so i got myself a pair of vibram fivefingers...

OP if you really want to end up running in those, put them on, go out of your front door, run for two and a half minutes down the street, turn around and return home, go indoors and then change into your normal trainers and go out for your run.

That way you do not have to carry your normal shoes out with you when running.

You will only have to do this until you can run the whole distance in them.

I presume you have to run five minutes extra each time you go out in

I'm with this. Run very short periods of time, you may not be able to run on consecutive days in them for a while also.

I'll third this advice... after training for and running my marathon in minamilist shoes, I was overconfident about the transition to my Vibrams. After running four or five 3-4 milers in the span of a couple/few weeks, I headed out the door on a hilly 7 miler. I felt the first twinge in my Achilles (with which I've never had any issue whatsoever) about halfway in; was OK to run all the way back home, though I was definitely feeling it. After attempting to ice my Achilles immediately following the run, it completely seized up and I couldn't walk properly (much less run) for an easy three weeks... ended up being completely sidelined from running for six weeks.

I totally don't blame the shoes; I blame myself for my hubris! I have yet to give them another go, so am instead running in my minimalist (3 mm heel to toe) shoes for now. At some point, I'll ease my way back into them, since they were super comfortable when they weren't screwing up my Achilles!

Ouch Bert!

I know you know exactly what you are doing, but I really feel like I want to say to you, forget the Vibrams, stick to what was working for you, it's just not worth it with that injury messing up your training schedule.

I sincerely hope it heals as quickly as possible

Thanks, Di! Fortunately, this was several months ago, so I'm totally recovered and back in action. And, per your suggestion, I'm probably going to avoid them until after my upcoming races... there's no way I want to throw my training away just to run in my fancy ugly shoes! So they'll be in the closet until early next year if I stick with my plan to run another full in December.

I love them. When i reached one of my heaviest weights i got them to help my knee and back issues... and they largely did, it cut the pain massively (likely because I was walking with a bad gait and you do walk differently in them... more like barefoot.) Now that I'm down 60lbs or so from my high I've kept wearing them and I'll end up doing c25k in them as well. I don't think your plan of doing the c25k in them is bad, especially if you've been wearing them around elsewhere walking normally and such for a while. Just remember... stop if it hurts.

I am new to running (and unable to run right now due to surgery) but when I run on my treadmill I prefer being barefoot or having just socks on. I recently bought a pair of running shoes to jog to the gym and had to take them back because they were hurting me all over (toes and backs of my heels). I ended up getting a different pair which I was able to test out shortly before my surgery, but now I'm wondering if maybe I should try out the vibrams when I'm able to get back to running, since I run without shoes on my treadmill. Or is there a difference between treadmill running and running outdoors?

I'll be entirely honest, they're the uglist, most comfortable shoe I've ever owned. It's like being barefoot without the rocks and pine needles violating your feet when you step on them wrong. When the wind blows you can even feel air between your toes if you get one of the lighter pairs.

I own... http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-BikilaLS-Mens.htm
the so has: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-BikilaLS-Womens.htm

Highly recommend them if you've gotten used to running barefoot... wouldn't be a difficult transition...

All that said, there IS a significant difference between even a treadmill on an incline and running outside on the flat... outside there are slews of minor slants, angles, etc... those require your bodies stabilizer muscles to keep you balanced, a treadmill doesn't have those so any outdoor running you do at first is going to be notably more difficult than indoor.

Edit: I'm desperately hoping mine can survive another month or two before I need to replace them, I'd like to replace them once I'm at a lower weight so as I continue to lose they don't get too loose.

I don't mind the look anymore... and the more "shoe like" they become the less strange they look, but you WILL become the "weird toe shoe" person if you have them.

I haven't been out to the store, restaurant, or anywhere that takes more than 45m where someone doesn't ask me what my opinion on them is, if they're comfortable, how much I paid, if I'd recommend them, or how they'd like to try them but don't care for the look.... in 2 years. Seriously. That's the mixed bag side effect of them. On the bright side, you get to talk to a lot of people... on the down side, sometimes you just don't wanna deal with anyone.

I have a friend with the KSO http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-KSO-Womens.htm <- those... and not to many people notice them on her. They assume they're tennis shoes of some variety.

Vibram also makes other types of shoes, the 'fivefingers' are just the toe shoes.