My Barefootwear

Some of you might be asking, “What was the Vibram Bikila that I mentioned on my last entry”. Well, basically it (Vibram FiveFingers/VFF) is footwear designed to replicate being barefoot and allow the feet to comfortably move. The VFF has thin flexible soles that are patterned to the shape of our foot and it has five finger (toe) sockets.

It was first proposed by Robert Fliri, Industrial Designer of Vibram, to Marco Bramani, grandson of the Vibram founder Vitale Bramani.

There are many kinds of VFFs, mine was the Bikila. According to Vibram, Bikila is built on an entirely new platform. Its insole features a Dri-Lex covered 3mm insole that is thickest under the ball of the foot and a 4mm anatomical pod outsole designed that provides greater protection underfoot.

The experience of wearing a VFF greatly helps in my running. It provides my foot a barefoot feel. It makes my foot land heel first without any pain. During my trainings, I wore my VFF for a jog around our subdivision. It was very comfortable and very light. It made me feel like running on treadmill. The five finger sockets caused my toes to spread properly when landing (avoiding unnecessary injuries).

Overall, I recommend any other athletes out there to try some VFFs. There are other kinds of it. There are for fitness exercise, trekking, running, water sports, etc. Just visit their website (www.vibramfivefingers.com) to check the VFF that fits your athletic environment.

I am looking forward having my own aggressive multisport design KomodoSport. :)Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibram_Five_Fingers
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/about_vibram_fivefingers/
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Bikila-Mens.htm

Challenge...

I am a casual runner for more than a year now. I run for fun and for health reasons. Although there are times that I want to make this my primary sport, I am still hesitant. I'm scared to push on my limits.

Everytime I run, I encounter disturbing muscle pains to the point that I can no longer run. These usually occurs at my lower back and hamstrings. I fear that worse things can happen, like injuries due to the existence of pain.

A lot of articles say that runners should train two weeks before running. But this is not always the case for me. I only train (my longest) for one week. This is the reason why I'm almost sure that there is a great possibility of acquiring injuries for me if I continue to run longer distances, more than 3-5k.

But this fear didn't changed my mind. Instead, I took it as a challenge. I ran 10K last 35th national Milo Marathon.

I always run with my running partner (and girlfriend) April, but she was given a free 5k runner Milo package this year. I still decided to try 10k. It had been my first running event without her on the same category.

It was a rainy morning. But the race needed to go on. I felt strong that time, I am wearing my Vibram Bikilas and my strides felt perfect. As I approach the 4km mark, I started to feel the pains already, and I started to walk in ten steps, then jog for 5 mins then walk again.

Few meters had pass when I saw April's brother got past the 5km mark. He applauded me, maybe for still continuing to run despite the pains I am suffering then (yes, it was obvious from my run).

As I reached the 5km mark, I remembered April, how she is always telling me that nothing bad can happen and that I can push myself as far as I can..that I have the capacity to surpass even just one level above from what I previously accomplished. So I told myself not to walk anymore. It had been a long and cold (due to the rain) run but I kept on pushing because I don't want April and the other people with us to wait for me for a long time.

I felt the pains, but I didn't mind them. I still ran. I ran and ran until there came the moment where my body didn't feel anymore pain, maybe my body got immunized.

Fortunately, I finished, and April was there waiting for me. She was proud of me and I was proud of myself too. I finished the race even if I ran alone and I didn't get any injuries that I was afraid of. I passed the challenge...

running

If you have known me before college, hindi mo na ako makikilala ngayon, I gained almost 80 lbs. I’m becoming malnourished (overweight). Kaya my girlfriend convinced me to exercise and mag-diet. At first, I don’t really like to go to the gym and lessen the foods I eat, paniwala ko noon papaya din ako kasi payat naman ako dati. But as time went by, I realized that I’m not pleased with my body anymore, kaya, I decided to exercise and go on a diet.

It’s almost a month na mula nung magstart ako with gym and diet. I noticed the difference of my weight before the routine and as of today: dati nasa 179 lbs (around 81 kilos) na ako, ngayon 162 lbs (around 73 kilos) na lang. It’s a great feeling that I achieved something for my body. But I cannot achieve this without my girlfriend convincing me. We do run, yes, I run in marathons.

My first run was a historic run, literally because it happened last June 12, our Independence Day. Well, obviously it was called Independence Day Run, and it was the first in the Philippines.

At first, I really don’t like to run..because I know my body can’t take it.

Originally, my girlfriend wanted me to run with her on the previous 5km Nature Valley Run, the event's cause is for the environment where a runner is equal to one tree. I didn’t agree with her that time and wanted to go small instead. I convinced her that we should run on 3km first, and she accepted my offer. When we were about to register at ROX in Taguig, slots for the 3km category ran out. So she convinced me to run in the 5km but she then, the singlets for that category had also ran out. Well of course, who would want to have his or her first run without the souvenir singlet? So we decided to look for other runs and there we saw the Independence Day Run.

Something triggered happiness inside me when we saw that though I know in myself that I don’t really like to run that distance (5km) but my feelings for that event was good that time.

I trained, (though not daily) so I can complete the run. We jogged together and I occasionally run on our treadmill at home so that I will be prepared when the day comes.

June 12, the day of the run, I did my very best para hindi mapahiya sa girlfriend ko. We finished the run kahit lawit na dila ko..and it was a great feeling. I know that that run was good for me and and for our nature who benefited from it. Now I realized that I like to run, I really do. Kaya from this time on, I’ll make it a habit to run at least once a month. Sa katunayan nga, nakapag-register na kami for Milo Marathon this coming July 4.

I hope that this dream will continue, sana pumayat na ako. :P

Run na din kayo.