20 mile training run - barefoot

The following words started out as a reply to a comment Meredith from Virginia Beach has left on the “About” page but has now made it way to becoming a full on blog page.

Thanks for the kind words. You have me reflecting on some good memories about my barefoot journeys. I did not have Vibram Five Fingers when I started this journey. At the time Barefoot Ted McDonald was just experimenting with running in Vibram Five Finger classics. So I was barefoot to shod and back to barefoot as a cool down. It was also my introduction to really enjoying running on paved surfaces. Which just beat me up when I ran in my shoes. My desire to make me a pair of Huaraches was driven by my love of running trails.

However, in my quest to run a marathon barefoot, the huaraches were becoming both a physical and metaphysical crutch. I had to face my fear of running the chip seal of the St George Marathon, and getting over the fear of moving forward after the shutdown of my businesses, and the splitting up of my family (divorce).

From that point in the desert, where I buried my huaraches, I ran everything I could barefoot. Sometimes not the wisest idea as I found myself running some gnarly trails and pebble strewn road surfaces. After I ran the marathon I was given a gift certificate for a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I fell in love with them, sewed them up, and put over a 1000 miles on them before I gave them to my son when he asked if he could have them.

Yea I buried these in the desert.

I been wanting to build another pair of huaraches, but was having difficulty in finding the braided hemp cord that I love so much. Even Ted McDonald could not get it in for a while. So the short of the long of this story is that I have been running and training in either KSO’s or Bikila’s almost exclusively. I am finding that to run a marathon barefoot for me at 6’6+ and 255lbs I need the protection to keep my feet fresh. As you know running a marathon is more about technique and body strength than it is  having toughed feet.

I am just about to do another repair section on the pair of green and white bikila’s that I have been running in. The inside toes are completely worn through.  In the pic below you can see how the heavy rubber of the Bikila pushes the big toe towards the inside fabric against the second toe.

Almost new Vibram Bikila's - Winter Run

My first KSO’s saw over a 1000 miles, I do not think my Bikila’s will last more than 400.

I am ready to get back to running in Huaraches.

Sorry for the long reply. I have have not sat down to hammer out post to my blog for a while, and it felt nice to put down a few words about barefooting.

Regards,
Michael Carroll

PS. check out my barefoot running and racing project site – theminimalistrunner.com its beta and the database needs more records, so if you have a race that you would like listed please send me a note.

The repairs seem to be holding up.

Well sort of – the fabric is gone and so another repair would need to add fabric back over the hole. Or the space would significantly shrink.

The next picture shows new holes on the next toe. Rip is at the base of the rubber. Not sure if this is repairable.

The bottoms are wearing fabulously.

The inside heal cup is now showing some wear.

The five finger kso experience is still producing happy feet

Happy Running,

Michael Carroll

As you can see the toe is holding up quite well. I wish I could say that for the hole in the inside of the toe.

As you can see the repair is holding, but the fabric is so thin that it is disinegrating.

I also sewed up the heal area and you can see that it has held up well, but now the stress has caused the fabric to open a hole above where the repair was made.   Anyway see you all on the trail.

Michael Carroll

Since that time I have been logging an average of 30 miles per week with a distance of 8 to 15 mile run every other day. My first day I put a rip in them running across a lava section of the trail. I was bummed! I also noticed  that the inside of the heal cup was coming undone after only three runs. I thought that I would be attempting a repair job on this part of the shoe, but it has been holding steady since my first runs in the shoe.

One of the things I have had to learn quite quickly is that I must focus on keeping my pinky toes away from rocks and brush as the rubber tip wants to grab everything in sight. I am nursing a dislocated pinky toe as a result of having the toe get ripped to the side. This is not why the seam is coming un-done however in the picture.

I have been pretty impressed with how these shoes handle the the rough Southern Utah desert. I can do things that I could not do in Hauraches, or Barefoot. Even when I was wearing standard trail shoes (Solomon GTX’s as of three years ago). I did start to run with injini socks, but found them to be too hot. The socks however made running on the shale like ruble more tolerable. The secret though is making sure that you are running perfect barefoot form. This is why I start and end each run barefoot on pavement so that I am constantly building the necessary muscle memory.

Running in KSO’s is a dream as I scramble up and down steep boulder strewn sections of the trail. Even thought the the top of the shoe is not protected like my Solomon’s are, my barefoot training and the stickiness of the rubber allow me to jump and run through these sections of trail without worrying about twisting my ankle.

In Huaraches and running long distances I would get what would feel like a heat blister on the bottom of my toe. This is also my experience with the KSO’s, particularly the right toe. If you notice the above diagram my feet slide to the outsides of the shoe with my big toe pressing down to stabilize and maintain grip on the often off camber trails I run. This pressure is also causing the seam to rip on pinky toes. The rubber on the second metatarsal is also causing rips on inside of the first metatarsal (big toe).

More about wear

I will be pulling out my needle and thread to sew up and patch the holes. I will post pictures here for all to see. The bottom of the shoe is still looking like it can handle another 450 miles. The most wear is coming from the outside edge on the ball of the foot. The razor slits are now open and you can see some chunking of the rubber.

Ultra Running with Five Fingers

As I set my sights on running an Ultra (Angeles Crest 100) I would like to see Vibram modify the toes so that the separation of the toes would be molded together maybe the same thickness as the rubber under the arch. That way if the pinky toe is caught on a rock the other toes would be pulled with it. This would allow the toes to act as a unit and would limit injuries. Also it would stop the wear that I am getting on the inside of the big toe. I think the feel would be the same. There is no question that on rough trails and with longer distances that stretch into the 20 hour mark that a more shoe like product is needed. I like the shoe that Barefoot Ted is testing, but I so like the five finger experience and want to run the Angeles Crest with them. I think that there is a market for a five fingers product that is designed to tackle the 100 mile trail run.

Conclusion

Although I am stoked to be running in KSO’s I will be searching for a minimal shoe to run my first 100 mile trail run in. I will push my luck here in a few days and run a 20 miler in the KSO’s after I work on the shoes with needle and thread.

Updates:

Another 50 Miles on Fives

Repaired my Fives

Pinky Toe Update: After putting more that 500 miles on my Five’s and running a 50K last weekend May 23 I have less and less stubbed my pinky toes. In fact in my 50K race I only slightly dinged it on a rock. Seems your body learns how to keep the toes safe as I am unconcious of any difference in running technique.

Hot Spots Update: No longer getting hot spots on toes on long runs with Fives. Did a 20 mile training run with no hot spots whatsover.