Five Fingers

With my REI dividend and 20% off coupon I decided to get some Vibram Five Fingers.  As a kid I was always barefoot in the summers even though we had a gravel driveway and I got stung on the feet by bees every summer it seemed.  So "barefoot" running intrigued me, that and I thought they would be great in a canoe or kayak.

I did some research and initially I was going to go with the Vibram Flow because they seemed designed for water sports with the Neoprene upper but then I figured it might be too hot and sweaty if I wanted to run in them.  I went with the KSO's.  I also got the Injinji toe socks.

My left foot slid in like the KSO's were made for it.  I was surprised how easy it went on.  For some reason, the right foot was not so easy.  My little toe did not want to go it its place.  With a little struggle, I had them both on and they felt pretty good.  Walking around in them instantly gave me a ninja like feeling. 

I heard you should ease into running in them so I decided I would start out with 1 or 2 miles.  (I later read that they recommend between a quarter mile and a mile.)  As I crossed the street to start my run, the Vibrams felt good.  I felt like I was barefoot but without all the rocks poking my feet. 

Trying to figure out the best way to run with Vibrams, I started just running on the balls of my feet without my heals touching at all.  I couldn't run slow like that.  It was like a dead sprint for the first quarter mile.  That was not going to work.  I stopped to walk and catch my breath.  I started running again, slower this time, and started to get the hang of it.  Instead of running on the balls of my feet or with a heal strike like I do in running shoes, I landed more flat footed.  Like a mid foot strike.

The KSO's were surprisingly comfortable on my feet but I could really feel the surface I was running on.  Running on the grass was soft and cushy.  Running on the pavement was hard.  I was feeling good so I went for the whole 2 miles. 

They won't replace my running shoes but it will be fun to mix those in the rotation every once and a while.

The next day I expected my calves to be really sore.  They were a little sore, but not bad at all.