Thursday, May 26, 2011

Give me Five! Fingers, that is

It seems wherever you go nowadays, you see someone wearing Vibram Five Fingers (they look like gloves for the feet) minimalist running shoes.

Or "barefoot sports shoes," as Vibram bills them.

I even saw a guy wearing them to a restaurant with his girlfriend/SO in Colorado recently.

Many people I know are trying them out—some with undesirable consequences.

So should you get on the minimalistic bandwagon?

Probably not, says Matt Fitzgerald, a certified sport nutritionalist, long-time competitive runner and author.

Injuries related to this fad are up significantly, with the difficult-to-overcome plantar faciitis accounting for 90 percent of them.

In the shoed population, PF accounts for only about 10 percent of all injuries.

If you're doing fine with shoes, why fix something if it ain't broke, as they say.

If you're having problems running with shoes, chances are you may have more problems with the minimalistic approach.

You may have poor foot stability, poor biomechanics or a body that' s just not cut out for pounding the pavement mile after mile.

Even if you do decide to proceed, approach it very slowly, like you SHOULD any new type of training.

Maybe even starting with just 1 minute of running in the new shoe-like coverings and work slowly up from there.

Me? I think I'll stick with real shoes.

2011 Modesto Classic

The Modesto Classic 5K was the first race I ran in Modesto, and it's still one of my favorites.

This year it's May 28 in Modesto's Tuolumne Park on the south end of town. The event features a 1-mile and certified 5K as well as a free 800-meter kids' fun run.

Except for about a quarter mile in the 5K, the events are run entirely in the park. That means very few encounters with traffic.

The course is mostly shady and goes along the Tuolumne River. There's only about a quarter to half mile near the Modesto airport that's in the sun. So it makes for a great run regardless of the weather.

The course also is fast. So if you're shooting for a P.R., check this one out.

Visit http://www.cvrunning.com/calendar.htm for more info.