Foot problems have been a reality since the beginning.* The only time I didn't have much in the way of foot problems was during my worst-ever walk: the 2021 east-coast trail. That was because I weighed significantly less: I was only a few months out from a stroke earlier in the year and had done a pretty intense (but unsustainable in the long term) diet to lose 28 kg in three months. I've since gained a good bit of that weight back although, thankfully, I remain significantly below my pre-stroke weight.
So practically speaking, the best solution for my feet (and my heart, and my lungs, and everything else) is to lose weight. Easier said than done, though, since I'm a self-admitted sugar addict, and all the experts I've watched on YouTube treat sugar, especially refined sugar, as an addictive drug at best, and as a poison at worst. So except for a brief spell in 2021, "normal" for me means foot pain while walking. New Balances are the best shoe for dealing with some of that pain, but even New Balances can't prevent all the aches, irritations, blisters, etc. So I muddle through, managing pain with a combination of rest, ibuprofen, self-administered foot massages, Leukotape to minimize friction, and decent footwear. That's the reality when I distance walk.
To recap, I just gave up doing a planned four-day test walk. I managed two days of it—64K out of about 120K. I was actually fine even during Day 2, but once I stopped for the day, my right foot plunged into—well, not quite agony, but debilitating pain. I was limping around everywhere inside my apartment, and I knew I wouldn't be out walking the following day. That was this past Friday. Almost 96 hours later, I'm walking normally. In fact, I was feeling a lot better yesterday. I do have that blister, but as I said, it's a minor one; I've had way worse. And the sensitivity in my right foot wasn't from the blister—it was from something deeper. My first thought was that it was a bone bruise, but after reading up on bone bruises, I no longer think the problem is that severe: bone bruises are basically microfractures that leak blood and other fluids, causing discoloration and swelling. I have neither of those—it's just an ache that apparently needed time to go away.
I had originally mused that the best way forward would be to stay off my feet for at least a week before resuming longish walks during the week, but I'm feeling good enough to restart walking tomorrow (and since yesterday, I've used ibuprofen only once). I'll still engage in the staircase training and core work I'd mentioned before, but I'm thinking it may be a bad idea to stay away from walking for too long. And I know this isn't a stress fracture: I had one of those once, and it left me with little choice but to stay off my feet for a good while. If this current problem were a stress fracture, I wouldn't be talking about walking at all right now.
So that's where things stand. I'm much better than I was last Friday; I've found out the limits of the Skechers my boss had recommended to me; life is good; I have a way forward. More news later as the training (such as it is) continues.
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*For me, "beginning," as applies to trans-Korea walking, refers to 2017: my first such walk.
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