Hello everybody! I've been doing really well so far at my squadron here in Jacksonville, FL. I'm going to begin talking to my chain of command about going back to BUD/S after our upcoming cruise, and what kind of extra time I will have to extend by in order to get there. I've been kicking my butt almost every day with CrossFit, and have recently started doing the navyseals.com CF WOD, as I feel it's more intense MetCons, and less heavy strength days. SERE school kind of messed me up in regards to my workout routine, but I've finally gotten back into it, and now I'm trying to get myself back up to doing 6 muscle-ups straight, and aiming for an outstanding on next month's PRT.

For those of you who remember when I first came to this site, or was down in Tampa for any of the 36-Hour challenges I was in, back then I couldn't even do 6 pullups. In fact when I look back on it, it's pretty much a miracle I was able to get to BUD/S in the first place. So if I can barely do that, and make it to Hell Week, then I know any of you that can get competitive scores can at least make it to Hell Week too!

So, onto why I didn't make it, which was my running. I've been making some great improvements in my running, and endurance, but the biggest improvement is in my form, in which I successfully transitioned from a heel-toe form, to a POSE/semi-POSE form.

Despite running longer, with more endurance, my speed still suffers. I've been contemplating getting a pair of the Vibrams (sp?) 5-finger shoes. I have some buddies who have gotten them, and they love it. If any of you run with them, have you experienced any decreases in your 4mi times? Sprint speed? I'm seriously considering getting a pair, but I want to hear what some of you have to say about them.

Ben, congratulations on your improvements.


I own FiveFingers. You have to understand that although they are awesome, they are not going to instantly make you a better runner. What they will do is improve the way you train.
It's good to see that you are working on POSE form. It is imperative that you do POSE while you are in FiveFingers, otherwise you will just bust up your feet.

If you run correctly in FiveFingers, it will feel like running on air. Your sprints, like 100m and 200m will feel so much more efficient. You will feel freer when doing longer distance runs (although try to stay off sidewalk and pavement as much as possible when wearing them).

If you don't feel you're ready to switch to FiveFingers, I would get a pair of racing flats and do all your training in them. If you run properly in flats, they will not wear out quickly like the manufacturers/running store workers claim they will.

If you have any questions let me know.

Ben,

I do not have FiveFingers so I wont recommend them one way or the other. I was thinking of getting a pair a while back but decided to get some Nike Free 3.0s. Nike says they are designed to mimick bare foot training. I have been very happy with them and have seen improvement in form and efficiency. My lower legs are also noticeably stronger.

My thinking was to get someting in between a regular running shoe and the Fives. The Nike Free seemed to be a good fit for me based on this criteria. I do plan to get a pair of FiveFingers eventually.

I do sprint & low distance work in my five fingers and anything over 3 miles I tend to run in racing flats. Puma makes a good one and so does NIke. Mine are the Alsten and Waffle Racer respectively.

Yeah I've been training in the Waffle Racers exclusively for the past two months, for runs and WODs. They are really great, the only problem is that they are narrow so my pinky toe has bled a little bit because of that.