I'm SO ticked off right now. Today I was all psyched for my first 10-mile walk. My previous longest distance is about 6.5 miles. I've done that a handful of times over the past few weeks. But, today it was supposed to ramp up to 10 miles.
Supposed to.
My feet have failed me. Or maybe it's my sneakers which have. I had previously developed a rather large blister on my right heel, and a smaller one on my left pinky toe. They both had seemed healed and weren't the least bit tender anymore.
Well, evidently whatever caused the blisters in the first place hasn't been remedied. Because they're both back. With a vengeance. Twinges faded into nothing as I eased into my walk, after about half a mile I felt great. Then, around the 3.5 mile mark some discomfort kicked in. Around mile 4 it was more like pain and I was compensating in my stride.
I called Joe (it was our plan all along that he'd be coming to pick up Sasha around the 4-5 mile mark and I'd continue without her, she's still shy of her 6-month birthday, after all). He met me about a mile later. Although I was feeling kind of better, I decided to check out my feet while he was there with the van. Good thing I did.
My feet are kind of a mess. New blisters have formed under the old mostly-healed ones, and I have two new small ones forming on my right pinky toe and left heel. I think they're compensatory since I was adjusting my stride to alleviate the discomfort.
Anyway, a trip to Dick's is in order today so I can get new shoes. I'm not sure how long I really ought to stay off my feet. And, I'm not sure what I ought to do to recover quickest from this.
I'm SO ticked off at not completing my walk. I have never been any sort of even vague athlete, and I actually am now at the point where I really love my walks and I really feel good getting the exercise, and covering the miles. But this pain sucks. A lot.
--End--
3 comments:
Sorry to hear about your pain! Refocus on the goals you have reached, and maybe think of some cross training that doesn't require shoes (yoga and pilates come to mind, swimming might hurt). One of our hospitals has a walk in sports therapy clinic (a free thing) to look at stuff like this. If you have something around, they might have some thoughts about the blisters.
I've never bought shoes at Dick's, so they might have services like this as well, but our small shoe store spent 45 minutes with me picking out the right shoes for my stride and my plan (walking a half marathon), showing me how to lace them to account for my wide foot but narrow ankle, etc.
Sending speedy healing thoughts your way!
Did you get your free pair of Theros socks from the 3 Day site? They are super thick and meant for long distance walking.
A marathon-running friend told me a few of her tricks to prevent blisters on marathons (running 27 miles---can you believe that?). Well, anyway, she says to coat your feet in petroleum jelly before walking. This will help prevent friction blisters. I hope this helps!
I haven't been walking since the kids are home from school. Next week they start camp. So, I should be able to get a few good walks in.
alysa
I do have the socks. They're amazing! But, as I'm much to cheap to buy any more pairs of them ($11-ish per!!!), I figure I have to get used to something else before the actual event. I have some good Nike walking socks that seem nice enough. I've been using Bodyglide on the rubby bits of my feet, but I think I'll try the Vaseline as an alternative. Never hurts to experiment.
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