Noozelady's new shoes

I have been hearing about Vibram fivefingers (R) shoes for about five months from Tim, one of my co-workers. He has worn his in the middle of winter, outside on news shoots and all around the station. Today I decided to go to Duluth Running and find a pair of my own.

I have spent my adult life wearing high heels at work. In the gym I have used a number of big name brand shoes to work out in. I have never found a comfortable shoe for running. After a few hundred feet my knees begin to hurt and I give up. When I am not wearing shoes of course I am barefoot. I love being barefoot, have for as long as I can remember. That’s why Tim’s praises of the Vibram shoes caught my attention.

I had heard that Duluth Running was going to get Virbram Bikila sometime this summer, so I expected to have to go on a waiting list.

Tony at Duluth Running met me at the front door of his store on East Superior and I told him what I needed. They had just got the Bikila models in. Grandma’s Marathon is next Saturday so it was good timing for the store. Perfect timing for me.

Getting the right size is important. That’s why I wanted to buy a pair at a store, rather than online. Tony used a special measuring device for the fivefinger shoes. I learned that my right foot is longer than my left and that all of my toes are short! I think they got short from years of being squished into high heels. But that is another story.

Putting the shoes on took awhile, as my toes didn’t want to go their separate ways. The little toes wanted to ride piggyback with their next door neighbors. But soon I wrestled them into their individual toe holds. I walked around the store and couldn’t believe how comfortable them seemed. I am home and am wearing my new pink fivefingers and will update you on how they work. After about ten minutes it feels a lot like my toes are doing yoga. Stay tuned.