VIBRAM BIKILA LS: GOOD AS ADVERTIZED

Vibram Bikila LS

No, I haven’t stopped writing…not yet!

For weeks, at least two things needed my utmost attention. There was the Jubilee Celebration or the 50^th anniversary of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints. The practices for the cultural presentation, despite me not participating in any dances, needed my attention.

The youth needed encouragement as the date drew near and it was like a big rush. The practices where at Labangon Meetinghouse meaning the youth and SA need fare and food for their practices.

Most of the SA’s joined Singkil, Dandansoy, and Harana. Then Kiyo and Nathan were part of Eskrima. Then there was choir! I sing tenor but this time I have to beg off. My sked didn’t give me any leeway.

To cut it short, the celebration of Philippine culture from this part of the Philippines at the USJ-R gym was heartwarming!

For those who don’t know - my Church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints had its beginnings in 1961 when an Apostle Elder Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the land for preaching of the gospel one cool morning at the American Memorial Cemetery in Makati.

Fifty years later, we have more than 600,000 from all over the archipelago! We have two operating temples, Manila and Cebu, and third in Urdaneta, Pangasinan is on the works. By July, we will have 17 missions. When I served my mission way back in 1979 there were only 4 missions!

It was simply a time for celebration…looking back and looking ahead.

The other thing that took most of my time is my new pair of Bikila LS given to me by Cherry Ermita, marketing manager of Barefootwear, Inc., the distributor of Vibram Five Fingers footwear in the Philippines.

Frankly, when I first put them on, it felt weird. It took me a few days before I could even ran with them as the instruction says "walk with it" for the first week. The last time I dilly-dallied like this was when I got my pair of Newtons.

Finally, one morning, while I was waiting for my son James to finish his swimming lesson, I mustered enough courage to run with my Bikila LS in the oval. I thought the oval because it’s softer will be a good place to test my new pair.

At around 9:30 am, with the sun shining, I ran my first 5 kilometers with my Bikila LS.

The things I discovered were amazing!

The added padding helps a lot as at first I struggled to adjust to almost barefoot running. My metatarsals were “cushioned” as I landed almost midfoot or forefoot at times.

Talking about landing, the Bikila LS (or any Vibram model) forces you to land on either your midfoot or forefoot without even trying. As your foot hits the ground, it automatically adjusts to the environment!

The reaction time to the surface is almost spontaneous! I couldn’t help but step on the portion of the oval where the track is wavy but then my foot reacts quickly. Padded shoes masks the true condition of the road making the foot react late to surfaces.

 The other feature of Bikila LS that I truly like is the speed lace systems. This enables my foot, although slender, has a higher instep. It allows my foot flexibility both in putting on the shoes and during running.

Last week I ran 5K with my Bikila LS during Runnr Academy’s paced run portion without any problem.

A few hours ago, I ran 10K (along Jones Avenue) with my Bikila LS. One thing I could say: these Bikila LS are good as advertised!