for the love of bare feet and vibram five fingers shoes.

I picked up triathlon about a year ago after getting a bike to commute to work. I could never really get into a good weekly running rhythm because I would always have problems with my IT band around my knees. Expensive running shoes and orthotics seemed to help a little but things would flare back up even after extensive periods of rest and stretching.

To combat this, I got a foam roller, which felt good (I used it so much that I ended up “breaking” it—the middle is all crushed and out of shape) and I even went to a sports therapist who specialized in Active Release Therapy which is awesome, and really works--but I ended up with pretty nasty bruises from it. All these things were treating the symptoms and pain, but not treating the cause and my knees would start hurting again after a few more days.

I ended up picking up a pair of red Sprints, and once my calves and achilles got over the initial adjustment period, I could run pain free. I would heel strike in my running shoes, whereas the Vibrams cause me to land on the balls of my feet, quicken my cadence, and keep me from pounding the pavement with so much pressure. Now my knees never hurt and I can finally get in the long training runs that I need to.

In the last triathlon I did, the Dextrose ITU World Championship series in Washington DC, as part of the amateur age group sprint-distance, I got tons of looks from spectators, “Mommy, look at that man’s shoes!” and other races were asking me how I liked them, mid-race! Another benefit is that it saves a few seconds in the bike to run transition because I don’t have to put socks on. I’ve convinced two friends to get pairs and am slowing convincing the greater Washington DC area of how great they are!