It cost somewhere around $10 for three adults and a toddler to enter. The beach was as attractive (if not more so) as any we’d seen. But we’d been warned: it’s a bit rocky from the soft sand to the swimable water.

I made the mistake of assuming I could handle it barefooted. I took my baby girl down to the water to swim only to experience the pain of rocks underfoot.

I was already halfway out into the water, so I gritted my teeth and pushed my way through to the surf. Katie had a blast out there. She loves it when her daddy kicks her feet for her as she floats on her arm floaties.

The pain was infinitely worse on the way OUT of the water. I remember specifically wondering if this level of pain would equal at least intro-level torture elsewhere. I’m not a small boy. That was my 280 pounds PLUS my daughters 30 or so pounds pressing my soft as silk baby feet into the rocks.

I hung with Katie at a picnic table in the shade while Heather and Gigi snorkeled out by the rocks. I learned my lesson. The next time out, I wore my FiveFingers Sprints and the difference was noticeable. I still felt all the rocks and could have bruised the bottom of my foot, but the Sprints sole kept the sharp edges from feeling like they were piercing my skin.

It was a great swim overall. The deciding factor on this trip has been the presence or lack of seaweed. Some of the beaches we hit were chock full of sea vegetation and there’s something just a little ominous and creepy about swimming over a solid black surface. My mind starts asking “What could be lurking down there?” and I can’t relax as deeply as when I can see the sand beneath me.

Anyway, the moral of the story is this: wear your VFFs to the beach and in the water. They’re worth their weight in gold.

I didn’t want to, but laundry schedules conflicted with work. I had to wear my black Classics without socks. It was more than a little embarrassing. Probably no other style or color faces this issue, but my black Classics with jeans look like toed ballet slippers. I’m just not okay with that.

The owner of our agency (he is also my boss) has been fairly open minded up to this point. He’s a vegetarian and quasi health conscious individual. When he saw my feet in the breakroom, he told me they really looked like socks. He did NOT like the appearance of my foot’s skin showing. Understandable. Honestly, as long as they don’t look like ballet slippers, he can dislike them all he wants.

By the end of the day, my feet felt pretty sweaty. I like the moisture absorption I get with Injinji toed socks. Even if my feet sweat, I don’t feel that slightly squishy feeling down in each toe chamber like I did yesterday.

That’s my two cents. Sorry I haven’t updated each day. I run several blogs (including one on the Dallas Cowboys) and it’s easy to get sidetracked.

It took my Classics the better part of a day to dry after washing, so I made Sunday a TOMS day. My wife bought me my first pair of TOMS shoes in early August for my birthday. I wore them exclusively for a couple weeks before my feet started to ache a little bit. TOMS are, by necessity, very thin shoes. The soles are thin and the fabric is thin.

But unlike the Vibram FiveFingers line, TOMS aren’t anything like barefoot. They’re still a hard, cardboard-like sole. The only appeal to wearing TOMS is the charitable side of the company. For every pair of shoes purchases, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need. What a perfect way to appeal to consumers: “Help others by shopping for yourself.”

I find myself enamored with companies who think outside the box of typical American capitalism. The age-old standard leads to toxic dumping and polluting the planet. I like companies who combine business with charitable giving, or who insist on manufacturing their products in a environmentally friendly way. Every step helps.

That’s why I read sites like Treehugger and Jetson Green. I like to see people make creative and innovative decisions in the formation of their businesses. They provide products and services I can feel good about using.

I don’t know where Vibram stands on environmentally friendly, and I’d like to find out, but they fall into a separate category of health benefits. If a company meets one of these criteria, I will consider using their products:

1. Significantly more efficient use of natural resources

2. Charitable giving I can actually see

3. Improve my personal health

4. Completely or almost completely non-toxic

Vibram meets #3 for sure. My posture and back strength has improved. I literally feel more “grounded”. No pun intended there. The materials may or may not be the most ecologically sound. But the product is making a difference in MY life.

I noticed last night that my back was significantly achy all over. The kind of feeling you might have if you helped a neighbor move all their furniture into and out of a Uhaul truck. Today is no different. I ache. I’ve been leaning back all day long in my chair, but the ache is just enough to be distracting and frustrating. The ache is mostly around my shoulder blades and lower, just to the left of my spine.

My hope is that my body is adapting to the 5Fs (Five Fingers). Oddly enough, my feet didn’t hurt this morning, even though I walked in my 5Fs all day long. According to Vibram, “Stimulating the muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.”

It makes total sense, as I’ve mentioned before and will mention again. A cushioned shoe keeps many nerves in the foot from sensing and adapting to the changes in topography. The stimulus that comes from walking barefoot sends all kinds of signals to the brain which help the body know where all its limbs are in space at a given moment without having to visually focus on them (proprioception). It’s how you shoot a basketball without staring at your arms and hands the whole time to make sure they’re in the right place.

Anyhow, it’s 2:22pm my time. The work day is winding down. I have a men’s group meeting tonight.

At times today, my feet have been uncomfortable enough to warrant taking the 5Fs off, but I’ve waited to take them off until after work because I knew I would sit so long today that my feet would get plenty of rest.

I’ve been told it will take several weeks for my feet and body to adjust to the lack of shock absorption shoes typically provide. My back is, I think, conclusive evidence of this fact. I’m sore like I’ve been working manual labor, despite the fact I’m sitting at my computer for most of the day.

As for the back and side pain I’m experiencing, my wife just told me she has it too, so it may be due to the beet kvass detox drink we both had yesterday.

Don’t forget: Love yourself. Love your feet.