barefoot?

I decided to try those "barefoot" shoes by Vibram. Last night I ran in them for the first time and got a huge blister on my right great toe (or big toe for us non-medical people). I've gotta say, they look pretty silly. I saw a man running the Knoxville marathon in them and I had just ordered them from REI... mostly because they have their 100% satisfaction guarantee and I was sure I'd return them. The people who reviewed them at REI said they took some getting used to and someone said they run normally 5-6 miles a day in regular shoes and they were only able to run 1/4 mile the first day in them. Yeah right, I would never put shoes on and just run a quarter of a mile. Pfft.

I figured I'd still take it easy. I ran 2 miles in them. It took me 20:15 at a super easy pace. I kept thinking my knees were hurting and perhaps I was getting shin splints... I could feel the ground every step and I could feel my blister starting to form but I'm stubborn (I get it from my dad) and since I had decided to do an easy 2, I was going to finish my easy 2. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not in super great shape or anything but I'm on my 'I'm going to get back into racing shape kick that should last awhile since school is over... last night was my first night of it. ha ha!)

Today I had off so you'd think I would have run in the morning but instead I did a bunch of errands I can't do on the weekends like go to the bank, post office, get my passport picture taken (it was pretty bad but whatever, it wasn't TERRIBLE like my last one, ha ha). I even cleaned Lazarus for the first time at the car wash! I only went there to get the bottom of my car clean from all the nasty snow, sand and salt from this past winter (I still think snow is only good for visiting when you want to snowboard or ski). Also, they have free vacuum use when you go, so I needed to get that kitty litter out of the bottom of my car from the STP (gas additive that spilled all over the bottom of my car when the guys changed my oil).

Anyway, back to running. I taught a fitness conditioning class that turned out to be more like a personal training session since there was only 1 person. It was too hot to run during the day so I waited until it was dark and went out at 8:30 and began my second 2 mile jaunt in my barefoot shoes. It wasn't too bad. I went out easy trying to just get used to the shoes so I finished in 19:56 and then ran up and down the hill (the street I live on is a decent sized hill) 2x. I could still feel everything. I feel like my knees are a little more tender today than they were yesterday. I can't decide if I like them or not. My feet feel very light when I'm wearing them, like I'm really not wearing any shoes or wearing spikes/racing shoes. However, I feel the blister growing on my toe (in the same place as the first day).

I don't know if I like them because they're light or if I don't. I feel like I'm going to get shin splints! Maybe it's psychological. I am glad I'm running in the dark because the shoes kind of weird me out when I look at my feet. They look like water shoes with toes... I'm vehemently against toe socks because my toes like to be friends! (Okay, I think they look weird and feel weird.)

I'll keep trying them out for awhile, but I'm leaning toward just using them as a training tool to force myself to run properly rather than actually replacing my current Supernovas. I am going to ask my PT his opinion on them too. I think I need a professional opinion of them! Either way, it feels good to be running again. I just don't want to sideline myself because I ran in silly looking shoes...

- run for life