Vibram FiveFingers and Barefoot Running

I've been running in VFFs/going barefoot for about 8 months or so, and so far I've loved every second of it. I first got into it when I was looking for a way to get past a nagging knee injury that kept me from performing very well in basically all of my races last season. I even had to drop out of my biggest race, the Florida Half Ironman, a few miles into the run because I was in so much pain.

Anywho, once I started running barefoot my form changed completely (as it usually has to with most people) and my knee problems disappeared. My speed and endurance increased, and I'm now faster than I was even during my peak high school cross country days.

Barefoot running definitely isn't for everyone...it really is a big change from running with shoes, but if you are open to the idea then I highly recommend giving it a shot. Just be careful not to jump into it too quickly because your feet need time to adapt and all of those muscles in your feet that you haven't been using need time to strengthen.

I currently run in the VFF Classics (picture below), but am thinking about giving the Bikilas a shot since they are specifically designed for running. I am a little skeptical of them because the sole is a little bit thicker than the Classics and I'm not really looking to get any additional padding for my feet, but we'll see how they hold up once I've gone for a few long runs in them.

Picture of the VFFs before Du Nats

Better Duathlon Nationals Pictures

Here are a few more pictures that my dad took during the race. They're a lot better because I didn't rip them off of the Brightroom website and my dad used my nice camera. Check 'em:

The picture of me in the banner is looking over the transition area before the race.

My Fivefingers

Starting the race

Finishing the first run

Clipping in for the bike

Bike to run transition

Finishing!

Dhani Jones raced too.

Duathlon Nationals

This past weekend I competed in the Duathlon National Championship in Richmond, VA. The top 18 finishers in each age group qualified for the World Championship in Scotland. I'd been training to qualify based on last year's finishing times, but unfortunately the competition stepped up their game a little bit and I only got 27th place.

The race consists of a 5k run, a 38k bike, and another 5k run. That comes out to 3.1 mi, 24 mi, 3.1 mi. My finishing times were:

5k run - 18:44
38k bike - 1:09:37
5k run - 15:20
Overall time: 1:46:41

I had a great race, and the fact that I didn't qualify really shows how competitive my age group is. The course was a lot of fun, especially getting to go over the James River 12 separate times during the bike. Here are some pics: