These days, going up Mission Peak was almost a
breeze and I have suspected that downhill pounding
was to blame for my feet pain and started to pay
attention. That was confirmed today.

I used to take the trail at the steeper Stanford
Avenue side and could finish the trip in 1hr
40min. I noticed going down took almost as much
time as going up. And, of course, my feet hurt
like hell in the end. I blamed my xero shoes for
lack of cushioning. But that was exactly the point
when it came to running and, I think, hiking. Less
cushioning teaches good techniques by forcing me
to pay attention. The shoes made me realize I
shouldn't be careless and take big strides just
because gravity worked for me now.

This reminded me of the story in "Born To Run"
where Ann Trason raced the Tarahumara Indians at
the Leadville 100 Mile. The Indians took small
steps going down as they did going up. In
contrast, Trason was flying downhill (I used to do
the same) and enjoying the free ride from gravity.
She set the women's records but kept having knee
problems and probably couldn't run after 2015. The
Indians are likely able to run into their advanced
ages (like Joy Johnson who started late and didn't
care about her time.) if they stick to their
traditional wisdom.

Going up, I reached the end of the trail without
climbing the last leg to the top. Descending, I
was very careful placing my feet, trying to hike
better, not faster. The trip took a total of 2.5
hrs (The Ohlone side was longer.) and my feet hurt
just a tiny bit.