original cynk

Five months after reading “Born to Run”, by Christopher McDougall, I finally completed a long morning run with my Vibram FiveFingers without a cringe of pain. It took me a long time to get here, but it’s was completely worth it. Here’s what I went through:

Month 0-2: Inspired by the book, I began forefoot striking while jogging in my fairly new super-cushy Asics Nimbus. I didn’t run that much before- maybe once or twice a month when I didn’t feel like a bike ride- because I’d generally feel quite crappy afterwards. Back pain, knee pain, shin pain; just a general beaten-down feeling that held me back from running again for awhile. However, McDougall’s book intrigued me- in particular, how humans could really love running… if they did it the way they were built to, via forefoot striking.

So I decided to give it a shot. At first, I could only go for 10 minutes of forefoot-striking at a time without my calves beginning to cramp up, then I’d hobble around for a week as the muscles screamed in pain (down stairs were the worst). But slowly, I was able to run via forefoot-striking for longer and longer times, eventually being able to lightly run for 30 minutes at a time without cramps the next day.

Month 3: Then, I finally got my Vibram FiveFingers. A coworker of mine who had a couple pairs recommended the KSOs since they keep the dirt out, and I got them in a size 39. I usually wear a size 8.5 Asics, and I’m afraid I got the KSOs a size too small, but they were already sold out on Vibram’s site in the size 40 (in just a couple days!), so I kept them. For my first run in the FiveFingers, I was lucky enough to be visiting a friend’s place up the Sonoma Coast, so we went for a jog on a super soft, lightly-treaded trail through the parks. And it felt simply amazing. It was as though I was flying. My calves didn’t burn at all, my body felt light, and I felt balanced with the surroundings. I stopped after 30 minutes or so when my arches started to ache.

Back in San Francisco, I tried to go for a jog in the Presidio, and nearly fell over from pain. Even though it was a trail, it was packed almost as hard as asphalt, and there were annoying pebbles and acorn hats everywhere that would cripple me when I stepped on them. The pointy ones up into the arch were particularly unbearable. Whereas before, I had to wait a week between jogs while my calves recovered, now I had to wait a week while the soles of my feet recovered. The Injinji socks helped a tad, but I still felt the bottom of my feet get very raw and swollen during the jogs.

However, through all that, there was still something compelling that was drawing me out to run again. I tried to run a couple times in old sneakers instead, forefoot-striking the whole time,  and I felt clunky and heavy compared to when running in the Five Fingers. I also tried out the Nike Free, but these also felt too cushy, and the hefty heel got in the way of a clean stride. I perused the forums, trying to figure out what people did about running on pebbles, but no luck. So I kept going.

It started to get easier. For one thing, I was getting used to scanning the ground quickly and placing my feet in safe spots. I didn’t have to stare 5 feet in front of me to make sure I stepped on a non-threatening place. I could now casually look 10-15 feet ahead and know my feet will land where they need to without much thought. Another thing I got better at was being nimble. If I stepped somewhere painful, such as a pointy rock or a disguised root that angles my foot weirdly, I would quickly bounce off of it without losing my pace. My stride began to feel stronger despite the smaller forefoot-striking steps, and less obstacles were making me slow down or change sides of the path.

Month 4: While running on a day when I didn’t have anything else to do, I decided to keep going, and 45 minutes later, I emerged exhilarated by the coast. With raw feet. And no idea how I was going to make it back home when the bottom of my feet felt like fire. I hobbled and wobbled back to mi casa, and 2 hours after leaving, I stumbled through the door. I thought I’d never want to run again, but I found myself itching for one the next day. Almost literally. Over time, I found that I craved bumpy roads to flat ones, and soft bumpy trails to hard packed smooth ones. Now that the bottom of my feet were getting used to the rough terrain, bumps now became sources of a deep foot massage. Even while walking to work in flats, I now aimed to place my feet on asphalt cracks or grates- things that would push up into my feet and massage the muscles a bit. And it felt fantastic. Now after a long run, instead of gingerly tip toeing around the house, I could do a deep massage on the balls of my foot to help relax them. Slowly, the skin and the padding was toughening up.

Month 5: Which brings me to today, when I did a beautiful smooth run, without one misstep that caused a shooting pain. It was the same route I usually run, but I double backed and ran a reverse since it felt so good to be out there. And I’m even wearing (low) heels to work instead of cushy sneakers- no recovery needed. I prefer to run on trails instead of roads because I find flat surfaces rather aching for my feet- the balls of my feet crave the uneven now. So in case there’s no trails nearby or the bottom of my feet are too raw for the FiveFingers, I got a pair of cheap cross-country racing flats, like I had in high school, which have just enough thickness in the forefoot to cushion the flat impact or hide a pebble without getting in the way.

It’s amazing how good it feels to run now. I feel lighter, stronger, faster, and- most shocking of all- I’m truly loving it. There’s no back or knee pain, and if anything, there’s less of that than before because I feel my core, legs, ankles, and especially feet getting stronger. My feet are the part I’m really proud of- I used to have strong arches, when I was a kid in pointe class, and now I feel the same energy in them coming back. In fact, shoes I had grown out of now fit again, and I can even stand in heels for longer than before.

It’s funny the sorts of reactions I get to forefoot/simu-barefoot running in Five Fingers. People who don’t run tend to be lightly skeptical, but willing to try it out. People who already run a ton tend to be extremely skeptical, and they don’t want to give up their current m.o. In either case, if you give it a shot, please realize that it may take months to ramp up because the muscles and other structures used need time to build. But you can get there, and I think you’ll love it.

Update 7.15.10 Just got myself a pair of the Five Finger Bikilas (in neon pink!). I went for a run in them on the same nubby trail I’d previously run in the KSOs, and they were much better. I could still feel the pebbles and the ground like the KSOs, but it was a tad more insulated, so those pebbles didn’t hurt but I still got that nice foot massage. In other words, with the Bikilas, I was able to run much faster and not have to be as careful as to where to put my feet. And they felt much leaner than the cross country racing flats I’d bought. So if I could recommend a Five Finger model to n00bs, I’d say get the Bikilas!