I walked 15 miles today! It was pretty awesome, too. The last three miles were a bit hard - I found joints I never knew I had, but it's amazing how quickly you forget the pain when you are reveling in success. I can't imagine how good it will feel when I hit the next milestone in training.
While spiritually, I feel like I can do anything. Today's walk reinforced the importance of training.
To anyone who thinks training for this thing is unnecessary, please, please, please, think again. While walking may sound easy and leisurely, long distance walking like this takes endurance and muscle strength. This isn't just a walk in the park - it's twenty walks in the park - every day for three days.
The past couple of weeks have found me a bit off schedule. Bad weather, fundraising plans and summer finals have all conspired to derail my training a bit. While I was able to fit in most of my mid-week walks, the longest I've walked in the past two weeks was 7 miles. I'm in decent shape and today was not easy. By the end, I was my own cheerleader, loudly motivating myself to the amusement of my neighbors. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself to do the full 15 today, but I want back to the regimen as quickly as possible.
When I finished the walk, I made sure to stretch everything in triplicate. And then again. I drank a wonderful glass of cold milk (studies show this hydrates better than water! It also helps with muscle reparation), then took a bottle of G2 with me into the bathroom. I turned the water on hot and soaked my poor muscles for about 20 minutes.
Now, hours later, my muscles are fine, but my joints are creaky. Also, something happened to my feet while I was out there. I'm blaming my socks, but am putting these pics out there in case someone else can tell me what's up. There are splotchy red patches on my heels, the top of my feet and the arches.
It isn't athlete's feet - there is no itchiness, the spots just hurt if I touch them. I'm fairly certain these are places that were rubbed by my socks (evil, evil socks that have already been replaced!). Any recommendations for combating this???
But joint pains and weird rashes aside, I WALKED 15 MILES today and nothing is going to bring me down. Besides that, I put an ad out for donations for a fundraising garage sale and spent the afternoon picking up stuff from generous people in the area. All in all, it was a great 3-Day Day!!!
It looks to me like you have some hot spots. Hot spots are basically pre-blisters and indicate that something is rubbing against your foot. It might be your socks. Try not to wear cotton socks if you can avoid it, since they hold onto moisture too much which just exacerbates rubbing and friction. You can also get double layer socks (Wright makes some good ones) that help prevent rubbing. The sock layers rub against each other instead of against your foot. I also highly recommend using something like Body Glide (or even petroleum jelly) to coat your feet before putting on your socks. When things are "slicked up", friction isn't as much of an issue. Finally, if you sense a hot spot as you're walking, you can always put a piece of tape or moleskin over the area to prevent a blister from forming.
ReplyDeleteHope all those tips help keep your feet happy! Congrats on 15 miles!
~ Kristen
Thanks! That's pretty much what I figured, but in case it was something else, I wanted to ask others. I've just never gotten hot spots on my arch or the top of my foot before.
ReplyDeleteWent to the running store today and talked with a very knowledgeable runner. Had them look at my feet and it was decided that I should try new socks and check my detergent. He thinks it's a skin irritation - they never blistered and didn't act like traditional hot spots. Plus, you can see the sock weave in my foot if you look closely. I'm still blaming the socks. Bought some new ones and look forward to trying them tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI get the same thing -- it doesn't hurt or itch & goes away within a few hours or overnight. A couple times my has extended beyond where my socks end so I don't think it's hot spots or skin irritation. Log into your participant center, click on training, and then under training resources click on rash. That sounds like what mine might be. Hope it helps you or you find something that does.
ReplyDeleteOh, I missed where you said yours hurt if you touched it. Mine does not so that rash article may not help you. Hope the new socks do!!
ReplyDelete