21/09/2026
This weekend I hiked up a big hill (in my barefoot shoes).
No ankle support.
Rocky, uneven terrain.
Steep bits.
A few “oh, this is actually quite hard” moments.
And somewhere in the back of my mind was my knee…
Because I've injured it before.
So there was definitely a little part of me thinking:
“Can my knee take this?” 😬
But do you know what?
My body was absolutely fine.
I climbed.
I scrambled.
I ran when I could.
I navigated rocks and uneven ground.
And my teenagers?
Trailing behind me. 😂
Which, I'm not going to lie, gave me a tiny little moment of smugness.
Because this isn't about being super fit or doing punishing workouts.
I don't spend hours in the gym.
I'm not lifting heavy weights every day....just some 😉
I'm not training for some extreme challenge.
I just move.
A lot.
And consistently.
I move my joints.
I walk.
I stretch.
I squat.
I twist.
I reach.
I carry things.
I get down on the floor and, importantly, get back up again. 😂
Nothing particularly dramatic.
Just giving my body a reason to stay capable.
And I think that's where the confidence comes from.
Not confidence that nothing will ever go wrong because I know from experience that it can.
It's the confidence of knowing I've given my body something to work with.
So when I asked it to climb this weekend, it didn't panic.
It just… climbed.
And the real test came the next morning.
I woke up expecting the inevitable:
“Yep. There it is. The knee.”
But nothing.
No sore knee.
No aching ankles.
No stiffness.
I felt great.
And honestly, that made me more grateful than anything.
Because at 46, I don't want to spend my time trying to be who I used to be.
I want to feel capable.
I want to say yes to the mountain.
Yes to the walk.
Yes to the adventure.
Yes to keeping up with my kids... even if they are sometimes keeping up with me. 😂
46 isn't about proving I'm still 26.
It's about being grateful that I can give my body the movement and consistency it needs…
…and then trusting it to take me wherever I want to go.
Even up a mountain. ❤️⛰️
.barefoot
