Once day, for no particular reason (same reason Forrest Gump did all that runn-ing) I decided to walk seven miles and then take a bus forty-five minutes to get to work. The seven miles was from the south end of Venice Beach to Sunset Blvd in Pacific Palisades. I left at 5:30 AM and got to work by 9:45 AM (still arrived before anyone else!)

It was awesome. A true ocean commute. Great exercise, and a great adventure vs. a typical car commute. I mentioned to a co-worker how good it is to walk barefoot on the sand and he jokingly suggested I get into barefoot running. Ha ha ha I said. It seemed like a very arbitrary and silly fad like backward running or running with one hand on top of your head, or running with scissors, or well you get the idea. So I didn't take the idea of barefoot running seriously. It just seemed like a bad idea.

Then, quite by accident, I saw a tweet by SeanChittenden about this article. "Are running shoes a waste of money?" the article asks. If you read the whole thing I think you'll agree they sure are. This was way more convincing that the wikipedia barefoot running article. I suddenly put barefoot running in a whole new category. A category nowhere near running with scissors.

Everyone who reads that article remembers the Tarahumara tribe and how they toss "back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army." And yet, great barefoot runners. Very few injuries unlike the "perfect diet" American with a $200 pair of Nike UltraCushions. He or she often has running injuries! After reading about the Tarahumara runners another co-worker showed me the Vibram Five Fingers website.

I pretty much knew from the first few seconds of viewing the site, I was ready to buy a pair. I mean c'mon! How can you not want to finally run correctly? Sizing is very tricky. I wear men's size 10 US. I followed all their sizing instrutions and came up with men's 38 classic. (The classic is the best VFF, easy to get on and off, don't mess with the Sprint, KSO, or Flow.) But the 38 was way too tight. I sent them back and got a 39, also too tight. I'm a perfect size 40. Another tip: black is the best color. I had a pair of women's 41 in bright blue for a while, big mistake. People laughed at me for wearing women's shoes.

I ended up selling the women's 41 on craigslist to another VFF enthusiast. We had been corresponding only by email to arrange the transaction. When she arrived at the meet she called my cell phone and said, "Hi, it's the Five Finger's girl." Which, by the way, describes most human girls.

I've been running in my VFF for months now. It does take some getting used to but now I can't imaging running any other way. The pain you feel when you first start is a good thing. Pain teaches you how to run correctly. When you wear cushion shoes it masks the pain and you pick up terrible running habbits. With the pain you learn to adjust and run the correct way.

I think Vibram should include a set of 500 VFF business cards with each order. I need something to hand to people everytime I'm asked about the shoes I'm wearing. It happens all the time. You can't walk ten feet in VFF without someone asking you about them. The number one question I get, "are they comfortable?" It's too hard to explain how it takes time to get use to the pain and pain is a good thing so I just say "yes."

Also, I do not like VFF's policy on becoming a dealer. You must have a traditional “brick and mortar” store! That is not cool. If I could buy in bulk at a discount I would and sell them on craigslist all day.