A couple of evenings ago, I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner, sitting at a long table in a noisy restaurant, impatiently waiting for food and to get the heck out of there. I got to talking with the guy, one of the groomsmen, sitting next to me and as we are wont to do, I asked what he did for a living.  He said that he repped sports equipment to shops in New England and I came to full alert, asking him what products.

He launched into a story about repping hiking boots but now was representing a new line of footware which was gaining popularity.  Before he could say Vibram FiveFingers, I blurted out, "I've got a pair.  I ran in the them yesterday. I love them."

He was shocked. This 70 year-old guy next to him not only knew his product, but used it.  He yelled up the table to the groom, "Why didn't you tell me that the husband of your minister ran in FiveFingers?"  And we proceeded to talk about the various models, the research on barefoot running, the popularity of Born To Run -- it was great.

I blogged about barefoot running in July and right after that, ordered a pair of FiveFingers.  At first, I ran in them about once a week on our back trails and found that they were fun.  First of all, my Ascics weigh 19 ounces and these weigh 7.5 so your legs feel lighter, especially on the hills.  My dog and I mainly do about a 3 mile route over trails with grass, ledge, rocks, roots, and vines.  The FiveFingers help protect the foot but you still have to watch where you are landing -- a big pine root under the instep can make you wince and hop for a bit.

It is easy to see why they have become so popular.  They are multi-purpose: I like mine in the kayak. They still draw funny looks but that will change.

After decades of landing on my heel on stable air-cushioned running shoes, it feels natural to land on the ball of the foot. I've got about six weeks on them with no adverse affects. And no, I'm not getting any deal from my Vibram friend for mentioning them -- but I do recommend that you think about integrating them into your running program. 

After spending perhaps $10,000 on running shoes over three decades, I have recently become interested in shedding them.  I previously blogged on chi running, and trail hiking but it took a library book -- Born To Run -- to get me out the door sans Asics.

The book has been described like this:

"Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. "

So, nearly done with the engaging read, I took a short run in our woods today with the Vizsla and left my shoes home.  At first, it was a bit weird.  I realized that I could really feel the grass, the twigs, the roots -- but I also found that right away, I was landing on my forefoot, not my heel.  I took it easy but the muddy spots, which I avoid in running shoes, were fun to squish through on such a hot day.  I nearly stepped on a garter snake, which added some spring to the step, and was glad that no one else uses our woods trails and could not come upon this 70-year-old running barefoot.

You have to watch your step, as I found when my instep encountered a couple of roots, but all in all, it was a good start.  I'll probably try walking and running barefoot once in a while -- our trails with grass and pine needles, are perfect for it -- and see what happens.  So far, so good.

Barefoot Ted -- a runner featured in the book, has some beginner's tips on his website.  They include:

1.  Master gentle, quiet, forefoot-centric landings, silent and smooth.

Learn to move with no hard edges, no pounding by learning how to have the impact of landing flow through the entire foot, starting in the forefoot and quickly spreading through the legs smoothly.  Notice how silent your movement becomes.  Imagine the movement of a big cat.  Watch your dogs trot.  Let them be models for tuned-in, flowing movement that wastes no energy on pound or sound.

2.  Quicken your cadence.  Running in barefeet encourages this naturally.

Some shoe runners are plodders.  You can hear them coming.  Lots of wasted energy on poorly timed impact.  Quicker cadence ends up making sense when you realize that your ability to absorb and recoil energy through elasticity in your body dissipates quickly and is lost if not used.  Learning how to get back in touch with the sweet spot of optimal recoil efficiency is easier to find when you can feel your feet, feeling that encourages a landing phase with foot more in line with your center of gravity (thinking about how you land if you jump down onto a hard surface in barefeet, not on your heels!).  Overstriding is discouraged, nearly impossible barefooted. 
3.  Stable upright posture...balanced head, core engaged, belly button pulled into the spine, no waist bending, head upright.  The feeling of balance: relaxed, yet strong.