Vibram's - First Run - First Impressions

Tonight I ran in my Vibram Bikila's for the very first time and it was an amazing experience. I ran 3.1 miles in 27:33, averaged an 8:54 pace and I think for the very first time ever, ran an 8:08 mile and I swear I wasn't even trying to.

When my Garmin beeped at three miles, I saw that I was well on pace to beat my best 5K time, 28:44, which I did at the 15th Annual Tour of the Gables back in May of this year. So I thought, what the heck, let me run this .1 of a mile and see how I finish. This last .1 was the only time in my run where I actually made a conscious effort to run fast.

It was incredible. Since it was my first time running in my Vibram's I didn't know how my body was going to react, so I just took what it gave me and went with it. I wasn't thinking about how I should be running in them, it just happened naturally. By the time I turned around to head back home at mile 1.5, I noticed that I was flying. I mean, I've never felt like this before. I knew I was going fast and it almost felt like I was running down hill. I've never felt that type of speed before and it just felt right and easy. I figured I was doing a 9:15 pace so I was ecstatic to see my numbers after I finished.

The Bikila's are super light, 5.7 ounces and it was immediately obvious. I'm used to lifting up 11 ounces of shoe and the Vibram's truly made me feel like I was barefoot. I felt no pain while I was running and considering how fast I was going, I didn't feel tired. It was an unusually cool evening, (55 degrees) so I'm sure that had something to do with it too. It'll be interesting to see how fatigued I feel when I run in hotter weather and for longer distances.

Since this trial run went so well, I'm going to continue running short distances in them for a few more weeks before I try a long run in them. If tonight's results were accomplished without putting much effort into it, I can't wait to see what the results will be when I really try to put forth an effort.

I know I may eat these words later on, but after just one short run in these Vibram Bikila's, I don't see myself going back to the standard running shoe again. After experiencing their speed and the effortlessness it made me feel, why would I?