Slinky is a barefoot runner

I woke up today, and the first thought in my head was, NOOOOOO! I can't get out of bed. It's going to HURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT! So I stayed in bed. That didn't last long though because my lovely cats cannot be fooled by people pretending to be asleep. When I open my eyes in the morning, it is the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell for little Slinky ("wearing" VFFs above) and Burt. They meow and walk all over me until I get up. So I cringed, sat up and got ready for a world of hurt when I put my feet on the ground. I gingerly placed them on the floor and stood up and Hallelujah!!! It didn't hurt! And, it hasn't hurt all day. I made it down the stairs no problem.

I did wear my VFFs for about 15 minutes today just popping out to the store, and my toe hurt from yesterday again, like a little tiny pebble was in there. It was annoying, so tomorrow I'm going to try putting a lot of Gold Bond powder in the toes tomorrow to see if maybe that will help at all. I'm not sure why it would help, but I like Gold Bond as a sort of cure-all. I'm hoping this pain isn't an issue tomorrow. I'll take the time to wiggle my toes in just right and with the Gold Bond, it might just do the trick. If not, Injinji socks might be necessary. They are socks with toes that cost a whopping $13/pair. Let's not hope for that.

On my short trip outside with the VFFs today, I noticed something that I didn't notice before. My feet were really cold. I ran in the rain yesterday, and it was cold out the other day, but today was rainy and cold, and that combo left my feet frigid. It's amazing how much cold passes from the ground, through your shoes and to your feet. Add that in with the cold rain getting in through the thin fabric that keeps me cool while I'm running, and my feet were ice. I'm hoping that winter is really truly over and this won't be an issue to think about for many many months, but I wonder how it will be come October or November when running in below freezing temperature. There is another style VFF made for colder weather, made with thicker fabric, but the cold you feel from the ground has still got to be an issue because the sole of the shoe still has to be so thin and minimal. If it's anything like this past winter (please let it be really be past) when I was out running with feet of snow on the ground in temperatures in the teens and below, extra thick neoprene isn't going to cut it. Right now, I'll just enjoy the warmer weather and be thankful I wasn't out running today.

This is my other cat Burt btw.

The Inaugural VFF Run: A Downhill Battle

So I know, I was cautioned against it. Told to take it easy and slowly transition from wearing to walking to running in Vibram Five Fingers. "Wear them at home for 5 minutes and then add a couple minutes a day until the pain goes away," cautioned some random VFF wearer. After reading all the forums and blogs, I had every intention to make the transition slowly. Run in my conventional sneakers and just walk home barefoot, or almost barefoot. Run for 5 minutes in them and then add a minute each day.

But, I couldn't wait! I love using my news things right away, so 6 days in I have walked miles and miles and already ran twice in them. Here is the history of my brand new VFFs in a nutshell:

• Wednesday: I got my VFFs around 5:30pm, went for a run in sneakers and then walked home in my VFFs. (felt great!)
• Thursday: I wore them all day, and walked all over town in them. (still felt great!)
• Friday: Had to go to NJ (blah) and wear heels all day (basically the opposite of barefoot) and no time for running or walking (felt sad to be without VFFs)
• Saturday: Walked to the post office and then to the Schuylkill River Trail (about a mile) and then ran for 30 minutes and walked home (felt great!)
• Sunday: Writhed in pain (felt like cutting my legs off at the knee)
• Monday: Went running in the rain for 30 minutes (back to feeling pretty good and scared about tomorrow's pain)

This is a really long post, so feel free to stop reading here if you're short on time.

So I wrote about the first few days walking, and this time I'll talk about my first experiences running, but here is a little background about me as a runner. I run with my boyfriend Ryan (see picture above of our feet). We are in the last few runs of an accelerated couch potato to 5K program. We did it last year, and then I started training for a half marathon, got hurt around the 11mile runs and was a sloth from September to December. Let that be a word to the wise, DON'T STOP RUNNING! And if you have to stop, try not to be as lazy as humanly possible during that break. Anyway, right now I run a few miles every other day, and once I'm used to my VFFs, I plan on slowly increasing my long runs and hopefully doing some longer races later this year.

Back to VFF running. Saturday I planned on just running and stopping when it hurt. Ryan was still sore and was sure he wouldn't go more than 10 minutes before dying of pain, but before we knew it, we finished our 30 min run for the day! It felt a little weird at first. My stride felt shorter (you're supposed to take shorter strides), and I was running a little cautiously, so it felt a little like I was going in slow motion. But as I realized it didn't hurt to run, I started moving a little faster with more confident strides, and it felt good. Every step felt powerful - like the way my feet were landing and the power of my toes were propelling me forward, and it kind of was. This video explains the physics of it well.

So the whole run felt great. My legs weren't getting tired and neither was the rest of me. Going uphill was amazing. That's worth repeating. GOING UPHILL WAS AMAZING! I felt like I was pushing off my toes, and it was powering me up the hill no problem. Plus, the shoes are so light that I just felt free. When going uphill you can't help but land on the ball of your foot, so it feels natural in VFFs. Now this is kind of an amazing thing because sometimes all I can think about on my run is how awful it will be when I have to go up the next hill, and it's not even very hilly where I run. But it's not all great - because while going downhill used to be a welcomed relief where you can plop your foot down and quickly glide down the hill while catching your breath, in VFFs, it's kind of hard. It doesn't feel natural because you are trying to land midfoot, and that sort of holds you back. It felt like I was stuttering down the hill rather than coasting like before. Now is this a fair trade-off? I think so. The disadvantage of going downhill is that it might take some time to get used to and I might not get that relief that I used to get. BUT, I might not need that relief if I don't feel like I'm going to collapse when I get to that top of a hill.

I didn't feel pain until about 20 minutes in. I started to feel like I was doing calf raises, except without ever lowering your heels. My calves felt clenched, but it was a little cold out and it was easy enough to push through for ten more minutes. Admittedly, I probably could have avoided this pain altogether if I didn't start to break out in a sprint to race Ryan to the turn-around point (I won by the way, but only by cutting through a parking lot). I felt pretty decent after the run. I felt pretty decent the rest of the night for that matter, but when I woke up the next morning and put my feet on the floor, well that was another story.

The next day, it felt like I did one trillion calf raises. It was as if my calves were flexed and wouldn't relax. After a few days of consciously not heelstriking when running, I was heelstriking while walking out of necessity. In fact, I was delicately walking on my heels without letting the rest of my feet touch the floor because it was so so painful. I stayed inside all day, mostly because I don't think I would have been able to make it down the 2 1/2 flights of stairs to get out of my building. (Going down stairs is the most painful.)

I woke up this morning, and I was still in pain. Walking a little robotronically, but after a couple Tylenol and some stretching, I was ready to run again. I ran for 30 minutes today at a slightly slower pace than usual. It felt good. It wasn't the free feeling run from 2 days ago, but it was good. My feet felt okay, other than a pain in my toe afterwards from the seam. I wasn't sore after the run, and I'm not sore now. I am not, however, looking forward to tomorrow. I'm scared for tomorrow. I have things to do tomorrow and won't be able to lay around like Sunday. So, I have my fingers crossed that I won't be quite as sore tomorrow as after the first run.

There were a couple things I noticed so far that I want to stay cognizant of:

• Posture - I noticed that I was leaning forward today. I think I was still sore, so I got sloppy with my posture. It kind of annoyed my ankle though, and I think I was moving slower. These things are supposed to help with posture over time so maybe it will just take some getting used to.
• Toes in the toe sockets correctly - There are seams on the inside of the toes, and I think that if your toes aren't in properly, it can irritate your big toe, kind of like it did today to me. It felt like there was a tiny pebble in my toe. I didn't feel it while I was running, but afterwards it hurt like I ran 3 miles with a pebble in my shoe. Now this is a flaw with the shoe, in my opinion and apparently Vibram's too because the new style, the Bikila is coming out soon, and it is designed for running and has no seams facing the foot. But seeing as it hasn't come out yet, and I own KSOs, I am hoping that spending some time getting my foot in just right will help with this problem.
• STRETCH!!! - Now I am not so good about stretching. I know I should be, but I often skip it. But, it is so imperative to stretch your calves before and after running. It helps with the pain so much that you will want to stretch, so I think I should be able to handle remembering to stretch now.
• Picking up your feet - When I get tired when running, I have a bad habit of shuffling. In regular shoes, who cares really because you are still getting the job done, but not so in the VFFs. When I started to drag my feet today, it sent really uncomfortable vibrations up my legs that I felt in my bones, and I got that feeling like you are about to trip and then you catch yourself. So, no more shuffling.

So let's hope I'm not regretting jumping right into my VFFs tomorrow.

Ugly Gorilla Feet

So this is the first of many posts regarding Vibram Five Fingers, or VFFs. (www.vibramfivefingers.com) These foot gloves are designed as a barefooting alternative. You can wear VFFs for a number of activities like running, hiking, yoga or just wearing around day-to-day. I bought them specifically for running, but I will use them for everyday use, especially when I won't be seeing anyone I know.

Barefoot running is supposed to be very very good for you - improving your strength, agility and balance while cutting down on soreness, aches and pains in the long run. Basically the idea is that you run more efficiently because you are running the way your body was designed to, strengthening your legs, feet and toes in ways that conventional running shoes fail. VFFs are made to bring you as close to barefooting as possible while protecting your feet at the same time. I'll have to wait and see how my running changes over time before I can really comment on all that, but in the meantime, the transition from conventional shoes to VFFs is enough to write about.

I bought the KSO style, which stand for keep stuff out. (Living in the filthy city of Philadelphia, I'd like to keep as much of the city's grime out of my shoes as possible.) They are light and comfortable but difficult to get on. Lining up your toes to fit in each little socket is a lot harder than it seems, and I found the KSO the most challenging with the extra fabric. It's gotten easier every time though.

The first time I wore them out was Wednesday night. I went for a couple mile jog in my regular Lunartrainers and then switched the VFFs and walked back home. I have read that you really have to ease into wearing these things because it can hurt a lot in the beginning, just like it hurts any time you build up new muscles. I was expecting a lot of pain right away just walking in them. A man shopping in CitySports for his second pair told my boyfriend, Ryan, and me that he wore them for 5 min around the house at first and added a few minutes each day, and it hurt a lot and we should be patient. (Ryan and I both bought the KSOs earlier this week.) That said, I thought I was being overly ambitious in walking 2 miles home on the first go. Luckily, it didn't hurt at all! It felt great. It felt like I was getting a calf stretch with every step, and my toes never felt so good. Ryan didn't have so much luck, but he thinks that it might be easier for me because I am used to wearing thin flip flops for half the year. There are few things you have to get used to though. You must pick up your feet when you walk - dragging your foot on the ground or getting it caught on stuff doesn't feel good. Don't heel strike when you run or walk - it sort of sends an uncomfortable vibration up your bones from your hell, like when you hit your funny bone.

The next day I felt fine and I figured I can walk as far as I like in these things without too much pain. I wore them all day, walking all over the city and felt great. I tried to walk on gravel and sticks to see if it would hurt, but it really didn't. The only thing that scared me a little was walking on grates. I thought my little toe might get stuck. Walking over them wasn't an issue - although I think I'll try to avoid them when running. So everything was great, EXCEPT the way they look. Most of me is concerned with the benefits of wearing them, plus I think they are cool. I don't even mind the weird looks from strangers (and not strangers), and I even like that people are stopping me to ask about them. But, I don't like the looks of disgust that I'm getting from some strangers (and not strangers). I walked out of my apt building and little boy riding by on a school bus yelled out the window, "What the hell is on your feet?!?" I know they are ugly, but I just wish it was obvious that they are functional. Like I wish I could have a bubble over my head explaining that I am wearing these ugly shoes to improve my running, balance and strength and not because I think they look great. I mean, I've spent a lot of time and money choosing my clothes, and I don't want to ruin my outfits with gorilla feet that scream, "LOOK AT ME!" So, I am a little unsure of how often I will wear them in the future. For now, I am going to try to wear them as much as possible so I can get used to them. I'll just wear them with running clothes so it's a little more obvious that they are for running, not a fashion choice.

More to come very soon on on my first runs in these things. This post is just getting out of control long.

Here we go!

So I decided to write a blog. A little lame, I know. But, it is something to do while I'm figuring out what exactly I want to do with my life. I don't really want to write all about myself, but you'll probably learn a lot about me along the way.

I really like to try new things, whether it is a new hobby, new recipe or new flavor Doritos. I fall victim to anything advertised as "new." I'm Apple's dream customer, stricken with gadget envy whenever the newest iwhatever comes out and that goes for any other sort of electronic gadget, running shoes or even new ideas. If it's new, I want to try it. Far too often I prematurely preach to the masses (my family and FB friends) about how great the new whatever is. A sort of placebo effect takes over, leaving my convinced that my newer one is better. SO, I'm going to try to eliminate this effect and truthfully evaluate the new things I try, via this public blog.

Now don't get too excited now - I'm no engadget.com. I can't actually buy everything new that comes out, no matter how much I yearn for it. So, I'll leave that to other websites with far more funding than me. When I can, I try brand new-to-the-world things, and I'll be happy to share my thoughts when I have the opportunity. But, a lot of the things I will write about will just be new-to-me things, which are probably outside of the norm. And sometimes, I'll just write about some random thoughts. I guess you'll have to wait and see.