Vibram Fivefingers: I just tried the Vibram FiveFingers shoe

I preface this post by saying that I am what many would call a minimalist runner. I wear shoes and low-light structure and enjoyed doing some running barefoot as well. I will not wear shoes that are full of structure and support. I believe in strengthening the feet - do not buy shoes that do the work for me. The shoe that I speak perfectly fits my type of race.

I just tried the Vibram FiveFingers shoe I have mentioned here and here. I ran 30 minutes in them today during my lunch break.

Wow. More than impressed. Nor am considering to start running barefoot and running Fivefingers place.

Look, it's unfortunate for me here in Canada is that our long and cold winter is almost impossible to run barefoot for about six months of the year and this means that during the six months I have lost all restrictions (ie, hardening) in plants my feet and I have to start all over again in the spring. (Santa RunOn sentence Batman!).

Enter Fivefingers Vibram. Oh. Mi. God today was wonderful. The shoe is so close to running barefoot. I can get 90% of barefooting feeling virtually no pain or discomfort when passing over rocks and branches and stuff.

Notice that I did 15 minutes on pavement and 15 minutes on the ground, gravel and mud trails. At the racetrack, I could feel the floor - I could feel the texture of the sand. And nothing wrong. I was almost out of breath barefooting trails my feet. "It was unbelievable!

The only discomfort I ever heard was when I had invested a large piece of gravel. I feel a mild stroke, my action and reflection that would have ended quickly without any damage.

I received a couple of small blisters on each of my toes. The interesting thing is that they were in the same place as the blisters I got at the start of the race last year barefoot. Therefore, it can be a bit lazy "to form. I'll keep an eye on this.

But I love these shoes. You could end up replacing my trusty Puma H-Streets.

Oh, and good news for Canadians - the Vibram FiveFingers will soon be available from one of my favorite stores - Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC).