The Problem

Fridays are my big day. Training day that is. But this time around, I was nursing a sore body part. But Bad Bad Katie Jones made a suggestion. Why not walk. I thought about it. It made sense. I did it.

Instead of going for a long run, I went for a long walk instead. The Geezer Run will require lots of walking so I do need to train that. I ambulated 11.54 miles Friday and even threw in a 1.11 miles shuffle after seven miles of hiking. The results were what felt like a good workout and some painful blisters.

Here is the rub, pun intended. Walking is harder on my feet than running. I have long known this but now it is on my mind constantly: how to ambulate 107 miles without destroying my feet. I use lots of petroleum jelly and two pair of quality socks. But if the walking mileage gets up around five, the pain goes to eight. Yeah, that few.

The problem with walking is that the heel strike is harder, more pronounced, and the foot is in contact with the pavement for a longer time during each stride. Monday I ran 15.22 miles. No blisters, no soreness, no problems. Friday my feet were getting sore after three miles. Three miles. Three measly miles. I don't have an answer. This has been a problem for me for the past twenty years. If I fail on the Great Geezer Run, this will be the reason.

John wanted to swim. Then he called and cancelled. At least he called. Instead of going to the pool alone, I went to Plate City for pull and Pee Wee day. On my new chest supported T-bar, I pulled

13 X 35

12 X 45

10 X 50

10 X 55

10 X 55

5 X 55 narrow grip

I did nine chins, one at a time, having a six pound plate around my neck for the last rep. In addition, I did one set of the Swim Pull, one set of one-armed bent rows, some light lat pull downs, and two set of standing curls. Yeah, I decided for some variety and let the machine rest this time around.

So it was a good training day. I put some miles on the feet and lifted like I am training for a strength sport. The Great Geezer Run is still alive. Thank you, Jesus.