five fingers – they make more sense to me
Posted on February 7, 2012 by
I did it. I finally decided to give the Vibram Five Fingers a try. See?
I’ve known about these minimalist shoes for years now, yet I’ve never tried them. Despite not owning any fancy pants “Minimalist” running shoes, I’ve modified my running style over the past couple years to that of a natural style with normal shoes and occasionally running in Chuck Taylors (which I don’t recommend unless you want blisters on the tips of your toes). It’s because of this, and my newly strengthened calf and lower leg/ankle muscles that I felt confident enough to try the Five Fingers out for running.
I don’t really want to do the whole “be careful when you make this transition as you can hurt yourself” routine, because I already know this and have done a bunch of research beforehand. However, I want to talk about the main reason why I’ve decided to make this switch:
I’ve never been able to find a running shoe that’s shaped like my actual feet. You can see from the image above how toes would be crammed into the shoe if the length of the shoe was proper and not too long. At least for me, that was the case, so the shoes my size would pinch the tips of my tootsies after running only a short bit. Finally, I’ve decided to quit finding shoes for which my feet would have to conform, and found Five Fingers, which conform to my feet. They’re going to take some getting used to, and my foot/calf muscles are going to have to increase in strength even more, but they will over time. I’m not worried about that.
But wait Rob? Don’t you feel a little goofy wearing shoes shaped like that?
Ummmmmm, hello? Have you seen my website? Goofy is something I’m not afraid to be, and beyond that, I’ve never been one to conform if it makes zero sense to. Why would I wear “typical” shoes if they suck? The question should be “Why, disembodied person who’s asking me about goofiness, do you continue to wear shoes that aren’t shaped like the body part they encase?”
I’m sick of my feet being the square peg to the round holed shoe. Eff off shoes.
-RLB
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