Barefoot Running

[Biciclista]

good luck mdhillslug
remember there are muscles that need to be strengthened, so take it slowly.

[HillSlugger]

good luck mdhillslug
remember there are muscles that need to be strengthened, so take it slowly.

Yes, I'm keenly aware of this. That why I've started the barefooting around the house and why I intend to start just walking around with the VFFs. I'm thinking that transitioning out of the insoles is also a step in the right direction (pun intended).

[HillSlugger]

My VFF's came!

I ordered the classics and the KSOs in two sizes each. I've been wanding about the house in the classics since around 6pm. Takes some getting used to but I like them so far.

[JH-NV]

I'm curious as to the arches of the majority of the women posting here who wear the VFF.
Also, I feel discouraged when I go barefoot outside, because it really is painful. I feel like I'm encouraging my feet to be Pre-diabetic! (normal glucose)
I will keep reading the posts to see everyone's results. And, I will suck it up outside in the yard and force myself to walk on gravel, etc.

[Jolt]

I'm curious as to the arches of the majority of the women posting here who wear the VFF.
Also, I feel discouraged when I go barefoot outside, because it really is painful. I feel like I'm encouraging my feet to be Pre-diabetic! (normal glucose)
I will keep reading the posts to see everyone's results. And, I will suck it up outside in the yard and force myself to walk on gravel, etc.

To answer your question, I'd say my arches are medium. It will be interesting to see if there's the whole range with those of us using the VFF.

[mayanorange]

These are pretty cool. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr Lieberman from Harvard give a fascinating speech at ACSM last week on the evolution of humans as endurance runners and he's very interested in the effects of shoes on our feet- looks like he's recruiting FF wearers in addition to his barefooters. Between him and Hugh Herr, who's working on understanding feet to create prosthetics and exoskeletons (assisting impairments), I think we're going to see some huge changes in the understanding of what our feet can do and how much our current shoes inhibit them. Maybe someday I'll be lucky enough to work with one of them- they're truly the rockstars of biomechanics.

[Jolt]

Mayanorange, I heard about Lieberman's barefoot/VFF study and it sounds really interesting. Hopefully things like this will improve the understanding of what constitutes good biomechanics and decrease the ridiculous injury rate among runners. I would have liked to participate in his study but am not eligible b/c I haven't been running in VFFs long enough and my IT band injury was too recent.

[GLC1968]

I'm curious as to the arches of the majority of the women posting here who wear the VFF.
Also, I feel discouraged when I go barefoot outside, because it really is painful. I feel like I'm encouraging my feet to be Pre-diabetic! (normal glucose)
I will keep reading the posts to see everyone's results. And, I will suck it up outside in the yard and force myself to walk on gravel, etc.

I don't have VFF's yet, but I'm thinking about ordering a pair. I am starting out truly barefoot and if I have to, I'll run on the treadmill for the first few short runs (right now, I'm only being barefoot and doing as many chores and gardening that way that I can). I have very, very flat feet.

[Biciclista]

I guess I have Morton's foot. Never been diagnosed but my second toe is the tallest on one foot but not the other. Never thought of it as a problem either!
I have a medium to high arch.

[OakLeaf]

Apparently the toe can be longer even though the second metatarsal is shorter than the first. When you scrunch your toes so that the heads of the foot bones stick out, is the second one still longer? Do you have trouble getting the pad of your foot, behind your big toe, on the ground without pronating your ankles?

Apparently it's a very common variation, but it causes all sorts of problems.