Noozelady’s New Shoes
Noozelady's new shoes
I have been hearing about Vibram fivefingers (R) shoes for about five months from Tim, one of my co-workers. He has worn his in the middle of winter, outside on news shoots and all around the station. Today I decided to go to Duluth Running and find a pair of my own.
I have spent my adult life wearing high heels at work. In the gym I have used a number of big name brand shoes to work out in. I have never found a comfortable shoe for running. After a few hundred feet my knees begin to hurt and I give up. When I am not wearing shoes of course I am barefoot. I love being barefoot, have for as long as I can remember. That’s why Tim’s praises of the Vibram shoes caught my attention.
I had heard that Duluth Running was going to get Virbram Bikila sometime this summer, so I expected to have to go on a waiting list.
Tony at Duluth Running met me at the front door of his store on East Superior and I told him what I needed. They had just got the Bikila models in. Grandma’s Marathon is next Saturday so it was good timing for the store. Perfect timing for me.
Getting the right size is important. That’s why I wanted to buy a pair at a store, rather than online. Tony used a special measuring device for the fivefinger shoes. I learned that my right foot is longer than my left and that all of my toes are short! I think they got short from years of being squished into high heels. But that is another story.
Putting the shoes on took awhile, as my toes didn’t want to go their separate ways. The little toes wanted to ride piggyback with their next door neighbors. But soon I wrestled them into their individual toe holds. I walked around the store and couldn’t believe how comfortable them seemed. I am home and am wearing my new pink fivefingers and will update you on how they work. After about ten minutes it feels a lot like my toes are doing yoga. Stay tuned.
I’ve been wearing fivefingers for about three seasons. Love ’em. Generally speaking, if I’m not @ work and it’s not totally soaked outside, they’re on my feet.
Messing around in the yard (I even mow with them on), walking, at the beach, on the trail (they’re relatively lightweight and pack a lot easier than chacos or crocs) or futzing around the house … good news.
Right now, I’m just trying to kill this pair so I can justify buying my second.
Just be prepped for the inevitable tan line.
I will acquire a pair of these foot devices. I will look ridiculous, but I will not care.
(Are they available in Nordic Fleshtone?)
Umm okay … thanks for the infomercial.
Seriously, I’m gonna get some. (even though my first comment sounded sarcastic)
I like mine, but after the first time I ran in them, my calves were sore for about a week. Definitely working a different set of muscles.
Asks the socks question.
Sorry if it sounded like a commercial. Just so excited to try these out and offer a review.
I would make the suggestion to anyone who wants to buy a pair of these to go to a dealer and buy them in person, not only for proper fit, but also to make sure you’re getting the real deal.
Apparently, the demand for fivefingers has risen quite a bit over the past year, and other companies have been producing shoddy knockoff copies meant to look like the original, right down to the vibram label on the sole.
Getting passed is bad enough, but getting passed by someone in the twinkletoe shoes really stings.
Socks? Get a pair of Injini toe socks, also available at DRC 🙂
If you can find a comfortable place to run, I find it even better to run in socks or barefoot. I’ve tried barefoot running on asphalt, but that is a bit too hard for me. The NYTimes has a video on running barefoot on Central Park asphalt.
I find them great for sailing and camping… one minor annoyance is tall grass, it gets stuck between your toes and you need to occasionally stop and clean them out.
Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman started running barefoot. His research shows that barefoot runners, who tend to land on their fore-foot, generate less impact shock than runners in sports shoes who land heel first. Recently published in the journal nature…
Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners