So, I got a pair of KSOs for my birthday and did my first run in November 09. It took me a bit to figure out how to get my feet in them as its' hard to wrestle your toes into each slot. And if you are like me and have a large big toe and tiny little toes, the shoes don't fit great; my little toes barely made it in the slots and my big toe was packed in there… the next size up was just too big. Once on, the vibrams actually felt alright. I walk around in them for a bit, then headed out for a 2 mile run.
The ground sensation in the vibrams was amazing compared to the old beat up sneakers I'd been running in, but it was very confusing trying to figure out how to actually run in the vibrams without beating up my feet. The heal strike was out after the third step and I had to fiddle around shifting my balance until I got into a comfortable position. After a few minutes I was striking more forward but my heals were coming down pretty hard. I found that if I slowed down considerably it was easier to run “lighter” as many of the barefoot blogs suggest. I tried to focus on lifting my knees with each step, keeping them slightly bent while leaning just a tad forward. It felt almost like I was running over hot coals, quick steps centered right underneath me.
The first bit of debris I encountered (some seedpods form a tree) sent fearful thoughts into my head but I strode right over them and only slightly felt them. Looking back, this was the first sign that minimalist shoes are not at all the same as running barefoot. Part of my brain knew this fact but I figured it was close enough. As my story unfolds you'll see that my opinion of minimalist shoes steady declines (in favor of actual bare feet), but to understand why you'll have to follow the whole story. By the end of the 2 miles my calfs were screaming, as I expected they would, but my feet felt fine and dandy. Two miles was much further than was recommended on various barefoot running websites, but I'm not one for following the rules, another mistake that will come to haunt me.
The ground sensation in the vibrams was amazing compared to the old beat up sneakers I'd been running in, but it was very confusing trying to figure out how to actually run in the vibrams without beating up my feet. The heal strike was out after the third step and I had to fiddle around shifting my balance until I got into a comfortable position. After a few minutes I was striking more forward but my heals were coming down pretty hard. I found that if I slowed down considerably it was easier to run “lighter” as many of the barefoot blogs suggest. I tried to focus on lifting my knees with each step, keeping them slightly bent while leaning just a tad forward. It felt almost like I was running over hot coals, quick steps centered right underneath me.
The first bit of debris I encountered (some seedpods form a tree) sent fearful thoughts into my head but I strode right over them and only slightly felt them. Looking back, this was the first sign that minimalist shoes are not at all the same as running barefoot. Part of my brain knew this fact but I figured it was close enough. As my story unfolds you'll see that my opinion of minimalist shoes steady declines (in favor of actual bare feet), but to understand why you'll have to follow the whole story. By the end of the 2 miles my calfs were screaming, as I expected they would, but my feet felt fine and dandy. Two miles was much further than was recommended on various barefoot running websites, but I'm not one for following the rules, another mistake that will come to haunt me.
