A BIT UNSURE AND APPREHENSIVE
I wasn't sure if I wanted to start the day out barefoot or not. There was a big JBQ meet at our church and before that was our men's breakfast. So there would be a lot of people around and half I wouldn't know. As usual, my shoes were in the van, so I walked out to the van barefoot, still not sure what I would do. When we arrived at the church I decided to leave my shoes behind and headed inside.
INSIDE WITH A LARGE GROUP BAREFOOT
Breakfast was just being served and some of the kids who had traveled long distances for the final meet of the year had joined the men's breakfast. So I slipped in unnoticed. Breakfast went by without any comments. After breakfast one person commented on my choice of attire, but otherwise no one mentioned my bare feet.
WALMART CLOSE CALL
I had the three year old with us so eventually he got restless so I left the match and headed over to Walmart to purchase Easter items and a few essentials. It was crowded and I made it to the register without any comments. The cashier was surprised they let me in barefoot and the lady behind me also commented, both though I should not be walking around barefoot. I told them I didn't see any sign on the door and that no law forbade me from walking around barefoot. Glass was brought up during the discussion and they both disapproved, but I was able to finish my purchase.
DIFFERENT TEXTURES
So I made it out of Walmart and we headed to the playground at our church daycare that had a pea gravel surface. I guess it is better then tracking in sand into the building. The gravel felt fine on my feet, but after a while I could tell my feet needed a break so we took a short walk around the building on the asphalt. Then eventually back inside, where the cool smooth floor felt really soothing on my feet. The only other comment at the church was when we were leaving, one of the visiting teens mentioned my feet would get cold outside, but I told them the pavement felt nice and warm today.
WALGREEN KICKS ME OUT
We arrived home much later then I had anticipated so I would have to postpone my Saturday run till Sunday. I then headed over to Walgreens I picked up all the items I needed and was waiting to get some photos when I was told I couldn't be inside the store with bare feet. I told them there was no sign on the door. I asked why and was told it was a health issue. I told them the state had no law, but they insisted that the store had a policy against bare feet in the store due to health reasons. I finally left my stuff on the counter and left. I did return with shoes on to finish my purchase. I plan to write a letter to the their headquarters to see if I can get the issue resolved in my favor.
CONCLUSION
I guess if you plan on living life barefooted you had better be ready for people to disapprove and to be kicked out of stores. That night I ordered some xeroshoes - the sandals so that hopefully I can carry them around with me and put them on as needed. Hopefully the will fit in my pocket when I go inside of stores.
FYI - RESULTS OF JBQ
The foster child's team took first in their division and my daughter took 3rd place quizer in her division, so both kids came away happy.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
Barefoot Evening
Thursday evenings the kids go to JBQ at our church. Today I once again walked in with my shoes on, but once there I took them off. The choir passed through and I ended up with a lot more comments then usual.
One lady said in a friendly manner "Put your shoes back on."
An elder of the church commented "Making yourself at home I see."
I don't recall the third comment, but it was still directed at my unshod feet.
It is very interesting on how many people comment that you are barefooted. I suppose it should not be surprising since it is not normal to see barefoot people these days.
Overall I think my plan is going to work, by the time summer comes around and I leave my shoes behind for good everyone will be so use to seeing me barefoot they will hardly give it a second thought that my shoes are not nearby. At least it will not be a shock to the whole congregation, though during services I will still wear shoes, at least for the time being.
When I left I just picked up my shoes and walked out the door along with another family. Nothing was said and it was starting to rain and the temps were just above freezing.
That same evening, while refueling my van at the local gas station, the attendant came out to sweep up a spill that was now under my vehicle, but close to my bare feet. With the wind chill it had to be below freezing and I could feel the cold ground under my feet. This person didn't say a word about my lack of footwear and we briefly chatted as she waited for me to finish up and move my vehicle. I know she had to have seen my feet since they were inches from the spilled substance.
Overall another good time being barefoot.
One lady said in a friendly manner "Put your shoes back on."
An elder of the church commented "Making yourself at home I see."
I don't recall the third comment, but it was still directed at my unshod feet.
It is very interesting on how many people comment that you are barefooted. I suppose it should not be surprising since it is not normal to see barefoot people these days.
Overall I think my plan is going to work, by the time summer comes around and I leave my shoes behind for good everyone will be so use to seeing me barefoot they will hardly give it a second thought that my shoes are not nearby. At least it will not be a shock to the whole congregation, though during services I will still wear shoes, at least for the time being.
When I left I just picked up my shoes and walked out the door along with another family. Nothing was said and it was starting to rain and the temps were just above freezing.
That same evening, while refueling my van at the local gas station, the attendant came out to sweep up a spill that was now under my vehicle, but close to my bare feet. With the wind chill it had to be below freezing and I could feel the cold ground under my feet. This person didn't say a word about my lack of footwear and we briefly chatted as she waited for me to finish up and move my vehicle. I know she had to have seen my feet since they were inches from the spilled substance.
Overall another good time being barefoot.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Exercise Routine
My exercise routine is going well. As I mentioned in an earlier post I am doing a program called gymnasticbodies which recommends you do all your exercises barefoot. I last posted a video on my failed attempt to that weeks handstand exercise. I have since improved and can now stand on my head, supported by my hands, for 12 seconds. There are 15 different exercises I need to master before I will be doing any type of free standing handstand. Each exercise, if all goes perfect, it takes 12 weeks to master before you move onto the next exercise in the progression. Though in theory you can skip steps if you can complete the mastery for that exercise sooner. That comes out to almost 4 years before I get the strength, balance, and mobility needed to progress through all these stages to do a handstand, but I am making progress.
This week I performed the Mastery on one of the exercises designed to help you perform the Side Lever. I passed so I now move on to the next level. I can now test again on the new exercise to see where I am at so we will know where I am to start on my reps. This was first Mastery test I've taken, but I have moved up on several other items, just wasn't aware of the whole system worked.
One of the things I like about this plan, is that it is a progressive plan that starts where you are at. They make no promises of abs in 30 days or handstands in 12 weeks. You measure your progress through small victories when you attain mastery in a given exercise and mobility set. Then when you reach the mastery level for that step you move on. For me it will be a long process, for others they may be able to obtain mastery in many steps right away, so they can wiz right up to the top. That is fine with me, too often programs assume you are at a certain level or can complete a certain routine in x amount of time. Here you move along at your own bodies pace and that you are required to work on your mobility as your progress (or skip at your own peril later in the program). I also like the fact that your end goal is long term.
This week I performed the Mastery on one of the exercises designed to help you perform the Side Lever. I passed so I now move on to the next level. I can now test again on the new exercise to see where I am at so we will know where I am to start on my reps. This was first Mastery test I've taken, but I have moved up on several other items, just wasn't aware of the whole system worked.
One of the things I like about this plan, is that it is a progressive plan that starts where you are at. They make no promises of abs in 30 days or handstands in 12 weeks. You measure your progress through small victories when you attain mastery in a given exercise and mobility set. Then when you reach the mastery level for that step you move on. For me it will be a long process, for others they may be able to obtain mastery in many steps right away, so they can wiz right up to the top. That is fine with me, too often programs assume you are at a certain level or can complete a certain routine in x amount of time. Here you move along at your own bodies pace and that you are required to work on your mobility as your progress (or skip at your own peril later in the program). I also like the fact that your end goal is long term.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Another Barefoot Day
Saturday dawned and I planned to have another full barefoot day. The weather wasn't freezing so I had a good chance of success. Also, I wasn't planning on going anywhere special, just the local grocery store where I haven't had any issues yet.
First thing I had to do was reattach my dryer vent. it had fallen away from the wall and I wanted to put some screws in a connection that kept falling apart. You would think this would be a simple job but it ended up taking several hours to reconnect the pipes and -get a couple of screws through both pipes. Glad I had self tapping screws. But while I was doing this project I would hop up onto the nearby washer to access the dryer pipe, it was nice to do it in bare feet.
Ended up going to the grocery store twice. Once for my grocery run and then my daughter got her Raddish package in. Raddish provides recipes, cooking items (this time we got a purple rubber coated whisk), shopping lists and a few fun things to do. She decided to make the salad and the chocolate moose. So we went shopping for her items. She had to find and pick everything out and I had the honor of paying for everything. My daughter isn't a salad eater, but she loved the salad she spent a lot of time and effort making, she even commented on how much work it was. The foster boy helped cut up some of the stuff, so it was a joint effort. The chocolate moose tasted great, though it was a little runny. I told her she will just have to try again. Later this month we will be making some rock candy and a pasta dish. If you want to try Radish for your kids, use code h3rwph to save $20. Visit http://www.raddishkids.com and check them out.
Ran barefoot and managed 1.5 miles and still working on picking up the feet and not pushing off. I pushed a little too hard if you look at my heart rate (146 average) but my average cadence was 159, with the end of the run dragging down the average. At one point, for a quarter mile, my cadence was over 164, right where it should be. So I have to believe that this picking the feet up has improved my cadence and I'll eventually get to where I should be all the time. The wind chill temperature was 34ºF and my hands got a bit chilled, but my feet were once again fine.
First thing I had to do was reattach my dryer vent. it had fallen away from the wall and I wanted to put some screws in a connection that kept falling apart. You would think this would be a simple job but it ended up taking several hours to reconnect the pipes and -get a couple of screws through both pipes. Glad I had self tapping screws. But while I was doing this project I would hop up onto the nearby washer to access the dryer pipe, it was nice to do it in bare feet.
Ended up going to the grocery store twice. Once for my grocery run and then my daughter got her Raddish package in. Raddish provides recipes, cooking items (this time we got a purple rubber coated whisk), shopping lists and a few fun things to do. She decided to make the salad and the chocolate moose. So we went shopping for her items. She had to find and pick everything out and I had the honor of paying for everything. My daughter isn't a salad eater, but she loved the salad she spent a lot of time and effort making, she even commented on how much work it was. The foster boy helped cut up some of the stuff, so it was a joint effort. The chocolate moose tasted great, though it was a little runny. I told her she will just have to try again. Later this month we will be making some rock candy and a pasta dish. If you want to try Radish for your kids, use code h3rwph to save $20. Visit http://www.raddishkids.com and check them out.Ran barefoot and managed 1.5 miles and still working on picking up the feet and not pushing off. I pushed a little too hard if you look at my heart rate (146 average) but my average cadence was 159, with the end of the run dragging down the average. At one point, for a quarter mile, my cadence was over 164, right where it should be. So I have to believe that this picking the feet up has improved my cadence and I'll eventually get to where I should be all the time. The wind chill temperature was 34ºF and my hands got a bit chilled, but my feet were once again fine.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Stepping on Glass
If you walk barefoot you hear all the time, what if you step on a piece of glass? Well today I was wearing my minimalist sneakers without socks and I felt a pebble under my foot inside my shoe. I was getting ready to cross a busy street and was almost at my destination so I ignored it. It rolled around as I cross the street and I kept feeling it under my foot, just a minor annoyance. Once I got inside the building I took off my shoe and dumped out the offending pebble. Except it wasn't a pebble, it was actually a piece of glass. Looking very close it appears to have been from a mirror, since I could see the metallic coating on one side. Below is a picture of the dangerous item. No damage was done to my foot.
 |
| Glass inside shoe - maybe I should walk barefoot. |
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
A Theory for People's Negative Reaction to Barefoot Shoppers
I've been doing a lot of thinking about how the two people on Saturday reacted. The first gentlemen's reaction, I have already discussed, but basically he was uncomfortable with someone walking around in bare feet. He thought he could catch athlete's foot or some other fungus from my lack of shoes.
The second person, the store employee, I've been running through my head trying to figure it out. When I walked in, he noticed I was barefoot and then after a bit came and found me in the store to ask me if I had forgotten something. Then he told me I couldn't do that, referring to shopping in bare feet. I told him I didn't see any signs but he didn't seem to change his stance. But he was kind enough to let me finish shopping.
After much thought regarding my own limited experience to people's negative reaction to me being barefoot and reading other people's posts on confrontations with employees when shopping barefoot, I have a theory.
My Hypothesis
1) Most people believe that shopping or dinning in bare feet is against the law.
2) This law is per their State Health Department,
3) The law is for their own health safety.
Therefore, people who shop in bare feet are law breakers and may be putting our health at risk.
Results
They say first impressions as very important. So when an employee has a regard for the law and they see someone breaking the law in their store, they get upset and confront the barefoot person. It most often does not turn out well. Unless of course the barefoot person has a trump card like a disability, that requires them to be barefoot.
Barefooters Response
I'm thinking educating the general public on barefoot people is probably our best defense. How to do that is the big question. Perhaps contacting our favorite stores ahead of time with some education to clear the way for our visit. I realize this could backfire and they could formally disallow all future visits to the store while barefoot. But it is one thought.
A second option that could be used in conjunction with the International Barefoot Running Day and that is to use that event to educate the general public in not just barefoot running but shopping and dinning as well.
The second person, the store employee, I've been running through my head trying to figure it out. When I walked in, he noticed I was barefoot and then after a bit came and found me in the store to ask me if I had forgotten something. Then he told me I couldn't do that, referring to shopping in bare feet. I told him I didn't see any signs but he didn't seem to change his stance. But he was kind enough to let me finish shopping.
After much thought regarding my own limited experience to people's negative reaction to me being barefoot and reading other people's posts on confrontations with employees when shopping barefoot, I have a theory.
My Hypothesis
1) Most people believe that shopping or dinning in bare feet is against the law.
2) This law is per their State Health Department,
3) The law is for their own health safety.
Therefore, people who shop in bare feet are law breakers and may be putting our health at risk.
Results
They say first impressions as very important. So when an employee has a regard for the law and they see someone breaking the law in their store, they get upset and confront the barefoot person. It most often does not turn out well. Unless of course the barefoot person has a trump card like a disability, that requires them to be barefoot.
Barefooters Response
I'm thinking educating the general public on barefoot people is probably our best defense. How to do that is the big question. Perhaps contacting our favorite stores ahead of time with some education to clear the way for our visit. I realize this could backfire and they could formally disallow all future visits to the store while barefoot. But it is one thought.
A second option that could be used in conjunction with the International Barefoot Running Day and that is to use that event to educate the general public in not just barefoot running but shopping and dinning as well.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Improving Cadence with Form
Last week I started concentrating on my form and lifting my legs up instead of pushing off and I noticed a slight improvement in my cadence; which previously had stubbornly refused to improve no matter what I did. I took a run on Saturday and once again my cadence was improved as I focused on lifting the leg up. Not a lot, just the a few steps, but my maximum cadence was 169, definitely a good sign. This run also had a lower average heart rate, since I'm purposely trying to go slower to focus on the form. I'm also comparing this run to another run on the same route. My cadence on this run was higher the at the beginning and then drops back down at the end. Makes me wonder if I started to lose form or focus, maybe both. Something to think about on my next run.
Next I compared my average pace to two previous runs with about the same average pace. One run has my cadence way lower and the other run my cadence is all over the place, but shows an average of a few steps less. My new cadence is much more consistent, even when it dropped towards the end it stayed much more constant. You can check out my runs on mapmyrun or garmin connect. Find me under hikerdana.
Next I compared my average pace to two previous runs with about the same average pace. One run has my cadence way lower and the other run my cadence is all over the place, but shows an average of a few steps less. My new cadence is much more consistent, even when it dropped towards the end it stayed much more constant. You can check out my runs on mapmyrun or garmin connect. Find me under hikerdana.
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