I have been researching the Five Fingers for a long time now. Many posts I had read specifically mentioned not ordering online until you knew your size because the fit was so different from regular shoes. I would look for them while traveling but never came across them. A couple of weeks ago a local tri shop posted on Facebook that they were now stocking them and it put the plan back into motion for me to try them. I ended up with them from a different store, a large national outdoor gear shop, but they replanted the seed.As of last night, I have now run in them 8 times for a total of roughly 13 miles. Everything I read stressed starting out slowly in them so I have been doing 1, 1.5, or 2 mile runs in them. I might have been able to progress a little faster because all of my recent running shoe purchases have been flats with the thought of reducing stability and cushion while moving towards the Five Fingers as soon as I came across a pair.
I have not had any discomfort at all so I must be progressing properly and not overdoing it. Last night was a 2 mile run on the treadmill and my legs felt great besides the general overall fatigue from all the riding I have been doing of late. I did develop a small hot spot on the ball of my right foot big toe area. You definitely will need to build the skin toughness up along with bone/muscle comfort if you plan on going this route.
The basis of me going to Five Fingers and lack of stability in my shoes comes from the nerve problem I developed in my left leg. I am willing to try anything to see if it loosens up that issue and I am able to marathon train again in the future. I read many people speaking of leg/back issues disappearing once they moved to this shoe and I wanted to see if it works for me as well. As of today it has but then again the long run is 2.0 miles so I need to build up to 3.0 and longer to determine if they will help with the nerve issue.
If you are interested in barefoot/no stability running I definitely recommend purchasing the Vibram Five Fingers. I went with the KSO Trek because I plan on using them as my tour shoe and also trail running when we return. If all continues well I will drop down to the standard KSO or other type depending on what my needs are at that time.
My overall rating after 1 week - 5 toes up :)
Have a great day!
1 comment:
Now that is one interesting looking shoe. I used to compete at 10K until my knee said no more.
That is quite a interesting web sight/Journey you are going to be partaking. I can see the potential for this possibly growing/reoccuring.
Have a good day.
Dave
Post a Comment