10th Run: Into the grove in the old shoes

Distance in VFF: 0
Total Distance: 5.75
avg pace: 7:46
View the entire run at my Garmin Connect site

I think this is going to have to be the routine if I want to increase my mileage. One run on and one run off. My feet just have a hard time handling the abuse they get in the Vibrams.

9th run: blood blister..

Distance in VFF: 3.5.

I thought my feet were adjusting, but I failed to remember that my last run was in my regular running shoes, so my feet had 4 days rest in between vibram runs. This time they only had 2, and apparently it wasn't enough. I started developing a blood blister below my middle toe.

I think I will be switching off again for my next run, just so I can start adding some real distance.

I also forgot that a gps watch needs to be charged all the time.. I have just been plugging it in to do the uploads and then unplugging it right away. Not bad though, lasted about 6 hours before I
needed to recharge.

8th run: Over the hump!

Outdoor run
Distance in VFF: 4.86
Average pace 8 min miles
Full workout details at my Garmin Connect site here

I feel like today was a milestone. I was able to run nearly five miles without having to take a break for my feet. I hit some spots of discomfort along the run but a few minor adjustments to my foot landing or stride seemed to fix it.

Something you don't really think about, is the workout your lower calf muscle is going to get. Regular shoes have padding that keeps your heel somewhat elevated, so the bottom 10% of your calf never does any work. You definitely can notice a difference when running in VFF.

I didn't have any issues with my arches this time. I think this is because I let my heal hit the ground a little harder, relaxed into the stride a little more. The stride should be toe-heel-toe. Before my heel was barely brushing the ground, this time I relaxed a bit and let it hit the ground. Seems to have helped.

Happy running

7th run: no Vibrams

Distance in VFF: 0
Total Distance: 3.5

My feet were still pretty tender from my last run, so I threw on my old running shoes. It allowed me to run the entire way without my archers killing me. On a better note, my shins seem to be doing fine and I don't think I am going to have to worry about them much longer. Maybe even start running everyday! Exciting stuff.

6th run

Distance in VFF: 3.15

Outside again, after about 2.25 miles my left arch started to tighten up, I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done about this. I'm also getting blisters under my blisters, it's a pretty awesome feeling..

I keep telling myself my next run I will take a break from the Vibrams, but then when the time comes my feet feel fine. On the flip side, if I can make it 3 miles, that's good enough for now I guess. At the end of the month if things don't change I will throw on some normal shoes so I can start increasing the distance occasionally. I'm hoping it won't come to that, and my feet will adjust by the end of next week.

Happy running

Suggested training for moving to a barefoot running style.

I came across this blog I wanted to share with you. It has some suggested training for transitioning to barefoot running. I have not been following this, mostly because I'm too stubborn to decrease my weekly mileage that much.

It's worth checking out, at the bottom of the page their are two suggested training plans.

http://barefoot-running.com/transition/index.php

5th Run - First Run Outside

(Click image to enlarge)

Two days rest, for my feet and shins.
Picked up a Garmin Forerunner 305 so I don't have to map my routes before running them :-)

Running outside is completely different than running on a treadmill. The ground is more rough (obviously), and the way it feels running up hill and down hill feels a lot different than normal shoes. It also gave my arches more of a work out. My feet blistered a little as well. I think building up miles on the vibrams is going to be a little more time consuming than I first thought.

I also put some athletic tape on the top of my foot. The top foot strap was digging into my foot and creating a tiny cut. I didn't actually notice this until after taking the shoe off, and there being blood on the strap.

The temperature was about 30 degrees, and I had to run through some packed snow. I did not wear socks, and at no time did my feet feel cold.

Distance in VFF: 3.6
Avg pace per mile: 8 min
Total Distance: 3.6
You can find my full work out summary here Garmin Connect - Activity Details

4th Run

Distance in VFF: 2 Miles (8 min miles)
Total distance: 2 miles.

Some mild to medium discomfort in the bottoms of my feet. Seems to be only the left foot, so I tightened the straps about half way through my run to see if it would make a difference. Inconclusive, but I will make sure they are tight tomorrow.

3rd Run

Distance in VFF: 0
Total Distance: 2 miles.

Feet feel ok, as long as I wasn't running on them.
First time in awhile that I ran two days in a row. Iced the shins afterwards and took some ibuprofen. We'll see how my run goes tomorrow, will be putting on the Vibrams again.

2nd Run

I did not run yesterday to give my feet a chance to heal.

Second Run
Distance in VFF - 1.5 miles (8 min mile pace)
Total distance - 3.0 miles.

No socks this time. Started out fine, but had to take the VFF's off again because of the blisters. I want to give my feet a chance to develop callouses before I go for longer runs.

I just went grocery shopping and man are my feet tender. Needless to say I don't think I will be running on the Vibram's for a few days.

1st Run

Today is 2/12/2010.
I plan on running the Grand Rapids River Run on May 8th. It is a 25k (15.5m) run along the Grand River.

It is winter here so I am running at my local gym on treadmills.

First run:
Distance in VFF (Vibram Five Fingers) - 1.25 miles (8 min mile pace)
Total distance - 2.0

I wore the injinji socks for my first run which may have been a mistake. I'm not sure if it was the socks or just the shoes but the friction caused the balls of my feet to blister pretty quick. I had to stop after 1.5 miles because it was becoming painful and I didn't want to decomission myself for the next few days. I was able to finish another mile and a half in my normal running shoes.

Besides the blisters, the shoes felt great. It felt much more natural than running in my old running shoes.

The Beginning: My Story as a Distance Runner

I have been running off and on since high school (I'm 24). The off periods have mostly been due to injury, shin splints, and more recently Achilles tendinitis. I would run 6-8 miles every other day at about 8 min miles. Before I stopped running, when I got out of bed in the morning I could barely walk.

Then one night I was watching the daily show. Christopher McDougall was the guest talking about his book Born to Run. I ordered the book for my dad who is a marathon runner, and planned to read it after he finished. Soon thereafter, I started running on the balls of my feet rather than striking my heel first. My achilles pain went away almost instantly! I could still feel some discomfort in my achilles with my new running style, but it gradually went away, and after about two weeks it was completely gone.

It did take my muscles about three weeks to adjust to the new style. Running on the balls of your feet is a major calf work out, so I started out doing one to two miles and worked my way up to four every other day. I would like to do more, but my shins are still bothersome so I am trying to be patient with my mileage increases.

So this is where I'm coming from, the rest of the blog posts will be dedicated to my experience with distance running in the Vibram Five Finger Sprints.

The store I went to had two colors available, and I decided to go with the Clay (shown).