The new running shoes: Vibram fivefingers KSO. Let's see if my legs fall off.
My New Running Shoes
It’s actually not that accurate to describe the vibram KSOs as shoes…mitts might be more like it. The things are meant to bring you as close as possible to running barefoot, which is alleged to reduce your risk of injury and generally be better for your ankles/knees/hips than running in trainers.
Wearing the mitts feels in many ways like you’re barefooted. There’s little to no arch support and your toes are free to wiggle all they want. At first my toes weren’t sure what, exactly, they were supposed to be doing. I spent quite a bit of time walking around, thinking about my toes, which is an odd thing to do.
The mitts’ upper is breathable and very much like what aquasocks are made out of. The designers did an especially good job on the sole; it’s flexible enough to not get in the way while running, but firm enough to not make running over rocks painful. It also seems to provide a fair amount of grip, though I’ve not yet taken them over anything extraordinarily slippery.
The Drawbacks
I bought the things back in January, but hadn’t run in them until now out of caution as well as laziness. The main difficulties I had in getting used to the shoes were:
- Putting them on. Your toes have to stretch apart quite a bit to go into the right slots. I actually had to spend some time stretching my pinky toes before I was able to put the mitts on for the first time.
- Getting used to walking/running in them. I learned very quickly that big heel-strikes are not the right way to walk or run in the vibrams. I would guess that I walked 4-5 hours in the things before feeling like I was no longer mincing or doing a Frankenstein walk. It would be a very bad idea to buy them and immediately go running in them.
- Looking like an idiot. These are not shoes for the self-conscious. They look very weird and draw stares. (“I saw your toes coming up the walk,” my flatmate said to me one day as I came back from the gym.) The all-black KSOs are fairly unobtrusive; all the others are made in horribly garish, attention-getting color schemes. Bad idea, vibram.
The First Run
The weather has improved to the point that being outside is enjoyable rather than tolerable, so I decided today was a good day to take the mitts on their first run. It was a short, fast two mile run through fields and up and down two hills. There was some mud and wet, but generally I ran on packed dirt and grass.
The first hundred feet or so were generally awkward, and I took a few painful heavy steps. After that, something clicked and I had the most fun I think I’ve ever had running. I primarily noticed was how light my feet felt, and how much fun it was for my feet to have such freedom of movement and agility. Because of the open tops on the shoes, I felt much more connected to what I was running over and through. It was a good feeling.
In the past I’d read quite a bit about pose running; when I got into my rhythm, I realized that I was running in a way that the pose people have described….interesting, that.
I ran about a 7:30 mile, which isn’t bad considering the new kicks, how long it’s been since I last ran, and what a shit runner I am in general.
The Aftermath
First, I was shocked that my feet weren’t absolutely filthy when I pulled the shoes off. This is a clear sign I didn’t run for long enough.
My ankles are a bit sore, probably in part from the first few missteps I took, but also because some of my barefoot form needs improvement. My knees and hips, which are where I felt discomfort while getting used to walking in the mitts, have been fine. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when I’ll do the same two miles again. I figure that if I can do tomorrow with no pain I’ll double up the time after and start building miles.
I ran without socks, and there are no sore spots or signs of blisters on my feet. However, the mitts now smell absolutely foul. They’re supposed to be machine washable, but I think I’ll try to find some anti-odor/anti-bacteria spray to use on them. I don’t want to ruin the things in a school washing machine.
In the end, I wanted to run more when I finished, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s run. That’s the highest compliment I think I can give the mitts. They made the running feel fun.
