Barefoot Running…
I ordered a pair of Vibram Five Fingers a few months ago primarily for lifting. I was getting into heavier weights and shoes were absolutely a free ticket to screwing with my back and given my history, I didn’t need that trouble.
After lifting a few times with them, my feet adjusted very well. I did get a few odd looks at the gym since these things are just starting to work their way into the mainstream.
I have known about the benefits of a strong foot for several years. I used to always take my shoes off at the end of a run to walk about a ¼ mile back to my apartment. I also would walk around barefoot in the apartment to strengthen my feet. Then I started reading more and more about actually running barefoot, and then there was the Omaha Marathon last year.
This was my second marathon in as many weeks and I ran it slow (~4hrs). Early on a guy pulled up beside me with a noticeable absence – he wasn’t wearing any shoes. This marathon was on pavement too and I’m not talking Vibram barefoot, I’m talking nothing but the naked foot. A few months later I saw someone wearing the Five Fingers in the gym and thought they had just mistakingly thought rock climbing were the new fad.
The barefoot craze was setting in. Meanwhile, I was constantly getting lighter more mobile shoes for running. I used to look for cushioning and durability. I hated running on roads, so I always looked at trail shoes. I finally latched on to the Mountain Masochist by Montrail which had the perfect blend.
Back to my order…I was lifting all the time in them. 4-5 times per week and then I started to get some short runs in them starting with 3 miles. I gradually worked my up to about 5 miles and every run was a blast. It felt so free and fun. I was apprehensive about running any longer in them without letting my feet adapt a little more. That was until I read Born to Run. McDougall dedicated a few chapters to the topic of barefoot running and how it came about. I highly recommend the read for the background and more of the science. Regardless, the stories are highly motivating and motivated me out the door yesterday for an 11-mile run in the Vibrams.
I figured it was time to see how my foot would react rather than baby it forever in shoes. It was great. My feet felt a little sore from the pounding on the bit of pavement I had to endure, but when all was said an done, my legs felt almost refreshed at the end of the run. No aches or pains I normally feel with runs over 10 miles. I didn’t wear a watch, so I can’t tell you how fast or slow I ran, but it felt borderline effortless.
Its only been a few weeks of running this way, but I convinces this is the way to run. I hear about all the new shoe technology and even running methods like Pose, but honestly, running barefoot makes you run the way your body is meant to run. It haunting similar to Pose, but the difference is in shoes you actually have to make your body run correctly expending more energy. It may be a small amount, but its an amount none-the-less. Running barefoot makes this form of running a natural response thus no extra energy is expending trying to figure out which was is the best way to run. What’s that? I can run barefoot instead of paying to have someone teach me this method of running? Yes.
Eventually, I would like to go total barefoot and ditch the Vibrams or any other shoe. All-in-all an $85 Five Finger is cheaper than a $125 trail shoe with $20-30 in socks.