This is not a post to criticize  VivoBarefoot’s Evo. This post act as a training log to me, Why did I not train enough before I go for this 15km Trail race at MacRitchie Reservoir.

The experience was good today with VivoBarefoot, during the trail there were puddles of water around when I happen to step onto one, both feet were wet. But to my surprise it happens to dry up very fast as well. Again like I said before the grip was good on sandy ground but on rocky surfaces it posed a challenge to me. I was doing well up to the 10km till this happen.

This time, I was not wearing socks again, I thought I could do better without socks plus it does not look great with socks (I think) so along the race, the back part of the shoes was rubbing hard against the back of my feet. Starting out it was alright, I could still focus on running but at the 10km mark it became worst, it even turn swollen and I find it hard to focus on running then. In fact the pain was disrupting my run. 

Next as I mention the were puddles of water, although the shoe dry up quickly there were still moist plus I was not wearing a soc, a blister quickly form at the bottom of my big toe. So while going down slope I sometimes have to reduce speed to avoid crushing into other people/runner, I had to life my toe so to applied a bit of pressure to reduce the speed. This constant motion together with the moist soon created a big headache for me. Each step I placed on the group seems like “hell” to me.

So what I did was to reduce my strike length, running at small steps reducing the impact on my blister and on the cuts. It was a painful experience !

But the lesson I learn today is not just about wearing a socks, but in fact after these hings happen I start to appreciate the ground, I start to appreciate how I should land each foot strike. And not to forget I was not totally prepare for this race with this shoe, I had to experience pain at the lower calves too.

But I also feel as compare to the previous run – I started the race stronger, thus I believe in time to come with sufficient I would run proficiently on near “Barefoot” shoes.  When I was back from the race I search on the internet on how to transit into barefoot running. ” I should have follow the transition and not jump straight into taking races and force myself to adapt.

This link provides insight on how you could transit in a Vibram Five Fingers, very interesting article and I like the article on understanding which part of our feet are week as a result of cushioning shoes or any other matter.

Nonetheless, I competed the 15km trail race at 1:20:05, Well I disappointed because I was aiming at 1:15:00 but I am happy because I learn to understand more about my feet and running structure.

I have decided that I would restart everything and would learn and train to transit into barefoot running.

oh not to forget the goodies after the run. A water bag which I plan to use the North Face 100