Shoe Reviews for Fall/Winter 2012

I know I mention it a lot in my reviews but it is a great time to be a minimalist shoe reviewer. When I first started wearing minimalist footwear in 2008, there were not a lot of options for run specific, work appropriate or winter footwear but now, every season brings new models for a variety of purposes.

This year's shoe reviews have a little bit of everything. Here's a pic of some of this season's minimalist footwear reviews that are coming up:

Fall/Winter 2012 Shoe Reviews

Anyone want guess what they all are?

Introducing Speed

Until recently, I've been content with the speed at which I run. It's always been slow but it didn't bother me because I was happy just to be able to run. I've been running with Lee Saxby's running technique for a little over a year now and think I'm ready to introduce speed to my running. In Lee's method, speed taxes your running skill; so to run faster, you have to have good skill. I'm hoping that my skill is equal to the task.

I've done three speed interval running workouts in the last few weeks and I've learned quite a bit about my current running skill level: I can use more skill. I know this will always be the case because there's always some aspect of running form that I can improve on.

My speed interval workouts include a 10-minute warm-up at an easy pace (I have a pace min/km display on my Garmin FR60 for easy reference). My easy pace is about 6:00 min/km. I've been doing 4 or 5 faster pace intervals for about 100 metres or so. My faster pace is about 4:00 min/km. After my speed interval, I'll walk until my heart rate goes back down to 150 BPM then return to running my easy pace for a minute or two, then repeat a speed interval. Then I run home at my easy pace.

Here's an image from my Garmin data of my first speed interval workout:

Here are some observations I've made about running speed intervals (based on how I feel and a video I took of my last speed workout):

• I need to focus on my landing more because I tend to land more on the lateral side of my foot when running faster
• Running fast with the metronome at 180 BPM feels much less taxing on my cardio than running fast without the metronome
• My posture still feels good at either speed
• I could focus more on hamstrings than hip flexors when running faster
• I don't overstride any more when running at speed than running easy (thankfully)
• Running easy tends to be at a faster pace the next time I run after a speed workout
• My cardio could use improvement (not a big surprise)
• Running fast is FUN! (also not a big surprise :) )

For future runs, I want to keep my speed intervals at 4 or 5 and try running fast for a longer distance for the next few times.

If you do speed workouts, how do you incorporate them into your running?

Coaching Tour of Ontario & Quebec

Last week I was away on an epic, whirlwind Natural Running Coaching tour of Ontario & Quebec. The trip was awesome and entailed A LOT of talking. I coached staff from VIVOBAREFOOT retailers and minimalist shoe consumers in addition to having LONG conversations about the different offerings on the minimalist footwear market. I was hoarse for a good three days after the trip.

For more details, you can check out my recap at: http://naturalrunningcoaching.com/2012/07/nrc-in-ontario-quebec-recap/.

And here's a map of the route we took:

More Barefoot Time and Coaching Update

I've probably spent more time barefoot in the last two months than I have any other time in my life. The increased barefoot time is absolutely due to the increased time I've spent coaching. It's been a very busy couple of months for coaching events. Natural Running Coaching is sponsoring the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series in Alberta this year so I attended a promo table at the first two races. I've held 4 Introduction to Natural Running - Large Group Clinics in the last two months. I've personally coached dozens of people through One-on-One or Small Group Coaching and transformed them into Natural Runners. And most recently, attended the Footstock 2012 Race Expo where I shared Natural Running with countless people.

Coaching really has become my passion job and I am grateful every time I get to share Natural Running with anybody willing to learn. And the increased time being barefoot is an extra special added bonus. During Natural Running Coaching, we use being barefoot as a tool to better listen to your body and feel good running form. It's all about form, however, and not footwear. Once you understand what good running form feels like, it doesn't matter what you wear on your feet, although shoes that provide as much proprioception as possible definitely help to maintain good form.

Here are some pics from my recent coaching endeavours:

Me at the 5 Peaks Northern Alberta Series Terwillegar Race

Walking practice at a Small Group Coaching Session in Canmore, Alberta

Squatting practice in Canmore

Jumping practice in Canmore

A coaching client's BEFORE picture

And AFTER picture

Me at the Footstock 2012 Race Expo (with the NRC TV Extraordinaire)

In case my blogging frequency decreases further, don't worry, I'm still here. I'm just enjoying coaching! You can keep updated with NRC adventures at NaturalRunningCoaching.com.

Snow Day at Bragg Creek in Neo Trails

Last week we had one of those mornings when you wake up and the world outside is covered in white: a SNOW DAY! We decided to go for a hike in nearby Bragg Creek. There was even more snow out there than there was at home! My spouse and I both decided to wear our VIVOBAREFOOT Neo Trails for the hike in the snow. We could definitely have worn snowshoes but actually feeling the ground is so much more fun!

We picked the snowshoe trail so the dogs wouldn't destroy the cross country ski tracks on the other trails (for which the skiers were probably very grateful). We hiked uphill for about 2 km. It was slow going with the dogs and the uphill and all the snow. Traction was awesome, however, even in the fresh new snow. We stopped for lots of pictures, of course.

Because we were wearing our lightweight Neo Trails, we decided to run down. It was super fast! Again, great traction on the corners, which was good because otherwise we would have landed on our faces in the snow or wrapped around a tree. After the run down, we went back home and had a pack nap.

Here are some pics:

Kiah and Cordie LOVE the snow!

A whole lot of new snow.

Taking a picture break #1

Taking a picture break #2

New Barefoot and Minimalist Running Research

Two new papers have been ePublished ahead of printing in the Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise journal out of Dr. Daniel Lieberman's lab at Harvard University.

Effects of Footwear and Strike Type on Running Economy concludes:

"Minimally shod runners are modestly but significantly more economical than traditionally shod runners regardless of strike type, after controlling for shoe mass and stride frequency. The likely cause of this difference is more elastic energy storage and release in the lower extremity during minimal shoe running."

Foot Strike and Injury Rates in Endurance Runners: a retrospective study concludes:

"...Runners who habitually rearfoot strike have significantly higher rates of repetitive stress injury than those who mostly forefoot strike... One hypothesis, which requires further research, is that the absence of a marked impact peak in the ground reaction force during a forefoot strike compared to a rearfoot strike may contribute to lower rates of injuries in habitual forefoot strikers."

Essentially, these two papers suggest that forefoot strikers have fewer injuries than heel strikers and that no matter your foot strike pattern, if you run in minimal shoes, your running is more efficient with improved running economy.

I'm taking away from these two conclusions that forefoot strikers who run in minimal shoes are more efficient and have fewer injuries compared to heel strikers who run in conventional shoes. Sounds to me like ingredients included in a recipe for maximized efficiency and minimized injury...

Speaking of running news, stay tuned for some EXCITING developments in the coaching related area. Announcements are coming soon!

Back at the Track

As all the sidewalks and paths have been icy where I live, I've returned to running at the indoor track.

The indoor track at Spray Lake Sawmill Family Sports Centre

To keep it from being too boring, I thought I'd try a variety of shoes and see which ones I like best for indoor track running. I always start out running a few laps barefoot. Then I put on some shoes (and socks if necessary), run a few more laps, switch shoes, and repeat. Below are the pics of the shoes I ran in my last time at the track and some thoughts for each model.

No shoes: best barefoot feel (hehe), not that grippy, felt like I was landing too far laterally on my forefoot (I haven't figured why that might be), very quiet landing, got quite a few looks from other runners.

VIVOBAREFOOT Lucy Lites: AWESOME track shoes, my preferred shoe for running on the track, excellent grip, felt like I was running super fast, no shock absorption (how I like it), felt like I was landing on the medial forefoot more easily than barefoot, not as quiet as barefoot, love the uniformity of the outsole, ADORE the width, no need for socks with their super soft inside, kind of hot even without socks.

New Balance Minimus Trail Zero: despite their being designed for trails, I like them for indoor track running because of their excellent flexibility, a little high in the stack height, outsole absorbs some impact making for a cushy run (which I don't particularly enjoy, I like no shock absorption whatsoever), love the width, need socks because the inside is kind of rough, good ventilation, not too loud on the track (in terms of sound but not colour).

Soft Star Moc3: soft inside, great width, really loud slappy sound, good ventilation, decent grip, surprisingly uncomfortably cushy on the track.

Vibram FiveFingers Performa Jane: great grip, very quiet, quite comfortable upper, no shock absorption, but I can feel the edges of the pods underfoot which is kind of distracting.

Switching shoes is a great way to make an indoor run more fun. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do that. Winter makes me miss some of my great barefoot alternative or minimalist shoes so indoor running lets me wear them for a while. At least until Spring arrives. :)

Hiking with the Dogs

My family decided to have a bit of a snow day yesterday. We drove out to Bragg Creek with the idea that we'd do some snow shoeing. Turns out that the snow wasn't all that deep out there and most of the trails had been groomed. We decided to hike with just our boots instead.

Again, I had the dilemma of which boots to bring. I decided to bring my old pair of hiking boots from the pre-minimalist footwear days. I don't have a pair of minimalist boots that would work well with snow shoes. I think it's one of those few times when you probably want a rigid sole beneath your foot.

It was the first walk I think I've done in conventional footwear in over three years! Here are some observations I made:

• I missed feeling the ground
• The boots were surprisingly wide enough for my feet
• My feet were warm the whole time
• They are so heavy!
• Walking on snow and soft ground wasn't so bad
• Walking on asphalt felt like I was walking on a wedge despite the miniscule heel rise the boots have
• There are times when a conventional shoe isn't a bad idea (ie, snow shoeing)

Here are some pics from the hike. Snow days are great! :)

Take 1: With dogs

Take 2: Without dogs

Road Tripping

My spouse and I just returned from an 8-day road trip to the U.S. and back. We drove south through Alberta, crossed the border into Montana, drove through Idaho, Nevada, and reached California. We stayed in Auberry, CA for three nights where we learned how to ride dirt bikes through Rich Oliver's Mystery School (if you've ever wanted to try dirt biking, I would highly recommend going to Mystery School, Rich and his wife, Karin are wonderful hosts and teachers). We drove back up through California, along the coastal highway in Oregon, across Washington, a little ways through Idaho again, across the border into British Columbia, and then back home to Alberta.

It was a trip of three seasons: we drove through snowstorms on the way down as well as beautiful fall colours and experienced summer again in California. On the way back, it was the reverse until we reached winter again in northern Washington.

Why would I write about my road trip on a blog about being barefoot (or it's alternative of minimalist footwear)? Because sometimes it's hard to pick the best shoes for travelling. I often find it a dilemma picking which shoes to pack before going on a trip; I'm often limited in space. This trip I brought my Soft Star Moc3s, the VIVOBAREFOOT Evo, and the VIVOBAREFOOT Boxing Boot (they just arrived to review).

So what did I wear? Mostly the Moc3s. I find they are really very comfortable for road tripping. They feel like slippers and have plenty of room to wiggle my toes wide. On the occasions where we got out of the car to see up close what we usually drove by at 70 m/hr, I enjoy the extremely minimal sole and their amazing ground feel. I loved being able to feel the squishy ground at the Redwood National Forest in Oregon and the beach beneath my feet at the ocean. They were even fine in the snow as long as I didn't need too much traction. :)

And here are some pics of our trip:

Yes, I'm actually barefoot! The ocean is a little cold this time of year but I did manage to run along the beach and into the cold water. This picture was taken after the dip.

A little further along the coast from the dip. The Soft Star Moc3s are perfect travelling shoes.

You can't tell, because I'm so small in the picture compared to the enormous redwood tree, but I'm wearing the Moc3s. The ground covered in redwood needles was wonderful to feel through the minimalist soles.

VIVOBAREFOOT Evos Coming to their Inevitable End

I am sad to say that my VIVOBAREFOOT Evos are starting to fail. Although, I have to say that I am VERY happy with how well they've lasted and performed over the year and half that I've owned them.

These have been my go-to shoes ever since they arrived in the mail. Because I write reviews for Living Barefoot, I get a lot of shoes in the mail, some are winners and some definitely are not. The Evos quickly became my favourite pair of minimalist footwear for errands, walking the dogs, and most especially running. I even wore them on several hikes in the mountains. They are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I have EVER worn. I don't know how many kilometres I've put on them but quite a few of them have been in rocky, rooty, muddy, thorny, and downright difficult conditions for any shoe, let alone a minimalist shoe.

How are they failing, you might ask? The mesh on the upper is starting to rip and become holey. I hit a rock pretty hard once recently with the very top of the shoe (I was surprised and grateful I didn't break a toe on that one) and it tore the mesh open there as well. I'm totally impressed that the TPU cage is holding fast so I'll probably continue to wear them despite my pinky toes starting to poke through the mesh on the sides.

The sole is holding up well also. These are my favourite road running shoes as well and the sole, although definitely showing wear, still has a lot of life in them yet.

Despite their beginning to fail, I know that if I had abused a pair of conventional shoes this way, they probably would have failed a long time ago. I have other minimalist footwear whose uppers have not lasted so well so long. And I have other minimalist shoes whose soles have not lasted so well with far fewer kilometres on them than these. These Evos have been well-loved and brutally abused (at least compared to any pair of shoes that I have ever owned).

Because I love them so much, I'll probably keep wearing them but I think it's time to buy another pair soon...

Here are some pics of my beloved and abused year and half-old Evos:

Long Time No Post Update

I dislike leaving blog posting for over a month but I have spent the last month writing a lot for Living Barefoot and quite a bit of coaching for Living Barefoot Coaching. On to the details...

I've been trying to catch up on writing shoe reviews for Living Barefoot. With the increased popularity of minimalist shoes, Al and I found ourselves somewhat swamped (but in a totally good way) with shoe reviews this summer and fall. In the last month, I've written four reviews (which will all be going online in the next couple of weeks) and I still have four to go. Then another three shoes are currently in the mail for fall reviews. It's been a bit of a hectic writing schedule. I love that there is so much choice in the minimalist shoe market now. What a change from two years ago!

Living Barefoot Coaching is picking up as well. I've spent the last four Fridays coaching at Dynastream Innovations Inc. in Cochrane with Natural Running Lunch & Learn sessions. They've been so much fun and I've learned a lot. I really do believe that 'You teach what you want to learn' and with every client I coach or every presentation I give, I'm learning something, too. The people at Dynastream have all been great sports and I hope to continue coaching some of the wonderful people I met there.

In other coaching news, I've started 'running' form check-in runs with past clients. We start with a couple warm-up exercises and then head out on my favourite nearby trail, through the Cochrane Ranche. We focus on form on the way out and usually run to the 180 BPM cadence beeping out of the metronome. On the way back, we just have fun and enjoy the scenery.

Here are a couple pics of yesterday's group run:

Warming up

Heading out on the trail

In other coaching news, I'll be attending the 5 Peaks Central Alberta Mountain Equipment Co-op Night on November 6 from 6-8 PM. I'm hoping to have a lovely poster presentation (which is this weekend's assignment to get finished) and have more of a Q&A type of set-up then a formal talk. So if you're in the Calgary area and want to see what Living Barefoot Coaching is about in addition to learning something about the biomechanics of running, come on down to MEC November 6.

On to some catch-up blog posting...

Ghosting the Second 5 Peaks Canmore Race

Back in June, I ran the first 5 Peaks Canmore race. Last weekend, I ran the second 5 Peaks Canmore race. I ghosted the race again, meaning I ran the race without a race number. I find it really takes the pressure off and makes the 'race' more enjoyable for me. I'm out there to run a fun course on my own terms at my own comfortable speed and don't have to worry about times and categories and all that jazz.

I woke up super early again for the race because I was volunteering at registration (as always). But this time, I rode my motorcycle to the race! My motorcycle is a relatively new acquisition and activity for me and I was super excited to ride by myself the 80 km to Canmore from home (and then back again after the race!). Despite the small amount of rain on the way there, it was a glorious ride.

Anyway, back to the race.

After I finished my volunteer duties, I had about 10 minutes to change and get ready to run. I could have taken as long as I wanted, I suppose, but it didn't end up taking me very long to get ready. My friend that was there racing even commented on how fast I was. :)

I started the race very shortly after the last of the racing pack left. It didn't take me very long to catch up to them. And then I started passing people. And pretty much kept passing people. This year is the first year I've been fast enough to pass anybody (thanks Lee!) so I still get a kick out of how much faster I run this year over previous years. I'd say I'm a middle-of-the-packer now instead of finishing very close to last.

The course was some rocky hills and some wide paths but mostly dirty, rooty, evergreen needle-covered single track. In other words: my favourite type of trail! I chose to wear the new VIVOBAREFOOT Neo Trails for the course to test them out for my upcoming review. They had amazing traction on the slick rocks, roots, and occasional mud. They were very comfortable on the flats, downhills, and not steep downhills due to their glorious wideness. On steep, technical downhills, however, my feet tended to slide to the top of the shoe because I couldn't tie them tight enough to keep my foot from slipping forward. Other than that, I would say they are the most comfortable trail shoes I've tried yet.

By the end of the 6th km, I was feeling like I would be happy to be finished running. There was one more km to go, though. I know when my body is tired because my form starts to fail: I start to lean forward instead of straight up and my trail leg gets longer instead of as close to my centre of gravity as possible. I stuck it out and ran the last km.

The Canmore Nordic Centre is a gorgeous place to run and has awesome trails!

That's it for the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series this year in Southern Alberta. I hope all the runners had great races and hope to see you all next year!

At the end of the race. Happy to be done...

Tired form could definitely be better :)

Trail Running/Hiking the Sibbald Ole Buck Loop Trail

I recently ran/hiked the Sibbald Ole Buck Loop Trail with a dear and lovely friend. She is just getting into trail running so I thought I'd take her on an easy trail near where we live. It was a lovely 1-hour run from the Sibbald Viewpoint parking lot and a lot of fun!

It had just finished raining so I decided to wear my Inov-8 Bare Grip 200s and it was a wise choice with all the mud. The way out was overcast and dry but on the way back it started to pour. In Alberta, we have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." It was an apt saying for the day. :)

The beginning of the trail was wide and a little rocky through the trees. There is a lovely view from the top of the cliff to the flats below. Then we crossed the road, ran back into some woods, and over a bridge. The creek below was flowing nicely from the recent rain. Then we came upon a meadow with chin-high grass (it was chin-high on me anyway, it was over my friend's head). We both got covered in grass seed. Then we started uphill. There's quite the little climb on this trail at the beginning of the loop on the Ole Buck Trail. We walked up the hill and stopped a few times to enjoy the view (because what's trail running if you don't stop to look around at the scenery?). Then it started to rain. We thought we'd missed it but another cloud came rolling in at our farthest point out. By then we were soaked from the wet grass and muddy trail so it wasn't a big deal. We ran back down the hill over a lot of downed trees until we reached the grassy meadow again. We stopped at the creek on the way back to wash the second round of grass seed from our skin and clothes. The water was blissfully cool to stand in. Then we high-tailed it back to the car in the downpour that hit us.

After the run, I took some pics of the view and trail. It was a great day and made us both feel grateful for the laid back lifestyle we lead that allows us to go trail running in the middle of the day every once in a while. :)

Run Barefoot Girl Interview

I had the pleasure and honour of being interviewed by Run Barefoot Girl's Caity McCardell a little while ago. Caity has completed her editing magic and posted the interview recently. It was definitely weird for me being on the other end of the microphone questions. I probably could have gone on and on, however, as we were talking about my favourite subjects: minimalist footwear and natural running.

Here's the link to RBG Episode #6.

For those not familiar with Run Barefoot Girl, it's a website and podcast dedicated to 'celebrating women who run barefoot.' It's DEFINITELY worth checking out!

Long Review - Inov-8 Bare-Grip 200

Seeing as my last post mentioned that I ran the 5 Peaks race in Inov-8 Bare-Grip 200s, I thought I'd link to the long review I recently wrote for these shoes.

Here's the link: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/06/review-inov-8-bare-grip-200/.

It's so great to finally have a pair of minimalist shoes with phenomenal grip. I have literally landed on my butt several times in either mud or snow because the shoes I had didn't have enough traction on slippery surfaces. The Bare-Grips are fantastic for traction. I have yet to find mud too slippery to slide in with these shoes and I've gone looking for it! It rained here for a week solid and I still couldn't find mud to slip in.

After the initial disaster of running in them without socks (and, oh yes, I still have the scars), they've been totally awesome. Running in the rain is such a pleasure again. And passing people on the race course who couldn't get traction: AWESOME!

Ghosting the 5 Peaks Canmore Sport Race

I've been volunteering at almost every 5 Peaks Trail Running Series race in Southern Alberta (although the website calls it 'Central') for the last 7 years (I took a few races off during 'the year of pain' aka 2009). This past weekend was the Canmore Nordic Centre Race #1 and I was volunteering again at the registration table.

Some years I run some races, some races I don't run any and just volunteer. Although I wasn't sure about being able to race the almost 6 km loop, I thought I'd ghost the race (run the course without a race number). I'm so glad I did because it was such an awesome course with amazing weather!

I started the course two minutes after the last people passed the start line. I was at registration until after the first wave of runners went through and then I got to use the washroom (finally :) ) and change for the race, hence the late start. I ran in my inov-8 Bare-Grip 200s because I knew the course was muddy in sections (my spouse had set the course markers the day before the race).

I couldn't see anyone ahead of me when I started so I was all alone in the beginning. After the first dip and corner, I saw my spouse course marshalling, I gave him a quick kiss and went in search of other runners. It wasn't long before I caught up to some race walkers and passed them. Then it wasn't long before I caught up to the tail end of the last wave of runners. We were in the trees by this point so I called, "On your left" and passed them, too, and finished with a "Thank you." Then I repeated these words for a good 10 minutes straight dodging trees and runners. I thought I passed about 50 people during the course of the race but it was closer to 100!

I very recently started wearing a heart-rate monitor again when I'm running. I found that with the new running form, my heart rate goes pretty high and I've been trying to keep it between 155-170 BPM on training runs. I wore it for the race for my time and to keep an eye on my heart rate. Sometimes it goes into the 190s when I'm racing and I didn't want to run THAT hard this time.

Turns out I ran the course in exactly 41 minutes. According to the results, that would have placed me 135th overall out of 238 runners. The only reason why I was curious about where my standing would have been is because when I used to run these races (back in 2008 and earlier), I placed no better than 5th to last EVER. Therefore, my conclusions are thus: either I can run faster now (kudos to Lee Saxby for teaching me the new running form) or the racing crowd at 5 Peaks has grown much bigger and therefore there is a broader range of runner speeds, or both. I don't care which, really. It was AWESOME to run that course and very motivating passing people as it really hasn't happened to me that often in my racing experience.

In addition, the Bare-Grips were an AWESOME shoe for the race. I had absolutely NO problems with grip or traction on even the slipperiest, thickest mud. One guy even said to me, "Those like like cleats, they're performance enhancing." To which I replied, "No, they're just shoes." I saw another racer wearing the same shoes and I asked her how she likes them and she said, "They're fantastic." I couldn't agree more.

So it was an incredible day overall. Long but still incredible. We woke up at 4:30 AM and wasn't done race stuff until 5:30 PM. It was a great course. Running was amazing fun and I had a smile on my face the whole time!

Powderface Creek Trail Hike and Run

Yesterday I hiked/ran my first mountain trail of the season. My spouse, my dogs, and I ran the 12 kilometre Prairie Creek and Powderface Creek Trail Loop.

There was a lot of uphill walking but tons of flat and downhill running. I wore my VB Evos with only 4 mm of sole and it was awesome! (I can't imagine hiking in conventional hiking boots anymore.) The Evos had just enough grip for all the uphills and flats, although a little more might have made me feel better about bombing down some of the steep downhill sections (bring on the Neo Trails coming this fall!). But there were no falls or slips so YAY! There was a ton of mud and creek crossings, too. The trail reminded me of my Death Racing days.

I'm only mildly sore today, mostly in the quads, and not at all in my feet. I'm pleasantly surprised by how strong my feet felt yesterday and how great they feel today.

Here are some pics:

VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra and Jazz Long Reviews

I've been crazy busy with Living Barefoot Coaching lately and have been lax whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifith blog posts. I have finished writing the full-length reviews of both the VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra and Jazz, and they are both online on Living Barefoot.

Here is the link for the Ultra: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/05/review-vivobarefoot-ultra/

I've pretty much been living in my Ultras since I got them. They are so comfortable to wear. I usually don't like wearing shoes without socks (a habit forced by my climate) but these are so comfy to wear without socks. I've gone running in them several times without socks and love them.

Here's the review for the Jazz: http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2011/05/review-vivobarefoot-jazz/


I love the casual look of the Jazz. Finally, I have a pair of comfy minimalist shoes that look good with or without socks!

Definition of the Perfect Minimalist Shoe

During the VIVOBAREFOOT Coaching Program course, Lee Saxby, the participants, and I decided on the definition the perfect minimalist shoe. This is what we came up with in my own words:

1) Allows for maximum proprioception for the intended purpose. The purpose defines the trade-offs necessary for thermal and puncture protection.
2) Allows for appropriate shifts in the body’s centre of gravity in terms of sole thickness and heel to toe differential.
3) Allows for complete natural movement of the foot in terms of room and flexibility for bone structure and elasticity as well as proper heat dissipation.

My shoe reviews from now on will include how well the shoe satisfies this criteria.

It's important to keep in mind that the purpose of the shoe is incredibly important in this definition. For example, the puncture protection necessary for a trail running shoe is going to be much greater than that necessary for a casual or work appropriate shoe. A winter shoe is going to reduce proprioception because of the extra insulation required for thermal protection.

Spring Firsts

In the last couple of weeks I've done a few 'Spring Firsts' that I'd like to share and some realizations that came with them.

First Spring Barefoot Walk

• Warm concrete is much more pleasant on the soles than cold concrete
• Ice really is as cold as it looks to walk on
• Pea gravel (the stuff they coat the roads with here when it snows) is NOT comfortable in the slightest
• My already pansy feet got pansier over the winter (not surprising realization there)
• I really can't wait for it to warm up here so I can go on more barefoot walks because, despite the above complaining, it felt WONDERFUL to be free of socks and shoes

First Spring Road Run

• After several months of running completely barefoot on treadmills and the indoor track, my feet got wider AGAIN (my feet are now too wide to comfortably run in my VFF TrekSports :( )
• The VIVOBAREFOOT Evos are the most comfortable road running shoes I own at the moment (they are the best at accommodating my newly wider feet)
• I need to be careful running across pea gravel-strewn roads, they are really slippery
• Running with wet feet in shoes is not as bad I thought it would be

First Spring Trail Run

• It would be lovely to have a shoe as comfortable as the Evo with a little more traction.
• Trail running is MUCH more fun than road running (not really a realization, just a reminder)
• You get an incredible foot workout when running on trails in minimalist shoes (again, just a reminder)
• Again, I can't wait for it to get warmer so I can enjoy some more (slightly drier) trail runs

It's nice to be reminded about how great warm, sunny weather is. I was reminded that it's spring by Angie Bee's latest blog post with flowers picked for her by her sons. I'm looking forward to spring flowers and warm weather. In case you're wondering why the lament, this is what I woke up to this morning:

Spring in Alberta

Thankfully it melts fast these days. The latest spring snow dump should be gone in a few days. Bring on the warm Alberta weather (it's fleeting but it does happen on occasion).