running man

I took a run in my new shoes yesterday. So what? you ask... what's the big deal? Well nothing really, except that these aren't exactly normal shoes. Kind of an experiment, if you will.



These are the aptly named Fivefingers, by Vibram. And yes, they are shoes. They are meant to mimic barefoot running, without the hazards of actually running around the city (or wherever one might want to run) in one's actual bare feet. Lord knows I wouldn't run around this town with no shoes on. Ick.

funny, eh?

I've been doing a lot of reading lately on the idea of barefoot running. I have wicked high arches and they have always given me trouble. At some point in the not too distant past, I lost one of my orthotics but haven't had the time or money to seek out a podiatrist for a replacement. (They were looking pretty beat up anyway, probably not a big loss). So I was looking into different types of inserts for both work shoes and running shoes and I came across the barefoot idea. Since I was about due for a new pair of running shoes anyway, I thought I'd give it a try.

Now, if you're getting ready to google barefoot running, be forewarned. There are some pretty wacked out theories out there. For me, this isn't some transition into a hippy lifestyle in which I wander around in long skirts and bare feet for the rest of my days. I was just intrigued by some of the more scientific articles, many of which aimed at runners, that talked about how it strengthens the muscles of your feet and supposedly decreases the need to rely on orthotics.


I've only run in them once, so I can't vouch for any of those claims, but they are actually really comfortable. Once you get your toes accustomed to the idea of being separated from their neighbors, that it. I took them out for a very brief trial run yesterday and while it was definitely a different feeling run, it went really well. Until I tried to get out of bed this morning. Turns out running in shoes and running barefoot works your calves in entirely different ways. Talk about sore... Oh, and you definitely get some weird looks.


And i know this has nothing to do with knitting, or wedding planning, or anything crafty at all. But they amuse me, so I thought I'd share, since I don't have any knitting pictures. However, I should have some soon since the third wrap is upstairs blocking on the bed as we speak! Yipee!!