hiking with vibram five fingers (my 'toe-shoes') in los gatos

My first real hike/run in my vibram five fingers (or, "toe-shoes," which is what we're calling them now). I signed up for this race: http://www.racethrutheredwoods.com/ which is a 10K trail run through the Redwoods. I'm excited! It should be really pretty. It's the first race I've signed up for in awhile, after I humbly bowed out of the marathon I signed up and paid for in March :( But I'm dusting my shoes off and going at it again, which I think is what matters. In Los Gatos, which is where Quang and I went hiking, I tested my shoes on real trail - with real rocks. although my feet could withstand the little pebbles - hardly felt them at all - I definitely occasionally stepped on a sharp stone every now and then that made me wince. I was thinking about the idea that running barefoot gets you more "in touch with the earth," and all that hippie jazz :) and I find I totally agree... I do love the feeling of the ground beneath my feet. I've had a chance to compare it with my "normal" running shoes, since I've been switching off, and I'm starting to feel more comfortable in these toe-shoes than I do in what I now deem over-cushioned Asics. I'm not sure if I'll ever be a complete convert, but I thought of a rather silly analogy in this new relationship between my feet and the trail: running (almost) barefoot on the ground makes you feel closer to it, just like you're getting to know someone, but like in close intimacy with people, there are the occasional sharp moments that make you wince. But in the end, it's worth it, isn't it? I probably ran about 2.5 miles total in the shoes, going uphill and downhill. The most I'd ever run in them so far. Then we went to Blendz in Los Gatos, which is my favorite place to go after hiking in the trail downtown. We spent some time walking around, and I find I really like Los Gatos. Might be my next living destination before I make the move to LA...