Lisa, although i agree with a lot of what mr Riv. says; here's where I seriously disagree. If you regularly go on rides of over 50 miles, the unnatural pressure on the middle part of your foot is going to take its toll. if you have a stiff sole on the shoe, it is protecting your foot from that.
I wore regular running shoes for my first day of spinning class. I was able to move my feet around on the pedals; but when pedalling you really don;t move much and my feet were sore when i was done. Switched back to the bike shoes... tons better.

But to the original poster and the rest of you; i'm not saying she should start riding with cages for a few months; i just meant the first few rides on the bike. If she's courageous and coordinated like many of you are; starting clipless should be fine for her. But for some of us, that would really be impossible.
Good luck, you know who you are.