Walk, Don't Run

My brother and his family are in town so yesterday we went and did the touristy thing in Seattle. That meant a fair bit of walking, and I opted for my KSOs over regular shoes.

The first thing I learned was that KSOs are extremely difficult to put on in the car. I drive barefoot when I can, sometimes wearing flip-flops that I can slip in and out of easily, sometimes just putting my shoes on when I arrive at my destination. Yesterday I grabbed my KSOs but didn't put them on till we got parked in Seattle. I should have gotten out of the car and put them on, but I tried doing it in the car, and it was tough. They are really snug and my foot was just sweaty enough to make it a real challenge. My son, out of concern (or boredom) came back to the car to make sure I was all right. Twice.

Today I will put them on before I get in the car.

There is very little padding in the KSOs, which I feel a little in my lower back this morning. Also, unlike the runs which don't take very long, the walking really fatigued the muscles in my feet, especially on the top of my feet. I was a little surprised at that because I have run in the KSOs a few times, but walking is different enough from running, I guess. Also, the blister on my pinkie toe is going away; it will be a couple more days before I get to run again, so we'll see if it comes back then.

We're going out on a short hike and then over to the zoo, so I'll do more walking around and see what happens.

103 Degrees in Seattle

Highest temp ever recorded in Seattle today. Around 100 when I went for my evening run, but down to 95 by the time I was done, which should be about the high for tomorrow.

Nothing new to report as far as running or the KSOs. I'm still running too slowly and the loops are too short. I blame the weather, but it's also because I started out in such poor shape. My calves have been tight all day; they loosened up during the run but tightened up again afterwards.

I felt better today than yesterday. I suppose I'm getting used to the weather. 13.5 miles over three days. It's a good start. Let's see how long I can keep it up.

Calving

Oh, baby, I've got calves this morning. Normally I don't pay much attention to them but today they are grabbing onto my legs like terrified toddlers. Ay, carumba they are tight. Almost had to come down the stairs backwards this morning, but ended up just doing the Frankenstein walk while I held on to the banister. Haven't been this tight in a long while. Good times.

I certainly didn't run fast enough or far enough yesterday to warrant this sort of stiffness, and the weather is already in the 80s at 8:30 this morning, so I haven't stiffened up from the cold. Nothing left to blame it on but the shoes.

The KSOs are definitely changing my gait. My calves know it, but I am also feeling an odd stiffness on the inside of my thighs, tighter as you go higher. I have run very slowly the last two days and only covered 9 miles, so I'm surprised that I have any upper leg stiffness at all, particularly having it around the groin. Part of it is from being woefully out of shape at the moment, but part of it is almost certainly the change of footwear.

Toe Shoes 2

It's about five degrees hotter than yesterday. I ran the same loop. In spite of downing 16 ounces of water as I went out the door I still dehydrated at 2.5 miles, and when I was done my pee was as thick as maple syrup and felt like spicy salsa: muy unpleasant. It's going to take me a while to get used to running in the heat again, but it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow and in the 80s and 90s every day till the end of next week at least. This is not the weather that drew me to Seattle, but I guess I'll have to get used to it.

Anyway: the shoes. Still a challenge to put on my sweaty feet. Still felt good running. My pinkie toe blister is now almost the size of the toe it's attached to, but it isn't causing any discomfort. May be unpleasant when it pops (not looking forward to that).

New today: I notice that I am losing sensation in both heels. That could be bad, but I don't think it is. It's the heel pad of each foot and I think it's just that I'm starting to build up calluses on the heels. In the course of toughening up the feet I'm sure I will lose some sensation. The only reason I notice it now is because I'm such a tenderfoot. There's no pain or discomfort, just this feeling that I'm not feeling the floor.

Only the second day and things are starting to change.

Toe Shoes

Yesterday I got my Vibram Five Fingers KSO shoes in the mail. This made me happy.

First, a disclaimer. I do not work for Vibram or any other company associated with shoe manufacturing or marketing. I simply find the idea behind the shoes compelling, and think that they are different enough that they warrant a little documentation. That said, if some company were to send me a pair of Flows (men's 42), then I might be willing to compromise my objectivity.

I first read about the shoes in a Wired article earlier this month. They arrived in the mail yesterday and, in spite of the 90+ degree heat (a rarity for the Seattle area), I took them out for a test drive last night.

I am a pack runner. When I am in good shape I can get below 21 minutes for a 5K with some consistency, but right now I am not in good shape. My run last night was my first in about six weeks, so I was pretty happy just to finish my 4.5 mile loop without stopping (the second half of the loop was in shade or I might not have made it back even with stopping). The loop is rolling hills - which is as flat as it gets around our house. It is paved all the way around, the first half mostly cement sidewalk, the second half mostly asphalt street, with a couple of opportunities to run on grass and gravel.

The highlights:

• The shoes have virtually no padding at all. I could feel the cracks between slabs on the sidewalk. However, the sole is stiff enough that I could run over sections of gravel without discomfort.

• There is also almost no lateral support at all, so the muscles on the outside of my leg had to make up the difference. I have a pretty neutral foot strike and am used to running in lightweight trainers. I felt fine while I was running, but afterwards the outside of both my lower legs tightened up something fierce, especially surprising because I ran so slowly. (From this picture it looks to me like the extensor digitorum longus is what tightened up, but I'm no doctor.)

• My feet feel fine (except for the blister on the outside of my left pinky toe). I have done a long run barefoot on a beach before, and afterwards my feet felt strained and ached for days. I had no issues like that after running in the KSOs yesterday.

I have no idea whether they well keep me from injury or improve my performance, but I like the shoes so far.

The shoes are a bit of a challenge to put on. We don't have air conditioning, so I'm sure part of it is that my feet are sweating because of the heat. I also have no experience with toe socks, so spreading my toes out to get them into their individual pouches is still a little difficult. The top of the shoe fits very snugly on my foot, but did not seem to constrict my circulation at all, a nice balance and quite comfortable.

One interesting thing is that I used my toes quite a bit more than I do when I'm in running shoes. I 'm sure this is from having the toes in separate pouches. The pouches allow the toes to spread out and work independently unlike a shoe which forces all the toes on one foot to act in unison.

I'm looking forward to checking out the shoes on hilly trails and doing a little speedwork on the track, but those will have to wait until I'm a little more fit.

90s be damned, I'll give them another try on that loop tonight.