My Five Fingers - Keep Stuff Out

I got my hands on my first Vibram Five Fingers – KSO. w00t!
I have been eyeing Vibram Five Fingers for quite some time and wanted one for my crazy trekking. Carrying those heavy trek boots was a pain, and they get nasty when they get wet. Vibram Five Fingers lured me when I first stumbled upon them, especially the pictures on their website. Ever since I got into running and read about the benefits of barefoot running, I wanted to give it a shot, if not for running faster, at least to run with fewer injuries.

I read an article (quite lengthy but a very interesting read) last year on how running shoes inhibit the natural motion of our feet and how they contribute to innumerable running-related injuries. It also explains heel strike and forefoot strike (Video). The article was backed up by evidence from the sports medicine team, athletes and coaches, as well as real-life case studies of the Tarahumara Indians, who run several 100 miles every day effortlessly and, above all, BAREFOOT. There were some serious allegations against companies of the sports shoe industry. Is that why we have Adi-Zero and Nike Free now? I also had a chance to read the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. Very inspiring!

It was very confusing to choose my first pair of VFF. I really liked the FLOW, which can be used for running in very cold weather and is also waterproof, but had to settle for KSO, which I just love btw, the reason being my Morton’s toe :(. Size 47 would have fitted me just fine if not for my Morton’s toe, so I had to go one size bigger. US 13/Size 48 was only available in KSO Black. For me, comfort comes before looks. I wanted to try one before buying it. I walked into the nearest store and got lucky to try the only pair of KSOs they had, and it was size 48. Sweet! It fitted perfectly and all my fingers got tucked into the pockets except for my little finger; it is way too short and it barely got inside the pocket. The store guy allowed me to walk/run around the store. It felt great. I never knew that Black KSO is the ONLY VFF that comes in size 48, and FLOW was still bothering me. I wanted to see if I could find FLOW online, but there weren’t any. I walked into the store the next day hoping they hadn’t sold the only pair. I was lucky. It was still there. Like Gollum of The Lord of the Rings, I felt like saying “My Precioussss”. :)

I was very excited to try them, but I was also aware that I had to take it slow (read a couple of warnings given by VFF users) during my first few runs, as my legs would be going through a transition. Tried my VFF on a treadmill for the first time to see how they would feel and decided to run 5K. They felt really good. I could see very evidently that I started landing on my forefoot instead of striking the heel. It felt perfect.

(Sorry about the picture quality, will get a better one in my next post)

I took them out again for a 6-mile run on pavement, trail, grass and mud. I would say that it felt much better than running in my sneakers, though my shin hurt a bit. I guess it comes with the territory during the first few days of using VFF, but I am sure my feet will feel better in the long run. I am planning to wear them for an 8-mile race this weekend and train in them all week for my regular runs. I am hoping to run my half marathon and marathon in my VFF in a couple of weeks, and if all goes well, I will try them for my 50 mile too. Time to burn some serious miles!