These shoes are apparently designed around the idea that wearing normal trainers impede our natural abilities to run and returning to barefoot running is the purest kind of running ... Human babies are born without shoes. Walking in Vibram Five Fingers promotes the usage of muscles in the foot/leg normally under-utilized. I chatted a little on-line about these with runners. There is a school of thoughts that swears by them. They do take some time to get used to and should be worn for shorter distances when transitioning to them, in the one to three mile range. I was recommended to use them on short runs less than a mile and on the treadmill first ...
Even as one may think the argument that one is born without shoes makes sense at first, the other school of though is that from the time we learn to walk we use shoes so that our bodies are conditioned to use trainers regardless. This argument seemed to be reinforced by what seemed to be an increase in running-related injuries in runners wearing Vibram Five Fingers, or even bare-foot runners in general. The question could be not so much as whether barefoot running causes injuries so much as whether the injuries from running are more prevalent in some individuals as the following article concludes:
I wanted to check some Vibram Five Fingers out at the Seattle Sports Expo. There weren't any on display, my guess because the expo was geared toward long distance running ... Still I can not, not be intrigued by the Vibrams. I think they could make for a nice pair of exercise shoes for the gym. But at a $100 price tag that makes for an expensive bargain so for now ... I satisfy my curiosity with writing about the Vibram Five Fingers and fantasizing what it is like to wear some ...
I saw someone wearing these shoes at the Firecracker 5000 race. They were very interesting to look at! Now I know what they are called :) Thanks baby!
ReplyDeleteI love the new format you've gone with! The 13.1 and "my sport is your sports punishment" background quotes are great! The white boxed updates are a lot easier to read too. I also like the way we can see what's to come in the future. I'm excited to see that team SBF will be back in L.A. For the tinkerbell race and in my dream vacation city- New Orleans! So glad to be part of the team! It's the best team with unbeatable perks ;)
You forgot to weigh in this race. Do you plan to do that every race? The stats are great...like spreadsheet style! Love it! I cant wait to hear the play by play of each of the races I volunteered at. You have a great way of capturing each moment in your writing so that I feel as though I am there with you! <3
Dear Wendie,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all thank you for being such a dedicated reader and team member !! the weight ins will come-in every 2-3 weeks from the gym. I use them to gauge my bodyfat and lean mass to detect plateau and adjust my workout accordingly. So no there will not weight-in at each races. My body fat increasing as I will likely drop lean muscle as I train further for my marathon ... We will find see over the next couple of months ...
Regarding the Vibram I am still considering at the very least trying them out ... I was amazed how much reaction these create. On the Run26 group on FB some commenters were name-calling the runners swearing by them, that is the first time I felt such passion in that group about something so mundane as ... shoes ... i think in the end these would be fun to walk with however I doubt I would try running much. Although one particular commenter wrote me how "I had so many problems when I was running with regular running shoes. Mostly my hips and my lower back. I continue running even though I was in pain. The last time I wore a running shoes was rock n roll last year. That was the worst run and the recovery was long...that's when I decided to switch to vibram. I ran my 1st half on vibram 5 months later Seattle marathon. Since then I've run 4 others and no pain and recovery is no big deal!. some people call barefoot running as one of those trends that's going to phased out. I think we are over cushioning our feet. The only thing I don't like about running with vibram is that I use to have pretty feet but now its not pretty" ... If indeed that is the only problem then I am golden I never had pretty feet lol
LOL I don't know of anyone who has pretty feet! But I see your point. Shoes are such a personal decision for runners it seems that I can see why it was a heated topic on the Run26 forum! I've learned from you that different styles of running require different types of shoes. A type that works for one runner doesn't necessarily work for another so trying these funky shoes out sounds great to me! I look forward to seeing your sexy feet in them lol!!
ReplyDeleteHow does body fat play into your training for the marathon? Do you have a specific goal or target number in mind for the race? What about special equipment? Any suggestions for someone just starting out that you feel is a necessity to have for their first half marathon attempt?
Shoes are indeed a very serious piece of equipment for runners !! the right shoe will enhance your experience while protecting your body from injuries.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question on Body Fat (BF). BF is the ratio of fat to lean muscle. For a given weight an increase in BF will indicate an increase of fat cell and / or a loss of muscle tissue or combination thereof. During long period of exercise the body will cannibalize muscle which are under-utilzed to convert the muscle mass to energy to sustain aerobic metabolism. Also at higher level of exercise the rate at which the body fat is burned decreases. A constant increase in BF for a stagnant weight (say between 156 to 160 lbs) could be an indicator that I am loosing muscle mass and that I need to alter my training routine accordingly.
This is different that f I was "getting fat" in which case I usually feel tired and slugish ... A steady increase in BF while I feel like that usually indicates I have plateau'd, again requiring an adjustment ion my routine to jump start my metabolism in that case.
The later (plateau'd) occurred regularly before my I started training for long distance runs. For the last 6 months or so it seems I have not lacked energy ... however I have dropped significant weight, about 10 pounds since spring 2010. When I notice the drop of weight coupled with an increase in BF it was a tell tell sign that I was loosing some serious lean mass due to "over training" in the endurance area. I since increased my workouts to 3 to 5 times a week. Five time a week with limited cross training usually provide a slight lean muscle mass increase, three times a week maintains my lean muscle mass. less than that and I drop lean muscle mass ...
so ... In the context of marathon training the purpose of tracking BF is to ensure I maintain my current lean muscle mass buildup.