Folks, you will find below a few snippets from the Minimalist Runner Google group that I read. I edited them a little bit to make them readable in this context. Check out the thread here.
4/5/10
I searched back through the posts for items about VFF KSOs causing numbness. I did not find anything except the discussions about running in the cold. Today it was almost 70 degrees and beautiful in Westminster CO (NW of Denver), so I did not expect any numbness! I have been running about 12 miles per week, which is a lot for me. I did not run for 40 years and just started last summer after reading BTR. I have lost 10 pounds down to 255 but gained a birthday up to 61... what can you do??? For the previous 4 years I did walk a lot with ball strike and barefoot or minimal sandals/mocs so I transitioned to the running very easily. When walking shod I got metatarsal pain a lot and had to stop often to stretch during a marathon (Portland, 1999 7:01:53). While I am running in minimal gear or barefoot, I usually do not need to stop when I feel the pain and can just stretch my feet on the fly - very cool!
This afternoon I got a late start so I decided to just do 3 miles and push the pace a bit... now for me, that means under 15 min/mile (you may remember that my blog is called "Barely Running"). At about 2 miles I started to feel the little ridge that is on the sole of the KSOs just behind the ball. I was it a bit annoying on other runs, but tonight it really started bothering me.. not really hurting, but it almost felt like running on a stick! I took a breather at 2.25 and worked my foot over on a pointy rock... that feels so good to give yourself a massage right there on the trail! I am running on sidewalk and chip-seal road, so I do not have many rocks to massage me while I run... oh well. (I get the pain less on gravely trails.) I was afraid I would get the metatarsal pain, so I spent several minutes to be sure the foot felt OK. It is a gentle downhill all the way home, so I was really trying to be loose and let myself stretch out. I was concentrating on lifting my foot quickly and putting it down softly and quietly. I was in the zone... then the foot started to go numb! Rats! It did not hurt, so I kept on going to my house. The numbness stopped after just a few minutes with the KSOs off.
Has anyone else been bothered by the ridge behind the ball on the bottom of their KSOs? I wonder if I can buff that area down a bit to make it a smooth transition. Has anyone done that successfully? I thought I would bounce it off the group before I practice on my birthday-persent-KSOs! Chaptor
4/6/10
Thanks everyone... I have not had much time to read the last week! I have run twice more in the KSOs and have not had any numbness. Maybe it was a fluke!
Interesting thoughts from the group members!... I expected there would be from this group! About the size question, I think if anything I bought KSOs that were too small. I
suppose that could miss-position the transition ridge. Someone asked for clarification on the ridge I mentioned - You are right that I am talking about the transition from the thin arch area to the thicker area under the ball. I was thinking of buffing that transition so that it is smoother.
Someone asked if I had flat feet... I do not have flat feet! I had a fairly good arch even when I started going barefoot walking 4 years ago. I have often been bare or stocking footed most of my life. Since I have been running several people have noted that I have a very good arch... take that all you pretty people!
Someone mentioned loosening the strap - I do keep the strap fairly tight, so I can try loosening that a bit. Thanks everyone! Chaptor
5/1/10
An update... I ground down the ridge I mentioned and it made a big difference in my comfort! I have noticed several other posts on the group regarding numbness in VFFs, so please check out my fix on my blog. It only took a few minutes... please excuse the flute making PVC "dust" around my drill press! "Barely Running" http://chaptor2.scroggles.com
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