VFF Maiden Voyage
I’ve asked the owner of my local Fleet Feet store if he could get me a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. He has contacted them about getting in touch with a rep to start selling the shoes, but so far they have not been very responsive. I guess that’s understandable… the shoes are HOT right now. So hot that they are now dealing with a whole counterfeit issue… apparently there are people selling fake Five Fingers online. (They’ve even put together a whole information page on how to spot a fake!)
So when I was in Mammoth Lakes over the weekend and saw an ad (well, my husband saw the ad and showed it to me knowing I would be interested) for a store that sold Vibram Five Fingers, I decided to check it out. I was super relaxed and on vacation, what better time than to make a spur-of-the-moment purchase?!
We went to the store and they had me stand on their giant foot shaped Vibram sizing tool. Basically it is to measure the length of your longest toe and size the shoes to fit that length. They brought out two pairs, one a more neutral gray and the other a bright pinkish/red. I tried them on and decided I was going for it… and went with the more subtle color. (I figure they’re already strange looking and bound to be conversation starters… might as well be a little less weird.)
So here they are…
If you’ve been reading me regularly, you’ll know that I’ve experimented with running barefoot on the treadmill for a while now. Well… that doesn’t really matter when it comes to running barefoot (or nearly barefoot in VFF’s) outside. I wore these out for a brief 1 mile loop around my neighborhood, walking and running intermittently in them, and the fatigue that set in was noticeable. No soreness or anything, just a good feeling of being worked out. But I was surprised at how different it felt and how I truly am going to have to do the baby-steps training in these, just like I built up to barefooting on the treadmill.
The treadmill is just such a screwy machine when it comes to gait… that’s why it is so crucial to train outside too!
I’ve said before, I don’t hold any aspirations about running great distances in these, I just wanted them for a training tool and to get a better sense of my form. And they’re definitely worth that so far!