How many miles should you start with when you are just starting to go out barefoot running? That is a very good question and the answer, actually is "not miles; but minutes."

You see, when you start out barefoot running, unless you are from the mountains and have always gone barefoot (not likely) then, your feet are used to being in shoes.

What that means for your feet when you start barefoot running is different for different people, but for me it meant that my bones in my fore-foot were actually fused together with cartilage. So, when I stared barefoot running, my bones and cartilage in my foot actually had to 'break apart' and come loose, a very painful process.

If you have gone barefoot much of your life and your toes can move independently, then when you start barefoot running you may not have to go through that process, and you may just get along with some soreness and some sole blisters.

However, sole blisters can be very painful too, one of my personal favorites are the blood blisters that you can get underneath your calluses, if you start off barefoot running too far, too fast. So, here is my advice.

Even if you are a seasoned runner (and especially if you are, since your bones may very well be fused from being laced tight into running shoes) you should start off barefoot running very slowly. How slowly? Well, start with five minutes a day for the first week.

That's right: do barefoot running just five minutes a day for the first week; then you can go ahead and strap on your running shoes and do your regular daily run if you want, to get in the miles. But don't do more than that barefoot running.

Then, the second week of barefoot running you will want to do 10 minutes a day for the week. Don't do one whole day of barefoot running and try to pack it into one day; the idea here is to go out consistently every day, a little bit, to build up the bottoms of your feet, but also all the unused muscles in your feet and legs that need to be strenthened all over again since they have gone weak from being supported in shoes all these years.

Now, one thing that can ease the transition and help you move into actual barefoot running a little smoother is to get some "minimal" footwear, like the Vibram Five Fingers. I wore Vibram Five Fingers to do my barefoot running training at first, and it helped a lot. I also love to wear them now whenever I am not barefoot running or when I have to wear shoes (like in a store).

If you use Vibram Five Fingers you can train in them in order to get the muscles and the tendons in your feet used to barefoot running. You’ll find that barefoot running â€Å"loads” your lower calf a lot more than running in shoes with heal cushioning because you really can’t land on your heels at all, whether you’re in Vibram Five Fingers or barefoot...it also starts to wake up the nerves a little bit more slowly than barefoot running.

You want to be sure you are landing on your "mid-foot" while you start barefoot running, and not your heel or your toes). If you put the emphasis on lifting your foot from the knee, then setting it down lightly and letting it lift back up lightly, with no pushing off or any extra muscle effort at all, then you will be well on your way to a great barefoot running stride!.

Just remember to keep it to 5 minutes the first week, 10 minutes the next, and work your way up gradually from there and you should be able to start out barefoot running with minimal pain and suffering. Although, if you don't like pain or suffering at all, why are you trying to go out barefoot running? Think about it.