The VFFs are in!

After weeks of hunting I was finally able to find a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers.  At this point Vibram's site is the only place you can get them.  Here they are!

Black VFF KSO in size 42.

First thoughts: there is no cushioning on these things.  I knew that when I bought them but I really didn't grasp that there is NO cushioning on these things.  It really is like going barefoot but without the fear of stepping on something sharp.

The fit; well, here is where it gets complicated.  They fit ok.  My toes seem to go right up to where they should, just before the end of the pockets, but the heel is loose.  Walking around there is some movement 

which I am not too happy about.  Running in them barefoot has proven to be problematic because of the movement, the seams inside rub too much.  I threw on a pair of the Injini socks and they seem to help stop the shoes from moving but they make my right foot a bit cramped.  And besides, socks make it feel less like barefoot.  But with the socks it seems like I could do some running in them.

One strange issue of which I am apparently not the only one to have happen to.  The right shoe seems to have a strange flex point at the front-inside of the arch.  It doesn't happen with the left one at all which is just weird.  This flex causes some rubbing and has led to a blister.  Other people have mentioned the same thing.

I got to take them out today for a 20 minute run.  It was mostly a test of with socks, without socks, etc so it wasn't a true run.  Still, my calves were aching.  I thought I had been doing good with landing on my forefoot but less than a mile in my calves were burning.  Obviously I had changed my stride with the VFFs.  I think I was running as if barefoot but faster and with less fear since I had protection on my soles: this may account for it.  I'll see what the next run brings.  Hopefully they will stop feeling "weird" and I can get back to concentrating on the run and not the new things on my feet.