I have a pair of FiveFingers that I bought a while ago but cold weather and the fear of blisters has kept them tucked away in my closet. I took them out for the second time this year and drove to the track to run on the infield.
I've heard you really have to ease your way into running in FiveFingers. For one thing, they're about as 'barefoot' as barefoot running gets without your feet actually being naked. I use Nike Free Runs for all of my running so I'm already accustomed to minimalist shoes, but FiveFingers are a whole new ballgame, even for me.
Another concern is blisters. I'm not used to having my shoes between my toes so all kinds of things are rubbing that don't normally rub. Because I'm afraid I'll do too much too soon and end up with blisters that ruin the rest of my training, I kept my first run in the FiveFingers to 1.5 miles. That was a couple of months ago but today wasn't much different.
I'll do a full Gear Check review of my Five Fingers when I have more experience with them and can report more knowledgeably. But the main things I've learned so far:
-Running on pavement requires a lot of attention to form and foot-strike.
-Running on grass is heavenly!
-FiveFingers are most comfortable when running very slow/jogging or when running at full speed. They're less comfortable at the mid-speed pace that I'm used to.
Having learned those things on my last run with the Fingers, I drove to the track to run some sprints on the infield. I jogged a warm-up and cool-down on the infield grass and ran 8 x 100 meter sprints in between.
I don't know if I've ever felt so fast with so little perceived effort! I Love these shoes!!! I always Loved barefoot sprints on the infield during high school track but having that extra layer of protection on my feet made today even better. All of the speed and freedom of barefoot running without the wear and tear on the bottom of my feet. Awesome!
Now I just need to use them more so I can run farther and maybe work them into some short races.
Friday
Goal For The Day: Speedwork.
Distance: 2.00 Miles.
Time: Untimed.
Route: Eureka H.S. Track.
Conditions: 47 degrees. 7:30AM.
Notes: 3/4 mile warm-up. 8 x 100 meters at top speed. Rest after 4 sets. 3/4 mile cool-down. I parked at Berry Park and jogged to the track. I hadn't been here since the park was put in. It's nice! And now I can park there when I want to use the track even if school is in session. Problem solved!
Daily Miles: 2.00 Miles.
2012 Totals:
Run - 293.47 Miles.
Bike - 0.00 Miles.
Swim - 7,450 meters.
Brad, you just made my night with this post. I love my Bikila's! That's what I trained and ran my first half in. Keep enjoying them!
ReplyDeleteMark, I'm glad you like them! My brother-in-law bought some FiveFingers for his first half marathon too. They're all he wears now and he has run two halves in them. Which half did you run?
DeleteInjinji toe socks. Get them. It'll help with blisters and with the shoe-funk.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I felt the same way as you when I did sprints in my VFF.
I've heard good things about the toe socks. I'll have to grab a pair. But I never get shoe-funk. My feet smell like a field of wild flowers in a spring breeze! (I wish.)
DeleteI second the Injini toe socks. That extra couple mm of protection on rough surfaces. But in all my 5-finger running for the past year and a half, I've never had a blister, or even a pre-blister, or even thought about getting a blister. It's sort of awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd, man, aren't you right about running in the grass? Wonderful.
I also use them for my weight lifting in the gym. They're perfect for it.
Another vote for toe socks... now I'm starting to feel left out!
DeleteAnd I might consider them for lifting in the gym if I did that more often. Sadly, I don't get to the gym to lift very often. Remember, your post about how much you lift made me feel tiny and weak!