So many shoes.. So little time

Wow... with a post title like that, I feel like Imelda Marcos..  and now I've gone and shown my age..

Ok.. so I don't have 3000 pairs, but I had to chuckle to myself as my running shoe collection is starting to grow.  Perhaps that isn't that crazy, but considering the fact that I'm a proponent of barefoot running and the natural running style, it seems I should not have any shoes at all!

Anyway, here is my shoe progression to date. To the left are the ASICS I bought last spring when I decided to take up running. I did the gait analysis, learned about my pronation issues, and it was determined these were the best for me.  After two or three months of running (or attempts at it), painfully swollen knees, and some good insight from my doctor, I swapped those out for the Invisible Shoe huaraches. It was late summer, and I spent a fair amount of time building up distance in those, and also running short distances barefoot.  Changing style made for incredibly sore calves, feet, and achilles.. but never that damaged kind of pain, but the kind you get when you put in a good workout.

My feet continued to get stronger, but then winter came... and it got colder.  I added Injinji Toe socks to my sandals and that got me through a few months, but eventually the temps dropped and the snow came.   So began my pursuit of the ideal minimalist trail running shoe, and I settled on the royal blue Vivobarefoot Neo Trails.  A great winter trail shoe that I did a very initial review on, and will provide a complete one soon after logging more miles.  At this point, I should have been fine.. BUT.. there was an awesome contest on a great blog called Running and Rambling  for a pair of the brand new Merrell Barefoot Road Gloves, which I somehow managed to win!  I am anxiously awaiting for those to arrive, so yes, there is a pair missing from this picture!  When working with the Merrell rep to get the shoes I won shipped, I mentioned I would review them on my blog... and at that point the awesome rep at Merrell offered to send me a pair of the Barefoot Trail Gloves also which just came in two days ago (pictured on the right).

The 2012 Road Glove from Merrell I am awaiting.. courtesy of http://www.runningandrambling.com/

So... to make an arduously long story short,  this budding barefoot runner will soon own 4 pairs of minimalist shoes... 1 pair I plan to do a follow up review on, and two that I need to log some miles in to review also..   I guess the good thing is I need to run a lot more :-)

1-28-12 Late Breaking news:  After the race on Saturday I popped into Goodwill since it was nearby... lo and behold.. sitting on the shoe rack (with a golden aura around them) was a pair of basically new Vibram VFF Flow's just like the ones below... in my size... for $19.99...  no way I could pass that up... so, the shoe collection grows!  Anyway, if you have any feedback on these let me know.. looking forward to my first run in a VFF.

And if you were wondering, the answer is yes.. when the weather gets warmer I plan to continue my barefoot running progression that got cut short last year.  Is my goal to end up a pure barefoot runner? Probably not.. especially since I am so enamored with trail running, and many trails around here can be pretty tough.  However, I still feel it is the best way to develop the correct form, plus its just so much fun.  But beyond that, my running will be in my huaraches mostly, and one of the minimalist trail shoes once I figure out which ones are the right  ones for me.


 Of course.. I should have a pair for snow.. a pair for rugged trails.. a pair for semi-rugged trails with partial snow... a pair for smoother dirt trails... a pair for smoother dirt trails when it rains... a pair for boring road runs...    guess I should start building a shoe rack!

Anyway... thanks again for listening to me ramble..   hope you all have a great weekend.  I am running the 2nd race (4 Mi) of the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series on Saturday morning... now.. hmm.. what shoes to wear?

Have a great weekend!

"The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art." -Leonardo da Vinci

http://barefootinclined.blogspot.com/