Is anyone else starting to suffer from the complications of cabin fever as a result of not going barefoot all winter? After having last gone barefoot in October, I'm starting to look forward to April when the snow in this region will be gone for good and I will be able to start walking barefoot again. I find that I tend to use this time of year as a time for reflection. It also helps motivate me for the new season of going barefoot again.
Yeah, I've even run a few errands barefoot in colder weather than I'd normally consider - just to get my "fix.". Right now, if it hits 50 deg F (10 deg C), it feels like a heatwave. I went out today (mid-40's), but drove barefoot and put on my flip-flops to go inside the businesses. In the summer I wouldn't even consider taking shoes with me, but this time of year, the cooler weather and the pastiness of my white legs makes me a bit more self-conscious. In a month or two things should start getting better.
Or you can try a little coldfooting, just to keep yourself "in shape" (physiologically and, um, barefootedly). If cold weather just isn't for you...a man can always dream. Coldfooting can be pretty fun...just the "cold" version of "hotfooting."
It seems to be a cold winter everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. November was still quite warm in Germany and I walked around barefoot most of the time. But in the beginning of December it turned cold, and this has been lasting until now. Several times I walked with sandals and took them off for 10 min of snowfooting, but it was very frosty below the surface and not good for longer walks. I am using my time to revise my barefoot homepages, e.g. translate some parts in English, drawing barefoot trails in Google Earth to generate kmz files and planning some barefoot lifestyle promation for the next warm season! I hope that the first day I'll completly live without shoes will be in early March, as it was in former years! Feel good, live unshod, Lorenz
I've had to be shod since mid-December, which is unprecedented. I will have to re-harden them when the weather finally relents.
here in Southeast Texas we've had record cold months of December and January. February is shaping up to also be record cold. by that I mean the average daily temperatures have been lower than normal (average) by about 10F. so my barefoot forays have been fewer
I'm thinking my first barefoot venture will be April or May. I'm starting to get anxious to do it again, although beginning barefoot running on the treadmill has helped tide me over a little.
I know this feeling.. My toes be all water logged from sweat socks, puddles and snow.. The poor babies. I do notice my feet are colder with socks on in the house, so I try to gives them some air.. Though I change my socks about 3 times in a work day, Its not much better and the laundry is piling up.. Im glad I have about 100 socks if not more. I can fill a 30gl rubber maid with all my socks... Its like a Army thing lol.. There was this class on how to keep from getting jungle rot. A dry foot is a happy foot, right after they ran us through a swamp.
Freezing temperatures for one month straight have limited barefooting to indoors and some occasional snowfooting. Can't wait for spring to return.
The topic of being barefoot on a treadmill came up a while back as a way to start getting your soles in shape for the warmer weather. I think it's a great idea! I haven't started the treadmill yet, but probably should before long. I did do a fast-paced barefoot workout on our treadmill a year or two ago (fast walk, not run) and ended up with some nice blisters. I was thinking this year I'd use the treadmill at a more leisurely pace to hopefully avoid blisters. That wouldn't be much of a cardio-vascular workout, but I have an exercise bike with barefoot-friendly pedals that I beat the hell out of to get my blood flowing. Have you had issues running barefoot on your treadmill?
My feet always have fairly tough soles and I have no problems with blisters from the treadmill. Not nearly as good as runnning barefoot outside though!
Not really. I get sore spots on the insides of the balls of my feet that hardly amount to blisters, and they become callouses within a couple days. It feels a bit like warm pavement, but squishier. The biggest issue is just having very tired calves, which is a good thing; it means they're being worked harder than ever before. I love barefoot running.
I keep going barefoot even though we've had almost constant snow and ice since mid-December (quite rare for our climate). But no, no problems with cabin fever
Cabin fever is a problem in Maine for most of us, one way or the other. Doesn't matter if you bf or not. I do, but the cold here is always enough to stop me bare footing any length of time about half the year. I do sneak in those short bf times at either end of the season, of course, and sandals or flops further extend my times of being open, at least in civilization. This has NOT been a cold winter for Maine, as it has for much of the US, but it's all relative: my warmer than usual January days are colder than Virginia's record cold days. So I'm still locked out of the freedom for a long time every year. We have many Europeans on this forum and in this thread, I think. My little piece of America is much alike to Sweden.
Well, since we don't have these long cold winters in the flatland parts of Germany - hah, that is, normally - I'm usually not a victim of cabin fever, really. However, this particular winter has been an exception to the rule of milder winters over the last years, and from a barefooter's point of view, I am joining in with this message: wiggling toes, currently bare only inside the warmth of my li'l apartment, ~*Ganesha*~
@essenceofweez where do you run barefoot on the treadmill; at a gym? I tried at mine last year and was told I had to put on shoes because of their insurance reasons.
Here's a very informative, well-made video I found on YouTube about the benefits of running barefoot, "The Barefoot Professor": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE"]YouTube- The Barefoot Professor: by Nature Video
Try again now all this recent research about the benefits of barefoot running has hit the wires! I doubt their insurance truly requires it. I won't say there isn't any company or policy that requires it anywhere, ever, because there are too many insurance companies and policies to be sure of that... But so far, out of all the times we've been told a similar thing in stores & convinced the manager to look it up, it has turned out there was nothing in the policy about bare feet for customers at all. Did you ask them to look it up and point out the part where it says footwear is required?
No Cabin fever here (from barefooting at least). I've been barefoot all winter and we had one of the harshest winters in years. It snowed alot and was colder than normal. I have not worn a pair of shoes all winter and I did fine. I even survived the last blizzard we had. I had to go out and shovel all of that snow. I can't even say that I've been miserable, not owning shoes. My bare feet have been quite comfortable all winter. And it's not like I stayed indoors the whole time, I've been out shopping and out to bars with friends, school, work and all the normal stuff.... all barefoot. No shoes, no problems
