First run in the new VFF Treks

At long last, I finally got a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO Treks, the VFFs designed for trail running.  The sole is a tad thicker, and there are some lugs on the sole to help grip on the trails.  I tried them out on a short 5 miler at Tandy Hills Natural Area, which I wrote about a few months ago here.  I had run there before in my VFF Sprints, and was uncomfortable for much of the time on the rocky trials.  With the slightly thicker soles, the Treks made a big difference.  I still stepped carefully on the rocky sections, but my feet didn't end up feeling pulverized.  One side issue--any of you VFF wearers have an issue with grass and weeds getting stuck between your toes?  Some of the trails there are not well-travelled, and are a bit overgrown.  There were a few times I had to stop and pull big weeds out from between my toes.

This run was also a wake-up call: I do not run enough on trails and hills.  By necessity of schedule, most of my running is on flat streets and sidewalks in my neighborhood, which is fine if I'm running road races.  But to get ready for the trail runs I have coming up, I really should make more time for trails.  Tandy Hills offers some great short climbs for training.  I got to practice my "power hiking" there (i.e., I was too hot and tired to run up the steep, rocky trails, so I walked some of them!), as well as picking my way down those trails.