Epilogue

I learned something new this year. While they take great pains to remind us that we should only bring things that we have worn during our training walks and that you do not want to bring brand new shoes or socks or whatever to the Walk, it is also possible for your shoes to be too broken in. That seems to be the case for me this year.

I go through a lot of tennis shoes, 5 or 6 pair a year it seems. The ones I wore to the Walk I’d worn most of the summer and they were comfortable. But then the longest hike we took we maybe 12 miles or so. The 3Day is a different animal altogether. I also had my new orthotics and I am totally used to them but the really high arch in them that is needed to correct my profoundly flat feet also creates a sort of cup that my heel sets in. The worn out shoes allowed the orthotics the room to move just a bit as I Walked and the result was that the orthotics created blisters on the outside of my heels. Linda came to my rescue, or course. She lanced the blisters and covered them and the pain was minimal for the rest of the Walk. I had some problems with my ankle but Advil and stretching took care of it. Well that and the adrenaline of the weekend. The Monday after it was so swollen that I could barely walk. Namaste, my personal trainer, taped it up and strongly suggested that I stay off of it while it healed.

I spent most of the next week sitting on my butt with my foot propped up on a stack of pillows. Do you know that it actually takes more energy for me to sit still than it does for me to workout once or twice a day? :-D

All is well and healed and I’m back at it again. Just a small bump on the journey. Blisters have all healed, ankle is fine. Still waiting for the toenail I will lose to come off but, as my 3Day Family knows, losing toenails is not painful at all and again, all part of the process. A few blisters and a lost toenail or two are not even worthy of mention when compared to surgery and chemo and radiation.