Been on a cruise for two weeks. Told myself that I would be good and not eat too much and hit the gym on a regular basis. What can I say….I tried.
Only put on 3kg.
But I did manage to get in a few barefoot runs around the deck. It was good place to begin barefoot running becuase it was flat, no sharp objects and course was short, 400m.
The first run was good. I did a mile and felt ok. Had some minor pain in my calf muscles but apart from that it felt good. I rested for a day and decided to go run two miles. After the first 1/2 mile the top of my left foot was really sore. I continued running not thinking too much about it because I was only going really slow and put it down to just a little niggle from making the transition. I should have read a few more blogs. The pain the next day was terrible. It felt like I had broken a bone in my foot and I could hardly walk on it. That was the end of my running for the cruise.
I have since learnt that top of foot pain is very common among runners making the transition to barefoot. I have come across 4 main theories:
1. Stress fracture
2. Tendonitis
3. Pinched Nerve
4. Scar tissue from toes starting to move apart now that they are not protected by a comfy shoe.
Personally I like the 4th theory. It is not likely that I broke anything running around a flat 400m track. I didn’t run long enough to get tendonitis and can not see how a nerve got itself pinched up on the top of my foot. The scar tissue I am not sure about but it does make send that as your foot starts to become accustomed to its new role in life of actually supporting you that it will need to change its shape.
I have now also developed a similar but less painful issue with my right foot. I have used some rock tape to support it and done some massage which has really helped. I am going to continue to go barefoot.