There's Something About Harry

Originally posted on my technology blog Maven Mapper’s Information, Article link
I’ve had Vibrams (5 finger toe shoes) for about 4 months now and love them.  I was a little skeptical at first.  I thought they might be a fad or something, look cool at first and not work.

Fortunately, it was not hype.  Five finger toe shoes ARE truly functional and awesome.

Now, I get lots of questions about the shoes, running, running barefoot (which I don’t do YET!) and more.

Before, I bought mine, I read a whole bunch, mostly blog articles but I’m now reading some of the books on the topic too. 

Some Books & Published articles on Barefoot Running

Barefoot in the park.(keeping injury-free): An article from: Running & FitNews

And Currently the Most famous barefoot running book out there

Plus I am finding some useful videos that might help you understand the process and more.

This one has rather quiet audio, but very illustrative.

On that last video, I’ve definitely moved away from heel running and rolling my foot on the side of my foot (in a bad way).

I find myself naturally almost reaching out with my toes in a fraction of a second, and then coming down more on the front balls of my feet using my toes, foot and calve as a shock absorber (as opposed to a thick soled running shoe or nike shock system).

That uses my muscles in a more natural way, reduces the stress on my feet and legs, and gets my foot on the ground and off again faster and with more traction.

Gathering information through your feet

This video also talks a little bit about the feedback that you get through your feet.  It helps you sense what you are running on, how fast you are going, how much traction you have or do not have and more.

For me, it really makes running fun again, I feel like it makes the world a playground for my feet, like a blind person taking off mittens and reading brail.

Walking Barefoot

One of the things that helped me realize these were not a fad, but a very super functional product, was walking.

I went to a couple conventions in Orlando and Las Vegas, where I walked miles through theme parks, convention halls, and casinos, none of which are known for being ‘feet friendly’.  I’ve been to all of these places before, but when I wore my Vibrams, my feet did not get as tired, they were not ‘sore’ from standing on concrete slabs all day.  I was still new to Vibrams, so my muscles were sore from the work out a bit, but much less than wearing shoes.

Hiking

I have worn these hiking and again love em.  I’m wearing the KSO’s myself, and they don’t have much tread on them.  You will find that you use your toes quite a bit to grip things, like a squirrel climbing a tree.  That said, I would like a little more tread lines on the bottom, especially if you hike up wet rocks, say like jogging up the  granite face of Stone Mountain in Georgia, or for that matter jogging down a slick paved street or sidewalk in a light rain.

Mud and Slush

I haven’t tried Slush nor ice yet, but have done a little mudding.  VERY FUN.

I don’t have any of these Injinji socks yet, but they are on my christmas list, which should help keep you dry a bit more and warmer.