vibram five fingers - the experiment

It is sometimes not good to go shopping under post long run euphoria, or at least a mild high of free endorphins. Fresh from a 20 mile run with a good friend (who at least occasionally ranks me higher than her labrador as a running partner),  I enter a local outdoor sports store thinking "new pair of Vasque trail shoes."  They got me through the mountains, so maybe a second pair??
I have been watching a rising trend in running.  Articles by Harvard paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman and University of Utah biologist Dennis Bramble suggest dozens of adaptations of humans for distance running.  From your big rear to your big head and your large feet and relatively hairless body, a human can outrun just about any animal on the planet over a long enough distance.  Run your prey to exhaustion, and knock 'em in the head with a rock.

The book "Born to Run" by Chris McDougall was on my reading list this fall.  An essential question- how can we be so well adapted for running long, and yet be so injury prone?  We ran for millions of years before the modern running shoe. Something like 60-90% of runners suffer a running related injury each year.  One interesting correlation- the more expensive the shoes, the more injury prone the runner. Totally counter intuitive.  All that cushioning, motion control - is it doing more harm than good? Pronation - lots of us - bio-mechanical flaw requiring correction, or the natural way your toes and feet move?

So the store is out of my familiar footware, a relatively light trail shoe.  My eyes turn to the odd, five toed light weight Vibram Five Fingers.  Steve Runner talked about minimalist shoes on a recent show.  The fellow also went barefoot running on pavement. Guess what?  Blisters on tender feet.  Not much to Vibram shoes.  A rubber shell, mesh sides, minimal tread.  Something like an aqua-sock, with toes.

Tried them on. Feels odd, but what the heck?  A grand experiment.  Walked out with a new pair of Vibram Five Finger KSO (Keep Stuff Out!) toe shoes.  Next stop- The wearing.

Ran 6 miles off pavement on Sunday morning, easing into the experience.  Having read and heard of blisters on others maiden voyage feet, I thought using the old reliable Injinji toe socks with the Vibram shoes would be a good idea. They have pulled me through marathons and ultras since that awful first marathon in 2006, which left me with a silver dollar size blister that took a month to heal.

Verdict? 6 miles in Vibrams, and I was ready to put on my Vasque conventional trail shoes for 6 more. I am going to keep at this, but it is something to ease into. Minor muscle feel, both sides lower legs.  Stretching of muscles and tendons across the toes and arch. The feet need time to get used to rocks and stumps and roots.  These are not something I want to wear on pavement just yet. I will continue wearing my neutral and slightly cushioned Saucony's for now on the road.

No tread to speak of.  Vibram is supposed have a more aggressive tread in the spring, but for now running uphill in mud is 'challenging.'

Stay tuned for future updates...
-Larry