I’m quite new to distance running.  I don’t exactly like it yet, but I’m getting there.  I actually said, “let’s do a short run, like five or six miles” other day.  If anyone had used “short run” and “five or six miles” in the same sentence to me a few months ago, I would have died laughing.  And yet, here I am.

Love these shoes.

I mentioned a few posts ago how I was taking the barefoot approach to running and felt it was better for my hips.  I really like my Merrell trail glove shoes and feel much more comfortable running in them than my traditional running shoes.  Alas, I am a beginner runner and a distance runner all at the same time and after a 10 mile road run (for which my shoes are NOT prescribed) my feet are really starting to hurt.  And then I ran 9.5 miles of trail on Monday, complete with roots, rocks, hills, etc.

Now, I do have a decent knowledge of the human body, and despite my general aversion to running, I do have a fundamental understanding of running injuries.  Therefore, I am a bit paranoid about developing plantar fasciitis, irritating my achilles tendon, or doing anything horribly irreparable to my feet, ankles, knees, or hips in these last 8 weeks of training.

I got these, only in purple.

I went to my chiropractor yesterday and told him my right foot was killing me and he adjusted it back to minor discomfort (yes, chiropractors are magic).  He also told me that although he is a barefoot enthusiast himself, he found that he needed some more padding and structure in his shoes for longer distances.  Since he fixed my shoulder and hip pain therefore allowing me to engage in such silliness as throwing 28 lb weights overhead to compete in the Highland Games, I listen to pretty much everything he recommends.

And so, I bought new shoes.  I really like the Merrell brand and so I upgraded to a barefoot shoe that is made just for me “beginner or long distance runner”, the Merrell Bare Access Arc.  I’m both, so it is twice as good.  I’ll get them sometime in the next week and we’ll see how these work out.  I am optimistic, but in the meantime, I’ll take my chiro’s advice and keep rolling my feet out on a golf ball or maybe a frozen water bottle.

Addendum:

I wore these shoes for my first obstacle course conditioning session and am quite amazed.  I had no pain during or after the workout.  Even better, the chronic pain I’ve had for the past two weeks is mostly gone.  This is awesome because I thought I might have crippled myself with enthusiasm and hubris.

Addendum #2:

A second two hour conditioning workout and a bit of road running and the pain is still gone.  Love these shoes!