First day at the gym and I started running and I'd reached the 15 minute mark and no knee trouble, so I kept going and upped the speed and did another 10 minutes. No pain at all. Now anyone who's started running in these knows what I'm going to say next! ...
... They REALLY work your calf's because they force you to land on the balls of your feet (exactly as you should run) so about 2 days after my first run damn did I have DOMS in my calves, I was walking around like a croquet hoop! So friendly advice, start slow!
After that initial adaption my calf muscles I was fine going forward.
No more knee pain, I ran an hour for the first time yesterday (~5.5 miles), I'd have never been able to do that before.
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I will never run in regular shoes again. I had REALLY bad shin splints for the last two years. One run in these and my shins didn't hurt at all. None. I almost teared up from the lack of pain. My calves were sore for about 3 weeks due to these shoes changing the way I run. Not painful, just sore. I've noticed that I am faster in these. I don't have a big stride anymore but lots of short steps that have cut 2 minutes off my 4 mile run time.I normally run 4 miles M/W/F and 2 miles on T/T. I LOVE these shoes. Never going to run in anything else again!
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I alternate running and cycling every day to try to keep in shape. I did a lot of damage to my achilles tendons when I was a whippersnapper through doing a lot of triple jumping. As a result, as an all-growed-up forty-something adult I found that I had to retrain myself how to run again in a way that avoided injuring my ankles. Lots of introspection, self-analysis and trial and error later I came up with some changes to my running style that allowed me to pound out miles without seriously hurting my ankle, although I was still getting twinges every now and then.Running in regular running shoes made me feel like I was missing something: mostly the ability to maintain forward momentum. Specifically, even though I was trying to minimize heavy heel strikes in the new style, I still felt that the heel strikes were slowing me down and bleeding off a lot of forward movement. After all, why would you land on your heel when you're trying to move forward.
I came across the whole "barefoot" running thing somewhat accidentally and thought that it looked interesting. But I didn't think much more about it since my regular runs combine dirt/gravel roads with paved roads. Then a large billboard went up in Spokane for a specific brand of barefoot shoes... and after mildly tweaking my ankle again I thought to myself "let's give that a shot."
After doing a reasonable amount of research I decided that the right shoe for me was the Bikila. I followed the foot-measuring instructions on the Vibram website and ordered my first pair.
The first thing I have to say is that I really, truly did follow the instructions precisely. But when the shoes arrived they were too big. Not just a little bit too big, a lot too big. I sighed, packed them back in the box and sent them back to Amazon (excellent return process). I ordered the next size down and the arrived two days later.
Well, even the next size down was just fractionally too large and I suspect that the next size down from that would be perfect. But they were certainly close enough, so I started the process of figuring out how to use them.
1. The first time (or the first few times) you put them on, it's a complicated headscratching process. How can my toes be so disobedient? Get in there, pesky toe! No, not there, THERE! I think it seriously took me 20 minutes to put the shoes on properly the first time. On the plus side, my toes are getting better trained and now they jump into the right slot straight away... putting the shoes on is more difficult than putting on a pair of slippers but not by much. So just be patient until your toes learn.
2. I started by puttering around the house. Running down to the mailbox and back, etc. Felt a little weird, but OK.
3. After a few days I decided to go for a quick run 1/2 mile down a dirt road and back again. First thing to note: avoid rocks. Since I was used to running in regular shoes I wasn't paying much attention to avoiding small rocks on the road. Well, I do now. Second thing to note: Wow. This truly IS a different running style. Up on your toes, definitely no jamming your heel down first. I was trying to run at a slow pace but ended up flying along without even thinking about it
4. My calves killed me. That 1 mile run felt great! Fast, smooth and easy. About 2 hours later my calves started locking up. Next day I could barely walk! Running for just a mile pretty much on the front half of my feet instead of the back half had exercised my calf muscles in a way they hadn't been used since I was a kid. I stretched, hobbled around, stretched more, hobbled more.
5. Two days later I was ready to try my regular shortest loop, a 5k. I set off slowly, making sure I was focusing on running properly. First half, on dirt and gravel, felt OK. Hit the second half, pavement. WOW! It's like I had wings on my feet. I could barely slow down. I went up the first hill faster than I ever had (thank you, balls of feet and no heel strikes). However, on the way down the next slight downhill I realized how much I had come to rely on the rebound of my regular running shoes for coasting down hills. No rebound in the Bikila! Just me! So going downhill is harder than before. Going uphill, much easier than before. Go figure!
6. Calves hurt again after the 5k but not as bad, so apparently the stretching helps and they're getting used to the new running style.
7. One day break then off for the same 5k but at "regular" pace. Incredible. Pushing to regular pace in the Bikilas has hurt my still-developing calves again but without even really trying to seriously push hard I just set my fastest time over this particular 5k (by 20 seconds!). And I felt great doing it.
So far, I love these shoes. A lot. I haven't even felt a single twinge from my ankle since I started using them.
Summary:
I measured my feet carefully but the corresponding size I ordered was at least 1 size, maybe 2 sizes too big.
It takes a while to put them on the first few times. Be patient, it gets much faster once your toes are trained.
My calves hurt. A lot. Stretch and be prepared for the (good) pain from knowing that you're using muscles the way they're supposed to be used
You will need to change your running style. No more heel strikes and a much lower foot lift seems to work best for me.
Presumably because I'm now running on the balls of my feet, my pace is much faster then it used to be with seemingly less effort.
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This is the first review I've written, but i think it's worth writing for a product that i was so excited to try out.I've never been much of a runner, with a bad knee it always slowed me down, so I never got very far with it. I ran across these one day in a mall, and they intrigued me, so i did some research. The running style, from what i read, claims to prevent the heel strike which i thought might be a factor for my knee pains. I was a little hesitant to try these out, but by the time they showed up at my front door, i was stoked to take them around the block.
First impressions:
They are hard to get into the first time. Take your time, follow the instructions. They feel great once your in.
Make sure the fitment is right. I went to a local store first to try them out, and found the right fit. Snug, but make sure they aren't compressing your toes.
TAKE YOUR TIME. The first run i did about 1 mile, and felt so lightweight and ready to keep going, but i knew i was going to be suffering later. I took a day off, and did a 2 mile the following day, quicker than i ever had with regular running shoes. The next 4 days i was walking like a bull rider. It took me a few days to recover, since i feel like i over-did it :-\
I've had them for a few weeks now, and i LOVE the way they fit. My calfs are still sore after runs, but i feel much more nimble and have NO knee pains :D The sole has the right amount of protection. I run a mix of trail/asphalt, and i've stepped on all sorts of little pebbles and sharp rocks, none of which made it to my fleshy sole. Highly recommended for anyone swapping over to this style or running.
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The Bikila is a solid design, with a few notable design flaws. I own both the Bikila (43) and Bikila LS (44) along with the KomodoSport and Trek.Pros
Solid design and padding for running in terms of the sole itself and the interior liner.
Cons
No heal tightness adjustment. I probably wear a 43.5 and as such 43's are tight and 44's are loose, but this is do to my arch height and foot width. Accordingly the heal feels less snug than I'd like in comparison to the Komodo and Trek.
The toe design is also uncomfortable on this model. the plastic shielding "pinches" your toes, or at least it does on my blue pair (Bikila non-LS). The big toe also has a seam on the inside which causes some extremely uncomfortable rubbing / friction.
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