Transatlantic Cruising Five Fingers Style

Bill decided to get a little marathon training in wearing his Vibram Five Fingers KSOs while cruising the Atlantic. Here's what he shared with us:

I thought I would share some pictures my wife took of me in my KSOs on our cruise on the Norwegian Sun from Dover, England to Port Canaveral, Florida from 10/4 -10/16/2010. The pictures were taken on 10/9, which would have been near the Canary Islands. I am a 69 year old runner from Folsom, California training for this year's California International Marathon. I bought my KSOs about three months ago and more recently got a pair of Bikilas. I am gradually increasing my mileage up to five miles, but I still do my long runs in Nike Free 5.0 and Free Run Plus. The pictures were taken on the Promenade Deck, which wraps around the ship and has designated walking and jogging lanes. Over the years I have gradually transitioned from Nike Air Pegasus (which are really strange now) to lighter shoes with less support, Nike Free and now Five Fingers. The biggest change for me is fewer niggling injuries. Two years ago, an MRI showed I had a torn meniscus cartilage on my left knee and I was scheduled for surgery. By the time of the surgery, I felt my knee had healed and cancelled. The problem reoccurred a year ago and once again I cancelled surgery the day before. Best decision I ever made and I have been injury free and able to step up to marathon training for the past 6 months. I believe it all has to do with going to less supportive shoes, more upper leg and calf strength training, and my Yoga practice. Perhaps, next year I will be running my first marathon in the 70 - 75 age group in Five Fingers.

Bill

Thanks for sharing your story Bill! Good luck on staying injury free. Hopefully, the minimal running shoes will help.