"Use this stuff on your heel. Chinese martial artists use it all the time, it makes bruises disappear overnight."
http://www.amazon.com/Zheng-Gu-Shui-External-Anagesic/dp/B000MWO3IG
"And by the way, its flammable."
So basically I'm putting gasoline on my skin.
Should have asked him, "Do I look like f#$%-ing Kwai Chang Cain to you!"
This sh#$ better work!
Stan
Saturday, August 28, 2010
What the Doctor Told Me
Well...
...it looks like I won't be running in the VFF's again for a long time.
A week after the Half Marathon that destroyed my VFF Sprints, I did a two hour back to back series of workouts at the Krav Maga school. The burpees, mountain climber tabatas, and kettle bell workout, afterwards my left achilles was killing me.
Three weeks later, after dealing with a nagging pain in my left achilles that didn't go away after laying off long miles in the VFF, I went to the Orthopedist. His shtick;
- I had an inflammation of the sheath that wraps around the lowest point of the achilles, right where it connects to the heel bone.
- The causes of my injury (in his order of precedence) where forefoot/midfoot striking, using the VFF's, and excessive mileage.
- I'm a dyed in the wool heel striker who went from one extreme (bulletproof motion control shoes) to the other extreme (virtual barefoot running) in a very short time.
- My goal, a half marathon, was excessive given the context.
- I have a Haglunds Deformity AKA bone spur on my heel, which means anytime my achilles gets activated (like when I run forefoot/midfoot), it will rub abrasively against my achilles tendon.
His recommendation -- lay off running for another month, do easy spinning on a bike, or swim. When I get start running again, ease off on the VFF's. Use a mixture of running shoes, and a mixture of running styles (both forefoot & heel strike?).
I don't plan on giving up forefoot running. But my VFF saga is pretty much over now. At this point I need to find a light show that I can forefoot/midfoot in without destroying my achilles.
Should I just swallow my pride and buy a pair of Nike Free's?
The horror....
...it looks like I won't be running in the VFF's again for a long time.
A week after the Half Marathon that destroyed my VFF Sprints, I did a two hour back to back series of workouts at the Krav Maga school. The burpees, mountain climber tabatas, and kettle bell workout, afterwards my left achilles was killing me.
Three weeks later, after dealing with a nagging pain in my left achilles that didn't go away after laying off long miles in the VFF, I went to the Orthopedist. His shtick;
- I had an inflammation of the sheath that wraps around the lowest point of the achilles, right where it connects to the heel bone.
- The causes of my injury (in his order of precedence) where forefoot/midfoot striking, using the VFF's, and excessive mileage.
- I'm a dyed in the wool heel striker who went from one extreme (bulletproof motion control shoes) to the other extreme (virtual barefoot running) in a very short time.
- My goal, a half marathon, was excessive given the context.
- I have a Haglunds Deformity AKA bone spur on my heel, which means anytime my achilles gets activated (like when I run forefoot/midfoot), it will rub abrasively against my achilles tendon.
His recommendation -- lay off running for another month, do easy spinning on a bike, or swim. When I get start running again, ease off on the VFF's. Use a mixture of running shoes, and a mixture of running styles (both forefoot & heel strike?).
I don't plan on giving up forefoot running. But my VFF saga is pretty much over now. At this point I need to find a light show that I can forefoot/midfoot in without destroying my achilles.
Should I just swallow my pride and buy a pair of Nike Free's?
The horror....
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Final Thoughts on the VFF
This will be my last post on the VFF.
Its taken up a little bit too much space on this blog for the past 6 months.
The experiences of the past several months have shown me that the VFF is a great training shoe, and an excellent way to shift into a mid/forefoot strike running style. On the off-road Half Marathon, and the long training runs at the end of the training cycle (9-11 mile long runs in the city), both my legs and lungs felt less pulverized than they had ever been during my experiences running those same distances in motion control shoes.
But I DO NOT plan on using the VFF again for distances longer than 6-7 miles, or as my race day shoes.
For me the early problems I had with the VFF's, specifically calf pain, disappeared eventually. But my feet never got used to the impact -- especially as I got into the higher distances (9-11 mile training runs). What would happen on the longer runs is that I'd have plenty of energy left everywhere else, but my feet would be so sore from the constant pounding that couldn't put the hammer down.
This doesn't mean I'm going back to my ASICS Motion Controls -- anything but that. I have no desire at this point to going back to heel striking, and I'm not going to spend money on shoes that would bring me back to that form of running.
What this does mean is that I'll probably use the VFF's for shorter runs, intervals, hill workouts, stair climbing, etc. Doing these shorter runs that are built around drills & specific workout routines will help preserve the forefoot/mid-foot running style I've developed since January. I'll probably buy a more conventional running shoe, but with a flatter and thinner bottom than motion control shoes, maybe a pair of racing flats, for longer runs, or race days. The regular running shoes (hopefully) would shield my feet from the repeated pounding I got from the VFF's, but would still let me run with a fore/midfoot strike -- preserving my knees, hips, quads, and lungs.
In the end, its not running in bare feet (what the VFF tries to simulate) that is better for you, its running with a mid/forefoot strike. The VFF is a means to achieving that end -- not an end in and of itself.
UPDATE
When I checked my VFF's this morning, I finally saw the damage the last run did to them.
Those yellow spots you see towards the edge of the soles are where the outermost layer of rubber has worn out. Before the trail run there was only one yellow spot. Afterwards there were two.
This hole is where the rubber wore all the way through. It wasn't like this before the trail run.
LESSON: Never use the VFF Sprint on city streets, trail runs, or any substantial outdoor workout.
Its taken up a little bit too much space on this blog for the past 6 months.
The experiences of the past several months have shown me that the VFF is a great training shoe, and an excellent way to shift into a mid/forefoot strike running style. On the off-road Half Marathon, and the long training runs at the end of the training cycle (9-11 mile long runs in the city), both my legs and lungs felt less pulverized than they had ever been during my experiences running those same distances in motion control shoes.
But I DO NOT plan on using the VFF again for distances longer than 6-7 miles, or as my race day shoes.
For me the early problems I had with the VFF's, specifically calf pain, disappeared eventually. But my feet never got used to the impact -- especially as I got into the higher distances (9-11 mile training runs). What would happen on the longer runs is that I'd have plenty of energy left everywhere else, but my feet would be so sore from the constant pounding that couldn't put the hammer down.
This doesn't mean I'm going back to my ASICS Motion Controls -- anything but that. I have no desire at this point to going back to heel striking, and I'm not going to spend money on shoes that would bring me back to that form of running.
What this does mean is that I'll probably use the VFF's for shorter runs, intervals, hill workouts, stair climbing, etc. Doing these shorter runs that are built around drills & specific workout routines will help preserve the forefoot/mid-foot running style I've developed since January. I'll probably buy a more conventional running shoe, but with a flatter and thinner bottom than motion control shoes, maybe a pair of racing flats, for longer runs, or race days. The regular running shoes (hopefully) would shield my feet from the repeated pounding I got from the VFF's, but would still let me run with a fore/midfoot strike -- preserving my knees, hips, quads, and lungs.
In the end, its not running in bare feet (what the VFF tries to simulate) that is better for you, its running with a mid/forefoot strike. The VFF is a means to achieving that end -- not an end in and of itself.
UPDATE
When I checked my VFF's this morning, I finally saw the damage the last run did to them.
Those yellow spots you see towards the edge of the soles are where the outermost layer of rubber has worn out. Before the trail run there was only one yellow spot. Afterwards there were two.
This hole is where the rubber wore all the way through. It wasn't like this before the trail run.
LESSON: Never use the VFF Sprint on city streets, trail runs, or any substantial outdoor workout.
I Did It...But I'm Not Doing It Ever Again...
Yesterday I finally did what I had been planning to do for the past six months -- do a Half Marathon in a pair of VFF's. So I headed down to Pacifica to do a Half Marathon trail run in San Pedro Valley County Park.
The event itself was great -- good organization, wonderful views, tough and very technical course on a single track trail.
BUT THE VIBRAM'S SUCKED ASS THAT DAY!
I ran in my Sprints. It was a BAD idea. The Sprints (despite Vibram corporation marketing them as the running shoe of the VFF family) is a bit too flimsy even for city running. On a trail they are even worse. They bottoms are way too thin. What this means is that anytime I stepped on a sharp rock or an acorn it would stab into the bottom of my feet. There is also very little tread on them -- so its hard to get a grip on stone surfaces.
The weaknesses of the Sprints weren't so much a problem going up hill. Going up a long hill while trail running you either jog very slowly or walk -- no point killing yourself. So heading up the first nasty hill, I was passing people here and there. But after cresting the hill, that's when the problems occurred.
When trail running you make up the time you lost walking uphill by running balls out on the downhill. You blast your way down hill at the fastest possible speed you can go without falling flat on your face. This involves landing your feet at high speed on jagged rocks, roots, rocky surfaces, and other forms of nastiness.
On the downhill sections I couldn't do this with my VFF's. It was way too painful and too dangerous. A few times I nearly slipped and tripped. In all the rocky sections I had to walk (REPEAT - WALK not RUN) down very slowly and carefully. Just walking down was killing my feet -- if I had gone down as fast as I would have in regular running shoes my feet (and my VFF's) would have been destroyed.
Too add insult to injury -- people whom I had passed going up the hill were now blasting past me on the downhill. It was a kind of nasty poetic justice.
At the end of the day I finished 45 minutes slower than my previous time doing a Half Marathon trail run back in December up in Marin. I attribute all of this to not being able to attack the downhills.
Would this have been different if I had a tougher pair of VFF's like the KSO or the Bikila -- doubt it. While the other Vibrams do have thicker soles, its not clear that they'd be thick enough to insulate the bottom of my feet from all the nasty sharp edges on the trail. Also -- if my feet are slamemed down at high speed against a sharp edges repeatedly over the span of 13 miles, it would have eventually chewed up my feet.
Ironically -- everything else was fine. While walking uphill around mile 10, a fellow runner told me that listening to my breathing I didn't sound all that tired. While my legs are very sore and tired today, my knees and hips for the most part don't have that feeling of being completely pulverized -- just exhausted. Also my calves -- the part that usually gives out during the early days of VFF running, were fine. I'm writing this 24 hours after the run, and there is no calf soreness.
All this feeds into my final overall shtick on the VFF in my next post.
The event itself was great -- good organization, wonderful views, tough and very technical course on a single track trail.
BUT THE VIBRAM'S SUCKED ASS THAT DAY!
I ran in my Sprints. It was a BAD idea. The Sprints (despite Vibram corporation marketing them as the running shoe of the VFF family) is a bit too flimsy even for city running. On a trail they are even worse. They bottoms are way too thin. What this means is that anytime I stepped on a sharp rock or an acorn it would stab into the bottom of my feet. There is also very little tread on them -- so its hard to get a grip on stone surfaces.
The weaknesses of the Sprints weren't so much a problem going up hill. Going up a long hill while trail running you either jog very slowly or walk -- no point killing yourself. So heading up the first nasty hill, I was passing people here and there. But after cresting the hill, that's when the problems occurred.
When trail running you make up the time you lost walking uphill by running balls out on the downhill. You blast your way down hill at the fastest possible speed you can go without falling flat on your face. This involves landing your feet at high speed on jagged rocks, roots, rocky surfaces, and other forms of nastiness.
On the downhill sections I couldn't do this with my VFF's. It was way too painful and too dangerous. A few times I nearly slipped and tripped. In all the rocky sections I had to walk (REPEAT - WALK not RUN) down very slowly and carefully. Just walking down was killing my feet -- if I had gone down as fast as I would have in regular running shoes my feet (and my VFF's) would have been destroyed.
Too add insult to injury -- people whom I had passed going up the hill were now blasting past me on the downhill. It was a kind of nasty poetic justice.
At the end of the day I finished 45 minutes slower than my previous time doing a Half Marathon trail run back in December up in Marin. I attribute all of this to not being able to attack the downhills.
Would this have been different if I had a tougher pair of VFF's like the KSO or the Bikila -- doubt it. While the other Vibrams do have thicker soles, its not clear that they'd be thick enough to insulate the bottom of my feet from all the nasty sharp edges on the trail. Also -- if my feet are slamemed down at high speed against a sharp edges repeatedly over the span of 13 miles, it would have eventually chewed up my feet.
Ironically -- everything else was fine. While walking uphill around mile 10, a fellow runner told me that listening to my breathing I didn't sound all that tired. While my legs are very sore and tired today, my knees and hips for the most part don't have that feeling of being completely pulverized -- just exhausted. Also my calves -- the part that usually gives out during the early days of VFF running, were fine. I'm writing this 24 hours after the run, and there is no calf soreness.
All this feeds into my final overall shtick on the VFF in my next post.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
He Stole My Quote!!!
Came across this article in the SF Chronicle the other day.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/17/DDND1DET9D.DTL
They quote a guy named Hank Pellissier, who says running barefoot is like unprotected sex.
Its the same damn thing I said on my post from March 5th!
http://flabbyathlete.blogspot.com/2010/03/vff-ive-joined-cult.html
Echhh...the whole world is going to think barefoot runners & vibram wearers hate condoms.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/17/DDND1DET9D.DTL
They quote a guy named Hank Pellissier, who says running barefoot is like unprotected sex.
Its the same damn thing I said on my post from March 5th!
http://flabbyathlete.blogspot.com/2010/03/vff-ive-joined-cult.html
Echhh...the whole world is going to think barefoot runners & vibram wearers hate condoms.
Monday, May 10, 2010
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Monday, May 3, 2010
Transitions
My VFF Sprints finally came today. Here they are, brand new and unscathed, next to my smelly, chewed up, KSO's.
The KSO's were my introduction to the world of the VFF. But as time went by, the limitations of the KSO have become apparent. The stitches that bind the uppers together aren't that strong. The first big tear occurred two months after I purchased them when planted my foot sideways against a curb, stretching then ripping the upper. The mesh is supposed to be breathable. But it wasn't breathable enough so that my feet wouldn't stink up the insides. The dusty white material you see here and there is the foot powder I was using during the final weeks to kill the stench and to prevent the shoes from giving me athletes foot.
Hopefully the Sprints will be more durable and less stinky. It has fewer stitched areas, so less opportunities for ripping. The big open area in the center should ventilate the shoes.
All that being said, the KSO's are (for me at least) the archetypal VFF. Whenever I bumped into another VFF wearer, they were wearing a KSO's. Also, because the black material contrasted so strongly with my pale ankles, they attracted a lot of notice from people on the street, passengers in cars passing by, and fellow students at my Krav Maga school. I essentially became a walking advertisement for the entire VFF line.
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