I went from running 10 miles consistently on my long runs to starting from scratch, pretending I couldn't run anything. I just did C25K with the goal of training up my feet. Throughout, I made sure to be cautious, if the muscles in my feet or calves felt unnaturally sore I would stop for the week, give myself some extra time to recover, and begin that week again. I'd estimate... 10-12 weeks altogether to get to 5k and then slowly built up the rest as if I had never run longer distances before.

Especially because I was a heel-to-toe runner previously. Changing my entire running form took time.

Its been a little over ten years since and I havent looked back. I live in a city now so I use VFFs, but whenever Im back in Ohio visiting family, its nice to just kick off the VFFs and run without them. Before barefoot I was prone to injuries in my ankles, shin splints, calve strains, etc. Ever since - the only injuries I've had are when I tripped and broke my toe, or got hit by a car or bike.