Have you tried a "minimalist" running shoe?
Has anybody tried any "minimalist running" shoes for training/racing/whatever? (e.g. Nike Free, Merrell Barefoot, Vibram FiveFingers) If so, what are your impressions?
by
idiotwind13
asked 7 months ago
Nope..
A co-worker loves his Vibram FiveFingers and runs in them multiple times a week in training for a mini-marathon. He says it is much like going barefoot.
I have some sprinting flats. I get into the minimalism only if there's a specific performance function that I'm going to achieve from using it.
Sprinting flats are built small and light so you can go as fast as you're capable of going, over a short distance. Shoes that are built with more support are used to keep you maintaining a good speed, while sustaining you over a long distance.
I can understand where people, such as those that like the Vibram, are coming from, as it is a more "natural" way of running. But I don't agree with it at all. We moved away from running barefoot for a reason. My Adidas will carry me through a marathon at a faster pace than your Vibrams (assuming identical physical condition). We've advanced this far in sports, let's not start going backwards.
@dmaz: Not sure I can agree with you there. Your adidas will cushion your foot more, but as far as your time is concerned, the assertion that a shoe will make you faster is simply not true. If it were, cross country spikes and racing flats would have thicker soles. Look at the spikes worn by elite distance track runners, and the only difference between them and running barefoot is pretty much just the spikes. I will buy the debate as to whether or not the less padded shoes are good for training because they encourage a proper stride/ bad because they inadequately protect your foot and increase the beating your legs take, but as far as the speed goes I don't buy it.
http://running.competitor.com/2010/05/features/but-is-it-faster_9784
and it is not supported by reality or science.
my wife uses the Merrell. it has nothing to do with running faster, it's just about comfort.
I use the Vibrams. If you choose to go that rout, DO NOT go out and expect to run the same distance that you ran with your normal shoes.
In my opinion (and I'm not a doctor by any means), it feels that I use more/different muscles when running in them. When I first started running in them I had to stop running due to muscle fatigue before I run out of energy. Once my muscles built up a bit more, I felt that I was able to run much farther distances before I ran out of steam.
Now, this could also be because I had to run more to get used to the shoes, which got me into better shape, but...
I just got my Vibrams, so I haven't given them a real workout yet. However, I did try taking off my shoes over the summer to see what it would be like to just run barefoot on a track. It really does use a completely different set of muscles. Over the winter I am going to try a bit of both traditional running and "barefoot" running to see if I can get a good overall balance. In the long run I don't expect my Vibram's to replace my regular running shoes, but will hope they will complement them!
I haven't used them, but I would suspect they wouldn't work well with my arches/over pronation. I'm using a pair of Adidas Supernova Sequence 4's right now, and they are working quite well for both issues.
@alpayton: I like the idea of switching it up. I have just started trying out a pair of Vibram Bikilas, and I can definitely feel a difference in the muscles used and the way I run. It seems like there would be some benefits to doing both, kind of a non-crosstraining cross-training of sorts. Seems like it might make you a better overall runner.
As you might gather from my username, I wear Invisible Shoes running sandals (www.invisibleshoe.com). They're a high-tech version of the Tarahumara huaraches (the ones made from tire scraps).
Way more barefoot feel than the VFFs, and at 1/4 the price.
Oh, and the whole idea behind barefoot/minimalist is that you end up USING your feet. All I can tell you is that after a few months, I threw away my orthotics and motion-controlled shoes. I was no longer pronating, and I had developed arches in my previously life-long flat feet.
I have an old pair of Nike's that I used to do my very occasional runs in, they were fine as I finally got into running as a frequent activity. I still have them, and have over 500 miles on them (thanks phone app!) ((and 65lbs lost)).
I picked up a pair of New Balance walking shoes for those long weekends where my beloved chuck's didn't give me enough support. That introduced me to the New Balance line.
Fast forward to recent.
I wanted some minimalist style shoes w/o actually jumping into the 5-fingers club, so I tried a few on at a shoe store. Ended up buying "New Balance 101, # MT101RX". First time I ran a few miles with them it was like a new activity again, I felt like I used more muscles. I'm no expert, but I like them, their light and airy, they do have a bit of a heel but nothing huge like my Nike's.
Probably put about 40 miles on them now and I love them enough I just picked up the other color one's (MT101GH).
And they haven't aggravated my old injuries, that's a plus!
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