Pleasant Mountain

The hike yesterday was amazing! Pleasant Mountain in Denmark Maine showed us some beautiful views of the white mountains after a muddy scramble to the top. My feet got a work out! I put my KSO Vibrams on for the easterly descent along the sheer ledge of the mountain to the road. The total hike was 6.2 miles which we completed just in time for the sun to go down. What a joy.

I noticed that cold and wet feet are much more sensitive to the ground than hot dry feet. Gravel is rough too, especially on an incline with slippage!

I cant wait to hike again. It might be as soon as tomorrow so stay tuned!

Barefoot Running Science

Prevent injury-  By walking barefoot you are reverting back to how you were born to move.                                  

In turn you effectively reduce your chance to sustain an injury from running or walking. The heavily padded heel of our modern day shoes encourages a "heel-to-toe" foot strike on the ground. This is opposed to the natural "forefoot" strike and can lead to injuries including heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, runners knee and back pain.

Observe this:

This awkwardly large chart shows 'vertical ground reaction forces and foot kinematics for three foot strikes at 3.5 m s^-1 in the same runner." 

 It sounds disgustingly boring but..

Figure a. and b. shows the heel strike form wave has a rough and abrupt impact upon initial contact with the ground.

          When our heel connects with the ground first, there is little to nothing that the body can do to absorb the impact (other than the thick sole of the running shoe provided). This initial impact is what is causing injuries in runners. We much prefer to naturally land on the forefoot, which produces that clean sine-wave-like curve in figure c.

So there.

What is natural about this?

I hear from too many people that running barefoot is unnatural and uncomfortable. What they clearly don't understand is that it is very natural.
Our bodies have become adjusted to our own misguided creation: The modern running shoe. We did not evolve feet designed to wear these:

F***ing gross.

Its obvious to me at least that we have been bamshoosled (Yeah I did that) into believing that without this shiny new product, we will not be able to perform as well as our competitors. Yes, shoe companies know how to play the fear card and they do it very well.
Celebrity endorsements ensure you that the best athletes in the world use their shoes and that you will score the game winning dunk to win the game.
Here is a melodramatic commercial showing that:



I'll stick to using my feet and if its freezing cold I'm wearing those shoes my ex got me last year.

Fuck. 
I love running barefoot. 
Its like taking off a sensory blindfold and suddenly realizing that there is so much more to the ground you walk on. 
Amazing. 
I went ahead and got myself a pair of the Vibram Fivefinger KSO to protect my precious feet from dog piss and glass when I run in the greasy streets of Portland. A very sound investment.

Here they are. Not exactly handsome.

To be frankly honest my first run sans shoes was a difficult one. I was no more than a mile into it when I realized that my new found "forefoot" strike had sent my calves into a state of panic. It's truly amazing what your body gets used to. After years of running with cushy pseudo science shoes my calves, ankles, and feet have atrophied badly. It just goes to show how important it is to allow our bodies the proper form to perform!

Most recent hike:

This is Burnt Meadow Mountain "Range" in Brownfield Maine:

I hiked this pretty place last week and took my shoes off at the summit to enjoy a textural and pleasing descent down the other side of the mountain. The forest floor feels incredible when you put your feet to it and the rocks and roots serve as an intense but important contrast.

Cant wait to hike again...Gotta take the Vibrams!