ksylvan's Journal

Update on running!
Sep 08 2009 23:18

Okay. I've completely gone off the deep end.

I've been reading lots of articles like "You walk wrong" and "Is running barefoot the answer to Runners' foot, ankle and knee problems?" and decided to experiment.

I got myself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO shoes and wore them everywhere for about a week, doing a few sprints here or there, but no serious running. I loved the feel of the shoes, they basically feel like I am walking around barefoot. I could feel my feet and ankles getting stronger and felt a general improvement in my balance too. Problems with overpronation also started to disappear.

Here's where things get interesting. I've basically recorded all my runs (map, pace, heart rate data) so it's easy to compare data.

On 9/3 I did my first run of 1.5 miles in my VFFs. It felt good. My pace was 9:36 min/mile and it felt pretty nice.

On 9/6, I did a 12 mile run in shoes. I did it in shoes because I was not confident about jumping into a long run in VFFs yet and figured I should stick to my original schedule and just slip in a little bit more "barefoot" running. I was actually  attempting to do a 23 mile run, but I was felled by a blister that was developing on the tip of my right pinky-toe, so I only managed 12 miles. My knees were slightly sore (as they often are after any long run in shoes) and my right hip flexors felt a bit over-taxed.

Tonight, on 9/8, I did this 3 mile run in my Vibram Five Fingers.

Average pace 9:18 min/mile, Average HR: 172, Max HR 183.

WOW! I am never going back to running in shoes again.

Compare against this earlier run on 8/26 in shoes. Average pace was 9:47 min/mile. Average HR: 179, Max HR 193.

Faster pace, lower heart rate, and I felt like I could keep it up for a very long time. Not only that, no problems with blisters or any joint or muscle pain of any kind.

POSE running plus Vibram Five Fingers seems to be the way to go!

I'm taking a barefoot running class on Saturday and I plan to run my half marathon and my full marathon in October using the Vibram Five Fingers shoes.

I hope you are all having a fantastic week!