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.
Showing posts with label Hike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hike. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Challenges of Hiking with Toddler
Saturday I went on another barefoot hike. This time a proper hiking trail through the woods. I was pretty excited to give my feet a test drive on the trail. For this trip I brought three kids with me, my daughter age 11, and two foster boys ages 8 and 3.
My first few steps on the trail were surprisingly soft. I could feel the ground give beneath my feet, even more so than a carpet. I eventually did encounter roots and rocks, but nothing that was too difficult for my bare feet to handle. The most challenging aspect of the hike was where to put my feet. In the past with boots, I had a lot more options on the placement of my feet and now I have to take a bit more care. To make matters even more challenging, I was holding he hand of the three year old who was constantly tripping and falling. Pretty typical for a toddler, since he even falls crossing the kitchen floor. So I tried to steer him onto the best path for his feet, which left me with a less ideal option.
Now add challenge number two, the toddler is not always predictable and will often choose the more difficult of the options in front on him. So he takes the spot where I planned to step and now I need to reroute my steps into even less desirable options. And when he did slip and fall his leg or body was often laying right in front of me, causing me to abort whatever step I had planned and take evasive action.
To me the trail is easy to follow and any person with half a brain should be able to stay on the trail. How difficult could that be. Well, I guess dirt, stones, wood, leaves, pine needles look nothing like a path to a toddler. Especially when they have been taught to stay on the sidewalk walk or paved path. Now I'm telling him to stay on the trail, he is probably thinking, "What trail!". At one point we came to a fairly straight section of trail, that was all swept out and only the bare earth showing. I let go of his hand and told him to follow the path. He immediately veers off the path and steps off the path down the bank onto the loose debris on the side of the path and falls. I pick him up and tell him just walk down the path, and then had to straighten him out several times before he managed to walk on the path.
On the way down, another challenge is as the toddler stumbles down the trail holding onto my hand, I am required to be slightly bent over, since he is usually slightly in front of me on the downhill side of the trail. Then as he lurches this way and that his 50 pound body is constantly tugging me in unexpected directions. Once again I need to change where I plan to place my feet, due to the influence his little body has on my center of gravity. It didn't take long for my back to feel the effects of holding onto the toddlers hand.
Probably one of the best parts of the day was early on in the hike, my daughter decided to join me in being barefoot and asked if I had room in my pack for her shoes. We also saw a handful of people hiking the trail and no one commented at all on our bare feet. The hike was a success and I'm already planning another hike, a bit longer this time, without the toddler though.
My first few steps on the trail were surprisingly soft. I could feel the ground give beneath my feet, even more so than a carpet. I eventually did encounter roots and rocks, but nothing that was too difficult for my bare feet to handle. The most challenging aspect of the hike was where to put my feet. In the past with boots, I had a lot more options on the placement of my feet and now I have to take a bit more care. To make matters even more challenging, I was holding he hand of the three year old who was constantly tripping and falling. Pretty typical for a toddler, since he even falls crossing the kitchen floor. So I tried to steer him onto the best path for his feet, which left me with a less ideal option.
Now add challenge number two, the toddler is not always predictable and will often choose the more difficult of the options in front on him. So he takes the spot where I planned to step and now I need to reroute my steps into even less desirable options. And when he did slip and fall his leg or body was often laying right in front of me, causing me to abort whatever step I had planned and take evasive action.
To me the trail is easy to follow and any person with half a brain should be able to stay on the trail. How difficult could that be. Well, I guess dirt, stones, wood, leaves, pine needles look nothing like a path to a toddler. Especially when they have been taught to stay on the sidewalk walk or paved path. Now I'm telling him to stay on the trail, he is probably thinking, "What trail!". At one point we came to a fairly straight section of trail, that was all swept out and only the bare earth showing. I let go of his hand and told him to follow the path. He immediately veers off the path and steps off the path down the bank onto the loose debris on the side of the path and falls. I pick him up and tell him just walk down the path, and then had to straighten him out several times before he managed to walk on the path.
On the way down, another challenge is as the toddler stumbles down the trail holding onto my hand, I am required to be slightly bent over, since he is usually slightly in front of me on the downhill side of the trail. Then as he lurches this way and that his 50 pound body is constantly tugging me in unexpected directions. Once again I need to change where I plan to place my feet, due to the influence his little body has on my center of gravity. It didn't take long for my back to feel the effects of holding onto the toddlers hand.
Probably one of the best parts of the day was early on in the hike, my daughter decided to join me in being barefoot and asked if I had room in my pack for her shoes. We also saw a handful of people hiking the trail and no one commented at all on our bare feet. The hike was a success and I'm already planning another hike, a bit longer this time, without the toddler though.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Shoeless Weekend - Friday Day One
This weekend I attended our district's men's convention and I spent the entire time barefoot. I checked in barefoot Thursday night and am still barefoot at home as I write this on Saturday evening. Over 48 hours without putting shoes on once. It was great.
The event was at Sunday River in Maine. During the whole weekend I got about a handful of comments: you look comfortable (I replied yes I am); nice mohair socks ( I replied, yes, very comfortable and they never wear out) and a few others. Nothing negative.
After the first session we broke up into groups and I went to find the hiking group. I grabbed my small pack with my VFF inside (just as a precaution) and headed back to the lobby. I was wandering around when Bill found me and asked if I was going on the hike. He had also been looking and hadn't found anyone yet. I said yes. It looked like it would be only the two of us. He noticed my bare feet and simply asked if I planned to hike barefoot, like it was something he saw all the time. Though I didn't know Bill to well he was aware of my hiking expertise, so that may have helped break the ice.
We headed up the ski sloop. It was rougher then most hiking trails, with the gravel and small rocks. I'm not sure if I would have made it up and back, it it wasn't for the patches of cool refreshing snow that I was able to walk across. Bill walked around the patches of snow, not wanting it to fall inside his sneakers. Point to barefoot.
On the way back down Bill felt something stabbing his foot so he stopped and took off his sneaker. Then he felt around the bottom of his foot and pulled out a small thorn out of his sock. Point to barefoot. A little further down the trail we encountered some mud in the middle of the trail. Bill walked around the mud and I walked right through it and was surprised how quickly it came off with just a little rinse in a shallow puddle further down the trail. Yet another point to barefoot.
The total distance hiked was 2.6 miles. That is now the furthest distance I have gone barefoot and my first hike. I'm very pleased. My Garmin Vivoactive had me at 6.4 miles at the end of the day, but most of that was on carpet and a nice dirt/sand trail.
I think this trip proved the barefoot may be superior to shoes, but do have to admit that we took it easy, if we had gone at a fast clip, I would have been eating the dust and if the distance was longer I probably would have gotten into trouble. As it was, the snow seemed to work to my benefit this time around, so shoes still have some merit.
Upon returning we stopped at the grill and I got a tuna melt and sweet potato fries, still barefoot and no comments. I was sitting at the end of the table closest to the cash register and I'm sure she noticed my feet when she brought my meal. Well actually I did received some feedback, the other people we sat with were a bit surprised that I hiked up the trail barefoot. They thought that made me a real hard core hiker.
That night they had a BBQ in the parking lot which was real easy to attend barefoot. The only think I noticed throughout the day was that I was much more aware of my feet and concerned about my toes getting stepped on. Not sure why I would think like that since my feet normally don't get stepped on in a crowd. Funny how your mind thinks sometimes.
The event was at Sunday River in Maine. During the whole weekend I got about a handful of comments: you look comfortable (I replied yes I am); nice mohair socks ( I replied, yes, very comfortable and they never wear out) and a few others. Nothing negative.
After the first session we broke up into groups and I went to find the hiking group. I grabbed my small pack with my VFF inside (just as a precaution) and headed back to the lobby. I was wandering around when Bill found me and asked if I was going on the hike. He had also been looking and hadn't found anyone yet. I said yes. It looked like it would be only the two of us. He noticed my bare feet and simply asked if I planned to hike barefoot, like it was something he saw all the time. Though I didn't know Bill to well he was aware of my hiking expertise, so that may have helped break the ice.
We headed up the ski sloop. It was rougher then most hiking trails, with the gravel and small rocks. I'm not sure if I would have made it up and back, it it wasn't for the patches of cool refreshing snow that I was able to walk across. Bill walked around the patches of snow, not wanting it to fall inside his sneakers. Point to barefoot.
On the way back down Bill felt something stabbing his foot so he stopped and took off his sneaker. Then he felt around the bottom of his foot and pulled out a small thorn out of his sock. Point to barefoot. A little further down the trail we encountered some mud in the middle of the trail. Bill walked around the mud and I walked right through it and was surprised how quickly it came off with just a little rinse in a shallow puddle further down the trail. Yet another point to barefoot.
The total distance hiked was 2.6 miles. That is now the furthest distance I have gone barefoot and my first hike. I'm very pleased. My Garmin Vivoactive had me at 6.4 miles at the end of the day, but most of that was on carpet and a nice dirt/sand trail.
I think this trip proved the barefoot may be superior to shoes, but do have to admit that we took it easy, if we had gone at a fast clip, I would have been eating the dust and if the distance was longer I probably would have gotten into trouble. As it was, the snow seemed to work to my benefit this time around, so shoes still have some merit.
Upon returning we stopped at the grill and I got a tuna melt and sweet potato fries, still barefoot and no comments. I was sitting at the end of the table closest to the cash register and I'm sure she noticed my feet when she brought my meal. Well actually I did received some feedback, the other people we sat with were a bit surprised that I hiked up the trail barefoot. They thought that made me a real hard core hiker.
That night they had a BBQ in the parking lot which was real easy to attend barefoot. The only think I noticed throughout the day was that I was much more aware of my feet and concerned about my toes getting stepped on. Not sure why I would think like that since my feet normally don't get stepped on in a crowd. Funny how your mind thinks sometimes.
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