Going [almost] Barefoot

I'm really having a difficult time choosing my next pair of shoes. The battle is between a pair of Newton Running Gravitas and the Vibram FiveFinger Sprint.

I went to a local running store yesterday with the intention of purchasing the Newtons. I've wanted a pair for such a long time and after testing out a pair I found they do exactly what I need my next pair of shoes to do: encourage me to run on my forefoot which causes me to strike the ground under my hips and push off using my glutes. This sounds like a simple thing but I've been running with incorrect form for so long that it's been a near insurmountable challenge to change my stride and gait even though I know it's not proper. In general change never comes easy but this is much harder than anticipated.

The drawback on the shoes was the $175 price tag. Being in the pricing business and understanding a bit about revenues and profits I need to see some serious facts about this companies profit per shoe before I pay that kind of money. Yes, we want people to be successful and yes companies are in business to make money. Yes, they need to fund their R&D and cover their overhead but if they're making 50%+ gross margin per shoe, that's unacceptable bull$hit and will not be tolerated. That's fleecing.

After chewing on my heart for a few moments I scanned the store and noticed the Vibrams. Intrigued by this ridiculous looking (dare I even call it) shoe I had to try a pair on and give it a go. After jogging around a bit I noticed these shoes also encouraged a proper running gait. Though not as obvious as the Newtons I could still accomplish the same thing in these with the added benefit of seeing what it's like to run pretty much barefoot. This would encourage my body to strengthen the ankles and foot muscles in ways shoes otherwise wouldn't promote.

The Vibrams are still astronomical in price for what they are: $80. But on the flip side I could get two pairs for less than one pair of Newtons while at the same time whetting my appetite to see what barefoot running is all about and leaving the mystery of the Newtons open to me for another day.

After a long and difficult night thinking about this I decided it's going to be the Vibrams. This'll definitely be an experience and one I'll be happy to report on. They're definitely not winter shoes and being at the start of winter they're going to get a lot of treadmill work. Something tells me by the construction of these things I'll be able to get more than 400 miles out of them before they need to be retired.