My new Vivobarefoot shoes arrived today. Its mad to think that they are the only brand of shoe I wear. Minimalist shoes have really helped strengthen my feet and ankles. Running has become low impact and pain free. As an example, I give you a tale of two races.
Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2012
- I had a standard pair of Nike running shoes, nice big soles on them
- I trained for the race using Jeff Galloways training programme, two timed runs a week, and one distance run a week that gradually got longer
- I ran the half marathon in 2hrs and 5 seconds.
- My knees were in agony. I hobbled back to the hotel.
- I was in Disney World so after I’d showered and changed, I went to the Disney Studios theme park. With my knees too sore to actually walk around, I spent most of the day on a bench people watching, envious of the other runners I saw with ice packs strapped to their knees, “clever” I thought
Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2014
- Between this race and the last I had learned to run with a professional running coach (yes, running is a skill that has to be learned) and on their advice I now wore Vivos, a minimalist shoe
- I trained for the race using Jeff Galloways training programme, two timed runs a week, and one distance run a week that gradually got longer
- Ran the half marathon in 2hrs, 9mins and 24 seconds.
- I felt fine and walked back to the hotel
- I was in Disney World so after I’d showered and changed, I went to the Disney Studios theme park. I spend the day in park, went on all the rides and had great day
If you have 9mins to spare, the below video from Vivobarefoot is a great watch.