Five fingers, ten toes, and two ankles - running with Vibram FiveFingers
Last November I ran my first ever 10k race (The Davis Turkey Trot). I had previously run several 5k races and so I wanted to step up to the next level (this was necessary as I'm meant to be running the San Francisco half marathon in July). After running the race I experienced a lot of ankle pain, around the bones rather than the muscles, and I couldn't run again for a month.
Since then, I have found that every time I try running more than 5k, the pain returns. This could be a new medical condition, or it could be due to me wearing the wrong type of trainer. I'm inclined to disbelieve the latter as I did get a proper fitting and advice from a running shop when I bought my running shoes. Another possibility is that it's something to do with my running style (or lack of).
When I researching into what remedies I could try, I started reading articles about Chi Running and also barefoot running. The principles behind barefoot running appealed to the scientist in me. It does make sense that, from an evolutionary point of view, our bodies have not evolved to run with a prominent heel strike. And then a few weeks ago, there was a paper published in Nature which gave support to the idea that barefoot running is a more efficient way of running which causes fewer 'collision forces' to the feet.
With some firmer scientific evidence in hand, I decided it was worth trying to see if barefoot running could alleviate my ankle pain. And so I ordered a pair of Vibram FiveFingers from REI and opted for the KSO model (Keep Stuff Out). I imagine that the Nature article has done wonderful business for Vibram as everywhere I looked, they were initially sold out. I had to wait for REI to backorder a pair but I finally managed to get hold of them yesterday. Here's what they look like:
They might look odd, but they feel very comfortable to wear. If you've ever used climbing boots, then you will be used to feel of a lightweight shoe which has a high-grip rubber soul. Actually, Vibram started out in the 1930s as a company that made the first ever rubber souls for mountaineering boots.
The first thing to say about them is that they are hard to put on. I have big feet but my little toes are on the small side. It's a bit of a struggle to get each toe into each compartment. Once they are on though, they feel really comfortable. I spent yesterday afternoon wearing them about the house, trying to get used to them. After 30 minutes or so, I forgot I was wearing them at all. It's nice being able to grip things with your toes!
Today I tried my first run in them. You are warned to not start off running the same distances that you are used to. There is a good reason for this because you effectively need to learn how to run again. If you run in your normal style, your heels will hit the ground first. Without the thick, cushioned heel provided by normal running shoes, this is actually quite painful. Try it in bare feet and you will see what I mean. Instead, you need to switch to running so that you land more on the middle or front of your feet. This takes a little bit of adjustment. It also means that you start using your calf muscles in a way that you never do when you run normally. I ran for 5 minutes and then my calves were sore. This apparently is very common. I think it will take me about a month to get back up to running 5k distances without my calves hurting. Having said that, I would much rather feel the pain of my muscles working healthily, as opposed to the soreness of my previous ankle pain. I remain hopeful that these will help me run again without getting sore ankles. It's very early days, but I'm still hopeful that I will be able to get enough training in to run that half marathon in July!
