Noooo!! I never let a boy catch me! I more or less zeroed in on the ones I wanted and had my way with them! Who are we kidding? Most guys are way too intimidated by me to chase!!
I have a pair of Merrells for walking around in. I don't like them anywhere near as much as the Vibrams, and they are much less durable. Of course, they look a bit more normal, so I can wear them places I wouldn't wear the Vibrams.
I'm glad the vibrams work for you. I'm going to try them on when I go to the city and if the split toe thing is too weird, Merrell also makes a naked shoe too that doesn't have separate toes. I'm really looking forward to trying it.
Angie - some people are natural sprinters and some are long distance runners. In the end, it doesn't matter what you are naturally inclined to, it only matters what you want to do and what your passion is. I found mine and although I feel naturally suited to long distances, I want to also get faster. The training goes a long way. When I first started, I ran 15 minutes a day for 2-3 months and slowly added on mileage. My long distance running is a result of two and half years of slow build up. Now it's a matter of picking up the pace and going further.
Thanks Suz! MEC carries these, and a cross-training pair as well. As for Merrell, I have always loved all my merrells but I keep hearing the vibrams are the greatest. Luckily, I'm going to town without my kids so I'll have the time in the world to decide when I get there! This has been most helpful everyone!
Al, "barefoot" shoes. check out Suz's photo earlier on in the thread. And anyway, I switch to a whole lotta snowshoe running in the winter. Now that I think about it...I'm pretty obsessed about running. Yay me!
I tried it. I love it. I bought the NEW BAlance Minimus. It's a Vibram sole with a mesh top and wide toe box. It's still looks like a sneaker but it feels like nothing. I ran 9km in them and it took about 2 minutes for me to adjust to my new running gait. And you what it felt like? Do you remember being 10 years and playing with your friends and just running around? You know what I mean, that carefree, don't even notice it's work running, playing tag and chase and being fleet of foot? That's what it felt like. Weightless and light is how I would describe it.
Will this be the new way for me? I don't know. Maybe that feeling was novelty, maybe not. I'll keep upping my distance slowly and see what happens. WOuld I love to give up dishing out 150$ every 3 months for a new pair of runners? Hell yah! I'd only have to replace these when the soles wore out or if the uppers tore. That would save me a heck of a lot of money.
I'm not feeling any soreness yet but I'll report on that tomorrow. So far I feel pretty good and relaxed post run.
Dasha - I know exactly how you feel. When people ask me I say I LOVE the vibrams - I never think about my feet - running, playing tennis, biking - whatever! Glad you had such a good first experience. Yeah - you're gonna love them!
Ohhh definitely keep us updated on how you like the Balance Minimus! I currently run with Brooks racing flats-- they are very light and don't have much support. The woman at the shoe company said that these type of shoes work out well for the barefoot running tecnique and I've had good luck with them so far! But I'm due for a new pair around Christmas time so I definitely want to hear about how you like yours, Dasha!
Angie - not even a lick of soreness today. In fact, the strained calf I had didn't get any worse. I even set to only run 30 minutes and ended up running an hour.
On the flip side, my husband came home yesterday with the same pair and ran 40 minutes. He said it felt okay but now he feels soreness in muscles he didn't even know he had. I'm thinking it's a bit of a crap shoot.
Jacky - the minimus are lovely. They literally are like a slipper with a vibram sole. The other one to check out is the Merrell Lithe. Same concept.
Al- the cyclops shark...a little freaky but I too thought was very cool. I love National Geographic. Bunch of weirdos!
