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...