Day three and we are all still alive. Today I notice that my soles are sore. They certainly have been abused the past few weeks from the high mileage in Manhattan to the rough terrain in Missouri. Now I'm giving them yet another workout.
We are in sight of one of the rockier walkways. I watch the shod people casually stroll down the hill, chatting with their friends and paying no heed to where they step. Occasionally I'll see a brave soul carrying their shoes walking down the path and I notice how they pay much closer attention to the ground in front of them. I feel a little envious at the freedom of movement the shoes give and contemplated writing an Ode to Shoes. I have to remind myself that I have just started on this journey and haven't been truly 100% barefoot for all that long. My feet will toughen up eventually, though there will always be some disadvantages to being barefoot, just as their are disadvantages to wearing shoes.
So far I have managed to resist the temptation to wear my shoes. It probably helps that I my only shoe option is my Xero shoes, which don't offer that much protection and I haven't gotten use to the strap between the toes. Also, my desire to continue my conditioning is a lot stronger than my desire for temporary comfort. Too wear shoes for just a few patches of tough terrain just doesn't make sense, especially when most of the campground is relatively barefoot friendly.
On the way back from the second night activities, my daughter was leading the way and I actually had to ask her to slow down. In the dark I needed to go much slower. Thankfully I have the time to take it easy and we are on vacation and there is no need to rush. Maybe that is truly another advantage to barefoot walking in this hectic age we now live in.
No comments:
Post a Comment