Welcome, Stuart!
So glad you have joined us.

My humble advice -- start walking barefoot and make it a regular event. Only go
as far as you feel is safe ('comfortable' may be another thing altogether!)

You will notice a few things: At first you will think you are torturing your
poor feet. Your feet may burn for hours after a walk or a run. As you keep it
up, however, you will experience something weird and wonderful. Your feet will
say "Ahhhhhh!" when they hit the trail and it will feel like a good
massage/scratching an itch.

Feet get hyper-sensitive when they are constantly encased in shoes. They are
searching for stimulation. Its like being in a dark cave for hours and then
coming outside. Your eyes hurt at first, but you are glad to be able to see.
Your feet will get to where they are glad to feel again.

If walking on a gravel road is just too much to take, I suggest you do something
like jump roping on a cement or paved driveway. If you have tilled soft farm
dirt available, that is a joy to walk and run in and will help toughen your
feet. Look for gopher holes!

Ryan


--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Stuart" <bythedeepwaters@...> wrote:
>
> Hey all,
>
> Just curious to know what others think. I'm a 42-year-old shoe addict. I
have been enamored by barefoot running for about ten years now but feel like I
can only now finally begin my attempt with it in earnest. I recently read BORN
TO RUN and even bought a pair of VFF's. But I have yet to really begin my
barefoot adventure. (Oh, and my wife doesn't know I bought the VFF's...and it
might be better if she doesn't for now...shhhh)
>
> Briefly: I live out in the country. I am surrounded by farmland, with paved
and dirt/gravel roads criss-crossing it. I'd love to have some advice on how to
begin working up to jogging barefoot. I have NO GRASS anywhere near me. All
wild vegetation around me is tough, weedy, clumps and the rest is domestic
agricultural. Also, i live at the end of a long, dirt/gravel road. I wear
sandals when i think of it, and my feet love that. There is very little
automobile traffic out here as it is at the end of a peninsula. I have tried
going for short walks on all these surfaces and most hurt like hell. Even small
pebbles under me hurt so bad I wince like mad. Just walking the driveway is an
immense journey. Any suggestions? Do I just keep making short trips until it
gets more tolerable? DOES IT get more tolerable? I assume it does, but wow...
>
> I've read through some of the "beginner's" info at sites like
runningbarefoot.org, but I notice that I have no grass anywhere near me and the
nearest park is at least 6-8 miles away. Should I just walk the driveway every
day until it feels OK? Once I want to try running, does one suggest the
dirt/gravel or paved roads? Also, we have some two-tracks in the woods behind
us. How long, generally speaking, does the process take? Do your feet really
communicate everything you need to know?
>
> Any other general advice is appreciated as well. Don't worry, I'll let the
VFF cat out of the bag soon enough...(I just could not resist them after trying
them on--sad fact is, I had JUST bought a pair of Merrell hikers...). Any
articles, books or anything else is appreciated.
>
> Thank you so much!
>
> Stuart
>
> PS. I'm currently 40 pounds overweight. But I have run off and on in my life
and ran two marathons in high school.
>