Almost 4 miles today

I took the longest walk so far today, nearly 4 miles. Everything was ok, but not great. I'm still struggling with form and balance. The heat has been a problem too. Hot roads/sidewalks suck.

I finally got my sole material delivered today to try to make my new sandals. I found the sandal construction info here:

http://www.invisibleshoe.com/

But I got the materials locally. I'm a big fan of buying local when I can. For what it's worth, the materials price at InvisibleShoe seems pretty reasonable given what I paid. So go ahead and take the easy route if you want to save some time.

We'll see how they turn out this weekend. I made a trial pair with some cheaper materials and it looks promising so far.

Barefoot Urban Legends #1: Driving

One of my concerns with the going barefoot thing has been driving. I was told (though I don't remember by WHO) that driving barefoot is illegal. Fred asked me about that today too.

So I though I'd do a bit of searching on the issue. Guess what. Urban legend. At least in Michigan. I wouldn't be surprised if it's illegal SOMEWHERE but I'm guessing that it's not common.

From the Michigan State Police:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/TSS_Field_Update_16_172717_7.pdf

Urban Legends of Michigan Traffic Law

The Traffic Services Section frequently receives questions based on misconceptions or urban legends. Some of these questions may involve valid laws or procedures in other states or provinces, but many fall into the category of myth or urban legend. A few of the more frequently asked questions appear below.

....

Barefoot Driving: There is nothing in the Michigan Vehicle Code that prohibits barefoot driving. Careless or reckless driving would really be a stretch, as an argument could be made that a barefoot person has more control over the pedals.

....

There are some other goodies in there too, but that's the bit that pertains to us.

I've conducted an informal poll and this is a very popular myth. Odd really. Glad to have it clarified.

Oh, and credit where credit is due, I got the link above from here:

http://www.dragonslife.org/barefoot-in-michigan-understanding-the-laws/personal/

Mama said there'd be days like this...

Well, some days are good, some not so good. My walk today was much shorter (just about 2 miles I think) and I never really hit my stride. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I did notice a few things:

1. I was pounding the ground with nearly every step (so of course my feet hurt a bit more today)
2. I couldn't seem to relax any part of my body for long. Shoulders, back, arms, legs, feet. Everything was tense.
3. I couldn't seem to "let go" and was focused almost the entire time on form. So naturally my form was bad.

I'm sure there will be more bad days ahead. Even though I can't consciously put my finger on it, I'm sure I'll learn something from today. I think the best thing I did was decide not to push it. When I had the option of turning towards the car or going on for another mile I went with the car. If I'd kept going I would have been more discouraged and I really doubt things would have improved. Plus that way I avoided the sharp rocks on a bad day :)

Incidentally, you'd think that rock would be the worst surface to walk on. Typically the rocks aren't all that bad unless they're new sharp rocks. I think my least favorite surface right now is wood chips. A nice spongy surface with shoes, but a long path of sharp sticks barefoot...

Another day without shoes

Went for another walk today. The longest yet. I was about 1.5 miles in when I suddenly felt like I "got" it. I figured I'd keep going to see if I could keep it up.

Over the next 1.5 miles I slipped in and out of good form. The real test came towards the end when the path switched to rock (and pretty sharp rock if you ask me). I did much better today than I have before. I managed to make it down the entire rocky section and it hurt far less than it has before. A few steps here and there even felt GOOD.

I have to say, it's going to take some time before I can relax properly going over terrain like that, but then that's kinda the point of the trails I've been walking... Variety.

I think I need to start carrying a foot washing kit in my car... Muddy day :)

Barefoot Walking

Well, thanks to my good friend Tony (damn him) I've been out walking around barefoot for 5 days now. I suppose it was only a matter of time before I tried something unusual again (the last one was polyphasic sleeping, which is MUCH more crazy).

I have to say so far that I'm a big fan. I got a few blisters on day 2 that are finally healed. The reason for the blisters was bad form, and I felt it happening. I like the instant feedback but I wasn't able to correct my form before it was too late.

As most barefoot sites I've found suggest, the real advantage to ditching ANY kind of shoe (including the "barefoot" shoes) is the nerve endings in your feet can quickly tell you when you're landing wrong. You learn much faster on rough terrain than on soft terrain, but too much rough terrain at first can be hard on your sensitive feet.

I started out at the Matthaei Botanical Garden trails (click the Visitors Guide link for trail maps) which offer a nice variety of surfaces.

Unlike walking in shoes, I think the most fun I've had barefoot is walking on rainy/muddy days. The cool wet ground on your feet is great, and the lack of tread on your feet forces you to learn to balance properly or you can slip a bit.

Today I looked up some videos on walking form (yeah, day 5... Probably should have looked earlier, but amazingly what I've discovered is I'm already walking very similarly to the suggestions because anything else HURTS). Not sure how to embed a video yet, so I'll just link. Here's one I liked:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BThS2TnjXhU

And here's one about running (though not specific to barefoot running, this is essentially the technique a lot of barefoot runners use):

http://www.viddler.com/explore/echifitness/videos/1/

And another on running:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE&feature=fvw

I'm nowhere near running yet myself. But I can actually see doing it now. I plan to give my body and my feet a few weeks minimum to get used to this.

There are some great tips at one of the oldest barefoot sites out there, including this great advice on how to wash the stuff off your feet:

http://therunningbarefoot.com/?p=1900

It works wonders :)

Lastly (since this is already dragging on) I wanted to mention another worry that people seem to have... Calloused rough ugly feet. Let me just say that my feet look better since I started walking barefoot than they have in years. I've been a habitual sandal wearer for the last 10+ years, and I found my feet were often dry and I had thick callouses on my heels. Since walking around without anything on my feet, they look much more healthy and most of the callouses have already been rubbed off just by walking. Of course you can't tell when my feet are dirty, which they often are, but if I want my feet to look presentable, they look much better than before!

Till next time, let your feet go naked folks!