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Abouta week ago I tweeted, "I finally drank the Koolaid and orderedmy first pair of Vibrams."

Whatare Vibrams? Vibram Five Finger Shoes, shown below, are shoes thatare supposed to allow a runner to use better foot mechanics, landmore naturally, and self-correct biomechanical issues that can causeinjury. For the last three months I've been nursing calf issues, so Ifinally decided to give these a go.

Theyarrived today and they didn't look as bad as I'd feared. I'd alreadyread other people's experiences and knew not to go out for a 5 milerun the first time. I figured a mile would suffice; down to the endof my road and back. We have a bike lane and walking path on bothsides of the road (yes, I do realize how lucky I am to have this) soI had lots of room. I had actually noted on Tuesday as I was doing my"Good Samaritan Run" (I pick up trash on the road sinceit's garbage day.) that there were a few places with broken glass.

Iput them on and the right one fit like a glove. My feet slid right inwith minor adjustments to get each toe into it's own little housing.It was nice and snug, but not too snug.

Theleft was another story. I ran 20 miles Sunday and my big toe has beentender since then. It did NOT like the Vibrams at all. However, Iknow this is temporary. It was a little harder to get them onto theleft foot, as that toe is just slightly swollen. I had measured myfoot before ordering, so I am pretty sure the sizing is right.

Iwalked around the house some for awhile, helping to carry things infrom the van (IKEA RUN today). The left toe hurt a little, but Iwasn't in a great deal of pain. 

Decidedafter having some computer issues to go out for a really quick runbefore making dinner. (Dinner was tacos with homemade corntortillas...yeah baby yeah baby yeah.) 

Thoughtsas I ran:

"Huh...nocalf pain."

"Ouch,that toe does hurt though."

Istarted running more mid-to-front foot initially. Definitely no calfpain (it's healing but it's still feeling tight on my runs).  Verycool! But we're only a few hundred feet in.

"Whoa!Rock!" I didn't hurt, but I definitely felt rocks. Made a noteto look down a little more as I ran.

Toewas starting to feel a little better.

Stillno pain in the calf

Halfmile down: 

"Hm,time is a little faster than it's been! Very cool!"

"Stillno calf pain. No achilles tightness either. This is reallyinteresting."

Startedto heel strike as I zoned a bit and owchie...that was not good. I'mnot generally a heel striker (I just had my gait analyzed andvideoed, so I know that for sure). Not sure why I did that. I supposemost do at some point.

3/4of a mile in:

"Calfstill fine. Is that tightness? No."

"Frontball of foot starting to hurt...and toe, definitely hurting."

Inoticed I'm adjusting because of sore toe and make a note to only doshorter runs for a few days as I have a marathon and half marathonthis weekend. 

Focusa little more on form and ball of foot pain subsides, then goes away.Sweet! Still no calf pain. Wait, ball of foot pain back. Darn.

Onemile mark...that felt pretty good! No stiffness, no calf pain. Toe isprobably going to heal by Saturday (only to be re-owied on Sunday andMonday). Walked for a tenth of a mile and took the shoes off inside.

Feetwere pretty warm, which isn't too bad since Fall is coming. I didn'tnotice it while running.

Othernotes:

1.I got four woo guy calls in one mile. That's a new PR. Was it theshoes?

2.A rather heavyset lady commented on the shoes as I ran by. I didn'tcatch what she said, but it sounded kind of mocking. I didn't care.

3.I thought I would be more self conscious than I am.

4.I had hoped it would be a magical, pain free run, but it wasn't...butI think that's normal.

5.It is not my imagination that the calf pain was less. In fact it wasas close to non-existent as it could be! That is a very positivesign!

Ithink I'll take them out to Wellness Wednesdays for awhile and runwith them on the track and then change into my other shoes for theduration of the run. I think there is possibility, but as I am asevere pronator I don't want to take a chance that I'll injure myselfdoing too much too soon. Might do another half mile tomorrow to seehow they feel. Vibram suggests you break them in very slowly...well,really you're breaking your foot in, not your shoes.