The fat lady has sung
Apr 28th, 2011
My bestie out in California is probably getting a good laugh about now. She introduced me to the FiveFinger shoes over a year ago. My response? No freaking way would you ever catch me sporting those silly things. Besides, she hikes mountains in Peru. I go to the grocery store. She paddle boards and surfs in Hawaii. I go to swim lessons at the local rec center. I think you get my drift. But recently I have had a change of heart. It started two weeks ago when I began kettlebell personal training sessions. Kettlebell exercises are best done barefoot for balance purposes. I don’t like being totally barefoot so my best option was to give the funky toe shoes a try. To my complete surprise, I LOVE them. I even wore them right out of the store. I have been wearing my hot pink Sprint pair for a few days now. Here are my pros and cons so far:
Pros:
Very natural feeling.
Easy and comfortable to run in. My cardio consists of interval sprinting and the transition has been easy. It was a little weird at first but now I’m used to it.
I am already feeling the use of muscles that are not used when wearing a typical athletic shoe.
For some reason, I love driving in them!
Perfect for my workouts on the hot deck and dewy grass.
Cons:
Very natural feeling. I say this again for two reasons. One, it was strange going into the gym’s bathroom stall because I felt barefoot. Two, I stepped in a pile of mud (at the time of impact I thought it was dog poop) and entirely felt the squishing where with a normal athletic shoe you would never feel it. In this regard, the shoes take some getting use to.
Right now, I have to tape my heels while wearing. This will pass as well once the shoes are broken in.
You will get lots of questions about your new footwear. Lots. From total strangers. But depending on your personality this may be a pro.
Tip – definitely go to a store and try them on before you purchase. My husband ordered them online and had to return for another size. If you are local to the Tampa Bay area try In Search of Balance. They have a great selection and are wonderfully nice people. Outside of the bay area click here for a list of stores near you and here for all the benefits of the FiveFingers. Give them a shot. If I can sport these shoes, so can you. Who knows what’s next? Maybe I’ll let my hair go gray and buy a Subaru…
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Esther Dee Thu, Apr 28, 11:17am