An Avid User of the Vibram FiveFingers Line Answers Questions

I try to get to all of my email personally, I really do. Sometimes, that's just not possible. So...I'll go ahead and answer some questions about the Vibram FiveFingers that have been sent my way since writing about my experiences with them.

Note that these are merely the opinions of one user and are not designed to sway your opinion one way or the other -- this is only to serve as an "Answers to FAQ's," if you will.

So let's get started, shall we?

Question 1: Can you really wear them anywhere? Job interviews? Weddings? Nudist camps?

Answer: Yes, why not? They are an interesting conversation piece for any job interview -- and it would show the interviewer that you're not just some drone who'll march to the beat of everyone else's drum. Weddings? Heck yeah! You can really chicken dance in them. Nudist camps? The VFF's might not be for purist nudists, but they'd look cooler on a naked person than say, penny loafers.

Question 2: Seems like I always end up with expensive running shoes that I can't wear anywhere else, and they're usually worn out before I'm ready to drop $130 on a new pair. How long do the VFF's last?

Answer: First of all, the "foam breakdown" experienced in regular shoes is a sham. That one inch of foam is doing very little to cushion your feet and legs from "impact." In fact, you'd probably do well to let the foam in your shoes break down to the point where they're barely hanging on anymore, then chuck those things and start running barefoot. Secondly, I just retired a pair of VFF's with over 2,000 miles on them, including ultra runs on some of the bitchenist terrain in the upper midwest. They're plenty rugged, and relatively cheap to replace.

Question: Where can I get a KSO in Singapore (Frankfurt, Afghanistan, Brussels, Nice, Texas...)?

Answer: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Question: If you were shelling out the cash would you buy the KSOs over say the classics? Purely for vanity the KSOs are limited in their colours...

Answer: I guess there are merits to both models, but for my money I like the KSO's the best so far out of the entire lineup of Vibram FiveFingers products, vanity notwithstanding.

Question: I have measured my shoe size and the approximate equivalent to it in european sizing leads to a too small/big FiveFingers. Help!

Answer: There is a great sizing chart and more answers to FAQ's on the website. Many retailers of the VFF have a handy dandy sizing device that works specifically with the VFF sizing.

Question: What kind of support do they have for my arches?

Answer: Your arches.

Question: Your feet are freakishly muscular. How can I avoid that?

Answer: Wear more shoe, do less exercise.

Question: What kind of traction do they get?

Answer: Most of your traction comes from being able to better sense yourself in relation to the surface you are on, rather than relying on tread or spikes or what have you.

Question: Are the KSO's waterproof?

Answer: No.

Question: Can you run in them in the snow?

Answer: Yes. And it's cold. Just like snow is meant to be.

They're meant to allow you to reconnect with surfaces and situations you're told over and over again that bare feet or less shod feet aren't supposed to go. SO get out there and have fun! Get muddy! Get wet! Get cold! Get HOT! Step on rocks. Step on logs. Climb trees in them. See how it all feels and teach yourself to run quickly and easily over all of it, just like we're designed to do! Sneak up on animals in them. Allow yourself to be snuck up on by animals in them. Run through dandelion patches and get salad in between your toes in them. Jump off of things and land on your feet in them. Do yoga in them. Go to church in them. Run a marathon in them. Run an ultramarathon in them. Wear them on airplanes...Discover all the ways that being barefoot is so much more fun than wearing shoes!

Afton & Other Items

I can't believe it's already July!

I have been on the road for about a month and a week now. I just finished my last trip out East for a while, and hope to get in something that resembles a consistent schedule for at least the next few weeks.

Of course, I know what lays ahead schedule wise, so we'll just see how things stack up.

I have decided NOT to run the Superior 100 Mile in September. I shaved my "100 mile beard" because I know it's just not in the cards this year. Giving this event anything less than my full attention in the months leading up to it just didn't feel like I was giving it the respect it deserved. I have no desire to do something just to say I've done it without giving it 100%, so I'm shelving this goal for a year.

Of course, I feel like a loudmouth braggart for ever announcing that I was planning on doing this event, but oh well. I think I had planned too much and very unrealistically, too soon. Lesson learned.

I will instead either run the 50 mile or the marathon up there this fall. I've been enjoying short, intense runs lately, but nothing longer than 15 miles for the last few weeks, so I feel like I could actually crack off a decent marathon, if I have the right kinds of runs in the next few weeks.

On my last trip to Westchester, I got out a couple times on a trail between my Tarrytown hotel and Irvington, a lovely town on the Hudson river, a couple miles down the trail. One morning I made the trip out and back in just under 40 minutes, the next day I had only 25 minutes to run, so I decided to see if I could get there and back in that time. 28 minutes later a panting, sweaty, gnat covered me ran into the hotel lobby and back to my room for a quick cold shower before dinner.

I ran the Afton 25K over the 4th of July weekend, and as usual, it rocked. It was a little cooler than usual, which was fantastic! I ran it several minutes slower this year than last year. Not a big surprise, considering.

So the plan is to get some runs in after work or maybe before work if time allows, long runs on weekends, back into the dungeon of a weight room I have set up in the studio and enter the late summer strong-ish if not back to where I was a year ago, but also kind of balance some things out and still maintain my career commitments at the level I have been...

I did get out for a great 25K run at Afton this morning. There was no water to be found on the course, so I had a 20 minute detour getting up to the first fountains to drink like a camel before hitting the long flat stretch to the meatgrinder -- but still had a great run.

I am breaking in a brand new pair of Vibram FiveFingers -- I love it when the rubber on them is still sticky. Way better traction.

Hopefully you are all having a great summer!!