Mt. Si and FiveFinger Treks

My friend and bad/good exercise influence Emily was in town for the weekend, which meant saucy* happenings abounded amidst barbecues and typical Northwest weather.

Emily was one of the first FiveFingers enthusiasts that I met, and this past weekend she showed me her newest acquisition,Vibram Fivefinger KSO Trek. Since we had planned on hiking during her trip, we ended up doing a pre-hike shopping trip wherein I bought my own pair of treks.

Interesting to note, the store we bought them at (REI) had most of their selection of FiveFingers obliterated - only the Treks were available due to high demand. Crazy! Luckily, they had them in my size, and we headed, late, to Mt. Si, where we did the 8 mile, round trip hike, burning more than 2000 calories each, and exiting the mountain ravenous, tired, and a little beaten up.

I loved the feeling of the ground and the rocks, and the rugged soles of the Treks served me well those first 4 miles up, and I couldn't help but run up the trail a bit. Looking out for sharp rocks and watching my footing was a bit distracting, but I may learn to compensate for my insecurity over time. :) My toes were definitely sore by the time we were three miles down the mountain, and the last mile was really rough. At one point I stumbled as my hips through ankles were starting to complain, and I don't know if it's my improved fitness, or if the Treks gave me cat-like reflexes, but I did not faceplant, but instead, deftly caught myself on both feet, not even dirtying my hands. Truly remarkable.

It's now Thursday - and the hike was on Monday - and my calves are STILL aching, while my hips and thighs are a little more tempered. It was a wonderfully brutal experience, and I look forward to taking the Treks out for another hike or trail run sometime in the near future.

*sauciness comes from letting me/me taking the liberty to update your Facebook ustatus updates. Offer not available in all cities.