On The Road Again

You may recall that it was time for me to get new running shoes….. I really don’t like it when I go to replace something I love only to find out it’s no longer available and things have changed. BOOOO!

So I ordered not one, but two pairs of Vibram Five Fingers shoes. I had read reviews on See Ya Lses that indicated they weren’t the best for cold weather running. To cover my bases, I also ordered the KMD Lses.

Let me just say that the US sizing is not accurate. I much prefer the UK sizing where your foot is actually measured. If you’re a girl in the US, you will no doubt know that shoes {and jeans, and tops, etc etc} vary wildly depending on shoe. It would have been nice to have had the option to order the UK sizing like before.

When the See Ya Lses arrived, they were entirely too big. They are shaped differently, too, which made me worry about the higher heel digging into my Achille’s. I sent them back.

In the mean time, the KMD Lses arrived, so I wasn’t totally dead in the water. I got 15 miles on them before the other pair arrived in the right size. KMDs were fine. The toe pockets seemed a bit snug, but I’m sure they will stretch out just fine. I love the lower, padded heel. I think I prefer this lace system over the See Ya Lses. They also feel like they have a thicker sole, which is good to keep in mind.

I’ve been running pretty regularly in the See Ya Lses, and have around 50 miles on them. The toe pockets are looser. The second time I wore them, I ended up with a bloody toe. There must have been something in that toe pocket, because after that, I had no issues running in them. I’m not sure I’m real keen on the lace system- these are actually tied like regular shoes. It doesn’t seem to be any wider than the KMD LSes’ lace system.

My concern about the shape of the fabric on the heel to this point is not a real issue. I can feel it on the back of my foot, but the suede is actually pretty soft. The color on mine does bleed, but it washes right off.

The one thing I really like about both is the insole is yellow. The white insole of the Bikilas always bothered me because it never really came clean with washing. Both will wear better in that regard, I think. I also appreciate that they aren’t removable, like my older Komodosport Lses are. I always worry that they’ll come out when washing and then never go back in the right way. It hasn’t happened yet, but I don’t wear them the same as I do the others.

I am really eager to get back outside, but I do have to say I still dread having to weave through the gravel. Even with new shoes that aren’t worn as much, I am NOT loving running on rocks. If things stay calmer around here, I’ll give it a shot. {As it turns out, both of the bulls are still loose– will update on that deal in a bit.}

Anyhow. For what it’s worth, I’m giving them both a total thumbs up because I’m on the road again……………

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mckg0%5D

 

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Another Conundrum; AKA Time to Say Goodbye……..

I’ve been hearing Sarah Brightman {with Andrea Bocelli} in my head this last week; ya know, because life is a soundtrack and all that jazz.

If you’ve been reading along, you’ll remember that I hate shopping.  I hate shopping so much I’m seriously thinking about making a category, just so y’all can kvetch with me. Erg.

So anyhow.

June of 2011 brought me to a critical point in my decades of running when, thanks to my chronic illness{s} and my plantar fasciitis, I realized something serious needed to change if I was going to not only walk without pain, but continue running. I spent a boatload of time researching, as I do with all things. I am not prone to leaping into fads, and do what I can to avoid them. By the time I got around to ordering my hobbit feet,  aka Vibram Five Finger Bikilas, I was pretty much at my wits end, and at the end of options to try.

I knew there would be a period of time to transition into them full time, which I wrote about. I also promised periodic updates, which I managed to keep up with up to the point we moved. My last post about my VFFs was in May of 2012, when I hit 1,000 miles. I am sad to say, my running tanked when we moved. It was sporadic at best, and it’s taken me over 2 years to log close to another 500 miles. 😯

There has been SO much to do on the farm; not just chickens and horses, but painting the whole house, including doors, windows, and all the miles of moldings. I haven’t gotten a whole lot finished, but I did manage to get the really bad blood spatter painted over. I still have curtains to make for every room but one. And that’s just inside. I have a ton to paint outside, too.u

With Hunny away for work and me basically single-parenting day-to-day, I reached a point where it was time to get back to my running. In many ways, it’s been really tough to have to build my mileage back up. I started at 4 miles and worked my way back up to 5 miles {and some change}. Hah!

I think I’ll prolly have to hold steady through the summer, unless it cools off, because wow. I left late this morning at 7:15 and it was 80 degrees when I got home, with a 90 something % humidity. Coming from the desert, the humidity while running takes some getting used to. I make a point to leave early, but overslept today.

Over the course of the past week, I’ve noticed spots on the bottom of my shoes getting really thin. I am not a fan of gravel, which my road in either direction is, for nearly 1/2 mile in the one direction I regularly go. I had been looking online periodically for my next shoe, and have been extremely disappointed to see that my beloved Bikilas are not made any more. They have the Bikila Lses, which have laces. And then they have the Bikila EVOs, which have a thicker sole and are for folks transitioning into minimalist running shoes. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

I briefly thought about turning my Komodosport LSes  into my running shoes, but honestly, I’d rather save them for wearing for the rare occasions I’m not wearing flip flops or boots.

In a mad dash, I got online and ordered what I could find that looked like it would work. I ordered the See Ya Lses from the Vibram website. I was really excited when the See Ya Lses came today. I put them on, and then got really disappointed.

Vibram has changed their US sizing. Instead of measuring your foot as before, now they ask you for your shoe size. I don’t know about you, but I notice that with traditional shoes, like clothes, the size is variable to the shoe. Frustrating! 😡

They are too big. Like, by at least a size. I tried them on and wore them around the house. Not only are they too long, but they are too wide. Any Vibram that has the laces are made for slightly wider feet, which I have, but the fit on these was just plain wonky.

Perhaps the most concerning feature was the heel. If you look at the pictures, you can see how the heels on the See Yas are pointy. That part right there is much taller, and digs into the back of my Achilles. I had them on for not even an hour and had a pressure mark on the back of my foot when I took them off. My plan is to return them for a smaller size and see if the right size makes a difference in that part of the fit.

Another thing I had read in some of the reviews, is that because they’re largly mesh {aka, “breathable;” and  is hard to see from these pictures, but is pretty clear on Zappos.com}, folks have said they are not good for winter running unless you wear socks. And we all know what my sock situation is like!

Earlier this eveing, I spent several hours online looking for other Vibram models; thus, my conundrum. I went back to the Vibram website to see what else they had. Right now it’s slim pickins’ because they just had a huge sale and are out of stock on numerous models. After hunting for hours, I ordered another pair from Zappos.

The Vibram KMD Sport Lses are, as near as I can figure, the updated version of the Komodo Sport Lses.  How ironic is that?! I figure, if I still don’t like the fit of the See Ya Lses, I can send them back. If I like them, I can wear the KMDs during the colder months if I don’t want to wear socks. At the very least, they have the notched heel like I’m used to, with a bit of cushioning there, too. And, if I love the See Ya Lses, I can hang onto the KMDs and wear them when the others need to be replaced.

Of additional concern are the reviews that say all of these models wear out quickly. We’ll see.

My original Bikilas, as I mentioned, have lasted just over 1,425 miles. By the time the others get here, it will be close to or over 1,500.

 

The foot bed in the right shoe has started to rip, and in that same shoe, the whole foot bed is wrinkly because the adhesive is shot. The upside is that it didn’t really bother me. Two days ago, I ran the last mile with what I thought was a pebble in one of the toes, only to discover it was actually a little black beetle that was still alive!

And then today, the gravel got me hard in the middle of my foot.  Seeing as that is not part of the foot that generally comes into hard contact with the road, you can tell I was distracted by one of the dogs who I to run back to the house because, as a border collie, she wants to run circles around the cars that pass us on the road.

So, as much as I hate to, it’s time to say goodbye. I am hopeful that I actually can find another pair of VFFs that I like as well, and is as well made. There is something really fantastic about not having to change out your running shoes every 300 miles!

Here’s also hoping I can get this song unstuck from my head…. 😆

 

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khznWuH3VTs%5D

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