All of the minimalist and barefoot running websites recommend gradual increases to your time/mileage over many, many weeks. One site advised waiting all the way until your 3rd week before you worked up to a 3-mile run! Seriously? Doesn't sound gradual to me. And advice like that is why I started this blog in the first place. Some people aren't ready for 3 miles for months, barefoot or otherwise...
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If you are really new to running, the half mile 5+ minute runs I started with may seem daunting as well. But don't be discouraged! Take baby steps and listen to your body. Just because I started increasing my mileage (.25 mile) on Week 2, doesn't mean that's right for anyone else.
Most of the sites advise only a 10% increase in mileage each week. At that rate it would take me 2 months to go from a half mile to a full mile. An extremely conservative pace, and unfortunately, one that won't get me to my 10k in time. But having experienced a strange foot tenderness this week (Week 3), I may be on my way to being the poster child for TMTS. I only increased a 1/2 mile!!!
The point is to ease into minimalist running, use good form, stretch and massage your poor feet/legs and go a little farther or a little longer each week. It doesn't have to be added into one longer run either. Run for a while, walk for a while, then run for a second (shorter) bit. Perfectly fine.
If you are really new to running, the half mile 5+ minute runs I started with may seem daunting as well. But don't be discouraged! Take baby steps and listen to your body. Just because I started increasing my mileage (.25 mile) on Week 2, doesn't mean that's right for anyone else.
Most of the sites advise only a 10% increase in mileage each week. At that rate it would take me 2 months to go from a half mile to a full mile. An extremely conservative pace, and unfortunately, one that won't get me to my 10k in time. But having experienced a strange foot tenderness this week (Week 3), I may be on my way to being the poster child for TMTS. I only increased a 1/2 mile!!!
The point is to ease into minimalist running, use good form, stretch and massage your poor feet/legs and go a little farther or a little longer each week. It doesn't have to be added into one longer run either. Run for a while, walk for a while, then run for a second (shorter) bit. Perfectly fine.
“The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
― John Bingham, No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running
― John Bingham, No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running
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