Seth HathcockA little of this, a little of that.

Yesterday I went and picked up some Vibram Five Finger shoes.

Let me be the first to say, “Yes, yes I know they look like gorilla feet.”

I had previously done some research about these bad boys and how they work with one’s body. They idea behind them is as follows (via the Vibram website):

The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised.

Many experts believe the shoes we wear not only cast the foot in a protective form, but also weaken our foot and leg muscles, leaving them underdeveloped and more prone to injury. And while there are many occasions where traditional footwear is essential for protection, safety, and security, it is equally important to stimulate and exercise the foot in a more natural state on a regular basis.

So after all is said and done, what do you get? One ugly shoe! Here’s a picture just to give you an idea:

The Verdict:

After donning these babies and running about a mile and a half, this is my assessment:

• I ended up with two blisters (to be expected with new shoes, especially ones designed to fit so tightly)
• Today my calves and ankles are hurting
• After 24 hours they are still shockingly ugly
• I am looking forward to training with them and letting my body adjust to a more natural way of running

So who’s going to get a pair?!?

$

Tags: Running, shoes, vibram

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Running. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.