During the month of October 2009 I starting running in "minimal" shoes. Now what led me down that path is a whole other story and we'll save that for another blog entry. This blog is just an attempt to share some info regarding some inexpensive shoes that are currently available at your local CVS store for a whoppin' $7.99. Most normal people out there could care less about the current availability of these "water shoes", "aqua socks", "beach shoes", or whatever else they may be called but if you're a minimal runner or triathlete trying to get your hands on a pair of these fine pieces of footwear during the month of October you are pretty much "SOL" See, by October in Southwest Indiana it has cooled down enough that the marketing gurus of virtually every chain store around have determined that nobody in their right mind is gonna buy a pair of "water shoes" this late in the year so what do they do? - They yank every pair off the shelves and send them who knows where. All I know is that you cannot find them in October - At least around here. Fortunately however, there are a few alternatives albeit a little more costly. But lets stick with the CVS deal for the moment. My work allows me the opportunity to frequent many of the CVS stores in the tri-state quite often as I regularly service their CCTV (video) systems. It was during one of these visits that I noticed the "Aqua Socks" (as they call them) in the seasonal aisle. Although I already had two other pair of minimal shoes, I stopped to check out the goods.

As you can see here, they aren't packaged to terribly fancy but the bright colors just jump up and grab you. Now if you are partial to yellow, you'll need to have some pretty small feet as those are only available in kids sizes. The black ones are in mens sizes and well - you guessed it - the blue ones are sized for women.

And the best part! The everyday regular price is a whoppin $7.99 (plus tax) Notice that these shoes are a "Super Value". They also "fit right", "feel great" and are "skid resistant". I mean - what else could one hope for? Perhaps if they just lowered the price a few bucks - wouldn't that be great. Either way - I had a trail race coming up pretty soon and given that the sole on these shoes was a little thicker than my normal minimal running shoes, I decided to splurge and buy me a pair. After all, I'm constantly reading on the forums about people shelling out $100 plus bucks online for VFF's (Vibram Five Fingers) when they can't even try them on. Heck, I plopped my butt down right in the middle of the aisle, shucked my moccasins and started trying on the Tru-Fit Aqua Socks right then and there. Yeah, I got a few funny looks from other store patrons as I was snapping photos and trying on shoes but I didn't care. Afterall, I had already shut down the CCTV system so it wasn't like they would have me on camera or anything. The cool part is that I could buy 10-15 pair of these bad boys for what some people were paying for one pair of minimal shoes.

Now, I will honestly say, these shoes truly do "fit great" as advertised. They wrap nicely around your feet and there was no annoying material sticking out inside the shoe to aggravate your feet. Additionally, the drawstring in the back of the shoe enables you to snug it up nice and comfy. This is extremely important for a trail runner because we know what can happen if you run through a nice soft mudhole. Suction wins out and you end up entirely barefoot. Not with these puppies though - the drawstring works perfectly. After trying on several pair and smiling at several store patrons stepping over me, I determined the best size for me was a mens size 7-8. One interesting note here is that one year ago I was wearing size 10.5 shoes. Since I started running in minimal shoes my feet have shrank considerably, probably as a result of much much higher arches. I'll talk more about this in another blog. I also prefer my minimal shoes to be very tight to eliminate movement within the shoe itself as this has helped prevent blisters.

With new shoes in hand, I decided I better go put the CCTV system back in service then pay for my goods. Now every time I go to check out at a CVS store they always ask me for my CVS ExtraCare card. I have one but I never carry it with me. It's one of those cards whereas you earn discounts on future purchases with your current purchases. I simply tell them I don't have a card and most of the time they end up swiping one for me anyway. Here is my actual receipt for this pair of shoes.

Now for the really cool part. As they were so kind to swipe some other ExtraCare card for me, look what printed off on the bottom of my receipt. Thats Right!!! - A free gallon of milk baby! And you know what that means - a gallon of chocolate milk to mix with my whey for another weeks worth of recovery drinks! Life doesn't get much better than that. During the next 3 weeks or so, I managed to put several long trail runs in with these shoes. These shoes have worked out very well for running on trails with really poor surfaces such as sharp stones and numerous roots that are just unavoidable - offering just enough protection to your feet without taking away the feeling of running in minimal shoes. For my upcoming trail race, they would fit the bill perfectly.

Here is a couple pics of my shoes (aqua-socks) taken just after a very difficult 13 mile trail run. Another interesting note here is that the socks (Keen wool socks) cost $16 bucks. Twice as much as the shoes.

Here is a pic of the blogger (yeah that's me) sporting my shoes and socks having just come off the trail. It was probably everything I could do to muster a smile for the camera as I was toasted from the training run. It's super hilly and a very tough trail to ran - also happens to be where my upcoming race is. You can check out the details here (Indian-Celina Challenge).

Now back to the features and benefits of these shoes, remember - Notice that these shoes are a "Super Value". They also "fit right", "feel great" and are "skid resistant". I already mentioned that they fit right, they do feel great and they actually are very skid resistant. As far as the "Super Value" claim is concerned. In my humble opinion I think they are. Here is another pic of these same shoes with about 50 miles later.

As you can see I managed to hit some rocks or some other impediment with my toes a few times and the shoe on the right is starting to show signs of the sole separating from the upper. It's actually still attached very well but I wanted to at least make note of this. Now keep in mind that I wear these shoes extremely tight to the point where my toes are bulging out of the front of the shoe so I'm sure that is the primary reason for the separation. Add in the fact that the trail I have been running on with these shoes is truly a very rough trail.

Take a look at the soles and you'll see they are holding up just fine. The soles are made of some kind of dense foam that has been covered with some type of skin that wears thru very quickly. I thought about making a phone call to the manufacturer in China to find out exactly what the material is but I'm still waiting on my Rosetta Stone Cd's to show up. For those interested, I indicated where I land when running in minimal shoes. The wear on the soles makes it pretty evident. I am pretty bowed legged and as a previous heel striker I suplinated a lot. This seemed to carry over to my minimal running as I tend to land on the outside of the ball of my feet as seen above. You may also notice a little wear on the heel on the right (left shoe). That was the result of me hobbling in off the trail one day after pulling a tendon in my foot thanks to a bad decision on foot placement on the run. (No worries though - it's all better now). All in all, I really like these shoes for running. They don't require any "break-in" period and they are very comfortable. If you have ever thought about trying out some minimal shoes these would be a good place to start. They are forgiving enough to protect your feet yet thin enough to truly experience a minimal shoe. Just head over to your closest CVS and tell them Midwest Jeff sent ya. Just don't tell them I took the CCTV system out of service. Also be sure and tell them you don't have an ExtraCare Card. You never know what may print out on the bottom of your receipt - perhaps a free pair of panty-hose - and you know what that means! - complimentary compression socks!