Day 1... THEY HAVE ARRIVED!

This is my first blog... ever. I got the idea when I started seeing the reactions that people had to my new Vibram Five Finger Shoes. I decided to document what is going on, how I've adjusted to them, and of course the dramatic reactions.

It all started in mid-March. My brother came home for break from West Point, and demanded we make a trip to REI for some gear he needed. After most of his shopping-spree was complete, he had to grab one last thing... the VFFs. I saw them, laughed, and of course had to ask what in the world he needed them for. After a brief explanation, I decided I wanted to try them on... just for fun of course.

Instant addiction. The sheer uniqueness of them quickly increased their appeal. It really felt like I was wearing nothing on my feet. For those of you who haven't heard of VFFs or don't know much about them, here is the basic jist: its the closest you'll ever be to feeling barefoot while doing things that usually require shoes-- AND still having the protection you need from the environment around you. In other words running, jogging, hiking, and casual walking can all be done barefoot now by wearing VFFs. For a better explanation, the website has a more technical spiel of what the intended purpose is. There's some other jabble in there about training and all that, but I won't bore you with that stuff just yet.

I had to order mine directly from the VFF website because REI only had them in black and the other stores around didn't have my size. I wear a women's size 8 , which is apparently the most common size for women's shoes-- so of course they were sold out! When my brother and I went to Miami, I tried to check the stores down there for them, but the two or three stores they had in Miami were sold out as well! So at that point I decided to stop wasting time and order them from the web. I was hesitant to do this because the sizing for these shoes is unique. You actually have to measure your foot with a ruler and figure out your size. They have a helpful chart on their website for those of you ordering on-line as well.

I decided to order the KSO's (the agate-camo color in case you were wondering) as they are the multi-use model. They have other varieties as well, but these seemed to be the most logical for my intended use.

So, they came in on Wednesday-- I placed the order the Friday before-- very quick delivery time. I had them delivered to my office so I could be there when they came in of course. They were waiting for me on my desk when I got there. Quickly opened the package and put them on with a smile on my face.

I wore them around the office the entire day. First reaction came from my boss and was a blatant "hahah what are those?" I explained, she raised her eyebrows, laughed some more and probably determined that I had been taken by a very successful marketing scheme by Vibram. She could possibly be right... but regardless, I'm happy!

No soreness occurred that day as I had anticipated. I suspect that the soreness will happen once I start jogging and running in them. For now, I have been advised to start slow and just wear them casually.

My co-workers weren't very observant the first day, as not many people will have their eyes on the ground when talking to you. So I figured that more reactions will come with time... and they did... stay tuned...