amkean pronunciation

I did get the Vibram five finger shoes this summer. I saw the interview with Christopher McDougall on HBO's Real Sports and was intrigued. I'm kind of a sucker for "natural" things. McDougall wrote a book with a premise that modern heavily cushioned shoes change the human running gait, contributing to injury. A big piece of evidence is his time with the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico who run great distances wearing basically flip flops without the stress injuries of the Nike world.

I ran a 5k with them on yesterday, and a guy asked me about them while running. That's probably the worst thing about them—the attention they get. That, and the fact that I'm not very good at fitting them to my feet. Sometimes they're comfortable, and other times I have to adjust them before they're comfortable. Running in them blasts the calves and it's kind of fun. It's been motivating for me this summer to have them to run in. The best is sprinting up the stair/hills in the park where only the balls of my feet barely touch every other step. It's liberating.

Labels: running