Exploring the world in my nearly bare feet.

Today, J and I got up early because we had some errands to run. My calves were so sore yesterday from the run that I could barely walk. I hobbled around more than I walked. Fortunately, I didn't have anywhere to be. I sat around and rested much of the day, and read more information about the benefits of being barefoot. When J got home from work, I convinced him to get a pair of the VFFs so that we can be on this journey together. He had been thinking about getting a pair anyway, so it wasn't that hard of a sell.

First stop was to the shoe store! I proudly walked in wearing my KSOs and the girl immediately recognized me. I told her that things were going fairly well... minor muscle pain, but otherwise, I was loving it. J had a lot more trouble getting fitted than I did because of his ridiculously high arches. I'm a little jealous, since I have to rebuild mine from being nearly flat. He couldn't even get his feet into the KSOs and the Sprints didn't fit his heel properly. He managed to tug his foot into the Bikila's but he ended up getting the Bikila LS:

The laces on the top gave him more room to fit his arch. He was very pleased to find a pair that fit, and I was too, considering the shoe that the girl recommended if he couldn't find a pair of Vibram's to fit was even more money. We walked out of the store together, both wearing our funny looking Five Finger shoes.

Next stop was Whole Foods, a hard floored oasis with no semblance of cushion at all to land on. I experimented today with a controlled heel landing while walking. I'm still not sure which one feels right, but I'm contemplating switching it up periodically so that all the muscles in my foot get stronger, because it definitely works different muscles depending on which way I choose to land. I somehow feel like forefoot landing will be more effective for my ultimate goal of running, but we will see. At one point while we were shopping, I decided to scamper ahead to pick up some bread for us, but the pain in my calves stopped me dead in my tracks before I could run more than a few steps. Still haven't recovered from running on Tuesday... oh well.

All in all it was a good day. My legs and feet still had some muscle pain, but it was comfortable walking, and I'm so happy to have J on board with me! He seems as interested to start running as I am, and I think it will be really good for us to do this together.