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After nearly 2 years, I have finally reached a balance when it comes to my funny little running shoes. As many of you know, I have been a proponent of the Vibram Five Finger shoe for almost a year and a half now. Part of my inspiration came from reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall, part of it came from my good friend Mike (famous for his battle with the Cat in the Hat last April). The thing is, you may have noticed that I haven’t been talking about them quite as much lately. I haven’t been pushing them, proselytizing about them.
I realized recently that I went into this minimalist shoe thing, the VFF’s in particular, all wrong. I did everything one was NOT supposed to do, and I paid for it with pain, injury and worst of all, time away from running. If transitioned to properly, I believe that the Vibrams are one of the best things you can do for yourself, your feet and your running, on many different levels.
Let’s start with why they are good:
- They will push you to run with proper form – the thing about running barefoot is that you can’t be a heavy-duty heel striker. Even if that is what you have become, you are forced by the lack of heel protection to change your posture. If you try to continue to run with a heel-strike while barefoot, you’ll only end up hurting yourself…badly.
- If used properly, you will avoid injuries to your knees and hips – because you are forced into better posture, your knees and hips don’t take the extreme pounding they would normally take while running with a heel-strike
- You will run faster – because you are not hitting the breaks with your heels at every footfall, your momentum doesn’t get interrupted and you are able to maintain a higher speed.
- You will run longer – because of the maintained momentum, you expend less energy with each step, each yard, each mile, leaving you more energy to run farther.
Sounds pretty good. Sounds like a miracle shoe. Let’s go out and get a pair and start piling on the miles!
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Yeah, you know what? That’s exactly what I did. I read Born to Run and I talked to my buddy Mike and I was sold, convinced, converted. I was ready to dedicate my feet to Barefoot Ted and Vibrams. So I went out and bought a pair of the VFF Sprints, took them home, hopped on the treadmill and ran 3 miles.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
That was the sound of my feet on my treadmill as I ran my first VFF run. It was so loud! But you know what? It felt great…for about half a mile. Then my shins started to hurt a little. The burning pain grew, but I was determined to keep going.
These were Vibram Five Fingers!
They were barefoot shoes!
Evolution had programmed and designed me to run like this.
The pain would go away, right?
RIGHT?
But no, the pain didn’t go away. In fact, it got worse. By the time I hit 2 miles my shins were throbbing and my calves were starting to bark.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally hit 3 miles.
MY GOD THAT WAS PAINFUL!!!
But the pain was nothing compared to what I felt the next morning.
You know that feeling you get the morning after a hard fought marathon? The kind of feeling that forces you to walk down stairs backwards? Yeah, well 3 miles in the Vibrams on the treadmill had pretty much done the same thing to me. For the next three or four days I hobbled, if you could even call it that. Walking was painful.
In all seriousness, I was ready to toss the shoes and call them an $80 mistake. I called my buddy Mike to bitch about them, but before I could say anything he asked how far I had run in them.
“3 miles,” I said.
There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line and then some mild laughter. He knew. He knew that I must have been in incredible pain.
“Dude! You shouldn’t have done more than a half a mile the first time in those things! You could really hurt yourself like that!”
“Well, you could’ve told me,” I said. He laughed and we moved on to other topics, but at that point I realized that I needed to give the Vibrams another chance. This time I would take it slowly and build up my mileage a little at a time.
And that’s what I did. Over the course of the next month or so, I built up my mileage until I was able to do 8 mile runs regularly in them.
This is where my next big mistake came. I loved these shoes so much, that I eliminated my other running shoes completely. I loved them and talked about them so much that my wife had this made for my birthday:
Yes, that is a Vibram Five Finger KSO Cake
The problem with that is when you wear the same shoe all of the time, you run a higher risk of repetitive motion injuries, and when you’ve spent a lifetime running in regular shoes, certain muscles and tendons have atrophied to the point where they are weak and brittle. I got away with it for a few months. I had developed a pretty decent stride, but my form still had a tendency to break down a little late in longer runs. I was able to fend off injury to my achilles’ tendon through stretching, but in the meantime, I didn’t realize what I was doing to the tendons on the top of my feet. About 5 weeks before I was to run my first marathon, I went out for a run and I got a sharp pain on the top of my right foot. This was not a “let me see if I can run through it” type of a pain. No, this was, “HOLY CRAP I HAVE GOT TO STOP RIGHT NOW!!!” kind of a pain. Being the intelligent person that I am I decided to try another 10 yards and nearly collapsed to the ground on the second stride.
Something was dreadfully wrong.
After much testing and worrying, I was relieved to know I had not broken anything. I had a severe case of tendinitis however and the doctor ordered me to lay off the running for six weeks.
Hmmm…6 week, eh, Doc? I don’t think I can do that.
Why not, Luau?
Well, you see, I’ve got this marathon coming up in 5 weeks.
No, no you don’t have a marathon coming in 5 weeks. You aren’t going to run. Why would you want to run a marathon anyway?
I sighed after that comment, knowing that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. She realized that I was going to run one way or the other.
Ok, she said, I think you’re crazy for doing it in the first place, but if you are going to run it, you need to take the next 3-4 weeks off and then take it easy leading up to the marathon. The moment you feel pain in the race, you stop!
The moment I feel pain? I thought The marathon is about ignoring pain!
I nodded my head and said I would.
The truth is though, I did need to take time off. I could barely walk on my foot, much less run on it. Even swimming, which I did during those 4 weeks, was initially painful to do because of the tendinitis. All of this pain, because I jumped headlong, eyes closed into the minimalist shoe movement without taking into consideration that maybe my legs and feet needed some time to adjust.
So what’s my point? When I started wearing Vibrams, they were the fringe of the fringe. Most odd-balls looked at me like I was crazy. Now, almost 2 years later, the Five Finger shoe line has gained a foothold in the running shoe market. More and more people are willing to try them out. This increased use by an uninformed public has led to some injuries that are being reported by an uninformed press. The Boston Globe, among others, recently published an article about the dangers of wearing the Five Finger shoe. They only get the story half right. Yes, the VFF’s can lead to injury if the wearer doesn’t go about transitioning to them the right way. However, with a little patience, something that is lost in this age of immediate gratification, one can avoid injury all together.
If you are considering a move to Vibram Five Fingers or any other extreme minimalist shoe, I would suggest three things:
- Take your time – start slowly and with as few miles as you can possibly take. In fact, if you are using VFF’s for the first time, try a quarter or half mile and call it a day. You can finish your run in your traditional shoes, but don’t be fooled by the initial “it feels so good” feeling. It can only lead to trouble.
- Consider a transition shoe. Something that has a bit of a minimalist feel that still has some of the support and cushioning of a traditional shoe. Personally, I highly recommend the Saucony Kinvara. It is low to the ground, relatively flat, light as a feather, but still soft underfoot.
- Don’t go exclusively with one shoe. Try rotating your shoes. It doesn’t have to be a 50-50 split. You simply want to make sure that you are not putting the same stresses on the same spots every time you run. This will help you avoid repetitive stress injuries like I suffered right before my first marathon.
If you’re still here, hopefully it means you are still interested in going minimalist. I highly recommend it. It will make you faster and allow you to run longer. Just don’t go making the same mistakes I made.
Today’s post is part of a Minimalist Running Blog Carnival. You can link to the round-up at http://www.strengthrunning.com/2011/02/minimalist-blog-carnival/ where you will find several links to other bloggers writing about different aspects of minimalist running. I hope you will click over and check them out.
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Nice post Luau, thanks for “coming clean” about how the transition to minimalist shoes should be handled, and hope others can learn from your experiences. I probably would have done the same thing.
I did the exact same thing! I ran 3 miles. It felt great. The pain I experienced the following morning could only be compared to the soreness I felt during double-day football practices. Excruciating is not a strong enough word. I didn’t run for a week.
This article should be included in every VFF shoe box.
Awesome post Luau. Thanks for the info. I got a pair of Bikilas for Christmas and pushed into them very fast, and have since jumped back a little and now use some New Balance 890 neutral/minimal shoes to go along with the V’s. I run everything under 8 in the V’s and use the more cushioned shoes for the longer runs (much like you do with the Kinvaras).
Collin
Great post today. I think your learned lessons with VFF’s translate to ANYTIME you change shoes (and IMHO you SHOULD change your shoes, even rotate them regularly).
I wrote a REALLY long comment in reply to your post, but decided it was far to long to post simply as a comment (i don’t know, I just thing it’s rude to write a book as a comment on someone else’s blog, so…).
You can find my comment as a blog post of my own here: http://reallynotarunner.blogspot.com/2011/02/word-about-shoes.html
Sorry.
Don’t be sorry! And feel free to leave as long a comment as you want here.
You know what? I take that back! 😉 That was a long, but excellent post! Thanks for sharing your experience Doug!
I think I was the only one to have made mistakes with my VFF but it’s not the case 🙂
I’m a freelance writer for a French running dedicated magazine and I regularly review shoes, preferably as minimalist as possible (Kinvara, Green Silence …) but I’ve sometimes to follow the editor’s choice.
Well, that’s being said, I intended to run a marathon with my VFF and hardly trained for it (5 per weeks for 9 weeks) nearly 100% with my VFF. One week before the event I encountered a stress fracture of the second metatarsus of the right foot which, according to doctors, was caused by my overuse of the VFF.
So I fully agree when you write to take it slowly, little by little and keep on running with other shoes.
Thank you for this post Luau! I have been intrigued lately by the minimalist running shoes and bought a Mizuno Universe Wave 3. They are not the Vibram but still a minimalist lightweight shoes. I did even worse than you and ran a 20 miler out-of-the-box. Yes, 20. It was a great run, but after two weeks I still have sore calves…can’t wait to run again in them!
Thanks for this great, informative post! I’ve thought about going more minimalist but have been nervous about the transition and am not sure if it’s the solution for me. I do have a pair of Kinvaras that I wear for speedwork and short distances, but I haven’t wanted to use them too much.
Allison, I actually now use my Kinvaras for any runs longer than 13 miles…they allow me to let my form crumble a little without punishing me like the VFFs do…I still prefer to race in my Vibrams though. Just take is slowly and you’ll get there. Rotation is a huge key!
I also had problems with tendinitis at the top of my foot during my switch to VFFs and the pain did scare me into thinking that I had a hairline fracture.
The good thing is that the pain eventually went away and coupled with my insistence to wear VFFs everywhere I go, I think I am comfortable running in VFFs 100% of the time.
Even the plantar fasciitis went away without a trace.
I am feeling so good about going the VFF/minimalist way that my enthusiasm fail to warn people about the transition phase. Thanks for reminding me gravely about it Luau!
I wouldn’t be surprised if walking around in them helped you build the tendon strength to overcome the tendinitis. I love my VFF’s but I’m still not brave enough to wear them as every day, every where shoes!
I got VFFs very early when I was starting to run. I couldn’t find anything else that worked for me as well. Did a lot of walking then a little wogging before I ran in them. My transition time was just part of my learning to run time.
I also wore my classics everywhere as my normal shoe of choice – until the puppy ate the toes off of one. Now I’m waiting for a pair of black ones in my size to get back in stock. Then once again I will wear them just about any place I’m not wearing heels.
And as much as I like them I will still probably switch up between them, my Nike Free Run+ and Saucony Kinvaras for workouts.
Excellent post.
I tore my calf last summer after a case of “too fast, too soon” in the VFF KSO. I was lucky it was a partial tear, which did not require surgery. Got it fixed in 13 weeks.
When you talk about the $80 mistake…you don’t want to see my PT bills…
This being said, I am back running, and using my VFF. I use them as often as I can to walk around (mostly on week-ends). I run again with these…I am up to 1mile 3 times per week. Going SUPER slow now. AND I still believe these do help with my running form, and strengthen my calves.
I am totally bought on the shoe rotation. I now know where to expect my feet and legs to hurt after running in each specific shoe.
Happy running!
Excellent post! I really hope people pay attention to your article, and heed your advice. Because when I try to give this advice, most people either don’t listen, or don’t believe me. That is until they get hurt.
Thanks Ken.
Great post. I seem to have a very similar story, including 3+ miles for my first VFF run followed by hobbling AND a barefoot-shaped cake from my wife for my 40th.
My top of foot pain turned out to be a stress fracture which had almost healed, but that I re-injured. I was convinced it was tendonitis. This happened about 6 months into my minimalist transition. It’s still a week or two before I get to run again.
Did you have your foot x-rayed or bone scanned? Stress fractures usually don’t show in x-rays. Mine was only apparent because the x-ray showed evidence of healing.
I’ve been collecting similar stories towards an evolving minimalist runner stress fracture theory on my site: http://joemaller.com/2861/barefoot-running-stress-fractures-a-theory/
Do you remember if you were doing any speed work before the injury?
LOL. That was the training cycle that Luau did nothing but speedwork (no, I’m not kidding).
I think your theory is pretty interesting and probably correct, Joe.
And just for the record, I DID tell Luau not to do more than 1/4 to 1/2 mile the first time out.
I do remember that…I wish I had listened!
Great post, Luau.
I made many of the same mistakes you’ve mentioned in your piece about 5 years ago in what would be described as an early minamalist shoe; hurting my left knee and derailing strong progress in my running to start 2006.
It took me a long time to regain my running compass after being so dumb and greedy 5 years ago. I admire the honesty in your personal story and hope that it spares others injuries and valuable training time on the sidelines.
I’m training for my first half (which is in two months) I’ve been running in the Vibrams about 2 years now with low milage (3-4 miles) but during the past few of months, I have kicked it up quite a bit to train for the half. I’ve been going very slowly and am now at about 8-9 mile long runs (about 20 miles weekly) and am hitting a wall. I want to be very careful and not injure myself but I also want to keep up my progress. I went today to a specialty running store and tried on the Brooks flats and tried running on a treadmill and I hated them. I felt very shaky, felt like I was wearing some sort of “space shoes” and they only had a 4 mm drop. I don’t know what to do, I’m trying to find something that has just a little more cushion for runs over 8 miles but I’m sorta lost.
Hey Kelly,
So my first question is what do you mean by wall? Are you finding that you are physically spent at 8-9 miles and run out of fuel OR is it that your feet are hitting the wall? If it is the former, I would suggest a couple of things – 1. run a tempo run once a week where you push yourself past (faster than) your comfort zone for shorter distances. Also, you may want to slow down your long runs. Most people, including me, run their long runs way too fast.
Now if it’s a foot issue, I wonder if you are listening to music while you run. Although music is fantastic in terms of getting the legs moving, for those of us who run barefoot or in VFF’s, it can disconnect us from the audio feedback of our feet hitting the ground and you can end up hitting the ground too hard, leading to foot fatigue before you reach the end of your run. If that is the case, I would suggest either running without music or, if you run with a device that has a speaker, using the speaker instead of earbuds.
I hope this helps. Let me know if neither of these situations apply. Good luck in your half – keep me posted on training and results.
Thanks for the advice! Its not so much the fuel part but my feet. They are just getting tired and start to hurt and I feel some “hot spots” on the balls of my feet. The music thing is good advice so I think I’ll try to cut that out. I run with music and like it really loud so that would make sense that my feet are pounding too hard. I don’t think I can afford to go any slower, I already feel slow at a 10:00 min. pace for the long runs. Thank you so much for your help!!
I get those hot spots in my VFF’s as well. Taking the earbuds out should help a bit, but there is an adjustment to running lighter on your feet – I don’t know if you’ve read Chi Running, but it can help you with your form if you still feel like you are slapping the ground too hard.
Also, remember that speed is a relative thing. A 10:00 mile may be slow compared to some, but to others it is their goal just to reach that pace. When you first start trying to run lighter on the feet, you may find that you are running closer to 11 or 12 minute miles – that’s okay. It’s part of the adjustment.
Oh, and don’t be afraid to take 100 yard walking breaks every mile or two – that may alleviate some of the hot spot problems as well.