Plush.

The other morning, I planned on going for a nice little run before the sun came up. I thought to myself, "I'll wear my Vibrams today! I haven't worn these in forever." Twenty minutes into that run I quickly realized why I don't run in those shoes. My feet were throbbing with each footfall and my legs felt like hell. My calves are still screaming at me three days later. This from a run that I typically do in a hazy stupor in the mornings.

These fucking things.

Vibrams (and barefoot style running shoes for that matter) have next to zero cushioning. I weigh over 200lbs. I'm running on concrete. This is a recipe for nothing but pain! As a relatively seasoned runner, I know better than to wear these on hard surfaces. I just wanted to re-live the novelty, I guess. My  thoughts afterwards were with those that buy these threadbare shoes in the hopes of immediate improvement and being a minimalist runner.


There's a long drawn out story behind the barefoot and minimalist running movement, but the jist is this: the less armor your feet have, the stronger they will become and the more natural your stride will be. This is great, if you're running on dirt or trails or any surface that otherwise wouldn't cause stress fractures in your feet if you pounded your 205lb frame on it over 10,000 times over the course of an hour (sorry, projecting here). The muscles in your feet and legs don't go from weak to strong without some sort of transition. Minimalist shoes are not transitional by any means. I could write 5 more paragraphs on the mechanics of it but I know how long the internet's attention span is (still with me?).


That being said, I think barefoot and minimalist shoes (Vibram, Inov8, Altra, etc.) are great for things such as soft surface running, TRX training, CrossFit, and weightlifting. They are very responsive shoes and provide a good deal of lateral support for your feet and legs. 


My point is this: Bare human feet were never meant to run on concrete or asphalt for long periods of time. This is why we have cushioning in our shoes and in running shoes especially. Some people require more cushioning. Some people require less. One of the most important things you can do as a runner is determine your running mechanics and get an appropriate shoe to suit it. Find a knowledgeable runner to do this, not a shoe salesman. You'll get a shoe regardless, but you'll find much happier running days in one that is best for how you run. 


Cheers!


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