As a dedicated yogi I've had concerns about damage and injury associated with running but enjoy taking walks of several miles with my dog. I decided to take a more minimalist approach to my walking after reading the book, in hopes of this eventually leading to running.
Everyone familiar with barefoot and minimalist running knows about the Vibram Five Finger shoes. For me, $80-$100 is too much to pay for something I might hate. So I took the advice of some on barefoot running forums and bought a $10 pair of water shoes.
So far, these have worked out great. This particular pair give the toes plenty of room to spread out. The real test was how I felt after a recent 2.5 hour walk in 90 degree, humid Kentucky weather. First of all, I didn't get any blisters or irritation on me feet at all. No knee or hip pain either.
The next day my feet and calves were definitely sore but in a good way. I could feel that I had worked muscles that were making my feet stronger as opposed to abusing them. I still didn't feel any kind of knee or hip aches and pains.
I'm going to continue wearing these shoes on my walks and on the treadmill in the gym. At least this particular style of water shoe shouldn't get me too many odd looks since they look very much like a regular shoe.
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