Failed experiment

When I've run before I've always gotten shin splints which made me stop. So in the past couple years when I heard people talk about barefoot running and minimalist shoes, I was intrigued. The idea behind the movement is that the advancement in running shoe technology has allowed us to rely too much on the cushioning on the sole. We run heal to toe. We get injured. We get cushier shoe. But if we don't correct the stride, the injuries will return. We were not meant to run in shoes nor strike with our heals, the movement says. Just take your shoes off and run a few strides and you'll notice that you naturally strike on your forefoot or midsole. To avoid injuries, we should run barefoot or in minimalist shoes. I bought into that. I still think the concept is sound, but it set me up to get injured before I started any serious training for the half marathon.

I'm not totally soured on barefoot running, but here is what I learned:

1) I am not a runner and I don't know what I'm doing.
2) Stretching before and after running is very important.
3) Icing down after running is even more important.
4) I probably hadn't recovered fully from my sprained ankle in February when I started running in July.
5) When barefoot running programs tell you to increase running distances by no more than 20% a week, follow the advise. I was so excited about getting into running shape that I went from running .2 miles in bare feet to running a mile in Vibram fivefinger shoes within three weeks. I probably should have advanced to no more than .6 miles in three weeks. I was impatient.
6) Minimalist shoe may be a good training aid, but the pavement is hard on the feet. It's not a good idea to run long distances on pavement without support.
If you don't know what you're doing get some help. I joined Team Challenge on August 20th and hope to slowly get back to running shape.