As I'm at the start there's nothing too exciting for anyone to read yet but there's a certain "tingle" in it for me.
Day 1-7 in brief:
[*](8th November) just padded about the house in my socks.[*](9th) same as yesterday![*](10th) socks in the house, Evo II minimal shoes for walking about out of the house (collecting my kids etc.).[*](11th) same as yesterday again. Barefoot playing with the kids on a wobble board.[*](12th) I have some odd pains in 1 foot (I think from the wobble board) so I'm having a day off (back in heelies).[*](13th) thin socks in, Evos out.[*](14th) I have a thick head from too much :beer: celebrating last night (birthday today) so stay in all day (barefoot).
Today is day 8 (15th November). I am barefoot in the house. I decided to go for a barefoot walk in the park. I wore my Evos to get there (not far) noting a little broken glass & other things that on barefoot I'd want to avoid. I think I was thinking that I'd be able to walk as easily on this surface from the park all the way home...
I got to the park, almost everyone there was a dog walker and I suspect half of them leave the dog eggs behind so I didn't fancy walking on the grass. A bit of a shame really as I think that would have been the place to go for a first effort. Anyway, I walk to the cafe and, outside, I take off my shoes & thin socks...
Now the first "shocker" was the feeling of cold on my feet when I put them on the pavement. It is probably about 5 degrees centigrade (about 41F). From reading other peoples comments about the cold I think this is considered fine (or even "warm"). The second "shocker" is how quickly the cold on my feet is no longer an issue. The initial discomfort goes quickly. Nice one...
Time to start walking. I'm carrying my shoes in my hands and I think that in future I'll put these in my back pack (because if some little **** grabs one & runs off with it for a "laugh" there's no way I'll be able to get it back at the moment). You can see what the surface I walked on looks like around this park in my photo, (look at the surface near the bottom of the photo - I'm not sure how big the photo will be when you see it). It's sort of like tarmac with lots of small stones in it, some are embedded and some are laying on top. It's also wet and there are a few twigs & leaves...
To start off with it's not too bad but as I keep going some of the tiny stones stick to my feet & don't fall off. I try gently wiping the foot on the ground but it does not help much. A couple of old ladies go silent as we pass in opposite directions! I've probably done about 20 meters/60 feet now. Not too bad but I am so glad I did not come here expecting to run on it (yet)...
I keep going and I've now done about 200 meters. Things are really getting quite uncomfortable. I keep going...
About 250 meters now and someone has sprayed a day glow line across the path from some old event, it is about 5 meters away. The feeling on my feet is now really unpleasant. The sharpness off some little stones is not good. I aim for the day glow line & put my shoes back on there. I'm not sure if the cold made the sharp little stones feel worse, if it was just the cold or just the stones... Back in shoes and the contrast at the moment: Relief. Surprise at what I'd experienced (mostly in a good, learning kind of way).
Thinking about it on the way home I am not put off at only getting about 250 meters. I feel OK about it. I get home, wash my feet - [make mental note to take wet wipes or something for my next attempt]. Dry my feet - [hmmm, a towel may be handy too]. I leave the shoes & socks off now but I will put them back on for kiddie collection later.
I think my experience would put some people off but I have the benefit of having managed to run about barefoot as a kid during the summer on a flint/dirt track to get to the beach when I was about 4. The following year I wanted to do the same thing and I remember it was really uncomforable but, at 5, I some how remembered that it was like this the last year and that I'd quickly got use to it. That was about 41 years ago. I really hope I get use to it again.
Any advice / suggestions welcome.
Take it easy.