Vibrams

So, just a quick, quick, QUICK note (since it's the middle of the afternoon and both kids are awake).

I FINALLY bought some Vibram five fingers. Got the Bikila model. And I love them. As in, once the temperature is over 40 degrees consistently, I don't think I'll wear regular shoes unless I'm running more than 10 miles. Ever again.

I love running barefoot (like for real barefoot) and have done it successfully on trails, some tracks, sand and occasionally on a treadmill, but every time I've tried it on asphalt I end up with the callouses on the bottoms of my feet sloughing off (very very painful, leaves some pretty sensitive skin exposed and makes even walking an awful experience for a few days). Sorry, that's gross. But it explains why I don't run barefoot barefoot for real, at least on pavement.

I know, I know, a Vibram is still a shoe...it limits the connection between your feet and the surface you're running on, so it does change your stride a little bit. But they protect my feet, and they're better (in terms of natural stride) than my typical Saucony faithful shoes. (Don't get me wrong there, either....I'm totally going to keep using traditional running shoes for the long-long-long runs....I don't think I'm strong enough at the moment to pull off even a half marathon in Vibrams, though that's my goal for this September!)

So when I'm trail running and sand running, I'll stick to true shoeless-ness. But for road runs, I'm loving my Vibrams. When I put them on, I feel like a little kid, running from Gran's house to mine while she watches and counts to see how long it takes me.