What FiveFingers do you use?

Wow dude, you are going to use 5 fingers?

Awesome dude, you're like, so hip dude.

tugftd wrote:

Wow dude, you are going to use 5 fingers?

Awesome dude, you're like, so hip dude.

Yea dude, my Mom said she would buy me a pair. Thanks bruh

I swear, this board is worse than the old "hacker" boards in regards to the "elite" helping out people who are considered "newbies".

There is actually a lot of good information here, but the noise to signal ration is almost unacceptably high. It's like listening to a stadium full of voices, 99% of them idiots, trying to pick out the 1% that's helpful.

When (or possibly if), you fellas grow up, you'll realize that you do not know everything, and sometimes, just maybe, listening to other opinions may help you further your own goals.

Love,

Newbie

The only thing 5 fingers will do to "further you goals" will attract other douchebags trying to draw attention to themselves.

I guess all the Pre worship from the Nike campaign is passe now, and all the "hardcore" runners have moved onto the next fad.

Ok, here's a shot at providing that 1%:

You'll find that a lot of people on this site (myself included) do not hold the vibram five fingers in high regard. Many view it as just sort of a fad, and a dangerous one at that - it's quite easy to get injured, especially when just starting off.

Of course, there will be some who will defend them, talk about how they strengthen the muscles in your lower legs, provide a more natural/efficient/whatever running form, and how they actually prevent injury that plodding around in regular trainers leads to, provided that the transition to wearing them is gradual enough.

I remain skeptical, however, because I have yet to see A) a high mileage (80+) vibram runner who hasn't gotten stress fractures or B) a truly elite runner who trains in vibrams or barefoot.

I have a pair of Bikilas. I got them for free (I wouldn't pay for a pair of vibrams). Just as a heads up, their sizing charts are WAY off, and they are a pain in the ass to get on even when you get the correct size for your foot. The only way I see myself ever wearing them is if I decide to get in some "barefoot" running on the treadmill during the winter here.

What do you think about doing 5-10 miles of barefoot running a week?

I read Born to Run this summer and all the crap about how horrible shoes are really pissed me off but I think we can all take something good out of this seemingly foolish fad. Running barefoot does strengthen your lower leg and I can see why a recreational runner might want to do all of their running (20-30 mpw) barefoot. It is quite foolish to suggest that serious runners should do all of their running barefoot, like you said they will get a stress fracture.

But I came out of this whole thing with the idea that, since our feet are designed to be run on without shoes, maybe not 80+ mile weeks, it could be beneficial to do some training in barefeet to strengthen them the way that our creator designed them to be run on.

I've gone about this by listening to what my body is telling me. With 90 mile weeks I've run anywhere from 5-10 miles barefoot (depending on workouts) and I think that is really beneficial mainly for injury prevention.

don't hate

Vibrams are popular because they look cool and have a vague connection to the barefoot fad. Racing flats, meanwhile, are and have been great training shoes. Many elite runners train in racing flats or minimal trainers. I haven't seen many guys training in the Kayanos or whatever.

You people just crack me up, the only reason you are hating on VFFs is because they are now popular. If they were not, you would be bragging how cool you are with your niche find....check out those $8 Walmart water shoe, now those are cool...since most people don't know about them...

The 5 finger is too much shoe for me. I steal paper slippers from the Vietnamese pedicure place my Mom goes to.

It works out great, I swing by to pick them up after my weekly visit to the orthopedist.

I have the Bikilas, bought them more or less out of curiosity. They were a pain in the azz to get them on at first but once you wear them a few times they get easier to put on. I'm afraid to run in them while training for a marathon. Our grass in our area is too hard to run barefoot therefore need some protection on the feet. I will do short strides with them or walk around in the house with them. They feel good to wear after a hard workout or a LR. I definitely don't see myself running barefoot any time soon or near future.

Most productive Five Finger for a distance runner:

Five Finger Death Punch, that should really be the subject of this thread.

I think the idea of running some miles barefoot or almost barefoot every week is a great idea. I don't think running high mileage on concrete or asphalt is a good idea. I do think we are capable of running more than 80 miles per week barefoot, just not on hard surfaces. However, the more miles you run per week, the more opportunities there are for you to step on something that will screw up your foot. I'm too old to afford any downtime due to injury, so I need something on my feet. That leaves the FiveFingers or a barefoot/minimalist flat.

How much different is a racing flat or long distance track spike from the FF? Both have minimal soles and weigh almost nothing. What are some differences?

For all the barefoot running/drills that Salazar's group does and all the soft surfaces that they run on, Ritz couldn't handle racing on the roads in a normal racing flat for a Half Marathon.

Maybe people in Salazar's group need to do more running on roads? I remember there were people bashing Rupp his senior year for a Cross Country race he wasn't going to do because he was a front foot runner and could have gotten injured.

What should Ritz do from now until New York? Just decide to wear a shoe with more cushioning and go back to having fun running barefoot in the grass, or do MORE practice running in flats on the road so he both can race in a lighter shoe (instead of resorting to a heavier one), and his lower legs will be used to the extra impact instead of being in pain like at the Great North Run?

Do you have a link to where Ritz reported he couldn't handle racing on the roads in a normal racing flat?

From article on Universal Sports:

"I guess I'm not as fit as I thought I was," Ritzenhein explained while he stretched his aching calves. He continued: "By the time I hit eight miles I was completely in the tank, and just kind of struggled to come in. My calves: I think I wore too minimal a shoe."

From his blog:

"Another big problem that compounded it for me was I wore the wrong racing shoes. I love the Streak XC and that is what I wore last year at the World Half but they are really a 5K-10K shoe and my calfs were barely working in the last 5K of the race...For the marathon I am going to step up to the Streak 3 which is a little beefier."

I don't use five fingers. My wife can handle only four.

biggus dickus wrote:

You people just crack me up, the only reason you are hating on VFFs is because they are now popular. If they were not, you would be bragging how cool you are with your niche find....check out those $8 Walmart water shoe, now those are cool...since most people don't know about them...

No, I just know too many people with sfx's from vibrams. Flats from major shoe companies aren't exactly obscure, anyway.

My wife prefers two says five hurts. It's all in the pressure though.