Are those actually comfortable? Are those them gorilla shoes? Man those are weird looking. Do they come in any normal colors?
The answer is yes
I’ve heard all of those questions since I started my experiment in minimalist running. Why would I do such a thing? Like most folks who enjoy running, I’ve had my share of running related injuries and I know some folks who have avoided injuries by switching to barefoot running and minimalist shoes. Like many others, I’ve also read Born to Run and was very intrigued by the science behind it. Lastly, the timing just worked out.
lEARNING HOW TO RUN
Everyone told me I needed to learn how to run all over again. When you don’t have the benefit of all the padding, air cushions, gel cushions, etc. of the traditional running shoe, your can’t run with a form that allows your heel to strike the ground first as your heel doesn’t have any padding. But, if your foot strikes with on the forefoot, the natural design of your arches and the tendons in your feet and legs will absorb the impact.
My Avatar Blue shoes
After nearly 40 years of wearing traditional shoes, it takes some serious concentration to change the way you run. As I said, the timing worked out to give this a try. The doctor had given me a month without doing anything strenuous after some surgery, so I had to build my endurance back up anyway. I also had worn out my last pair of running shoes and needed to buy something new. Lastly, City Sports had some Vibram Five Fingers shoes on sale. I’m guessing they have them on sale because no one likes the color. The other colors all cost a lot more. But, since this was an experiment, I decided I didn’t really care if they looked more like a women’s shoe color.
Building up slowly
So, I got my shoes delivered from the east coast and once the doctor said I was good to go I started running in my new shoes…1 mile. Normally I run at least 3 miles and usually its 4-5 miles. Stopping at 1 mile was tough. My calves didn’t even feel that bad and everyone said they’d be sore. The last morning I woke up and it felt like someone had beat me calves with a baseball bat. No running that day. The next day I went 1.5 miles and slowed my pace by 1 min/mile and my calves were a little less sore. So, I added a half mile each time and took at least 1 day off in between runs until I hit 3 miles. Then I started adding only a quarter mile per run and increasing my pace slowly. Yesterday I managed 4.25 miles and this morning my calves feel fine.
I’d do it again
I love my shoes. Yes, they look funny, but they’re like gloves on my feet. I love the ability to feel the ground as I run and adjust my gate/pace on the fly. I love that I can rip off 4 miles at my old pace and not feel any soreness the next day in my joints. We’ll see how my feet tolerate the cold and snow in these shoes, but so far this has been one successful experiment.
Is it easier on the joints? After knee reconstruction, running has been a bit painful and I switched to just walking. If it’s easier on the joints, I need to give these a try!
Shell,
I had my ACL reconstructed and some cartilage removed from my right knee in 1988. I had to quit the crew team at Wisconsin in 1990 because the doctors didn’t think my knees were strong enough to take it. I re-injured it in 1992 but it wasn’t serious enough for surgery. Granted, that’s a long time ago, but I stopped running for a long time because of my knee. After I started back up again a couple years ago I managed to work up to 3-4 miles before my knees (yep, both of them) would really hurt the next day. After slowing my pace, I managed to get to 5 miles before the pain would set in. After trying minimalist running, my knees have not hurt once. My calves are a different story for another post, but my knees and ankles have been pain free.
The caveat to all of this, is you have to learn to run differently. The shoes are really only there to protect your feet from getting punctured while you run down the road/trail. If you run heel first without any padding under the foot, you’re going to be in a lot of pain. Just try running barefoot across your basement or driveway and you’ll quickly see what I mean. Also, the Vibram’s aren’t the only minimalist shoes out there. There are some that look more like “normal” shoes such as Merrell’s Trail Glove shoes and Newton makes running shoes that cushion the fore-foot rather than the heel to name a couple. None of them are cheap, but they’re all supposed to last a long time. I can’t speak to that yet.
I’m working on another post that describes some of the downsides and oddities I discovered during this experiment. I should have that done in a week or so. So, stay tuned.
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