I have the luxury of living right on the beach for a month. I’m doing about 4-5 50 minute runs a week on the sand which is a mixture of wet/dry/hard/soft sand. The beach is on an angle, sometimes pretty steep. I haven’t been wearing shoes.
my body feels pretty beat up, and I have a pretty significant pain in between the two front balls of my left foot.
I heard sand-running was good for you because it was easy on the joints…yet my body feels like it’s going through the dryer.
so is running barefoot on the sand a lot good for you, or bad?
Barefoot running on wet sand is good : soft enough not to damage your joints, hard enough not to hurt your ligaments and sinews (I’ve always been told that running in dry sand causes perpetual microadaptations of sinews and that could lead to tendonitis).
As for the angled terrain, well… you already gave the answer…
I like the sand, some people think doing too much on the sand slows them down (once back on the road), I agree with this if its too soft. Biggest concern for me though on sand is if it is at too much of an angle.
Wow…be careful, last winter I started a program of beach running in an effort to pick up my running before LP…well, I was the runner you saw out in the rain for almost 5 hours running/walking wearing an IT band strap across the top of his knees.
A month and a half before LP I developed IT band problems, due to running on the un-even and angled surface of the beach. I started therapy for it of course but it was too late, I lost some prime training time and was not fully healed by race day.
I think an occasional run on the beach is OK. but wear a stability shoe and go at low tide when the beach is level.
A month and a half before LP I developed IT band problems, due to running on the un-even and angled surface of the beach.
Is that the exact cause? I have heard different things about why ITB problems occur, but not this one. In fact, most explanaitions I have heard are that it is caused by NOT running enough on un-even and angled surfaces, causing not enough range of motion.
From what the doc and PT told me about ITBS, there are a lot of could-be causes. But running on uneven ground, even the camber of some roads since you usually only run on one side of the road, can be a significant factor. The uneven-ness can create a hip muscle imbalance, which can cause tightness on one side and lead to ITBS.
(quoting my PT)
Yes, an asymmetric gait is bad juju. But in the case of cambered roads, the difference may be too small to really notice, or someone might just get used to it. And I would think it’s better to just make an effort to run on even surfaces than it is to try and “balance” a run by maybe going out and back on different slopes. But that’s in my experience, because after fighting ITBS for way too long, I’m not taking any chances…
Joe does 90% of his run training on the beach and it seems to work for him, BUT he always wears shoes. I would think you could cause an injury barefoot without the sole support of a good shoe. He runs on the wet sand near the water and always runs both directions. Our beaches here are fairly flat however. He has a pretty good record for being injury free in a LOT of training and racing. (knock wood)
I think the issue here is going too hard too soon on the sand. Even if you had 40 mpw running background, the sand will beat you up. It’s alot harder and not as mindless as flat ground running. I would suggest cutting back the sand running and maintaining it at 1-2 times a week for shorter intervals first. See if that clears up any issues. However, your pain right now could turn into an injury with any sort of additional running.
I work at the beach and run in the sand just about everyday averaging 4/5 miles. From what I have gathered the hard sand causes pain in the knees due to the impact, especially because it is easy to run far distances. I am comfortable running the flatter soft sand, but my permanent (“boss”) was explaining to me that the uneven soft sand causes stress on the knees/ligaments/tendons because although the beach averages out to be level, it is not flat-each footprint or tire track is another angle that your body must absorb. Apparently she just completed therapy for a knee surgery and this is what the therapist had told her.
Also when running on the sand, the balls of your feet and toe area hurt from exercising new muscles and from the friction and wear from the sand. After about a week or so, my arches and feet no longer hurt-the muscles have adapted and calluses have formed.
Running barefoot in soft sand causes pressure points on the foot that are unnatural. For example, when you land on your heel, the heel sinks deep in the sand and pushes sand upward in front of it where the arch is just about to land. This bulge of sand puts a pressure point right in the center of your arch where your foot isn’t really designed to take any weight.
Joe told me that it’s not quiet typical sand down there that he runs on. It’s pretty hard packed stuff. And he runs it in Newtons so you know the lugs aren’t going to do anything unless the sand is pretty dense. I’ve spent time in Naples and can attest that it’s not the Chariots of Fire running.
I think the reason beach running did me in (ITBS) was the soft and angled nature of my beach. Even though I ran back the same route it did not balanace out the damage being done. Plus beach workouts were 70% of my mileage, I usually ran my long runs on the sand.
In the future I will return to the sand, BUT only as a small part of my training schedule and only at low tide, I do think there are benefits.
When I was living in on the Gold Coast in OZ the only time I didn't incorporate some sand running every day was when the tide was too high.All my long runs were on the beach except if I ran at night.That peridod was when I was the most run fit I've ever been.The beach provided much better scenery as well. ;)
I can see how the conditions would be different for you.
As always, how we define “beach” makes the situation different. Soft sand is very different than wet, packed sand. Our shoreline here in SW Florida is mostly flat. Of course running on any new, different surface can change your mechanics and could cause stress injuries. A sudden switch to he sand with high mileage would not be a good idea.
Ultratriguy. I know what you mean about the scenery. We spent a summer living in Miami, Joe says Miami beach is his favorite place to run. Only the scenery he was interested in was on the beach, if you know what I mean. nudge, nudge, wink, wink
Ran/Swam on the beach for the last decade… as a Lifeguard and competitor. Running on the sand is great for training and conditioning… if you do it correctly!!! My beach had multiple conditions throughout the year.
There are generally 3 types of hardpacked sand:
1) Dry hardpack with a shifty top layer... usually a more "powdery" top layer.
---shoes is a personal preference, I would suggest wearing soles.
2) wet hardpack... almost like cement.
---- if it feels like asphault, treat it like asphault... wear shoes dummy!
3) fine grain or large grain sand... fine will pack harder (faster/more impact) than large grain (slower/more cushion)
Softsand usually comes in 4 types: 1-2mi MAX!!! I suggest <1mi sprints for best results.
1) loose powdery (sugar) sand.... often uneven at the surface with many "divots" and very shifty.
---- No shoes... run on the balls of your feet and grab the sand with your toes. Short distances/sprints only!!!
2) large grain (shelly) sand.... the same as above but less traction and more sinking with each step.
----- No shoes... I would limit training to sprints
3) Mushy/wet sand... it'll feel like glue!!!
----- no shoes (duh!), and very short sprints only!
4) Uneven/angled beach... a moderate to steeply angled beach, usually consisting of any of the above soft sands.
---- VERY HIGH probabality to injure yourself, your body is not made to run off-camber.
I have found that beach training can help you add power to your step… Many use it as a sprinting workout. It may help you to pull up some untapped strength to finish the race strong. If you are able to, add a few beach runs to your weekly or bi-weekly routine. It may be a nice change up from the normal “paved” route you take.
I think you just made the mistake of doing too much too soon. You didn’t give your body time to adjust to the new running environment so you feel wrecked. I personally would have only done 1 sand run every 3 days, max. You aren’t giving your body time to recover between runs and since this is sand it is a new surface and your body needs to get used to it.
Again, back off on the frequency. If you are feeling wrecked you need to stop now and give yourself a couple days off from it so you can heal up.