Vibram five fingers

As promised here is a review of running in Vibram five fingers (VFF). First a little bit about VFF. VFF is a "shoe" sold by a company called Vibram. Vibram has been into soles for a long time. And this is one of their very recent foray's into direct to consumer products. VFF is fashioned to be the closest thing to being barefoot. It has a rubber sole with a cloth/polyamide upper. What is unique about this shoe is it is more like a glove to the feet, with pockets for toes and all. So once you wear it your feet will look like they have a snugly fitting glove on them. There is no cushion in the sole and you can literally feel the texture of the ground when you walk in them. You can get more details on how they look and various styles they have available at http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/. I used the model that says "KSO"

 I came across these on my recent visit to US a few weeks back. Their appeal to me was in the fact that they are the closest thing to barefeet running and I have been yearning to run barefeet but was daunted by the fears of injury and feelings of vulnerability. I was excited to find a product that could fit my needs. So I went to a local store in Lexington KY which was listed as the local stockist on the VFF site. But to my frustration I figured they didnt carry my size in the style I wanted. They offered to order them for me but werent sure if they could deliver before the end of the week, which was when I was heading back home to India. So I spent good part of an evening online to find a shopping site which offered to get them delivered to me in 2 days. I placed the order and waited, but they couldnt ship it on schedule. After multiple phone calls they offered to ship them to India without any additional shipping charges. I knew it would be sometime before I can lay my hands on them, but I didnt have a choice. So I agreed not to cancel the order with the condition that they ship them asap. I reached India last Monday and was eagerly waiting for any news on the shipment. To my further frustration USPS didnt have any update. So I was in a state of limbo for 4 days waiting on my toes for the weird looking shoes with toes. Finally they arrived on a cloudy evening and the mailman had a grin on his face seeing my excitement. 

The initial attempt was a bit clunky with multiple toes trying to get into single toe pockets. After a few attempts and expert suggestions from my dear wife I could finally fit my feet into the shoes. First impression was they looked as if I had artificial feet on, but were surprisingly comfortable and true to the review I had read it was the closest thing to being barefeet while still having my feet covered.

Thanks to my body's inability to cope with jet lag on traveling back home I was up and ready for a run pretty early next morning. I also decided to use the nike+ ipod chip with VFFs as I like to log my runs on the nike site. A good half hour was spent before I figured out a way of achieving this feat. Basically I stuck a velcro onto the back side of nike+ chip and stuck it onto the adjusting strap of VFFs. It felt secure and seemed like it would work. I decided to do a small 2 miler as I had a longish bike route planned for the morning with a friend of mine. Also I was a bit apprehensive about foraying into the unknown. With my ipod nano blazing Abida Parveen's sufi numbers I set off on my run. The initial warmup was a bit clunky before I got the hang of it. Then I started to enjoy it. The ground beneath my feet felt alien as I could literally feel it. I could even feel the gulmohur buds strewn on the road due to a morning wind. The roughness of asphalt, softness of a muddy track, an occasional pebble, a gulmohur bud, stalks of dry leaves all started to make my tactile perceptions come alive through my feet. It was like an un-explored land which was always there but was never ventured into. Once my mind was past the sensual pleasures the run was offering I started to observe the differences between running in normal shoes and running in these foot gloves. I felt I wasnt pounding the ground as much and the flexibility of the my toes and arch was helping me glide forward and taking pressure off my knees. This seemed to be enabled by the lack of a hard shoe cushion and shoe upper holding my feet back. But my calves were bearing the brunt though the pain of lactic acid accumulating in the calves was only a reminder that I might be using muscle groups which I hadn't so far much used in running. Despite the lack of cushion my feet felt comfortable and natural and I was surprised that there was no portion of the shoe which pinched or made me feel I needed to adjust. It was almost perfect, a literal glove-fit. Of course I did attract lot of stares from people taking their morning walks. The 2 miler which I averaged at a pace of 7 didnt feel like a 7 it felt much slower. I don't want to jump the gun and attribute it to some magical alteration in the way the shoes helped me run. Atleast not before I run more in these over the next few weeks. But overall it was comfy, felt natural and am already looking fwd to my next short 4 mile run the day after. Am trying to gradually move up the mileage and keep testing the waters in this un-chartered territory of running without cushioned shoes.

Day 3: I decided to do a 5k today feeling more confident from the last run. Getting into the shoes was easier than earlier. My toes slipped right into the pockets. Its amazing how body learns new stuff. The warm up was not as clunky as the last run. Looks like my feet and body are getting used to these new contraptions. It was a fairly cool morning and I found that my legs warmed up faster than usual (it could be due to anything ...cant attribute it to the shoes...yet). When I hit the uphill portion on the route I could feel an increased strain in my calves. I also realized I had a tension in the body, which may be due to the fact that my feet are relatively unprotected. But I eased up a bit and the rest of the run was a breeze. I am seeing a definite 10% improvement in my pace.

Despite all the good things I seem to stress upon I would suggest a definite easing-in plan rather than a big-bang approach in adapting to these shoes. Especially if you are not used to walking barefeet for extended period of time. Small initial runs should help you understand what works for you. Our feet are used a thick cushion beneath  them and a change to just a thin sheet of rubber is drastic and needs a slow and steady cajoling. But its definitely worth it...I cant wait for my next run. This time it will be a little longer one...you can see am getting impatient :)

 Some pics that i took to give an idea of using the nike+ chip http://picasaweb.google.com/gkrheera/VibramFiveFingers#

PS: Do not drive wearing them ...the rubber is not thick enough to shield your feet from the hard pedals....and the clutch (if you live in a country where Auto transmission is un-common)