons now and that there is help transitioning.
4. If, and only if, you’re comfortable running barefoot, it is time to add in a minimalist shoe. Do you still get pains when running barefoot? Do your calves still hurt after every run? Then you’re not ready. You will know when you’re ready — when a run feel painless and you end with a smile as opposed to a grimace.
5. Review your shoe needs (trails, street, etc.) and experiment with the least amount of shoe that meets these needs.

Photo by: Mike Baird

The perfect beat

Stride rate or cadence is a critical element to running correctly. This is something that all runners should learn early on in their endeavors. How often should my feet hit the ground?

To many, the answer to this question is: it depends on how fast you’re going. This is the wrong answer.

The correct answer is: 180 or more steps per minute. This means that you take 90 or more steps with each foot, per minute.

How can this be possible? If you keep your stride rate even, another variable must change — in this case your stride length. The faster you go, the longer your stride becomes with little to no change in leg turnover.

According to Jack Daniels in Running Formula:

I find that very few (sometimes none out of a class of 25 or 30) take as many as 180 steps per minute. In fact, some turn over as slowly as 160 steps per minute. The main disadvantage of this slower turnover is that the slower you take steps, the longer you spend in the air, and the longer you’re in the air, the higher you displace your body mass and the harder you hit the ground on landing. When you consider that many running injuries are the result of landing shock, it’s not surprising that experienced runners tend to turn over faster than beginning runners do.

That tidbit right there should be enough to convince you that the single biggest improvement you can make to your running form is to ensure you’re getting enough steps per minute.

Imagine what the increased landing shock would do to your barefeet, or minimally protected feet. Imagine all of that shock landing on your heel!

Reaching 180

The easiest way to count your stride is to count every single sided footfall for 60 seconds. When you have that number, multiply by two.  Experiment with what it feels like to turn over more quickly, but keep the same pace. Then experiment with what it feels like to turn over as quickly, but lengthen your stride, increasing your pace.

It may help to keep your body in rhythm — there are many folks who enjoy running to music. Many songs can be utilized to keep your cadence.

Some musical ideas are:

• HellaSound – 30 minute custom bpm tracks. 4 to choose from as of now, each a different musical style. I have 3 of these at 180 bpm and find them wonderful for longer runs.
• A discussion on popular music tracks on the dailymile.
• A simple mp3 of a metronome, at 180 bpm.
• You can buy a “running” metronome.

1. Transfer Method. Keep your weekly miles the same, running both shod and unshod, slowly moving the amount of miles run shod to unshod.
2. Cold Turkey. Stop running shod completely. Gradually build up your miles running barefoot.

If your end goal is to run in minimalist shoes, it is still wise to run barefoot until your body is fully adapted. The entire process will be much quicker as you will be receiving richer feedback.

The Transfer Method

This method is best suited for runners who are mid-foot strikers.

Heel strikers who attempt this method will find themselves in an awkward situation. For the unshod portion of their runs, they will be landing on the mid-foot, while feeling “off” due to the change in form.

For the shod portion of their runs, they will most likely start running on the mid-foot, and revert to heel striking when their mind wanders, or their body tires.

It is impossible for the body to feel comfortable being forced into two separate running forms — this increases the risk of injury.

Mid-foot strikers will find that running barefoot still requires adaption, but the changes required are easier because they are less dramatic.

The Cold Turkey Method

This method is best suited for runners who are heel strikers, or who are recovering from an injury. Since this type of runner requires a fairly drastic alteration in form, the change must be the only way the body is allowed to move.

It is too difficult to force the body to run in two different poses, while trying to mentally communicate that the way that feels more awkward is the one you want to keep stick with. Your body sticks with what it knows

By going cold turkey you can completely focus on the changes you are forcing onto your body, while never letting up, or sending the body mixed signals by reverting to a heel strike.