ninja training

{kameralek.blogg.no} via we heart it

Growing up a tomboy, my best friends and I tore around the neighborhood on bikes, climbing trees, hunting for treasure buried in yard sales, climbing trees and splashing through as many creeks as we could find.  I even once was mistaken for a boy (granted my long blonde hair was stuffed up into my baseball cap), though the appeal of looking like my best boy pals wore off as junior high, and other things hit (or didn't!) Seems like a natural progression, flinging from one extreme to another, from the frilly, tutu wearing girly identity phase of pre-k personality development, or as my mother called it, my Madonna phase (1980s kids!) and then rejecting all the frills for torn jeans and T-shirts to go faster on my bike and climb higher on trees.

I was also an expert lizard catcher! They adored my mom's chemical-free garden with thick, southern ivy, native flowers and herbs, and big flat rocks and boulders to sun themselves on in the afternoon.

Looking for a new way to enhance my adventures and fitness, this weekend, I tried on a pair of Vibram's Five-Finger MultiSport Shoes.

Pretty odd looking huh?! {REI.com}

I've been reading about the marvels of these new types of shoes, how the minimalist shoe enahnces the mid-foot strike, thereby reducing stress to the knees. Mark from Mark's Daily Apple is a big fan:

"They provide the physiological benefits of going barefoot with the advantage of having some level of armor against the elements. You don’t have to worry about stubbing your toe, or cutting your feet on glass or other sharp objects you are bound to come across in your travels. And you also don’t have to fret over the damage years of sneaker wearing would invariably do to your feet." {Read more about flat feet and shoe damage!}

I don't expect to see these on any fashion spreads any time soon, but after reading about some of the damage just regular shoes can cause, (not to mention high heels... I can't even deal with those anymore) I think I'll start paying a little more attention to my health below the knees. They are crazy popular, and out of stock in my local store, even the website is on backorder. But they will be mine... eventually!