We're finishing up the Chuseok holiday here in South Korea. I had planned to do a four-day hike with my new Skechers footwear, but I managed only two days: by the end of Day 2, my right foot was in agony. I'm still trying to process what's going on. The Skechers had worked fine for three 33K treks, each taking place three weeks apart. In between those treks, I was doing weeknight walking along a 14K route about three times a week. As far as I could tell, the reason this four-day training walk failed is that the Skechers were the only variable to have changed. Tentative conclusion: Skechers work fine for long walks if you space the walks apart, and they're also fine for frequent short walks. But the moment you crank out 64K over two consecutive days, you're asking for trouble.
Another possibility is that it's me. Maybe I'm what changed. I spent most of the past year not walking very much because I was dealing with a serious toe ulcer from last year's fall. I pronounced myself completely healed from that ulcer only this past August. As a result, I may have detrained and weakened myself, with my feet becoming more delicate from the lack of the usual pavement-pounding, and that's the karma that finally caught up with me. But that speculation doesn't seem quite right: once I knew I was healed, I got right back into fairly frequent walking, so you'd think my feet would have been ready by now, or that any potential pains would have appeared before now.
Which brings us back to the Skechers. On my main blog, several commenters expressed doubts about Skechers for long-term treks, and I think I now agree with them. Up to now, the Skechers (recommended by my boss) have been wonderful, but this truncated trek has proved that they won't be suitable for the upcoming hike except as backups.
I now have a bit less than two weeks to heal up. The game plan, right now, is to avoid long-ish walks for a week and to concentrate on staircase training (for cardio) and core work (for my painful lower back, which needs to be ready to carry a backpack for a month). After a week, I'll do some longish walks in the run-up to the big walk, and we'll see how things go from there.
This whole project feels a bit weird this year. I'm starting my walk almost a month later than I usually do, which means cooler weather from the beginning (a good thing) and the end of the harvest (a bad thing for those of us who like seeing the fields in the beginning or middle of the harvest). It wouldn't surprise me if this strange walk ended with me being eaten by a bear.
Or a pack of poodles.
Have you tried researching footwear for long distance walks? I would think with all the hikers in South Korea that there would be a lot of information and stores catering to them. Also, I just found out that I have arthritis in my right foot. It runs in my family, but no one ever had it in their feet before.
ReplyDeleteYou are in a whole other league when it comes to distance walking, so I can't add much to your speculations. I wear Skechers because they are the only option in my size of late. They are fine for my comparatively short walks, but I've noticed they wear down pretty quickly. Have you found an alternative shoe for your upcoming journey?
ReplyDeleteDaejeon John,
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just found out that I have arthritis in my right foot. It runs in my family
No pun intended, I'm sure.
Research on the topic is difficult because "walking shoe" usually refers to either a shoe for short distances or a trail-walking shoe meant for different types of terrain. Vagueness of terms is a problem here. At this point, after all these years, I'm committed to New Balance.
Aside: when I searched for "shoes for long-distance walking," one of the major results to come up was... Skechers.
All of which brings me to John Mac's question:
Have you found an alternative shoe for your upcoming journey?
God help me, I'm going to stick with the same pair of shoes I used last year for Jeju and Andong. The tread's a bit worn down, and the shoes have holes in their tops, but I'll be taking along the Skechers as backup shoes, mainly for use on shorter days. I don't have time to order more shoes at this point.
I would have thought that there would be information on what Ultra Marathoners wear and swear by online on running and walking forums and websites or even triathlon-related sites.
ReplyDeleteDaejeon John,
ReplyDeleteAs I was explaining to commenter Pete on the other blog, what I need are shoes appropriate for distance walking on paved surfaces—not shoes for ultramarathons or rough terrain or anything else. From my own explorations, New Balances work the best. Skechers seemed amazing at first, but it rapidly became clear that they're not good for the long term. There's a reason why I'm so brand-loyal: I've tried many alternatives, and none has worked.