[pct-l] I can't wear shoes

[Tom James Personal]

I wore conventional trail runners for trail races and decided, at the urging of my minimalist wife, to try a zero heal. NB 105 minimal shoe.  Bad move.  ran 2 easy miles and the achilles tendons screamed at me.  so much i could not train for several weeks. advice: Your feet gradually change to their environment.  Just like us.  Unfortunately changing footwear a week before your start is not recommended.  I bought new trail runners in December and have gradually been breaking them in for a 500 mile section adventure in july! Stick with the vff's or prepare for pain.  However. I do like compression. i bring comp calf sleeves to wear every other day until my body is trail fit.  I bring comp tights as well for dual use at night for circulation and lightweight sleepwear.

Good luck.

Walk on.   Tj

Sent from iphone.  Please excuse typos.

On Apr 20, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Terry <tsparks56 at aol.com> wrote:

> Ron,  get yourself some knee length compression socks and put them on and leave them on for the remainder of the day and sleep with them on after wearing "normal" shoes for the next week. 
> Trust me, your knots will nooner be a problem and you can enjoy your hike.  Also consider taking the socks with you on the hike to put on for sleep, they will cut your recovery time by as much as 50%. At the very minimum, your legs will feel far better every morning on the trail for wearing them. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Apr 19, 2013, at 11:20 AM, Ron Ronron <oldlemonparty at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I've been living my life in vibram five fingers for the past two years.
>> Normal shoes invariably hurt my feet, which is what lead me to VFF's. I've
>> spent eight hour days on hard concrete floors working retail for a couple
>> years in VFF's. I play basketball, run, etc in VFF's. I was amazed that
>> doing all these activities essentially barefoot only left my feet feeling
>> freaking amazing.
>> 
>> Having been convinced that wearing VFF's exclusively while hiking the PCT
>> was a bad idea, I started training with trail runners. No pack or anything,
>> just walking several miles. Bam, horrible knots in both calfs, and PF type
>> foot pain in the left foot. No fun a week before I start hiking.
>> 
>> So, I'm back to just having to wear the VFF's, which probably won't be an
>> issue in SoCal. May not work out too well in the Sierras. VFF's are not
>> ideal in continuously wet conditions. I also now have to carry a travel
>> size foam roller with me on my hike.
>> 
>> Shoes suck.
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