Tuesday I finally did my first hike in my vibrams. Actually the first hike in at least a year. For two years, my right knee has hurt too much to walk down stairs or down a slope, so hiking has been out. And lately, foot pain has limited even walking.
But this week my husband and I were outside Santa Fe, and stopped in the town of Cerrillos to walk around. I warned him that I might have to turn around and wait at the car. There were hills and rocks, so I wasn't sure how it'd feel. Just took it slow and easy, avoiding any heel-strikes. Feeling the gravel, pebbles and rocks beneath my feet wasn't painful or anything, rather pleasant. Going uphill was easy as usual, but seemed even easier without being an inch or so off the ground. I was more grounded and balanced.
After awhile, my husband turned around and asked how I was feeling. "Great," I said, "but we're only going uphill. Downhill is the problem." "You just went downhill. Look behind you," he replied. I looked, and saw that I had just walked down a slope without noticing. I usually have knee pain when going downhill, but something about the shoes or my new walking style, or both, was helping eliminate that pain!
We walked a total of about one and a half miles, not the typical 5-mile hike. But it was a great start.
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