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Running in toe shoes

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:16:28 No.217224 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>217228 >>217229 >>217243 >>217246 >>217387

Has anyone else ever tried running in Vibram Five Fingers or other toe shoes? I ran ~4.5 miles in them two days ago and my calves still hurt. Is that normal?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:24:58 No.217228 Report

Quoted By: >>217235

>>217224

I have a pair of these.

They've been in a box for 4 years since I received them as a christmas gift.

So, I'm not a great source on the matter.... perhaps I should sell them/give away. Not really sure when I would find them useful. Maybe for paddling? I'm happy with my crocs or flip flops.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:27:33 No.217229 Report

Quoted By: >>217232 >>217235

>>217224
>Implying those shoes aren't gay as fuck

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:29:49 No.217232 Report

Quoted By:

>>217229

>implying that matters

OP Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:33:55 No.217235 Report

Quoted By:

>>217228
I just wear mine in place of regular shoes. They also work great as camp shoes, they're very light and comfortable.

>>217229
Thank you for contributing so much to the thread.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:44:32 No.217243 Report

Quoted By: >>217254 >>217255

>>217224
>I ran ~4.5 miles in them two days ago and my calves still hurt. Is that normal?
Yes it is, you to tons of small bones, muscles and tendons in your feet which you don't use and train when wearing normal shoes. when you run barefoot you work those muscles (the tendons end in your calves) and hence it hurts. If you keep up the training it will eventually go away as your feet will grow stronger and healthier. And yes, they look gay as fuck as fuck, but they are really beneficial for your health.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:47:09 No.217246 Report

Quoted By: >>217254 >>217255

>>217224
>I ran ~4.5 miles in them two days ago and my calves still hurt. Is that normal?

I don't own these kinds of shoes, but I've been interested in them for a while. What I've heard is that having strange new muscle pains is normal. The advocates of the shoes claim this is because you are running more "naturally" now, but being used to regular shoes your feet and leg muscles aren't suited for it.. yet.

The more you run with them, the better it gets, and the less impact your body will take. At least that's the idea.

Keep it up and please report on your experience down the road.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:50:34 No.217251 Report

Quoted By: >>217255

You don't get used to then in one day.

Walk barefoot as often as you can at home, drop the slippers and shoes, and the best would be to start with light trail shoes, and slowly transition to those.

If you directly use these, it's going to be hard.

OP Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:53:53 No.217254 Report

Quoted By:

>>217243
>>217246
Thanks, I feel a lot better knowing that this is normal. I'm definitely going to keep running in them, and if I remember to I'll make another post in about a month about pain levels.

OP Mon 28 Oct 2013 22:55:35 No.217255 Report

Quoted By:

>>217243
>>217246
>>217251
Thanks, I feel a lot better knowing that this is normal. I'm definitely going to keep running in them, and if I remember to I'll make another post in about a month about pain levels.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 23:01:28 No.217260 Report

Quoted By: >>217337

As others have already said. It's pretty normal. Just take it easy. If I remember correctly vibram had a barefoot running faq on their website too. Check it out. I've had two different types of fivefingers over a period of two years. Currently using spydiron LS for the past year and a half.
Best decision I ever made.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 23:07:08 No.217265 Report

Quoted By:

I was thinking of buying a few pairs of these too. My big question is, will i obliterate them if i use them on a treadmill? I want to build up the muscles at home before i try them on some trails, so id like to do the 'burn in' process while i'm at home so i can actually push myself to the limit.

Treadmill has a large running deck and is usually at a 3% incline. I noticed the tips of my normal runners wear out about 20x faster than the other parts(Hell, i still have the numbs at the arc and heel that are used to gauge if a show has been too worn to qualify for a refund) and i'm thinking the fire-fingers would cope even worse.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 23:33:23 No.217284 Report

Quoted By: >>217289

I wouldn't run on concrete or asphalt (street pavement) with them. Too hard. If you're going to run on those, you should were shoes with flexible soles. Running on grass with vibrams are fine I guess. Not a fan of running.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 23:36:00 No.217289 Report

Quoted By:

>>217284
*if you're going to run (in general)

OP Tue 29 Oct 2013 01:37:57 No.217337 Report

Quoted By:

>>217260
Holy crap. I just checked their faq, and they recommend starting with 10% of your typical running distance. I have WAY overdone that.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO merrell-barefoot-xl.jpg, 137KiB, 970x600

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 02:13:39 No.217354 Report

Quoted By: >>217438

I have a pair of Merrel barefoots which are basically the same thing, but without individual toes.
First day I ran, did my usual three miles and my calves were burning just like you OP, took three days before I could run again.
Just keep doing it and eventually they will stop hurting. (Eventually, lel) Pic related

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 02:48:02 No.217387 Report

Quoted By:

>>217224
have a pair, really love'em
gotta ease into them though

lots of people do to much too soon and break their foot

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 04:02:52 No.217420 Report

Quoted By: >>217438

Been using them for ~2yrs. Gotta ease into them, but after a month, I was back running my usual distance.

You can use them on any surface too, they are fairly resilient. Using them on a treadmill for example, would wear them out very slowly compared to the sidewalk, etc.

They are super light and will make your feet and calves super strong (esp. your feet).

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 04:20:15 No.217438 Report

Quoted By: >>217473

>>217420
>Treadmill guy here
Awesome, thanks for the help. I'll prob. go with the merrel barefoots(>>217354) as i have a friend who works at a store that sells them and can get a pair at cost.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 06:13:04 No.217473 Report

Quoted By:

>>217438
Yep, I've used both. I am currently using the Merrills just to look less weird. Quality stuff

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 11:35:57 No.217510 Report

Quoted By:

I run in them for over two years now. I really like it. You should use a forefoot strike while wearing them.

Painful muscles are normal in the beginning. You should not overdo it for the first half year minimum. It is not only your muscles but also your bones and tendons that have to adapt. You do not want to develop stress fractures and so on.

Most of the time I run 5km, sometimes 10km.
Start short distances, run slow, use a forefoot strike and watch where you step.

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