Vibram Five Finger ClassicWell, it's nearly a month now since I got my Vibram Five Fingers and I'm happy to say I'm still very impressed with them. More importantly, I'm also still injury free and starting to really notice my feet adapting.

To get a true reflection of the effects of running in the Vibrams, I've run exclusively in them. My "normal" running shoes have been relegated to the status of a fashion item (I wear them with shorts when flip-flops aren't appropriate) and plan to keep it that way.

The first few runs were a little fairy-like as I ooohed and aaaahed each time I encountered a small stone or some particularly course tarmac, but now I hardly notice them. It actually feels like I've got a lot more cushioning under my feet than I really do.

I'm still keeping my runs relatively short (3-6km range) and sticking to grass one day a week (round the boundary rope of a nearby cricket field) at the moment as whilst I'm not getting any injuries, I don't want to get any either; switching to being almost barefoot is a major change. I'm also trying to strengthen my feet and the muscles around my feet as they can feel a little tired at the end of the longer runs.

The only negative aspects I can find with switching to the Vibrams is the anxiety to go further and faster than I really should, and the strange looks and comments I get from people who see me in the Vibrams. I don't give a monkeys about the latter, I just wish my feet were stronger so I could get over the former.

Unfortunately, that's not going to be happening in the immediate future as my running is going to have to take a bit of a back seat over the next few weeks as I get married and head off on our "familymoon" (Mum and Sam arrive from SA tomorrow and we can't really send them packing on Saturday morning ;-) ).

One thing is for sure, running in the Vibrams is quickly bringing back the love of running I once had and now I'm actually starting to set myself some running related goals. The first goal is to get back to running 10k road races, and I'm being quite realistic here too by aiming for sub-45 mins and not the sub-35 mins I was doing before I stopped running. The long term goal is to one day get rid of the Vibrams and run barefoot for all distances on all terrain, but I expect this to take many years to happen, especially for the longer distances.

Only time will tell how I get on, but I'll keep the world updated as I get on.