Minimalist Running Shoes?

Take it "down" one notch (weight and heel/toe) at time and listen to your body.

I just switched to running in a more minimalist shoe. I tried the Vibram Five Fingers and found them not to be minimalist enough. I find myself still pounding hard and that causes blood blisters.

I started running in ZEM minimalist shoes and find them to have a much better feel. I can feel the surface of asphalt beneath me and can tell if its rough or smooth. I find I tend to run lighter meaning I dont pound my heel in as much as with the Vibrams or my full support Assics. As first I noticed some soreness and my time was slower but after a few weeks I noticed I was running faster than before. I know dont have to wear a knee band when I run, I dont get any knee pain. I have moderate pronation as well and when you run "barefoot" your feet compensate naturally.

I think minimalist shoes are a good idea and the ZEMs product is great. They are also much cheaper than other products out there. They are super light weight.

Their website is:

zemgear dot com

I run better now and I dont suffer later from any pain in my knees.

Feelmax Osmas were getting good reviews for a while, and I even tried landing a pair but they were back-ordered for eons. So I gave up and bought Soft Stars.

if you like the inspire, try the mizuno elixir. similar shoe (built on same last) but lighter. use it for any fast workouts. then start using it for some easy runs too. after a while you can use it all the time. once you are comfortable with that, move up (or down) to the mizuno musha. again it is a very similar shoe but lighter (8-9oz).

i did that and now run in the musha all the time, it is a great lightweight trainer.

i have been running in brooks green silence. 6.9 oz and they let your feet do what they want. i have been running in the for about 3 months. i tried running in my pair of nike frees for a change and they felt like boots.

highly recommend green silence. also, they are environmentally friendly.

cons are the soles are fairly smooth, so they are not good in mud or snow.

My main reason for switching to a minimalist running shoe would be to improve on performance since I have never been injured running in "normal" shoes and I usually race in a stability racer (ie Mizuno Musha). Would changing to a more minimal shoe for my everyday runs improve my performance in say a 5K?

ndog wrote:

My main reason for switching to a minimalist running shoe would be to improve on performance since I have never been injured running in "normal" shoes and I usually race in a stability racer (ie Mizuno Musha). Would changing to a more minimal shoe for my everyday runs improve my performance in say a 5K?

You've never been injured in normal shoes, so you want to change that?

Is it not true that the barefoot-style shoes like the VFF are generally sold as a way to prevent injury, not to improve performance?

As far as I know, people aren't running in VFF's to try to set PR's. So if you're injury free, why would you go that route? If you want some lighter shoes for sake of performance, why not try the Mizuno Musha, Ronin, or Wave Universe (only about 3.7 oz)?