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lobster
10-12-2005, 23:12
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?

jackiebolen
10-13-2005, 00:32
Do some of the same in training?

DMA, 2000
10-13-2005, 01:45
Piss on 'em. Moises Alou does that for his hands, and he's played in a few All-Star games.

fiddlehead
10-13-2005, 07:14
Walk barefoot as much as possible, preferably in sand.
I jogged on the beach barefoot for 2 months before my first 100 mile race and had no foot problems.
Also, i believe it's important to have shoes that are plenty big. (mine are 2 sizes bigger than i normally take)
Most all of the foot problems i've ever had was because the shoes didn't fit properly.

Jaybird
10-13-2005, 07:42
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?






put those BOOTS on & put one foot in front of the other....hike, man, hike! :D


besides that...i've been told that applying "rubbing alcohol" on feet & heels also toughens them.

Blue Jay
10-13-2005, 08:04
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?

Have a someone hit me repeatedly until I decided not to do it.

chris
10-13-2005, 09:50
Run extensively, but without socks. Shoot for something like 25-30 miles a week. I'd start a year or two in advance.

Grampie
10-13-2005, 10:07
You have a good concern to toughen your feet up before you hike. During my 2001 thru I never got a blister on my feet. I attribute this too having well broken in boots and most of all; I spent as much time walking barefoot as possiable before my hike.

Footslogger
10-13-2005, 10:35
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?======================================
Well ...if it was me I'd consult a psycholgist first. Then I'd start doing a lot of barefoot walking.

'Slogger

The Will
10-13-2005, 10:35
It is my opinion that having broken in feet is equally important to broken in footwear. Just be specific (and deliberate). If you want to prepare for long hikes with a load, then take some hikes of length to prepare feet, engaged muscles, etc.

When I began my thru-hike I did do the rubbing alcohol thing beginning about two weeks prior to the hike and continuing treatment two weeks into the hike. I didn't have any blister problems what-so-ever. I'm not ready to attribute that 100% to the alcohol treatment, but I doubt that it would be harmful.

betic4lyf
10-13-2005, 20:17
first of if you are running thirty a day, you are gonna be training by doing things like running twice a day, with huge weekly mileage. not to rain on your parade but when i train for track at ~50 a week i am burnt out. i think it is doable but takes a lot of training. and to build up your feet do as much as pssible barefoot .

Bob Baker
10-13-2005, 21:49
You might want to look at those new Nikes that supposedly simulate what its like to be barefoot. I dont have any personal experience but from what Ive heard they do as they claim and strengthen your feet while offering the protection of normal shoes.

Seeker
10-13-2005, 22:23
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?
i'd go lay down in my hammock until the feeling went away.

but if i still had it after a few months of hammock therapy, i'd start slowly and build up to walking 30 miles a day with whatever load you plan on carrying with whatever footwear you'll be wearing... your shoulders and back also need to get used to the strain of the weight and the rubbing of pack straps as well...

The Solemates
10-14-2005, 10:37
soak em in dog paw toughener

Newb
10-14-2005, 15:22
I heard a stint in a Turkish Prison will toughen your feet up.

lobster
10-14-2005, 18:55
Has anybody tried that dog paw toughener? Name of stuff?

CynJ
10-14-2005, 19:02
Here's one version....


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10067&Ntt=dog%20pad&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2001&Nty=1

betic4lyf
10-14-2005, 20:02
dont get nike frees, if you want to simulate running barefoot, go to a local field and do some laps barefoot. frees wont toughen your feet, and the high heel doesnt help. if you want to train and build up your feet, train in road racing flats.

mattydt20
10-18-2005, 21:50
It's obviously important to walk several miles a day before your hike, but walking over 10 a day isn't feasible for most people with full time jobs. Furthermore, in the colder regions of the country, walking barefoot in the winter and early spring isn't really possible either. For those who have tried it, what does rubbing alcohol do to your feet? I've heard that it's supposed to toughen the skin, but I've never been given a reason why. Before I rode my bike cross country two summers ago, I was told to rub it on my butt to preven sores. Anyone have a clue? How many times a day do you need to apply it? How long does it take to see changes?

The Solemates
10-20-2005, 14:51
Has anybody tried that dog paw toughener? Name of stuff?

never tried it, and i think its dumb, but i have heard of people doing it. if you are an active person before a thru, there really is no reason to toughen your feet.

SavageLlama
10-21-2005, 21:01
Call me crazy, but I hear some people actually do something called "training" for their hikes. Not me, of course.. so I can't verify its effectiveness. But I've heard it may actually work.

soccrosse
10-22-2005, 12:09
Alcohol dries out your feet and makes them more susceptable to building callouses. I have used alcohol routinely on my section hikes and never had any problems with blisters.

mattydt20
10-22-2005, 12:52
Call ME crazy, but even someone in optimal physical shape for hiking might be slowed down by a few blisters. No one suggested they wouldn't train before hiking, so there's no need to throw sarcasm at people inquiring about things they've heard.

JoeHiker
10-25-2005, 15:09
If you planned on hiking or running 30 + miles every day for the length of the AT, what would you do to toughen your feet up?
To toughen up your feet you need calluses. OK, that's obvious but what that means is before you get the calluses, you generally are going to get a few blisters. A callus is your body's long-term response to the same stress that causes a blister.

You don't need to walk/run barefoot though. I've been running competitively for 25 years. The number one way I've found to toughen up my feet is to run in shoes, without socks. When I've started up running again after a long layoff, I'll train in socks but race in flats with no socks. The racing will give me a few blisters. I'll wear socks again until they heal and then repeat. After a few weeks, my feet are plenty tough and I never get blisters again.