Barefoot Running

An open-honest review of the Vibram FiveFingers from a runner who runs for the fun of it.

My journey in barefoot running began on October 14th with a 3-mile night run in my bare feet (literally) on clean concrete sidewalks. I thoroughly enjoyed this run, it was so peaceful, it felt great, and it seemed pretty speedy. (I didn't have my Garmin GPS watch to track the distance or speed.) It was a great run until at about 2.75 miles I got lazy and dragged my foot peeling a layer of skin off the pad of my right foot. I limped home the 1/4 mile in pain, but not defeated. This first run inspired me to research barefoot alternatives.

On October 31st I bought my first pair of Vibram FiveFingers - KSO model (Keeps Stuff Out). I was so excited about them that I wore them all evening with my bumblebee costume. They are very comfortable for walking about.
The next day (Nov. 1st) I was still really really exhausted from a 12-mile run the day before but so excited about my new shoes that I went for a four-mile run in 90-degree heat. This first run was really comfortable for my feet despite the heat. I jogged the first 2 miles and then I stopped to take my fivefingers off to let my feet cool-off. (Not sure how that will play out in the middle of summer in Phoenix!) The best part of this run was running through the wet grass and then checking out my foot print - toes and all - on the sidewalk! What fun! I ran 1.5 miles home and developed some pretty nasty blisters.
Still excited about my new "shoes" I wore them to church that night. Despite the blisters it was still comfortable to wear them around for the evening.


Monday (Nov 2nd) I was still excited about my new shoes and not really heeding the advice I had heard over and over again to ease into them slowly. So, I took them to the gym to run on the treadmill. My running partner and I were trying for 4 miles that day, she made it 3 miles at a really good pace. I made 2.5 miles as I hobbled along in my new shoes. I managed to get a pretty painful sore on the side of my right foot from the rubbing of my FiveFingers. I also developed a bad blister on my heel. I thought that my achilles was giving me trouble, but it was only the blister getting ripped open into another sore. Everyone had said that running barefoot made you strike the ground more lightly but that experience on the treadmill I felt so heavy. I could not run quietly which is always my goal in running. I felt like I was doing something wrong, striking on my heel, pounding the treadmill so it was shaking. I was very grumpy about this running experience. I was becoming very disenfranchised with my new purchase and this whole barefoot running experience.

The next day (Nov. 3rd) I decided I would heed the advice to ease into the shoes, so my next run was back in my running shoes. I put my regular socks on and just felt like my toes were squeezed together so I changed my socks to wear my Injinji toe socks in my Nikes. I ran 4.5 miles at an 11:00 minute pace and felt really good about it. This actually did not help me feel any better about my new purchase. The Nikes were comfortable, I was speedy, I didn't feel heavy on my feet. It was a good run.

The next day (Nov. 4th) I wore my FiveFingers to walk to the grocery store - about a mile. I wore my Injinji socks and a couple of band-aids to help with the blisters and sores. It was pretty comfortable.

The next day (Nov. 5th) I ran 2.5 miles in my FiveFingers, but before the run I walked around the house in them and worked on adjusting the strap to get them to feel right. I realized the value of this strap and that I could work it out so that it doesn't rub so badly. I enjoyed this run on the concrete sidewalks.

A couple of days later, on Saturday morning (Nov. 7th) I put my Nikes back on and ran 6 miles with my running partner. We took it easy trying to make it a long-slow-run.
That night I slipped on my FiveFingers and ran 3.5 miles. It was a great, quick run - 10:29 minute per mile pace. By this point I am beginning to realize the potential goodness of these fun shoes.

Then for a variety of non-running related things I didn't run from Sunday through Thursday. Today (Nov. 13th) I put on my FiveFingers, walking around the house for a while and adjusting the strap to get the fit right, and went out for a 5 mile run. I found a a dirt trail to run part of the distance and enjoyed the softer surface. I averaged 10:33 minutes per mile over five miles and felt great! I've developed a blister on each big toe, but the sores are healing - not getting worse. I'm not sure why I'm getting these blisters, but I think it will work itself out. It's obviously not slowing me down. After my run I put on my Injinji socks and put the FiveFingers back on to go out to lunch and do some shopping. A couple more hours of walking around made my pinky-toes get sore so I was glad to slip them off when I got home.

My plan is to continue alternating between my Nikes and the FiveFingers, wearing the Injinji socks with my Nikes. I don't think I'll be ready to wear the FiveFingers in my half-marathon on 12/6, but I do think I'll wear them in my 5K on Saturday.

One thing I've noticed is that the knee pain I've been struggling with since my half-marathon in May is not present when I run barefoot. When I wear the Nikes my knees ache. However, when I wear the FiveFingers my ankles feel at risk. I think they're getting stronger, but I fear injury. That's why I'll keep easing into the FiveFingers. I really don't want to get hurt.

I am going to make the switch to barefoot running (via FiveFingers), I believe in the science and freedom of it. They are not a miracle-shoe, not as fantastic as I had hoped, but I do prefer to run in them over my Nikes.

My goal for running is to be able to run for the rest of my life and to enjoy it! I believe that running barefoot will help me avoid injury and for now it gives me joy. Happy Running!