I’m not getting off to the most consistent start with this blog. I will try to do better at keeping it updated.
As I mentioned earlier, I have been slowly switching over to running “barefoot” over the last month or so. I would run for a while with my normal running shoes, and then finish up with 5 – 10 minutes without my shoes. I didn’t have any minimalist or “barefoot” shoes so I have been pretty much sticking to the treadmill for now. My treadmill belt gets pretty hot after 10 minutes or so, so I had to resort to wearing socks.
I decided to finally take the plunge and purchase some shoes so I can barefoot run outside. I have always thought the five-fingers look weird / uncomfortable and so I tried a number of other minimalist shoes such as the New Balance Minimus, and the Merril shoes. I had finally decided on a pair of Merrils, but thought I might as well try on a pair of five-fingers and rule them out. I knew I was going to hate them so it would only take a couple of minutes to confirm.
After the initial awkwardness of trying to get my toes into the fingers, I took a little walk around the store and…. hey! These things aren’t too bad! I walked around some more and started really liking them. I thought having my toes separated (although by very thin material) would drive me nuts but I hardly noticed it at all. I put a Merril on my left foot and left a Five on my right foot and did some more walking around. The Merril shoes were very comfortable but didn’t feel nearly as natural as the Vibrams.
So, I ended up purchasing the Vibram five-fingers. I went for my first run in them last night. I’m still very slowly building up my mileage with this barefoot running thing, so I only went for 1.5 miles, but it was great!
I really hope that once I am back up to running 6 miles per day that my knees and legs are going to be feeling a lot better than they have been in the past.
What are your favorite minimalist shoes? Leave a comment below!
