W5R2 - Hot!

[nowster]

As promised to Tinytears60 , a photo of my shoes and socks, and me in them.

Almost as planned, I set off at 7.25am and the day was already warmer than I'd have liked.

I'm not going to say it was easy: it wasn't. My shins complained a little at first, but quietened down after about 20 seconds.

At one point I got overtaken by a seasoned runner doing about twice my pace.

The approach to the turnaround point is an upward incline. In previous weeks, I'd struggled with that. Today it felt much the same as the rest of that first run.

The second eight minute run was harder than the first. My legs were fine, though. A stitch tried to appear about half way through, but I was able to flex my belly muscles to get it to go away (as Jo had suggested in Week 4).

Harder than Wednesday's run, but very pleased to have done it.

Got home, glass of water, towel, did stretches, towel, another glass of water, and on to here to write it up.

Stats: distance 7.2km inc walks; pace 7'40"/km inc walks, average 6'32"/km running.

Today's eclectic playlist of oddities and oldies:

07:23 Johnny Horton - North To Alaska

07:26 The Searchers - It's Just The Way

07:29 Billie Jo Spears - Love Ain't Gonna Wait For Us

07:32 The Yardbirds - Over Under Sideways Down

07:34 Julie Andrews - Show Me (from My Fair Lady)

07:36 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Shop Around

07:39 Herman's Hermits - I'm Henery The Eighth (I Am)

07:40 Shadows - Genie With The Light Brown Lamp

07:43 Genesis - Jesus He Knows Me

07:47 George Harrison - Poor Little Girl

[Jools2020 Graduate]

Well done, sounds like a good run! I’ve never seen anything like your running shoes before, did not know they existed.

Have to say that I can’t imagine running to “I’m Henery the Eight (I am)” although I remember it well!

Good luck with Run 3! I hope you enjoy it.

[nowster Graduate in reply to Jools2020]

Thanks!

If you're curious enough to look them up, they're Vibram FiveFingers KSO Evos (I have other models too). Zero drop "barefoot" shoes aren't for everyone, of course.

[Jools2020 Graduate in reply to nowster]

I will look them up! But I can’t forget that once I had some socks with 5 finger toes. I couldn’t stop laughing every time I looked at my feet! I don’t understand about drops yet, I‘ll look that up, too.

[nowster Graduate in reply to Jools2020]

"Drop" is how much heel raise the shoe has, measured as how much higher the heel is than the forefoot when in the shoe. A zero drop shoe is the same effect as being without shoes.

I'm so used to them now that I'm uncomfortable when I'm shoes with any amount of heel, eg. formal shoes.

[Jools2020 Graduate in reply to nowster]

Ah, thanks for explaining. Surely, after many years of wearing shoes with some sort of heel, going to a zero drop shoe would affect muscles and tendons in your foot. Just curious.

[nowster Graduate in reply to Jools2020]

It would affect the tendons and muscles in your calf. That's why the advice for people wearing them for the first time is to break yourself into them very gradually. Back when the "Birthday Shoes" forum was still working, there were multiple warnings against "too much too soon".

I've been wearing them as my standard footwear for 8 years now. I've adapted.

birthdayshoes.com/barefoot-...

birthdayshoes.com/how-to-tr...

[Jools2020 Graduate in reply to nowster]

Thanks for the explanation and links. Fascinating reading.

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Nice one !

Well done 😬👏👏👏

And good to see a pic of those shoes 😬

[Tinytears60 Graduate]

Aww thanks! 🙏🏻

Those shoes just blow my mind!! 😮🤕🙈🤣

What made you try them?... I wonder does anybody else on here have them?

Well done on your run 👏👏👏

You’re like me 🎧 🎵... I have a right mix on my playlist too .. including a couple of the searchers 👌

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to Tinytears60]

Quite a few people in my running club have them 🤣

[Tinytears60 Graduate in reply to Tasha99]

For some reason I think of a pantomime bird .. you know the costumes they wear 🙈 🤣

I couldn’t have them cos they are zero drop - would take some getting used to ...

[nowster Graduate in reply to Tinytears60]

It's actually an odd background story.

A bit over ten years ago I was in an amateur production of the farce Wild Goose Chase playing the lead part originally played by Leslie Phillips. The character is a lovable con photographer hiding out in a country house from some thugs. Amongst the multiple disguises I had to adopt in the part was one of cross-dressing as a Mrs Gribble.

I needed some plain black over-the-knee socks for that as I'd be required to wear a skirt, and which I could also wear through the rest of the play to save changing time. When you have size 12 feet that's not an easy task.

The only long socks I could find had toes in them. I tried them and, having got over the unusual feeling of fabric between my toes, I was sold.

A couple of years later, I'd had new orthotic insoles fitted at the local hospital -- I have mild hypermobility and consequently flat feet. The podiatrist added a wedge on the inside surface of the insole to correct one heel's position. It was too extreme. When I next went on a walk of about a mile I got a painful blister. They fixed it on the next appointment, but the seed of wanting to look for an alternative was sown.

A month or so later I was moaning about my flat-footedness and insoles on a forum and someone suggested toe shoes as an off-the-wall alternative. I'd already got toed socks; toe shoes were the logical next step.

It took a few back-and-forths with Amazon until I got the right size. (Their sizing is unconventional, approximately based on European shoe sizing.) Initially, I only wore them round the house like slippers.

Gradually, I gained the courage to venture outside in them. With regular use, my calf muscles and tendons tightened up enough to support the arches naturally.

In the following years, I've been scouring eBay for new or nearly-new bargains in my size (M46). I now have quite a selection.

Until lockdown and C25K I'd never done any running in them more than a quick dash. I'd been walking everywhere in them but no running.

For really wet days, I do have some more conventional Merrell zero drop shoes which offer a lot more water resistance. I even have zero drop hiking boots (and toed hiking socks of course).

It never ceases to amuse me that the first thing most people ask me about the shoes is, invariably, "Are they comfortable?" 😁

[Tinytears60 Graduate in reply to nowster]

Zero drop makes sense for hypermobility ... I bet they are fab for you... my friends daughter has that...

I’m not sure I could ... I tried walking flat footed just now and feel like I’m going to fall over .. but hey... if they work for you ...then great ... 👍😀

[nowster Graduate in reply to Tinytears60]

As I said, they do take a lot of getting used to. It's like walking around barefoot. Your feet and legs have had years and years of walking in shoes with some sort of heel in them. They're bound to protest at the change.

One thing I did notice was that my feet went down half a shoe size after a few months, as the arches raised.

[CBDB Ambassador in reply to nowster]

Thanks for this! Intriguing. Do you find it easy to switch between different types of shoes or do you get so used to these that all other shoes now feel uncomfortable?

[nowster Graduate in reply to CBDB]

Ordinary shoes are now uncomfortable. They feel hard on the heels because almost all of them have a bit of a lift at the heel end, even the small amount in men's shoes. But as a side-effect, my posture has improved, probably because of the difference in weight distribution across my feet.

[CBDB Ambassador in reply to nowster]

Nice, cheers. I might consider getting a pair. Tempting! 🙏 thx.

[nowster Graduate in reply to CBDB]

Some more info here (but there are a few dead links): birthdayshoes.com/guides/

[Tasha99 Graduate]

Well done! I think you should treat yourself to some running shorts or things could get messy and heavy in the rain ☔️😶🤣

[nowster Graduate in reply to Tasha99]

I've already run in the jungle shorts in the rain. They're made of synthetic fibres so I wasn't uncomfortable. I do have proper running shorts, though.

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to nowster]

I try and find any excuse to buy new running stuff 🤦🏽‍♀️

[nowster Graduate in reply to Tasha99]

Guilty! I've got stuff that I won't be wearing until it's much cooler out.

[Cheeky450 Graduate]

Hi, I wear Vibrums too, I can’t run in conventional running shoes the heel makes me run funny, why did you choose them ?

[nowster Graduate in reply to Cheeky450]

I have hypermobility. See my fuller reply to Tinytears60 a bit further up this post which starts with, "It's actually an odd background story."