Sewers, enlighten me please....transition footwear solution?

Barefoot TJ wrote:No, the one

Barefoot TJ said:
No, the one I linked to had a way to make a dummy foot out of duct tape first.



Ahh good idea TJ. Zum why don't you try out a piece of duct tape? Actually use gorilla brand duct tape that stuff will stay stuck forever. It will probably last as long as leather or plasti dip and will be way less work.
 
Ugh, I vaguely remember the

Ugh, I vaguely remember the duct tape one too!!

Abide, duct tape is a great idea, stuck on the bottom of the sock.
 
WOOO HOOO, look what I found!

WOOO HOOO, look what I found! http://barefootrunners.org/forum-topic/home-made-shoes?page=1#comment-10784
 
You guys are awesome. Abide,

You guys are awesome. Abide, I love your simplicity! I will have to try duct tape first and see how it goes!

Now to find my supplies and some time to work on this. Bookmarking links and taking notes, stay tuned....
 
No, I mean the dummy foot was

No, I mean the dummy foot was made out of duct tape. Not that the duct tape was used on the bottom of the sock. No. But that is an idea though.
 
Oh the possibilities!

Oh the possibilities!
 
I'm thinking of fashioning

I'm thinking of fashioning something like foor undeez for myself. I own elastic, leather and a sewing machine, I figure it can't be that hard. I keep thinking that the one thing I have problem getting over in barefooting is ball-of-foot pain (and calluses) probably related to Morton's toe. If I could make a "paw" that would mimic Nyal's "barefoot orthotic", I could still run mostly bare most of the time. And that would make me happy.



Have no idea if it will work, but I'll take lots of pictures in the process.
 
Norm, what a timely post. I

Norm, what a timely post. I am having ball of foot pain now that I'm reintroducing barefoot time. (Weather has really gotten warm here.) This is the same pain that led me to 100% minimalist shoe running in the fall. I thought I was past it--I'm realizing I'm going to have to SLOWLY rebuild my barefoot miles. Very slowly. I wonder if something like Foot Undeez would help me. I only seem to need a little bit of padding for it to feel okay--my Vibrams are plenty and I think even less might work.

And yes, I do have MT--mine isn't terribly pronounced, but my 2nd metatarsal is just a bit longer than the 1st.
 
Foot Undeez!  Ha!  That is so

Foot Undeez! Ha! That is so cute! Is that a name you came up with, Norm? Please do share what you make. I'm interested to see it as well.
 
TJ--They actually sell them!

TJ--They actually sell them! Google it--you'll see what they look like. They are for dancers, and have thin pads on the bottom to protect a dancer's forefoot.
 
Oh, my bad.  Thanks.

Oh, my bad. Thanks.
 
Barefoot TJ wrote:Oh, my

Barefoot TJ said:
Oh, my bad. Thanks.

I hope it didn't sound like I was being snippy with you, TJ! Definitely not the tone that was in my head when I wrote it. :)
 
TJ, here's a pretty good

TJ, here's a pretty good picture of them: http://www.amazon.com/Capezio-Womens-Footundeez-Lyrical-Modern/dp/B002COJ2Y2 I like the idea of having just something under the ball of my feet, but still otherwise bare. My heels, arches and toes don't need shoes.



Beth, I just have a "little" MT, too. Enough that I get the telltalk calluses, and sometimes a little ache in the 2nd metatarsal, but it's really not back compared to my dad and sisters' feet. ;)
 
Those are cool, Norm. I

Those are cool, Norm. I wonder if the heel could be shaved off? And I wonder what the sole texture is? I did an image search on Google and couldn't find any photos of the sole.
 
It's hard to tell, sometimes

It's hard to tell, sometimes seemingly minimal shoes have really stiff soles for some reason. If they didn't, I bet they'd work fine. Norm, definitely curious to see your progress. It may take me a while, I have NO sewing skills LOL Good luck!
 
barefoot.zumba.runner

barefoot.zumba.runner said:
It's hard to tell, sometimes seemingly minimal shoes have really stiff soles for some reason. If they didn't, I bet they'd work fine.



Yeah, Id guess that most sandals that *look* like that are pretty stiff. But if they're specifically made for modern dance, they might be more flexible than the aferage shoe. Either way, they are more shoe than I really want/need.
 
I agree Norm, you'd think

I agree Norm, you'd think they'd have to be pretty flexible. I think that ballet shoes would be a good minimal shoe, though I'm thinking most are not made for Fred Flinstone feet...which is my problem. Darn wide feet.
 
barefoot.zumba.runner wrote:I

barefoot.zumba.runner said:
I agree Norm, you'd think they'd have to be pretty flexible. I think that ballet shoes would be a good minimal shoe, though I'm thinking most are not made for Fred Flinstone feet...which is my problem. Darn wide feet.



I'm now entertaining a mental image of people running races in pink ballet shoes. (in reality they're built really narrow, aren't they?)