I love my vibrams! They don't fit my pinky toes very well, but it never bothers me. They are my favorite shoes to run in!

I hope this barefoot running thread keeps going. I belong to the Barefoot Runner's society - you need an invite to join their discussion forums. Some of the most accomplished barefoot/minimalist runners are on there. If anyone wants an invite, PM me with your email address.

Good news! I ran in my water shoes (unintentionally, while walking to the pool with my MIL and kids, my son realized he forgot his goggles so he and I ran back and then ran to catch up to my MIL) and I didn't have another heart attack. I felt pretty good. Probably because I was not in running shoes, my feet are much stronger from all my barefoot and minimal shoe activity and I am nowhere near the stress level I was before my heart attack. It felt good to just run. Anyone have any recommendations for "training"? C25K plan or maybe just going by how I feel? I always feel better with some sort of plan even if I only loosely follow it.

I let my feet flop and really just tried to run without thinking about running - or having a heart attack. I enjoyed it.

The cardiologist that did the angiogram and the one who did the TEE said my heart and arteries are very healthy. I do have one copy of the MTHFRC677 gene, but my homocysteine levels were normal so that is not the issue.

I would love for this thread to continue. I am not going to go barefoot just yet though. I like the idea of the water shoes, since I tend to run/walk to destinations and would need shoes when I get there anyway. I think that I will try the huaraches next.

~jschwab and capmikee - were you terrified to cut them yourselves? I am worried I would cut them too small. In one of the pictures, it does look like the guy's toes hang off and I would not like that.... Have you made them for your kids? My 14 month old is just starting to walk and I do not put shoes on her often. Really only when we are outside and she would crawl, since I noticed the tops of her feet were getting scraped up on the concrete. I've been buying her the Robeez shoes, but they have a lot of material and her feet sweat a bit in them. I think making her a little pair of huaraches would work perfectly and look so cute.

We haven't made the kids' huaraches yet, but my toes don't hang off mine at all. I have not tried them for running yet. No reason not to just stick with the water shoes if you are uncomfortable with the terrain. It can help alot to do some barefoot running, though, just for strength and feedback on your form. At the beginning, I did alot of my barefoot running on the treadmill in socks or BF on the indoor track or, most helpfully, in the pool. I did shallow water drills and sprints that I really feel helped me alot (high knees, bounding, butt kicks).

I do 85% of my running in my water shoes and also have the same problem that I usually run in such a way that I am meeting a bus or going in a building where I need to have shoes with me, so I run BF alot less than Capmikee does. I have had two instances of glass in my feet in the time I have been barefoot running, once from an actual run and once in my bathroom at home (something must have broken and we didn't get all the pieces. I try not to get too stressed about it, although the BF runners I know did get their tetanus shots up to date. On concrete pavement and asphalt, there are fewer hazards than there might seem.

ETA: Just realized you were referring to the huaraches and cutting them not our feet. I was nervous, but went ahead and did it and it was OK.

You can always cut them a bit big and then trim them later. I'm thinking about trimming mine - the most annoying thing about the huaraches is that the toe end sometimes flops downwards, and if you catch it the wrong way, it can fold under. So I think having them trimmed a little too small might not be such a bad thing.

The hardest part about making them was producing a hole big enough for the strap to go through. I would really like to get a leather punch for next time. I used a drill last time, and it's not possible to get a big enough hole that's smooth and round that way. You really have to fight to get the rope through the hole.

~jschwab - Yes, I was talking about the huaraches, but, I am also nervous about cutting my feet. I did read on a blog where one runner cut his foot pretty badly and just cleaned it out and glued it shut with Super Glue.... I guess that is one way to take care of it.

That's what they do at the hospital nowadays. That started in Vietnam - they needed a way to suture the wounded faster with better outcomes and tried Superglue as a battlefield adaption. Now it's standard procedure in the ER.

As long as you don't run on grass where hazards are invisible, you should be able to see anything really dangerous.

Ok, you have me convinced to try just a little bit. When I take the baby with me tomorrow on my morning run/walk, I will take off the watershoes at the track (asphalt) for part. The track is in decent shape, so it should be ok. Plus, with the stroller, I have to look far out in front anyway. I should be able to avoid hazards. I can also carry first aid super glue and peroxide in the stroller.

It just occured to me why I am so hesitant. I run to "check out" and just let my mind go. I don't run with music either. All the stuff I read on barefoot running is about how you have to pay attention to what you are doing and feel the ground, etc. With all the stuff to remember - feet up, but not too high, S position, arms swinging a certain way, etc. It just seems like more work. Could that just be in the beginning while I am unlearning the old way I ran?

I have tried running on a treadmill, but have problems with thinking about my form too much. I also tend to overstride for some reason. Although from what I've read, that is near impossible to keep up when running barefoot.

I will let you know how it goes.

~capmikee - I think when I try them, I might make a template of some sort. Would it be possible to cut the material with an X-actoknife? I am not the best with scissors and never seem to have a sharp enough pair in the house.

I do enjoy walking barefoot much more now and would really wear the huaraches all the time since I live in Texas and it is sandal weather there for most of the year.

~jschwab - you mentioned on an unrelated post about epsom salt foot baths. Do they interfere at all with "toughening" the skin? It's odd, but since I've been going barefoot, my heels aren't cracked and the bottoms of my feet feel much smoother to me. No callouses, etc. I do not want that to change, but I would like a way to get magnesium other than taking supplements. I may also make the water described in the other thread, but don't have the bottles, etc.

I'll let you know how the run goes! I am excited.

I never think about all that stuff when I am barefoot running - I would never run if it took that much mental energy, to be blunt. It's one of the reason I like barefoot/minimalist running. It's caveman running, "Grunt, rock hurt, grunt, no step on rock. Grunt, hurts to do that nameless hurty thing. Grunt, no do nameless hurty thing." As opposed to running shoe running where I was constantly aware of having to run his way or that way to avoid hurt from the shoes but I had to think about it and make charts so I would be sure to rotate shoes and not wear them for too many miles and the pain came slowly and stealthily and insidiously and by the time the pain was palpable, I was already injured badly. Hubby overthinks it, though, too, so you are not alone, by any means. I just find I can relax as much. In fact, sometimes avoiding obstacles makes the run more fun - jumping, leaping a bit, sideways jumps all make the run a little more like what Aaron Ralston means with the term "deep fun".

As far as the Epsom salts, I posed the same question to other BF runners when I began and it turns out you are not supposed to build up callouses because callouses will tend to blister - it's a misconception that BF runners' feet are rough and gnarly. The idea is to make your feet as smooth as possible, which is partly accomplished through running bare, but you can also take a file to your callouses, too, and have a nice pedicure. It will only help. Sometimes, I joke about a "layer of hurt" but that is really a sensory ability to deal with the rough stuff, not an actual layer of callous. It's kind of a problem with the water shoes, because I will callous in them and I have to be careful to watch for blisters. One of the nicest things about barefoot running is that I can polish my nails and leave them nicely long. When I wore running shoes it always rubbed the polish off and I had to keep them extra-short so they wouldn't tug (I never lost one, though).

Well, I didn't get to run outside this morning, but after my DD went down for a nap I hopped on the treadmill. I went without shoes through my warm up and a 10 minute run. Then I put my water shoes on and stayed on another 45 minutes alternating between running and walking. I didn't intend to stay on so long. It was just so nice to be moving.

I was amazed at how good I felt running. I just tried to relax and enjoy it. I ran slower than I normally do. I did notice that the balls of my feet felt very hot and that is why I put the shoes on. I did notice my right achilles bothering me, but then it seemed to loosen up and was ok. I've noticed that walking though and I think it is leftover from my "old form". It may also be overdoing it as well. I was so happy to be running without pain.

We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I usually have lower back problems - needing to crack it when standing too long, etc. A doc told me once that I had the beginnings of arthritis in my spine, but since I don't eat grains anymore I haven't noticed any pain. I hope that running does not bring it back.

It is hard to not get caught up in all the "I started running barefoot and haven't had any injuries in years" hype on the sites I've read. I would be really bummed if nothing changes for me....

I made templates for our shoes. I used the instruction video on the InvisibleShoe website:

http://www.invisibleshoe.com/how-to-make-huaraches/

Honestly, I think scissors would be better. You don't need sharp so much as strong - the rubber is very tough. A heavy pair of kitchen shears or even garden shears are probably best.

I'm about to head out for a run in the 101 degree heat. I burned my feet a little on Sunday, so I'm bringing my huaraches. I think I'll look around the mailroom for some scissors to trim them down a little...

Just go really slow and the hype will bear out over time. It's very easy to do too much too soon. Your achilles is probably stretching out a bit and that's why it's sore - remember to ice it and take it easy.

I'm back! I survived a 4.4 mile run... but I'm still sweating!