I Hired a Coach - now you can get $25 off CoachUp.com

I need a coach to help me with my running form.  I can keep working on this myself, but it is going to take me forever.  Even walking I seem to have a blister or something next to my big toe.  The forums I read have no running coaches posted nearby, so I took to the internet to locate a coach.  I found a site call CoachUp.com 

How it works:  You submit a coaching request with what you are looking for.  They ask your location, availability and a few other basic questions and then they email your request to their list of coaches.  The coaches are required to respond within 24 hours.  Use referral code danal1-10-t gets you $25 off your first coaching session through them.  I recommend you book just one session to see how things go and then book a package deal, if things work out. 

I got 4 responses within 12 hours.  They all were qualified to assist me, and I ended up choosing Drew based upon his thoughtful response telling me less about himself (they all have bios I can read) and more about what he would do to help me.  First steps he would video tape me running and analysis my form.   His location is close to me, and his price was reasonable at $69 per hour.  One of the guys wanted $159 for an hour 1-on-1 session.  The lowest was $53. 

Walking into the gym they ask you to remove your shoes before stepping on the floor.  It looked like everyone else has dedicated gym shoes, but I did the session in my socks.  Though I did mention in my request for services that I was a barefoot runner or at least working towards running barefoot.

First Drew had me do some squats and took videos, then I jogged on the treadmill for a bit while he took more video.  Drew then pointed out my problems and talked about form and function.  Of course I have no clue if he knows what he is talking about, but it sounded good and lined up with what I had been reading online.  (Like you can believe everything you read online.)  We spent the remainder of the session doing foam rolling, stretches and some exercises.  He gave me just one area to concentrate on when running, for me I need to push the knees out slightly.  He's now working on my homework and a package pricing.  I feel it was definitely worth it. 

Unfortunately there is no quick fix and it will take a while.   But the areas he has me working on should carry over into the problems I'm having with some of my mobility in gymnasticbodies exercise routine.

Barefoot Saturday & Garden

City Garden - starting at top Peas, Broccoli & herbs, cucumber or squash & red peppers,
bottom is cucumber and corn.

I have sunflowers and mustard plants that I let come up in my garden from last year.  There is also a vine growing in the same plot as the peppers, not sure but it came up by itself, so I let it be. 

This week I recovered from my hike.  It took till Wednesday before my legs felt like doing stairs again.  Just the one bruise on the bottom of my right foot still hurts, I have to probe to find it and it is now feels like a little bump now.   My sleep has improved and I'm hoping to start jogging again next week.  I am actually looking into hiring a running coach to help me with my form.

This week I've brought the kids to Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the church every night.  They had a lot of fun, but we ended up getting home around 9 which makes for a late night.  Saturday morning was the men's breakfast and us guys went and I let my daughter sleep in.  I've been going to church this whole week barefoot and word has spread of my barefooted hike up the mountain thanks to Fred and George.

After breakfast I came back home and mowed the lawn, did a little work in the garden and cleaned up some bad weed growing in the shrubs.  The garden is growing nicely and was done 100% with bare feet.  After lunch I ran over the to Dollar Store and purchased a card (barefoot) then we headed out to a graduation party for a young man in our church who is heading out to join the Marines.  I thought for sure my mom would ask if I was going to wear shoes, but she said nothing.  So I arrived at the party barefoot.  Most of the people were from church and are use to seeing me barefoot now.  Though I don't think most of them know how much I go barefoot.
 One friend commented on the bare feet in my summit picture I posted on facebook, but other than that, nothing was said.  I don't think most people really notice or probably think your shoes are nearby.

So I managed another 100% barefoot day.  Vacation is coming up soon and I'm anxious to see how many days I can manage 100% barefoot on my trip to New York City.

Monday & Tuesday morning condition report

MONDAY
After taking a really laid back day on Sunday it was time to get a little more active again.  I will not drive to work unless absolutely necessary, since work is just over 1 mile away.  Feeling like my feet were doing good and wanting to give them a test walk, I kept up my routine of walking to work barefoot. The first few steps were not encouraging.  Not sure if I was just unlucky, but those first few pebbles felt very uncomfortable.  I felt like I had lost some of the toughness in my feet. It is probably my imagination and perhaps my souls are still a bit tender from the hike.  I kept on going, taking the smoothest sidewalks, picking concrete over asphalt and avoiding the rougher sections.  I was paying close attention to my feet and could feel a bruise on the border of my heel and arch of my right foot.  When I probe that area I can actually feel a bump.  But as I continued along things seem not be as bad as my first few steps indicated they were going to be.  My quads are by far the sorest piece of my body and I have no interest in doing stairs.

Monday evening our church is having their annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) where the kids play games, do crafts, listen to stories, sing songs, and eat for 2.5 hours.  I arrived as usual barefoot for a non Sunday event.  By this time word had spread that I had hiked barefoot up the mountain.  I mentioned to one person as we talked that I often walked in the city barefoot and he was surprised.  Once I mentioned that you need to tough up your feet a bit before hiking barefoot it seemed to make perfect sense to him.  Maybe I'll try and do all the 4,000 footers a second time barefoot. 

I even took a nice shopping trip to Walmart and wasn't bothered by anyone.  I also felt a lot more confident and didn't care as much about being confronted or kicked out.

TUESDAY
My quads are no longer screaming at me, but I can still tell they had a great workout on Saturday.  My feet and ankles felt fine when I got up this morning, nothing stood out as unusual.  When I stepped outside away from the smooth floors of my comfortable home my feet just didn't feel as tough as they once were.  I'm thinking it is more in my head than anything else.  There is often talk on the barefoot forums that on such a hike you wear out your pads.  I just can't seem to believe that you could wear them out that much.  Sure I noticed a little wear no one foot, maybe on layer of skin gone in a spot, but nothing major, no blood or chunks of skin gone.

Follow up on big hike

I figured that Sunday morning would tell the real story on how my feet held up.

The first thing I notice upon standing was my ankles were sore and of course the soles of my feet were sore as well.  My calfs were also a bit tight.  But I didn't have to much trouble walking.  The soreness in the bottoms of my feet felt more like a muscle sore, then it did bruises.  When I probed the bottom of my feet I did find a couple of spots that could only be bruises.  The arches seem to be where the most tenderness was.

As the day progressed my thighs let me know they had a workout that they did not appreciate.  I would hobble up the stairs, but most of the difficulty was in the leg muscles and not the feet, though the feet did contribute a little. While I am not totally surprised my legs were sore, I hadn't hiked a 4,000 foot mountain in a few years.  I was surprised my feet seem to be so doing well.  I have heard from a good source that my feet may swell up, but that still hasn't happened.  I'm thinking perhaps swelling of the feet might be more a result of exercise then it is of being barefoot.  I'll continue keeping an eye on that aspect as well.

Hike on Moosilaukie - 10.77 miles - 3,300 feet elevation gain

Today the plan was to hike up the summit of Mount Moosilaukie (4802 feet) with a small group of friends.  Fred (50) and George (64), and I don't think they have every really hiked a 4,000 foot mountain in NH.  Sy is a teen who has hiked with me before.

We got a very late start, heading up the trail around 10:40 am.  Immediately as we crossed the road there was a wide shallow brook that had to be crossed.  I simply walked across the cool refreshing water as the rest of the group headed up stream looking for a place to cross.  They finally did find a down tree that had been made into a crude bridge.  The trail was very soft under foot, I was a little surprised seeing how this was part of the Appalachian Trail.  Though hiking about 1.4 miles we came to the new parking lot.  The group wondered why I didn't park there.  I had figured the lot would be full and didn't realize they had made a nice new bigger lot.  I also sometimes don't think in terms of miles and just want to get on the trail.

Once on the Glencliff trail the ground felt much firmer, though still very barefoot friendly.  The trail wandered through a few fields and I was asked if I was worried about ticks.  I was actually less concerned barefoot since they would probably be brushed off or seen more easily then someone wearing socks or long pants.  We soon crossed a few small sources of water which I used to cool my feet.  Once I stepped in some mud that oozed between my toes.  I was concerned at first that when it dried the dirt between my toes would irritate my skin, but that was not to be the case.

As we ascended the trail got rockier and I slowed down, but so did one of the other guys, so I still was not holding the group back.  We were hiking at a very slow pace, but we were all enjoying out time out in the woods.

Gravel on the Carriage Road

Eventually the steep and rocky section ended and we were now on the Carriage Road.  The group decided to push on to the summit.  I was concerned that here I would find the trail to contain more gravel, but at first it was very barefoot friendly, but unfortunately it didn't last.  About a half mile from the summit the gravel appeared in the trail and stayed there for the rest of the walk to the summit.  It is not unusual to see this type of hiking bed at this elevation.  We had seen a few people earlier, but on this section of the trail it got a little crowded.  I tried to walk as though the gravel wasn't bothering my feet at all, but did ask that Sy knock the pace down a bit.  At this point we had lost the other two members of our group and looking back they were no where to be seen.

Two of us made it!

At the summit we got our picture taken.  I was very happy to see they got my bare feet in the shot.  Then we headed down to find our friends.  Going down was a lot harder then going up.  For one my feet had already hiked 5.5 miles (0.5 mile more than my previous hike) and I knew it was a long way down.  Here I definitely went a lot slower, searching for the least painful foot placement, which I'm not sure I was accomplishing.   We soon found our friends resting along side the trail.  United we continued down the trail.




During the first half of the trip downward it was all I could to to keep up with the group and not slow everyone down.  I once again thought constantly of how my boots made hiking down hill so much easier.  (Upon arriving home I read about several other barefoot hikers that wear shoes on the downward trek due to the difficulty of hiking down hill barefoot.  Now they tell me.)  I realized that being barefoot really limited my foot placement and did not afford me any new options (beside mud and water).  I could feel the pounding my soles were taking, and had a good feeling they would be a bit tender the next day.   But the next day was Sunday when I usually take it easy and don't do much walking, so they would get a good recovery day.

At the end of the hike.

Once the trail started leveling out I was able to keep up with the group and soon moved into the middle of our small pack.  Then when the trail got even closer to bottom I pulled to the front and started to drag George along a bit faster.  We came to another junction and we decided George would stay there with my pack and wait for the rest of the group, while I went ahead and brought the vehicle around to the end of the trail, saving them 1.4 miles.

In the end I did 10.77 miles barefoot.  I have now tracked over 100 miles barefoot, either walking, running or hiking outside.  I've walked a bit more, but haven't always remembered or felt the distance was worth tracking.  I think next time ( I must be crazy) I'll try bringing some hiking poles.  In the past I felt hiking poles slowed me down going downhill, but nothing can slow me down more than I'm going now, so hopefully they might help speed me up.

I did get a lot more comments on this hike.  Most were encouraging.  Probably the best moment of the day was when a hiker commented on my bare feet and then asked if I was Dana from Manchester.  It was Ethan a fellow avid hiker who was a friend on Garmin Connect.  If it wasn't for my bare feet we would not have noticed each other have passed each other by.  Of course making it to the top and back while remaining barefoot was pretty cool as well.

On the road we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and I hid my feet the best I could behind the counter and managed to purchase my food without any hassles.  On the way back we stopped at a country store and purchased a drink with no problems and I'm pretty sure they noticed my bare feet,  They were nice folks.  Then we stopped off at McDonalds again, where we ordered some more food and we sat down to eat.  They delivered my McFlurry to me and I met him half way up the aisle.  I'm pretty sure my bare feet were very noticeable but nothing was said.

Sunday morning arrived and I knew this would tell the real story on how my feet held up.

The first thing I notice upon standing was my ankles were sore and of course the soles of my feet were sore as well.  My calves were also a bit tight.  But I didn't have to much trouble walking.  The soreness in the bottoms of my feet felt more like a muscle sore, then it did bruises.  When I probed the bottom of my feet I did find a couple of spots that could only be bruises.  The arches seem to be where the most bruising was.

As the day progressed my thighs let me know they had a workout that they did not appreciate.  I would hobble up the stairs, but most of the difficulty was in the quads and not the feet, though the feet did contribute a little. While I am not totally surprised my legs were sore, I hadn't hiked a 4,000 foot mountain in a few years.  I was surprised my feet seem to be so doing well.  I have heard from a good source that my feet may swell up, but that still hasn't happened.  I'm thinking perhaps swelling of the feet might be more a result of exercise then it is of being barefoot.  I'll continue keeping an eye on that aspect as well.  Though during the hike my hands swelled up again, though I remember that happening in the past on some of my longer hikes.

Monday has arrived and I walked to work barefoot.  Seemed like the feet were not as comfortable walking barefoot as they have been, like I've lost ground in toughness.  While walking I now notice a bruise on the heel of my right foot on the inside by the arch.  My quads are definitely still sore and I'm not interested in taking many stairs.

Low Key Weekend

This weekend I stayed at home.  We had  yard sale in the morning where my daughter sold more then I did.  Which is a good thing cause now I know she has money for camp at the end of the month.  Most of the time while the yard sale was out I was working in the garden plucking out the weeds.  I think I got everything planted.  Still need to find something for the peas to climb up, but the garden is looking real good this year.

You would think that since I stayed home I would have had a whole day without wearing shoes. It was not the case.  My mom had finally finished her floor yet again.  The floor had a nice factory finish, but it wasn't shinny enough and she thought it was worn, so she waxes the floor every now and then.  Now that she has waxed the floor I am not allowed in that room barefoot.  She claims bare feet leave marks on the floor and I need to either wear socks or slippers.  At least she has a reason besides a distaste for bare feet.

Next Saturday is my big hike up a 4,000 foot mountain in NH.  I'm going with a group from church and do plan to attempt the whole hike barefoot.  I am sure people will ask me if I plan to hike barefoot and I plan on replying, "That would be crazy, wouldn't it?"  Of course then I'll head up the trail barefoot.  The total miles will be 7.8 with a gain of over 3,000 feet.  Should be very interesting. 

Tough 5 Mile Hike

Today we hiked up South Mountain in Pawtauckaway State Park in New Hampshire.  For this hike Starry, Christian and I were accompanied by my friend John and his almost 9 year old son Noah.  The hike 1.5 miles up the mountain was pretty easy barefoot.  The trail was not too tough on the feet, of course I expected that hiking up hill would be much easier then hiking downhill.  The kids had a blast climbing many of the huge boulders that are all along the trail.  Everyone climbed the tower and enjoyed the view.

The trip downhill started out pretty easy as well. Had to take a bit more care where I placed my feet, but much easier than last week when I was guiding a three year old.  The kids found some more huge boulders to scramble on and I began to think that we were never going to make it home.  The boulders eventually faded and the kids began to get board.  We did find a snake and toad to help distract them for a little bit.  After hiking down about 2 miles the trail turned onto a gravel road.

Here is where the going got really tough.  I began to slow down and try and find a safe place for my feet.  The rest of the group didn't seem fazed by the rough terrain and pulled a little ahead.  Several times I thought about putting on my VFF, but resisted the urge.  I found a couple of spots along the way that gave my feet relief for a short period of time, and one nice cool rock that I stood on for a few seconds.  So hobbling along as fast as I could after about 1.5 miles the rough road ended and we were back on a nice dirt road.

My feet were really dirty after the hike, but besides being a little sore don't seem to have sustained any injuries.  I did stub my toe only once and it didn't hurt for long and seems fine now.  Perhaps I should add a little addendum tomorrow morning on how my feet are doing.

That evening my mom and I were invited to join a pizza party for a friend who was visiting from Texas.  I started to head out the door and my mother asked if I was going barefoot.  I told her of course, she asked if I couldn't wear something, so I reluctantly grabbed my Xeroshoes.  Funny how it doesn't take much to make some people happy.  I wore my shoes into the venue and but took them off shortly afterward and my mom gave me a look and I smiled.  No one said anything and she let me be.