A shoe review (day 1)
I recently bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers to run with. Since the reviews I read while shopping mostly didn't address my questions, I figured I'd write a review to put up places. I also believe such reviews are most useful when they take into account both first impressions and experienced use. So this is the first impressions part.
After hearing a decent amount of hype over barefoot running on the blagosphere as well as in person from a few people at work, I thought it would be a good idea to try it out since I'm getting back into running and my old running shoes don't work anymore (they tear up my heel). I admittedly didn't look into several options, having first been directed to the Vibram FiveFingers. It is very hard to find anything bad said about these 'shoes', other than that they tend to get smelly quickly (but are easily washable), and that putting them on isn't as quick as with normal shoes. Everything else was exuberantly praised, often described as lifechanging. Now obviously the internets are populated with planted reviews, so praise in general should be taken with a grain of salt, but I saw enough in terms of quantity and what I perceived to be realistic quality to convince myself that at least some reviews were real. So I went about trying to buy a pair.
The first thing I discovered was that these shoes seem to be popular at the moment. Neither of the stores in Austin that carry them had my size, and both were sold out of several sizes and models. This left me with the daunting task of ordering shoes online with an unusual sizing model, hoping that they'd fit me and that they were indeed useful in some way. I ordered my pair of size 40 KSO's in the one color that Vibram themselves had in stock (of 4 color choices).
When they arrived, I tried them on around the house. Despite what other reviewers had claimed, the tactile sensation was not too close to being barefoot; walking on grass didn't feel like I was walking barefoot on grass. On the other hand, there is a significant tactile element to them, and walking on grass did feel unique and different from walking on tile, which felt different from walking on carpet, etc. The talk about putting them on being difficult was true (though I'm not sure I shouldn't be wearing a size bigger); the shoes are tight and rubber, so trying to slide your foot into the toe slots takes a bit of pulling on the sole. I then took them for a walk, with a very brief run thrown in just for a test, having been warned to take things slowly to adjust to the new motion. I was pleased that my feet were quite protected from sharp street gravel, which I was barely able to feel. I've been walking in flip flops lately, as well as a couple times barefoot (I also spent a couple months walking barefoot in college - I have no idea if that affects me now), and I was a little surprised that walking in the FiveFingers didn't feel very different from what I was used to (aside from the tactile element of being able to feel the ground better). My run was too short to get a real feel, but it also didn't seem too different; however, in my running days in high school, I had evolved to a short stride running style, so at least that element of the running was natural to me.
The next day I took them for a longer run, trying to pay close attention to my body to determine if I needed to stop (again paying attention to many cautions about starting slowly with barefoot running). I first ran at a brisk jogging pace for a half mile; I hadn't necessarily planned to go the full way at that pace, but while running I didn't feel anything painful or strained. Again, the running motion didn't feel very different to me from what I am used to, but I did notice that my feet were a little lighter, which is a nice benefit. On my way, I stepped on a rock the size of a child's fist. It was mildly uncomfortable, but not more than I would expect it would feel like if I were in normal running shoes. Upon stopping at the half mile, I finally noticed my calves were decently tight, so even though I hadn't noticed during the running, my calves were getting a stronger workout than I was expecting. After walking around a little, my calves seemed to settle down a little, so I decided to continue running the half mile back, this time at a more comfortable jogging pace. It was upon reaching my home and walking a little bit that I really noticed my calves wanting to explode. They're the one part of my legs that are sore today still. I also noticed that the top of my right ankle felt a little sore from use, but not in a bad way like shin splints. It felt like a part of my foot that would not have been used in normal shoes, due to the shoes providing support there, but that should get stronger now that it's being used.
So, so far, so good. They're not anything immediately lifechanging, but I don't have any real complaints yet. I'll see what happens as I use them for running over the next few weeks.
After hearing a decent amount of hype over barefoot running on the blagosphere as well as in person from a few people at work, I thought it would be a good idea to try it out since I'm getting back into running and my old running shoes don't work anymore (they tear up my heel). I admittedly didn't look into several options, having first been directed to the Vibram FiveFingers. It is very hard to find anything bad said about these 'shoes', other than that they tend to get smelly quickly (but are easily washable), and that putting them on isn't as quick as with normal shoes. Everything else was exuberantly praised, often described as lifechanging. Now obviously the internets are populated with planted reviews, so praise in general should be taken with a grain of salt, but I saw enough in terms of quantity and what I perceived to be realistic quality to convince myself that at least some reviews were real. So I went about trying to buy a pair.
The first thing I discovered was that these shoes seem to be popular at the moment. Neither of the stores in Austin that carry them had my size, and both were sold out of several sizes and models. This left me with the daunting task of ordering shoes online with an unusual sizing model, hoping that they'd fit me and that they were indeed useful in some way. I ordered my pair of size 40 KSO's in the one color that Vibram themselves had in stock (of 4 color choices).
When they arrived, I tried them on around the house. Despite what other reviewers had claimed, the tactile sensation was not too close to being barefoot; walking on grass didn't feel like I was walking barefoot on grass. On the other hand, there is a significant tactile element to them, and walking on grass did feel unique and different from walking on tile, which felt different from walking on carpet, etc. The talk about putting them on being difficult was true (though I'm not sure I shouldn't be wearing a size bigger); the shoes are tight and rubber, so trying to slide your foot into the toe slots takes a bit of pulling on the sole. I then took them for a walk, with a very brief run thrown in just for a test, having been warned to take things slowly to adjust to the new motion. I was pleased that my feet were quite protected from sharp street gravel, which I was barely able to feel. I've been walking in flip flops lately, as well as a couple times barefoot (I also spent a couple months walking barefoot in college - I have no idea if that affects me now), and I was a little surprised that walking in the FiveFingers didn't feel very different from what I was used to (aside from the tactile element of being able to feel the ground better). My run was too short to get a real feel, but it also didn't seem too different; however, in my running days in high school, I had evolved to a short stride running style, so at least that element of the running was natural to me.
The next day I took them for a longer run, trying to pay close attention to my body to determine if I needed to stop (again paying attention to many cautions about starting slowly with barefoot running). I first ran at a brisk jogging pace for a half mile; I hadn't necessarily planned to go the full way at that pace, but while running I didn't feel anything painful or strained. Again, the running motion didn't feel very different to me from what I am used to, but I did notice that my feet were a little lighter, which is a nice benefit. On my way, I stepped on a rock the size of a child's fist. It was mildly uncomfortable, but not more than I would expect it would feel like if I were in normal running shoes. Upon stopping at the half mile, I finally noticed my calves were decently tight, so even though I hadn't noticed during the running, my calves were getting a stronger workout than I was expecting. After walking around a little, my calves seemed to settle down a little, so I decided to continue running the half mile back, this time at a more comfortable jogging pace. It was upon reaching my home and walking a little bit that I really noticed my calves wanting to explode. They're the one part of my legs that are sore today still. I also noticed that the top of my right ankle felt a little sore from use, but not in a bad way like shin splints. It felt like a part of my foot that would not have been used in normal shoes, due to the shoes providing support there, but that should get stronger now that it's being used.
So, so far, so good. They're not anything immediately lifechanging, but I don't have any real complaints yet. I'll see what happens as I use them for running over the next few weeks.