Barefoot running gear

locaoimh

I know that's a bit of an oxymoron but, I'd like to try barefoot running but would rather have something beneath the sole of my foot. Where in Cork can I buy minimalist shoes or online in Ireland.

There are lots of types, Five Fingers, Invisible Show, VivoBarefoot, Zems etc. I don't want to spend a fortune as I make not be doing it long term.

BobMac104

you could try running around a football pitch for a few weeks and see how you find it first?

Loads of places sell vibrams nowadays. I have a pair of KSO's and would recomend them.
barefoot.ie sell em if you feel you want to go that way.

lway

No experience of these but I'm sure I saw some in The Edge sports shop off the Kinsale roundabout.

Check out the website first though just to be sure:
http://www.theedge-sports.com/store/

Also check out John Buckley:
http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/

BobMac104

sorry didnt see you were in cork. Ya Iway is right. They also have them in mahers in town

locaoimh

BobMac104 wrote: »

you could try running around a football pitch for a few weeks and see how you find it first?

Loads of places sell vibrams nowadays. I have a pair of KSO's and would recomend them.
barefoot.ie sell em if you feel you want to go that way.

Yeah I saw that. But €100!! I was hoping to find something cheaper to give it a go first.

BobMac104

they are pricey enough alright. you wont get them for much cheaper really unless you go to the states.

Try one small run in your barefeet. its not as bad as bad as you may think. just pick out a nice smooth stretch of tarmac and off you go.

Tec Diver

Another +1 for barefoot.ie, great "shoes" and excellent service. Yes they aren't cheap, but they are great quality and less expensive than some Nike/Adidas/Asics etc. I have three pairs of VFFs now and love em.

locaoimh

Tec Diver wrote: »

Another +1 for barefoot.ie, great "shoes" and excellent service. Yes they aren't cheap, but they are great quality and less expensive than some Nike/Adidas/Asics etc. I have three pairs of VFFs now and love em.

What kind of VFF's do you have.

Incidentally I had a similar question on Reddit and I was taking part in the Secret Santa. My SS sent me a pair of classic VFF! I was flabbergasted! I started breaking my feet into them on this mornings run.

tombliboo83

I'm planning a transition to more minimal shoes and after alot of research the most important element in it seems to be a gradual transition. With that in mind (and after doing some barefoot already) I've decided to go with Saucony Kinvara 2s as my nevt shoe and then vivobarefoot over the course of the next 12months. Not sure if the vivos can be bought in Ireland as the happy foot co which did stock them in Dublin has closed. Best of luck OP

Shane O' Malley

The Cork branch of 53 Degrees North do some of them. They are at the Cornmarket Centre.

Gringo78

locaoimh wrote: »

What kind of VFF's do you have.

Incidentally I had a similar question on Reddit and I was taking part in the Secret Santa. My SS sent me a pair of classic VFF! I was flabbergasted! I started breaking my feet into them on this mornings run.

I've been breaking in a pair of VFF KSO's over the last 4 weeks - I find it tough on the calves, the first few times I could feel it for days afterwards. I'm only doing about 10 miles a week in them so far and need a good 5-7 days break between efforts. I'm used to not much cushioning anyways having run in racing flats only for about the last 18 months, but the VFF's are a big change. Have to say, I like the VFF's and would love to race in them....might break them out in a 2 mile race next week in wicklow.

Any idea how long they last (in miles, say) as they are pricey really

BobMac104

People aften get 1500 miles plus out of them. They is no support to break down in them so you can wear them till you feet come out the bottom. I have a pair of VFF's they are the ones for me where you can get the best fit as the straps are designed well so there is a bit of room for error in terms of size.

spurscormac

For anyone else considering transitioning to barefoot, have a look at the Inov8 range.
Their shoes are graded by the heel to toe drop, and you can transition over time through the range to finish on zero drop.
The idea is that you ease yourself from the standard built up shoes other manufacturers provide towards a flatter profile which promotes mid/forefoot rather than heel striking.

I've started with the 9mm drop Road-X 255 in December & find them great so far. Will be considering the 6mm drop 233s over the next couple of months, firstly as a speed-work shoe, with the 255s for regular runs, but hoping to graduate them to my normal training shoe over time.

I'll probably then go with a 3mm drop shoe for races, but not sure at this point if I'll move fully to a zero drop shoe.

rom

One of the lads that works in the edge (kinsale road) is into barefoot running. He was going on to me about it and was like "Have you read born to run" etc etc.

locaoimh

rom wrote: »

One of the lads that works in the edge (kinsale road) is into barefoot running. He was going on to me about it and was like "Have you read born to run" etc etc.

This

TFBubendorfer

spurscormac wrote: »

For anyone else considering transitioning to barefoot, have a look at the Inov8 range.
Their shoes are graded by the heel to toe drop, and you can transition over time through the range to finish on zero drop.
The idea is that you ease yourself from the standard built up shoes other manufacturers provide towards a flatter profile which promotes mid/forefoot rather than heel striking.

I've started with the 9mm drop Road-X 255 in December & find them great so far. Will be considering the 6mm drop 233s over the next couple of months, firstly as a speed-work shoe, with the 255s for regular runs, but hoping to graduate them to my normal training shoe over time.

I'll probably then go with a 3mm drop shoe for races, but not sure at this point if I'll move fully to a zero drop shoe.

Am I the only person on the planet who cannot notice the amount of heel drop in a shoe? I was using a pair of Kinvaras (heel drop 4 mm) last year and they felt pretty much the same as shoes with much more heel drop to me (I loved them because they were light, not the heel drop).

spurscormac

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Am I the only person on the planet who cannot notice the amount of heel drop in a shoe? I was using a pair of Kinvaras (heel drop 4 mm) last year and they felt pretty much the same as shoes with much more heel drop to me (I loved them because they were light, not the heel drop).

If you're a consistent forefoot striker, then I guess you're not going to notice that much.
What I find with the Inov8s is that its the lack of cushioning in the heel which encourages forefoot strike for me.
If I had a similar toe-heel drop shoe with a large amount of cushioning along the entire sole, it would allow me to heel-strike much more easily.
That said, most shoes have less of a drop by reducing the heel size, and I can definitely tell the difference between my old Kayano's, DS Trainers & the Inov8s.
It was even more pronounced when I tried on the 3mm drop Inov8s in the shop.

TFBubendorfer

spurscormac wrote: »

If you're a consistent forefoot striker, then I guess you're not going to notice that much.

I don't think so, to be honest. Looking at the wear pattern of my shoes I think I am a heel striker, though there is a difference between the left and right foot. I seem to strike with my left forefoot once the pace gets reasonably fast (race photos seem to confirm this), but as it's not a conscious thing, I can't really tell.

When I put on the Kinvaras for the first time I expected to notice a big difference, but no, nothing.

PaulieC

I would have thought the opposite of Spurscormac i.e. you would not notice the drop if you strike with your heel first. If you strike midfoot/forefoot you will notice a bigger drop as this will have the affect of causing the sole of the shoe to hit the ground first where a smaller drop (thinner heel) will allow you to midfoot/forefoot strike without the sole of the shoe hitting the ground first.
All that makes sense in my head, but I don't think I explaned myself very well

spurscormac

cambo_gueno wrote: »

I would have thought the opposite of Spurscormac i.e. you would not notice the drop if you strike with your heel first. If you strike midfoot/forefoot you will notice a bigger drop as this will have the affect of causing the sole of the shoe to hit the ground first where a smaller drop (thinner heel) will allow you to midfoot/forefoot strike without the sole of the shoe hitting the ground first.
All that makes sense in my head, but I don't think I explaned myself very well

I don't think so - here's my logic (at least it seems logical to me)...

If I heel-strike, I am used to the large cushion beneath my foot (and bigger heel to toe drop). Go to a smaller heel to toe drop shoe, almost always means less heel cushioning, so if I now run in that shoe while still heel striking, I will feel the lack of cushioning straight away.
On the opposite side, if I have a forefoot strike, I land on the front of my foot, so the change in shoes doesn't necessarily result in a big difference in the feel of my run, I still land on the front of my foot whether or not I have a big cushion under the heel.

PaulieC

spurscormac wrote: »

I don't think so - here's my logic (at least it seems logical to me)...

If I heel-strike, I am used to the large cushion beneath my foot (and bigger heel to toe drop). Go to a smaller heel to toe drop shoe, almost always means less heel cushioning, so if I now run in that shoe while still heel striking, I will feel the lack of cushioning straight away.
On the opposite side, if I have a forefoot strike, I land on the front of my foot, so the change in shoes doesn't necessarily result in a big difference in the feel of my run, I still land on the front of my foot whether or not I have a big cushion under the heel.

I understand that, but try forefoot striking in a pair of shoes with high heels - I can guarantee you it will almost be impossible as the heel will always hit the ground first. It's the same, albeit to a lesser extent, with runners.

spurscormac

cambo_gueno wrote: »

I understand that, but try forefoot striking in a pair of shoes with high heels - I can guarantee you it will almost be impossible as the heel will always hit the ground first. It's the same, albeit to a lesser extent, with runners.

I see where you're coming from, and can understand that an excessive heel might incline a forefoot striker more towards a flatfoot strike, but I can't equate that with a heel striker in flatter shoes noticing the difference less than a forefoot striker.

Take someone in Kayanos moving to Hyperspeeds, the heel striker will seriously feel the lack of heel cushioning in the hyperspeeds.
The forefoot striker will not be getting the full effect of the heel in the Kayanos, perhaps almost landing flatfoot, but the difference in switching to hyperspeeds will not be as noticeable due to the fact they land on the front of their foot.

Again, this makes sense in my head at least.

jeffontour

cambo_gueno wrote: »

try forefoot striking in a pair of shoes with high heels - I can guarantee you it will almost be impossible as the heel will always hit the ground first.

Don't people wearing stilettos have very high heels and forefoot strike most of the time? Or is the discussion elusive to running?

BTH

jeffontour wrote: »

Don't people wearing stilettos have very high heels and forefoot strike most of the time? Or is the discussion elusive to running?

You've clearly never had a stiletto step on your toe...

sconhome

spurscormac wrote: »

I see where you're coming from, and can understand that an excessive heel might incline a forefoot striker more towards a flatfoot strike, but I can't equate that with a heel striker in flatter shoes noticing the difference less than a forefoot striker.

Take someone in Kayanos moving to Hyperspeeds, the heel striker will seriously feel the lack of heel cushioning in the hyperspeeds.
The forefoot striker will not be getting the full effect of the heel in the Kayanos, perhaps almost landing flatfoot, but the difference in switching to hyperspeeds will not be as noticeable due to the fact they land on the front of their foot.

Again, this makes sense in my head at least.

Have you been doing your homework?

Forgetting about the type of shoes for the moment, you need to be thinking in terms of the heel to toe profile (which you have been doing) which is the height difference in the alignment of the foot, not the actual height of the cushioning. Most shoes are 12mm cushioning at the forefoot and 24mm at the heel giving 12mm differential. The likes of the Saucony Kinvara is 18mm (front) and 22mm (heel) giving a 4mm differential.

If you look at the alignment of someone in a 12mm shoe trying to Chi / Pose run you will see it is exagerated compared to the more natural alignment of the 4mm or 0mm (barefoot) shoe.

A heavy heelstriker in a 12mm is only going to become more moderate in a 4mm and possibly lead to injury through inefficient distribution of the landing forces. As I've mentioned previously not every runner wants to worry about perfect form, some people just want to get out and jog a couple of times per week. There is a definite increase in more seasoned runners looking at minimalism and introducing it to their running patterns.

sconhome

jeffontour wrote: »

Don't people wearing stilettos have very high heels and forefoot strike most of the time?

Heel first and all the pressure on the ball of the foot with no means of 'charging' the windlass mechanism in the foot allowing effortless propulsion thus placing all the pressure on the calves, overworking and overextending the calves . . . like barefooting, transition slowly into stilettos

gnu

Could anyone suggest somewhere in Dublin with a range of minimalist type shoes? I don't want to go straight into Vibramy type barefoot shoes, I prefer the idea of transitioning. The Inov8s sound interesting and some of the others mentioned. I'm trying chi running and I think I'm landing consistently on my midfoot but I still feel the chunky heel of my current shoes is getting in the way.

Thanks

rom

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VivoBarefoot-Neo-Airmesh-Running-Shoes/dp/B004MZTG0Y/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1352668480&sr=8-8

50-55 euro for VivoBarefoot Neo Airmesh Running Shoes
Paid 100 euro for them on sale over the weekend.