I’ve been teasing this for a week or so now, not purposely, I just kept thinking of other things first. But about eight weeks ago, I started running in Vibram Five Fingers.
My apologies for the iPhone photo, and for the bathtub.This is where the Vibrams go after running in the mud.
After having seen them around only a little, I became curious. You see, I’ve tried just about every possible shoe, type of shoe, fit of shoe, brand of shoe, and on and on to make running better for me again. And friends new and old to this website have probably seen no shortage of posts from me talking about my knee pain. It has become the second author of all running-related posts on this blog, it seems. So, I’ve tried it all.
Not only that but I’ve tried every other alternative to help this knee pain, too. I’ve had physical therapy, injections, massage, foam rollers, sticks, and on and on. But this isn’t a post about what I’ve done outside of shoes, so we’ll cover that later. This is a post about what goes on my feet, and how that may have been the thing leading me astray all along.
A few weeks before I decided to buy the Vibrams my brother-in-law got a pair. My brother-in-law is the king of all things new and innovative in physical activity, so this was no surprise. One day I tried on his pair and although they were a couple sizes too big, it made me realize just how much I like being barefoot. I know this is no surprise to anyone else, so I don’t know what took me so long (um, ’cause I was wearing hiking boots on the beach? No.) but it started to make sense.
The next run I did was on the treadmill, barefoot. I wanted to get started, to try it out and see how my body cooperated. One run of about 2 miles, at some pace I deemed reasonable, and I knew I was onto something. I ran another couple weeks on the treadmill, barefoot, just to be sure, and then bought a pair of Vibrams (the KSO model).
I ran with them on the treadmill too, at first, and then graduated to the road. All short runs, but so far so good. I was skeptical. SKEP-TI-CAL. But I kept at it. Then, the local Fall Race Series started here, and I registered. I told myself if it was nice enough weather, I’d try them on the trail. The first race was around 3.5 miles, much of it through a decent-sized flowing creek, but I felt okay. The shoes were fine. I had no pain while running, and I felt like I kept the best pace I could considering my fitness (less than the best). And, perhaps the biggest reward, I had absolutely no post-run pain in my knees. None.
The following two races, also difficult, rocky, messy trail races, went much the same. One was about 5 miles, there was only a couple small water crossings, and an embankment to climb up via a small rope at the end. The Vibrams did fine. The 6 mile race was really rocky, slippery shale, lots of mud, but again, the Vibrams did fine. And just as in the first race, I had NO KNEE PAIN. None during the run, none after. I started feeling like I’d found a miracle.
The last race in the Fall Series was held this past Sunday. It was 28 degrees (F) at the start line, and it had snowed about 5 inches the night before. I was not going to be going barefoot for this one. Sorry, Vibrams, but I had to break out the YakTrax. It was the right thing to do, the safe thing to do, no doubt. But it was not the best thing for my body, because about 2 miles into the 7 mile race, my right knee was in pain. It was not happy. It was protesting the run for sure. And I knew why– first, I was in shoes. Second, I was sliding around in snow and slush. It was not good. But it did reinforce all the weeks before, because this was the first time my knee hurt in weeks. And the first time I’d run in shoes in weeks.
A few things I think I can claim with my eight(ish) weeks of experience:
1) The Vibrams are definitely worth a try if your running has been affected by the shoes you’re wearing (or all the shoes you keep trying but don’t end up working).
2) You will get water/mud/slush in your shoes a bit. It is not a big deal. It’s actually kind of fun, like running around when you were a kid.
3) Some people will wear these in the snow and ice. I am not one of these people.
4) You might stub your toe on a rock during a trail run. You will live. Be honest, you stub your toe in shoes too, right? It might just bleed a little more, or maybe that’s just me.
5) They very well might slow your speed. I am already slow, so there’s really no point in my analyzing that.
6) You need to build up your mileage. So far I’ve only run 8 miles in them, but I’m feeling pretty confident. I have a half marathon in a couple weeks that I’ll likely wear them for. I’ll let you know.
So there you have it. When people see me wearing these, they ask what it’s like, how it’s going, etc. So far all I say is “okay” and “so far so good.” I’m still skeptical, but I’m running out of reasons to be. And running without pain is the best of all those reasons.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been curious about them. Might have to try them myself…I saw them in the running store a couple of weeks ago, but have never priced them out either. And obviously where I live, they’d be a summer thing!! I’ve wanted to do barefoot running though. I think I run faster barefoot…in fact I know I do…I love the feeling of running all out barefoot, just like being a kid again…
I’ve also been curious about them. I love to be barefoot, but my toes are really really long. Like pick up a golf ball and throw it long. So I don’t know if they’d work or not.
But I may just have to look into them!
i was waiting for your post about this!
sounds… interesting! i don’t know if i could do it, but the fact that it’s helping your knees, well that’s surely something.
do they get stinky?
I’ve been hearing a lot about them. When we do stadiums at school, we often run around the track at school a few times barefoot. That is about as far barefoot as I go (although, honestly, I don’t know if I could handle the lack of support on my ankles, I roll mine so freaking much!)My friend has a pair and went on a pretty hard paced run (just a short run too) and couldn’t walk for a week after because he was using muscles differently from ever before. He’s recovered though and still runs in them so they can’t be all that bad!
I saw a man running with these just yesterday. With all the ad talking about running shoes with cushioning,motion control, arch support, bionics and nanotechnology, it seems counterintuitive that something like these would work; yet every single person I talk to that owns them, loves them.
I remember reading an article about how running barefoot was better for your body – now I want to try these puppies out! I like that they look bizarre, too.
Glad they’re helping alleviate your knee pain.
My co-workers have those but I have such high arches I think they would hurt – I also pound the pavement pretty hard.
Glad to know your pain is gone! A couple of my friends in my running group have started barefoot running and they love it. If only I could be that brave.