'Thon Thursday: Five Fingers

So I've been running in my Vibram Five Fingers for a while now. I've loved them so far. I've hurt my foot in them a couple of times, one time which put me out for a couple weeks, but that was as much from over-training as from the shoes. Both times after I got hurt, I thought maybe I should transition back to sturdier shoes, but I couldn't, because I loved the way the five fingers felt. Since then, I've down 4 5k's, 1 half marathon, and numerous training runs, including a 15 and a 16 miler. You can see in these photos of them on the line (after washing them to get the stank out) that they've taken some wear. The red stitching I put in a few days after I bought them, because they had been returned with the stitching coming undone in that spot. My sewing job wasn't tops, but I got them on a 65% discount, so I'll take it.

But they are starting to wear out, as you can see from the photo below (on the left foot, the obvious hole on the forefoot and wear on the toes). Most of the damage occurred in the Hobbler Half Marathon, which had a lot of downhill, forcing me to put on the breaks a lot and wearing down the forefoot and toes some. Only on my left foot, though, which probably speaks to a running imbalance. Which makes since since my legs get sore consistently in different ways.

So, I will probably retire this pair of five fingers from races or long runs after my marathon at the end of the month. I'll probably run a little more in traditional shoes and a lot more truly barefoot. But, if I am going to replace them, I'm debating between the running version of the five fingers (mine now are multi-sport), which will hopefully last a little longer or a minimalist shoe from Asics or Adidas. We'll see.