Musings

Walking, Running and Hiking Socks—It Pays to Know What’s Available

Been to your neighborhood outdoor recreation store lately to buy socks? The array of choices and purposes can be mind-boggling! What happened to just having a nice, cottonish sock with adequate heal and toe padding, and maybe a gradation of thickness, depending on what kind of weather you’d be hiking or exercising in?

Unfortunately (because you need to do your homework, know your sock choices and try them out), and fortunately (technology advancement in materials means they now make socks for every kind of feet, environment and need), you have a variety to choose from and try. Because your feet, comfort, blister prevention and exercise enjoyment depend on it, it pays to know your options. So let’s do some general studying. You’ll be doing yourself a monumental favor!

 

Going past the basics to specialty socks—

Walking, Running and Hiking:

In this category, you’ll find socks made for

Moisture Wicking— (and keeping the feet as dry as possible). Especially good for you super-sweaters. Offered in road and trail versions, different heights, and a variety of material blends.

Hiking—high calf or crew, hikers will choose wool or wool blend in different thicknesses, depending on the weather. But make sure if you wear wool you frequently check the sock for fabric clumping. That can cause blister problems.

Sock Liners—Runners, walkers and hikers sometimes wear liners between their woolies and the shoe in order to wick moisture away from the foot and reduce friction (or shear), which reduces your chances of being disabled by blisters from too-moist feet.

When I discovered these babies, I thought I’d nearly died and gone to heaven! They made hiking SOOOO much more enjoyable. One of the things that had turned me off to hiking (aside from the leaden boots that used to be standard fare), was the bulky feeling of the socks inside the boots. (Remember, I spent most of my years as a bare-foot or ped-footed gymnast, so anything heavy on my feet made me miserable.) These liners gave a silky feel to my feet and legs and made getting those SmartWool hiking socks on over my feet a breeze. They also reduced hot spots and blisters, and wick moisture from your feet, so I was immediately sold. I wear them under my ski socks, too.

I swear by sock liners when I’m wearing hiking boots! If you’re on a long trek, with an overnight stay, it cuts down on the amount of outer sock washing. Washing the thin liners is quick and easy, and if it’s during the summer, they usually dry overnight, or you just clothespin them to your backpack the following day to hang dry as you’re walking. Always carry at least two pair of liners with you for this. They’re light and compact enough to stuff in your backpack without taking up too much room. (Of course, discount the hang-to-dry part if you’re knee-deep in snow during the winter.)

Double-layered Socks—These are now my go-to socks! I love, Love, LOVE theme! A REI associate recommended them to me while I was shopping at their Seattle flagship store. They’re ankle height and are SOOOO comfy! I’m planning to wear these on our pilgrimage, even in cold weather. I’ll have lightweight, ankle gaters on to keep the pebbles and dirt out, and if it’s really cold, I’ve got lightweight silk long underwear. And maybe I’ll wear an additional pair of sock liners underneath the double-layered models.

 

Is that overkill? Not for me, personally. Triple layers help some people tremendously. For some, they might not like that additional layer. You need to find out what works for you.

 

Compression Socks—I’ve heard both pros and cons on these. One runner wrote a long article disparaging these socks and giving his reasons why. Research hasn’t drawn a positive conclusion on them, but as some experts state (and I would agree), if they make you feel better and don’t cause any harm, go for it! (One of my doctors personally swears by wearing them on long plane flights so combat circulatory problems.)

Some of the stated benefits include: improved circulation, reduced swelling, increased comfort, improved maximal oxygen consumption, quicker recovery, and reduced leg fatigue. Some people wear them strictly to enhance recovery, so their feet will be perky enough to put in mileage day-after-day.

 

But beware of wearing compression socks in the heat! You may set yourself up for heat rash (I’m prone to this, with horrible red splotches popping up at the top of the sock and about two inches beyond that.) You don’t want to stress your circulatory system!

 

Other options—

 No socks—Then there’s the sockless aficionados. This used to be more of a problem when athletic shoe insoles couldn’t be removed. Then your foot sweat seeped into the insole/liner, which caused the insole to stiffen and lose its support capabilities. But some of my athletes at Indiana University (many whom were national champions, Olympic Trial competitors, or went on to be Olympians) loved the no sock feel. With all of the nerve endings in the feet and toes, it helped them feel the ground more. Their shoes were incredibly stinky, though! And stiff from all of the sweat salts.

 

Know how to put on a sock?

Yes, there is a right and wrong way to put a sock on your foot.

  1. First, turn them inside out to make sure they’re pebble or dirt or pile-free. Then turn them back.
  2. Then, roll the ankle portion down to the toe area as far as possible.
  3. Slide the sock over your toes and carefully work the sock up your foot, ankle and calf.
  4. Make sure any seams are not directly over your big or little toes, to rub on these appendages when the shoe is on and cause problems.
  5. Smooth and straighten the sock out.
  6. Put your shoe on and make sure the socks are situated on your foot in a comfortable manner.
  7. Lace up your shoes and have at it!
  8. Take the time to remove your shoe and sock during your walk or hike, if you must. It’s common to get little pebbles, dirt and dust in your shoes and socks that create friction problems. Clean them out, and start again. Your feet might enjoy the fresh air! J

 

Wearing gaters helps alleviate the dirt and pebble problems.

 

WARNING!If you do elect to wear layer upon layer of socks, go up at least a ½ size in your hiking boots or shoes. You don’t want that puffy, padded sock to get squashed (so long cushy padding!) or make the fit so tight your foot is screaming in pain! And make sure you try the socks on with the pair of shoes/boots you want to buy, while you’re in the store!

 

Advice you might want to consider, or not—

A friend of mine who walks the Camino de Santiago nearly every year suggests buying a boot or shoe a size to a size-and-a-half larger, to allow for your feet to swell on lengthy mileage days. But I wouldn’t do that. With shoes that much larger, your feet will slop around in them at the beginning of your walk/hike, and you’ll increase the friction and shear forces assaulting your feet. The result? Instability and increased hot spots and blister formation. He also tells people they will definitely get blisters, which might be because of this shoe way-too-large shoe practice.

But your feet will swell, and there is a remedy for that.

 

Train, train, and train some more!

There’s no substitute for putting in the mileage ahead of time during training, so your feet will widen and toughen up and be prepared for the mileage you’ll be walking. Or you can consider buying larger shoes as you progress on your hike. Evidently some thru-hikers have been known to do this when walking the Appalachian and Pacific Coast Trails—ordering larger sizes to be shipped ahead to a pickup location or actually leaving the trail to shop at suppliers stationed along the route.

 

Wanna avoid wet feet in rain and are too cheap to buy moisture-wicking socks or expensive rain gear?

As athletic trainers at the University of Wisconsin, (where I was an undergraduate student trainer), it wasn’t unusual for us to be subjected to standing water on the non-draining AstroTurf during spring football training. That was something our cute little white nylon Nike tennies with the red swish couldn’t handle. Porous, they were!

So, rather than tough it out and risk getting sick from standing around for hours (in the cold, wet weather, under the stadium lights) in soaked feet, another female athletic trainer and I started the following uniform craze:

 

  • Put sock on.
  • Put sock-covered foot into a plastic sandwich baggy.
  • Liberally wrap the top of the baggy (around the ankle) with white athletic tape to create a halfway decent seal and secure the baggy to the sock.
  • Put baggy and sock-covered foot into your stylish red-swish Nike.
  • Walk out to the football field and pad up-and-down the sidelines while the team practices.
  • Squish back to the training room after three hours, remove the shoe, tape, baggy and sock and put on dry shoes.
  • Clean the dirt and mud from your Nikes, air them out overnight, and do it all again the following day.
  • Voila! Dry feet (that didn’t freeze or look like prunes)!

 

Ultramarathon runner John Vonhof says you can do this with recycled bread bags. Haven’t tried that one myself, but it might be worth it to carry a couple of recycled bags along on my pilgrimage. In case I encounter a deluge!

 

NEXT WEEK: Preventing and treating foot blisters.

Until then, have fun trying new socks, and enjoying your walk and hike more!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Andrea A Owan

Meditating on Marriage

I’m doing a lot of meditating today. Actually, I’m spending most of the day reminiscing and meditating on marriage. Specifically my marriage, and the 35 years of wedded bliss my husband and I are celebrating today.

Has it always been wedded bliss? No. Sometimes it’s been downright painful, tough, agonizing. For both of us.

At some points I’m sure both of us have asked ourselves whether we married the “right” person. Or questioned whether we should have married at all.

Indeed, sharing life with someone else—when you need to compromise, when sometimes it’s 90% give on your end and the other person is in total receive mode, when family and financial stress, extreme illness, overwork and exhaustion bear down on you and you feel totally alone in your anguish—can be difficult. It can stretch you beyond what feels like your limit.

But it can also be the most rewarding experience. Sharing day-to-day life with someone else. Laughing with them, crying with them, planning, strategizing, exploring, hoping and laboring side-by-side with them. Shooting for the stars and reaching them together. Suffering with them. Growing with them. Compromising. Having little clones of both of you and raising them to be bigger or better clones. Being fruitful and multiplying, in all areas of life.

 

I have the opportunity to spend all day meditating on it—retracing when and how we started, where we’ve been, what we’ve done together, (I highly recommend doing that. You’d be surprised at just how much you’ve managed to accomplish together.), what we want to accomplish together, where I hope we are next month, next year, in five years and beyond. God willing.

And I’ll be thanking God a lot in the meditation. He’s brought us through some tragedies and difficulties we never could have weathered or survived without Him.

I’ll be meditating alone because my beloved has to work. Usually we’d make sure we both have the day off, and you think we’d make sure that happened again for such a BIG year, but we’re going to be heading out of town in a few days to breathe some cool mountain air, do some pilgrimage training, and making our marriage and family assessment, a yearly ritual for us. If we don’t know where we’ve come from or where we want to go, any path will get us somewhere.

But we aren’t satisfied with just “somewhere.” We want to have some idea where we’re going, or would like to go in our married life.

 

Get away from normal to clear your mind and reconnect—

Getting away from our homestead, into a different, relaxing environment helps us focus and spend uninterrupted time reflecting, analyzing, praying and planning. And we’ll be going on that special pilgrimage soon, so that’s another event we have to look forward to, to celebrate all these years together.

So I’m spending the day prepping for our getaway, asking myself where I’d like to see me, us, and, yes, my beloved, in another year. In the three major areas of life:

 

Physical

Emotional

Spiritual

 

Do some serious talking and encouraging—

And I want my beloved to tell me where he’d like to see me in that time too. Nothing encourages a husband or wife more than having the support of their spouse, and then hearing how proud they are of you. Generous atta girl and atta boy complements will be liberally verbalized.

 

Dig in and identify—

We’ll peel back layers in the onions of faith, family, and work. Identify which onions are getting old or stinky, or have rotted or dried out. Which onions need to be planted and nurtured, and which onions need to be tossed out and relegated to the past.

 

Celebrate!

We’ll end today with a special candlelight dinner concocted at home. Something we used to do in our young-and-broke days. Something we’ve come to realize in our old-and-secure days was more meaningful, memorable, and enjoyable than dropping a wad at a 5-star restaurant, although we’ve enjoyed those celebrations too. We’ll make dinner together and break out the wedding china and crystal and toast ourselves. And praise our Lord who has bound us securely together by His mighty hand and love.

Just thinking about all of that right now, as I write this, makes me happy. Planning the future together is thrilling, even when we don’t always see eye-to-eye; even when one of us is a little more enthusiastic, or pessimistic, about the future. After all these years we have learned to hope all things. Together.

 

And that’s what I’m celebrating most. Togetherness. Sustainability. Love. In its purest form.

Unconditional. From both sides of the marriage aisle.

 

Forgive me if this sounds terribly arrogant, but here’s to us!

 

NEXT WEEK: We’ll return to our brief overview of the different worldviews that have shaped our thinking and politics, often unintentionally. They’re worth knowing and analyzing, so you can better understand how people’s beliefs and views are shaped, and how your faith may have been tainted by some of the teachings.

 

Until then, thanks for letting me indulge myself in celebration. And if you’re looking for ways to recharge your relationship, I encourage you to do an onion-peelback together. But a word of caution: you must be willing to listen when the other person shares their heart, without assessment or snarky, too-quick comebacks. Listen in a way that encourages them to talk. Let them be vulnerable. That’s one way you can encourage them to hold your heart gently, and know you’re holding theirs.

 

Until next week!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by David Kokainis

In the Beginning—Are We More Spirit Than Body?

Body and spirit. That’s how the Lord made us. All we need to do is return to the first book of the Bible—Genesis—to learn that.

In Genesis 1:26-27 and 2:7, the New International Version version says,

 

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,…

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

 

Clearly, at that point, once God breathed life into Adam and Eve, they were both spirit and body. Combined. Melded perfectly—body and spirit—into human beings. A man and a woman.

 

And God said it was good.

 

So the question is—

If God thought the spirit was the most important aspect or component, why did He bother to encase man’s spirit in flesh? Why go to the trouble?

There’s no indication from Scripture that Adam’s spirit existed in heaven prior to his creation or “birth,” and there’s no indication ours do either.

When Adam started life, the intention was for him to be perfect, unblemished, living forever in perfect communion with God. No pain, no suffering, no illness, no death.

God even walked with them in the garden in the cool of the afternoon. Why would he bother to do that if flesh, and physical communion, weren’t as important as the spiritual?

 

I may be way off in my thinking, but I get the impression that—from the beginning—the body was pretty important to God, and still is.

 

I’ll explain why I think that’s true NEXT WEEK.

 

But I’d like to hear your opinion. What do you think?

 

Until next week!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Aaron Burden

Knowing Your Socks—Materials Matter

Ever spend much time considering the socks you wear, especially the ones you put on for exercise walking, running or hiking? If not, you should. They’re critical to your foot health and exercise enjoyment. And the all-important blister prevention.

 

4 Basic Functions of Socks—

Socks do have some important functions, besides just keeping your feet warm and comfy, and maybe adding extra padding. The functions are:

Protection

Warmth

Cushioning

Absorbing or wicking moisture from the feet

 

While you may head to the ubiquitous white, six-pack tube socks for every need, those might not be the best choice for your feet or your activity. A shapeless cotton sock may be more harmful than helpful.

There’s much to consider when selecting a sock, something I’m really just beginning to appreciate.

 

My experience—

Growing up in Hawaii, socks were not a go-to wardrobe item. At least not often. Open-toed shoes and slippers were clothing staples, and Keds for physical education classes were the norm, which were often worn sans socks. And as a gymnast, bare feet or little white Peds anchored on the feet and ankles by elastic were the norm. I spent hours stitching quarter-inch elastic in crisscross fashion on my peds; and when they got holes in the balls of the feet, I’d use those as top layers to two or three (or more) bottom layers. Even back then, I wanted as much padding as I could get on my feet. Having all that cushion also helped when I ground my socks in resin to keep my feet well-anchored to the balance beam.

But what’s available now is light years away from what you could find on the shelves several decades ago.

 

Sock materials and construction—

Cotton. Silk. Spandex. Nylon. Wool. Blends. A ton of choices. What works for someone else may not work for you. What works for one type of activity and shoe may not work for others.

Dense weaves provide more cushion and often more warmth, which may not be ideal if you’re out running or hiking in hot temperatures. Double layers of socks (as I used to wear as a gymnast) provide cushion and the added benefit of reducing friction, critical to longer days of walking or hiking. (Can anyway say blister prevention?!)

 

 Different benefits from different materials—

Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of each type of material, so you can get an idea what you might want or need.

 

Cotton—While these might be your first and cheapest selection, it is probably best to avoid them. Cotton socks, especially 100% cotton, provide no moisture wicking, so when you sweat, your feet are more likely to get wet, possibly cold, and blistered.

Cotton blends—Anything containing cotton plus spandex, rayon, acrylic, or nylon provides some stretch, better conforming to the foot, and some advantages over the 100% cotton models.

Silk—Once a man and woman’s staple, and primary choice, silk socks are now most often used as liners. I have a pair of silk liners I LOVE! I wear them between my wool hiking socks and boots. They reduce friction and have the added benefit of allowing me to slide my thick hiking socks on without much effort. I also wear them between my ski socks and ski boots. Very comfy! I have to replace them, though; I’ve worn them so much they have runs in them. Can’t bring myself to toss them out!

Wool—The advantages of wool are that it usually provides more cushioning, definitely provides more warmth, and wicks moisture away from your sweaty foot. But it’s also a comfortable sock to wear in the heat.

Wool blends—Again, comfortable in temperature extremes. They can also be soft and long lasting.

Fleece socks—Fleece is soft and warm and dries faster than wool. Fleece socks can be baggy, though. I like to wear fleece as ankle warmers—they roll down around the ankle and keep me warm.

Synthetic blends—The majority of synthetic sock materials are blended with cotton, nylon, spandex, or acrylic. They can offer protection against a wide range of problems, such as moisture-driven blisters, friction hot spots, and droopy socks that just don’t want to stay up. Many are moisture wicking, which is great for reducing blisters. Some have good insulation properties to keep you warm (such as ski socks). You can find them in single or double layer (now my favorite type of sock to wear).

 

Check your drawers—

Pull out all of your socks. What kind of blend do you have the most pairs of? Can you remember why you bought the socks? (They were cute and stylish? On sale? Cheap?)

Ask yourself what kind of activities you do on a regular basis. What kinds of needs you, and your feet, have for socks. What your budget is. (Try not to skimp in the sock department.)

 

 

Go window shopping—

Go to your department store and look around to see what they carry. Inspect the package to see what the material content is.

Head to your local outdoor activity or shoe store, particularly the stores specializing in walking or running, to see what they carry. Get with the professional staff at these stores to see what they recommend, what they wear when they’re out for a day hike.

 

Change your shopping approach—

It may be time for you to start being a little more need-based than utilitarian in your approach to buying and wearing socks!

 

NEXT WEEK: We’ll look at the different kinds of socks available for exercise.

 

Until then,

take care of your feet!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Was Jesus a Philosopher?

Lots of people refer to Christianity as a philosophy. But is it, and was its namesake a philosopher?

It’s been a while since we’ve looked at the definition of philosophy, so let’s refresh our memories, so we can all be on the same page. Stay with me as we  slug through some of the terms and definitions. (And you’ll want to stay with the entire post to get to the great YouTube video I’ve included at the end!)

 

 Merriam-Webster online provides five definitions:

 

  1. a (1) : all learning exclusive of technical preceptsand practical arts

(2) : the sciences and liberal arts exclusive of medicine, law, and theology

  • a doctor of philosophy

(3) : the 4-year college course of a major seminary

b (1) archaic : physical science

(2) : ethics

c : a discipline comprising as its core logic, aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology

2a : pursuit of wisdom

b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means

c : an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs

3a : a system of philosophical concepts

b : a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought

  • the philosophyof war

4a : the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group

b : calmness of temper and judgment befitting a philosopher

 

Let’s begin at number 1.

Would Christianity be considered “all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts”? Does Christianity notconcern itself with technical precepts, with precepts defined as a general rule to guide or regulate thought and behavior? I think it would depend upon how you define technical, but it certainly does provide general rules that guide our thought and behavior. Or should.

We can dismiss definition 1(2) because it specifically excludes theology, which Christianity most definitely is.

Since Christianity is sometimes offered as a 4-year course in a seminary, so we can say, “yes” to 1 a. (3).

Christianity certainly falls into the definition found in 1. c. “a discipline comprising as its core logic, aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology.” Epistemology being the study of uncovering what’s justified belief and what’s merely opinion.

And in a tangential way, it can be considered a pursuit of wisdom, because believers study Christ and the Bible in order to gain knowledge, wisdom and discernment. So let’s give a thumbs up to 2a.

 

A breakdown—

When we arrive at definition 2 b. though, I think we see a crack. Christianity is not speculative. At least, fundamental Christians don’t believe it to be. More liberal thinkers might agree with this definition, though. Many of them consider much of Scripture to be speculative, hinging on man’s definition throughout the centuries and open to modern interpretations. Kind of like a “living” constitution, where people believe it means what it should mean for a particular time and generation. Fluid.

I don’t see Christianity as fluid, although I will say that our understanding of some of God’s words may be full of holes and based on ignorance or bias.

Christianity can also be an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs that we see in definition 2 c.

But it’s not a system, and I would argue vehemently that it’s not a theory. A theory is a supposition, an idea, or principles that mandate a particular action. You could say that Christianity and The Bible present principles to guide us, but that’s not what the foundation of Christianity, or God-focused belief is. You can look to many other religions for that type of structure or belief.

And then we arrive at the definition we can’t deny fits into the Christianity construct— 4a.

 

“The most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.”

 

If someone narrowed down a Christian’s beliefs, concepts, and attitudes, or did that with the church as a whole, they should be able to unearth the core principles a believer attests to. The non-negotiables that categorize you as a follower of Christ. Or The Way, as the first believers originally called it.

 

I only wish more Christians could be referred to as philosophers, with corresponding calm temperaments and judgment as the final definition states.

 

Conclusions—What about Jesus?

So, if we come to the conclusion that in some ways Christianity can be defined as and studied as a philosophy, can we make the statement that Jesus was a philosopher?

 

If he was a philosopher, was Jesus a different kind of philosopher?

Take a moment to listen to what Christian speaker, George Haraksin—from Reasons to Believe—has to say about it in this YouTube video. It’s less than four minutes and may challenge and broaden your thinking.

 

What do you think? And does it matter?

 

NEXT WEEK: I’ll take a break to celebrate and discuss a special occasion in my life, from a meditation perspective. (This is an update and change from the original published post.)

 

Until then,

Keep growing and challenging yourself in your faith and understanding of God’s truth!

Blessings,

 Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Simeon Jacobsen