Barefoot and Shod Running Concurrently

Readers of this blog will be well aware that my minimalist running progress is going very well. I am enjoying it, maybe a little too much and in real danger of moving into the TMTS (Too Much Too Soon) category.

I have been lucky enough to find my mid-foot strike form quite easily and now that i’m 50+ miles into the barefoot running i naturally fall into and out of the mid-foot form  depending on the shoe. It is with this in mind i decided over Christmas i would try to run parallel training patterns that will allow me to build my foot strength and elongate my barefoot runs while also running greater distances over all.

I want to be able to run my first marathon the end of this year or the beginning of next year. I have just signed up for the ING NYC Marathon in November. I will have to wait until April however to see if i have a number. So i want to get some distance running in, something i don’t dare do yet in my minimalist shoes. I have decided the best course of action is to continue to run my 5-6 mile routs in my Merrell‘s and Vibram‘s  and build foot strength. A pace that some already consider to be TMTS, but i am happy with.

I have got what i consider to be intermediate shoes, like the Nike Free that will allow me to run with a mid-foot strike or heel strike and give me some padded protection for the distance. I decided on a pair of Saucony Kinvara

Saucony KINVARA

I felt this to be a good intermediate shoe, Limited support for the foot, a slight heel to toe drop and enough cushioning for me to get some distance in. I have done a few runs in the shoe so far and have been able to hold my mid-foot strike form in them. My last run in them is here. A nice 9 miles.

http://runkeeper.com/user/simonjcole/activity/64273287

So going forward my plan is to run my 5k and 10k races in minimalist shoes and my half and marathon training and running will be done in the Saucony’s. I will be sure to label runs and posts correctly so it’s clear what i’m doing. To be honest it’s also nice to be able to wear some warm socks in this cold weather right now!

So lets see how this concurrent training goes and how easy i’ll be able to switch shoes and on occasion running form.

Related articles

• Barefoot Running: Is it Better? (runningshoes.org)
• Barefoot! (netniewoo.wordpress.com)
• Born to Run? (christostriathlon1.wordpress.com)

Merrell Trail Glove Review – Barefoot Shoes

So i have put about 50-60 miles on my Merrell Trail Gloves now and thought i would post a review on the ownership experience so far.

http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/22875M/60904/Mens/Barefoot-Run-Trail-Glove

Sophie and Simon's new barefoot Merrell Trail Gloves

I have read a few reviews and criticisms of the Trail Glove which i feel to be unfair as the review seems to have forgotten that the shoe is a “Trail” (The clue is in the name) shoe and not designed for running on the hard top. For my part i have had nothing but a positive 3 months with my shoes. My 9 year old daughter also has a pair and loves them,

The Trail Glove is a 6.2 oz zero drop minimalist trail shoe. It has a Vibram sole and a 1mm impact plate in the mid sole to take some of the shock absorption away from the foot when hitting stones etc.

The inside is seamless and so designed for you to not wear socks with the shoe. The shoe required no breaking in and has never rubbed or caused any blisters of any kind. It also has a Aegis® antimicrobial solution footbed that claims to resist odor. Which i think works pretty well as they still smell pretty good and nothing like my soccer boots that i wear socks in. So a big thumbs up there. It also helps that the shoes are machine washable.

So far my shoes have shown very little wear and i would expect many hundreds of miles in the shoes. The soles being quality Virbram’s you would expect this and the uppers are the usual high quality you expect from Merrell.

The fit is great for my feet. My feet are narrow  at the arch and then wide at the mid foot and toes. The trail gloves have been criticized for being too narrow at the arch. I feel this to be somewhat an unfair criticism  as you need a trail shoe to be tight and glove like as you don’t want the the shoe to move independently underfoot when running on slopes or difficult surfaces etc. Something you don’t need from a standard running shoe. The toe box is very wide giving plenty of room for your toes to splay out and feel the ground as you are running. The rubber bumper around the toes providing you with that extra protection when hitting the rough stuff.

All in all i give the shoes a solid 8 out of 10. These are great minimalist trail shoes. High quality, offering you strong foot protection and still allowing plenty of feeling. The only downsides are potentially if the narrow fit around your arch is going to be a problem and they are slightly more expensive than the Virbram equivalents at $110

Related articles

• What’s Been on My Feet Lately? – Preview of Three Minimalist Road Shoes From New Balance, Merrell, and Adidas (runblogger.com)
• Running Form and Efficiency with your Stride (barefeat.wordpress.com)
• My Review of Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes – Women’s (fromfatkidtofab.wordpress.com)