Walking

I walk from three to fie million steps per year. In doing so I wear through shoes and through socks every six months or less. It makes sense that I would experiment with barefoot shoes since I spend so much time walking. 

The Experience

Initially I tried the Vapor Glove 6 and I was able to walk my usual routes without trouble. I did find one surface where it felt as though the shoes were not adapted to the weathered road conditions and that’s part of the reason I decided to try others. I also found that with the Vapor Glove 6 I could feel my heel stomp onto the hard road surface and I really had to be attentive to changing my walking style overnight. 

The easiest sport to practice every day is walking. We can walk to the bus stop, train station or other places every single day. We can walk in the morning, we can walk at the shops, and we can walk at lunch time or in the evening. All of these walking opportunities mean that shoes are on our feet for hours at a time and need to be comfortable. That’s why playing with Vapor Gloves and Trail Gloves makes sense. I have now walked twenty kilometres in both. 

I went for a walk with the barefoot shoes for a second day in a row. I didn’t regret it. I need to pay more attention to how I walk, specifically I need to make sure not to slam my heel into the ground with each step and this takes focus, muscle use, and discipline.
This time I wore socks with the barefoot shoes and the sensation is different. I prefer feeling that my feet are protected by the shoe, and by the socks. I don’t know why I dislike walking without socks in these shoes. I suspect that it’s a matter of adapting, psychologically.

I walk around in socks when I’m at home, so not quite barefoot, but almost. The idea of barefoot shoes is to get the human body, and especially the lower half to get back in touch with walking barefoot.
Yesterday I went for an 8.55km walk in barefoot shoes. I didn’t regret it. I took some spare shoes with me in case I found myself in such agony that I felt the need to switch. The truth is that I didn’t. When I walked the same route with crocs, and again with wellington boots I felt pain quite fast, and I just wanted to get home. With the barefoot shoes I didn’t. The Shoes I have: Merrel Vapor Glove 6.

The Swiss travel an average of 30 kilometres per day in their cars, according to a new survey shared by the Radio Television Suisse.

I walk 14 to twenty kilometres per day, and if I go for a bike ride I travel 30 kilometres. I use the car twice a week, for food shopping and that’s mainly because of the 15 minute rule for refrigerated food, rather than laziness. During the pandemic I would do food shopping with the car but pick up the drinks by going for a walk. It’s a one hour trip to the shops and back for me. 

Connected watches know everything about us. In theory they listen to us 24 hours a day for years in a row. My Apple watch has been on my wrist for over four years, every single day. It has been for swims, runs, rock climbing, via ferrata, office work and more. 

The watch knows how much I walk, when I get up, when I go to sleep, how well I wash my hands, how exposed I am to noise and much more. It also knows whether I am moving energetically or lazily. It knows if I am walking faster or slower. It also knows how rested or stressed I am, by looking at heart rate variability. 

It’s a lake that was dug out when they built the A1 motorway. The quarry that was left behind became a lake. For a long time cars could drive around the lake.

View of the Lac De Divonne

The loop around the lake is good for walking, cycling, rollerblading and more. It is around 3.6km long and there are plenty of parking spaces beside it. If you want there is another option.

Men’s Health has an article about a person that walked 10,000 steps a day for a month, when his normal step count is 4000. According to the Pedometer++ app on my phone I have taken more than 10,000 steps a day for 140 days in a row. I have to take 10,000 steps for at least six days in a row before I can have a lower step day count. Usually the only reason my step count is lower than 10,000 is that I spent the day driving from one European country to another.

I like the long project but I decided to try a shorter one first.

I walk every single day, whether it’s raining, windy, snowing, a heat wave and more. I like heatwaves because dog walkers usually stay in. We live in an age and society where fear of dogs is not respected. Yesterday I was on a walk and i saw two big dogs. One was on a leash and the second was free to roam. That freedom to roam encouraged me to divert my route to go through a muddy forest.