My Vibram FiveFinger Experience (VFF)
When I first saw someone walking in these shoes, I though to myself..."who would wear such ugly shoes?" Well I bought a pair so I guess I would!
The idea for wearing these shoes came from my brother Jordan. He found this event called a Tough Mudder (www.toughmudder.com) and he convinced me to do it with him. We are doing the Northern California event at Bear Valley on October 9th as a Two-Person team named 'When Pigs Fly'. He thought these shoes would be great since we will be running through mud, water and doing obstacles. I agreed to the event and the shoes so there began my research on Vibram FiveFingers (VFF).
Since I will be training (running) for the Tough Mudder in my VFF's, I will give you a background on my running. I started running in 7th grade because I wasn't good at any of the 'normal' sports. I wasn't really good at running either but I wanted to give it my best shot. I ran cross country all through Jr. High and High school. I was never a top finisher but the 3-5 mile races we were running were never really long enough for me. I wasn't super tired at the end but I also wasn't running very fast. I am a pretty slow runner. It wasn't till about four years after I graduated high school when I realized I could run forever! (well not really forever, but longer than your normal person) I was 22 when I met my good friend Ernie. I told Ernie I ran in high school so he asked me to join him for a morning run. I agreed before I knew what I was getting myself into. He told me to meet at his house at 5am the next day. I had already agreed to going so I followed through with my promise. We meet, then drove to the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. We get out and start walking up a steep trail. Oh ya, did I mention it was too dark to see so we were using head lamps? Ya, that was fun for the first time! Well, back to the trail... After about 10 minutes of hiking up sketchy terrain in the dark, we found a semi-normal, kinda flat trail. Long story short, it was way more fun than it wounded and I got addicted to trail running and started doing a lot of it. I started running with Ernie on a regular basis and about a year into it, I ran a 50 Mile Marathon. This was my first and last race since I started having knee problems and I never took the time to sort it out. I stopped running and until now(about 4 year later) and have not looked back.
I have read a lot that the VFF's help with your running form and ultimately should help with my knee and shin problem. I really hope this is the case.
***All the following running was on cement sidewalks unless otherwise stated. I am also only using my VFF's to run. I have not worn them for working out or normal everyday wear. I also do other runs (in my normal running shoes) when I feel I need more exercise, but I am only recording my VFF runs.***
Day one on VFF (9-14-10)
Despite the advice given by my shoe salesman at Salt Lake Running Company, I decided to run a little more than a couple hundred yards to begin with. I started out with one mile. Right off the bat, running in my VFF felt good. Ff you run with bad form, you will automatically be forced to run with 'better' form. After the mile was over, I felt like I could run further but I didn't want to push my luck. My first run felt great!
Day two on VFF (9-16-10)
Since one mile felt so great I planned on doing two miles tonight. The first mile felt great, but by the time I was half way into my second mile, my calves were on fire! I didn't want to give up so I continued, and by the time I was done I didn't want to walk!
Day three on VFF (9-20-10)
After a couple days of rest(not running, but the biking and wakeboarding continued) I was ready to go for two miles again. These tow miles felt great and by the end of the them, I was ready to keep running! It felt so good! But again, I didn't want to push my luck so I stuck to my goal of two miles.
Day four on VFF (Sept. 26 2010)
My longest run so far at 3.5 miles. My calves burned for the last half mile and I got a small blister, but overall it went better than I thought it would. I am glad I got my first blister so when I decide to go on a long run I know where to tape up.
Day five on VFF (Sept. 28 2010)
I only ran 2 miles tonight and it felt great. I would have loved to run more but I was short on time.
One thing I noticed by my third run was how my running style had changed. Not only had it changed the way I was running in my VFF's, but when I put on my regular shoes the technique transferred and I was running a lot better. I am now running smoother and with more flow, but also a little slower. Over time I think my speed will increase, but since I am taking smaller strides, my legs are not fast enough. I have not yet experienced any knee or shin problems and I hope I never do.
My itch to run is back...YAY!
So I didn't train as much as I would have liked for the Tough Mudder, but the race came so fast and it had to be done! I will report on the race in my next post along with my thoughts on the VFF's.
I posted this on November 1, 2010, but the date read differently since I started a draft much earlier.
The idea for wearing these shoes came from my brother Jordan. He found this event called a Tough Mudder (www.toughmudder.com) and he convinced me to do it with him. We are doing the Northern California event at Bear Valley on October 9th as a Two-Person team named 'When Pigs Fly'. He thought these shoes would be great since we will be running through mud, water and doing obstacles. I agreed to the event and the shoes so there began my research on Vibram FiveFingers (VFF).
Since I will be training (running) for the Tough Mudder in my VFF's, I will give you a background on my running. I started running in 7th grade because I wasn't good at any of the 'normal' sports. I wasn't really good at running either but I wanted to give it my best shot. I ran cross country all through Jr. High and High school. I was never a top finisher but the 3-5 mile races we were running were never really long enough for me. I wasn't super tired at the end but I also wasn't running very fast. I am a pretty slow runner. It wasn't till about four years after I graduated high school when I realized I could run forever! (well not really forever, but longer than your normal person) I was 22 when I met my good friend Ernie. I told Ernie I ran in high school so he asked me to join him for a morning run. I agreed before I knew what I was getting myself into. He told me to meet at his house at 5am the next day. I had already agreed to going so I followed through with my promise. We meet, then drove to the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. We get out and start walking up a steep trail. Oh ya, did I mention it was too dark to see so we were using head lamps? Ya, that was fun for the first time! Well, back to the trail... After about 10 minutes of hiking up sketchy terrain in the dark, we found a semi-normal, kinda flat trail. Long story short, it was way more fun than it wounded and I got addicted to trail running and started doing a lot of it. I started running with Ernie on a regular basis and about a year into it, I ran a 50 Mile Marathon. This was my first and last race since I started having knee problems and I never took the time to sort it out. I stopped running and until now(about 4 year later) and have not looked back.
I have read a lot that the VFF's help with your running form and ultimately should help with my knee and shin problem. I really hope this is the case.
***All the following running was on cement sidewalks unless otherwise stated. I am also only using my VFF's to run. I have not worn them for working out or normal everyday wear. I also do other runs (in my normal running shoes) when I feel I need more exercise, but I am only recording my VFF runs.***
Day one on VFF (9-14-10)
Despite the advice given by my shoe salesman at Salt Lake Running Company, I decided to run a little more than a couple hundred yards to begin with. I started out with one mile. Right off the bat, running in my VFF felt good. Ff you run with bad form, you will automatically be forced to run with 'better' form. After the mile was over, I felt like I could run further but I didn't want to push my luck. My first run felt great!
Day two on VFF (9-16-10)
Since one mile felt so great I planned on doing two miles tonight. The first mile felt great, but by the time I was half way into my second mile, my calves were on fire! I didn't want to give up so I continued, and by the time I was done I didn't want to walk!
Day three on VFF (9-20-10)
After a couple days of rest(not running, but the biking and wakeboarding continued) I was ready to go for two miles again. These tow miles felt great and by the end of the them, I was ready to keep running! It felt so good! But again, I didn't want to push my luck so I stuck to my goal of two miles.
Day four on VFF (Sept. 26 2010)
My longest run so far at 3.5 miles. My calves burned for the last half mile and I got a small blister, but overall it went better than I thought it would. I am glad I got my first blister so when I decide to go on a long run I know where to tape up.
Day five on VFF (Sept. 28 2010)
I only ran 2 miles tonight and it felt great. I would have loved to run more but I was short on time.
One thing I noticed by my third run was how my running style had changed. Not only had it changed the way I was running in my VFF's, but when I put on my regular shoes the technique transferred and I was running a lot better. I am now running smoother and with more flow, but also a little slower. Over time I think my speed will increase, but since I am taking smaller strides, my legs are not fast enough. I have not yet experienced any knee or shin problems and I hope I never do.
My itch to run is back...YAY!
So I didn't train as much as I would have liked for the Tough Mudder, but the race came so fast and it had to be done! I will report on the race in my next post along with my thoughts on the VFF's.
I posted this on November 1, 2010, but the date read differently since I started a draft much earlier.
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