Pants on the ground

The weather here has been beautiful! The temperature is getting into the 70 and low 80 degrees. I have made it a point to continue my evening walks during the week and morning walks on the weekend. While on my walk this afternoon I learned a valuable lesson. I need to either wear a belt or buy smaller short pants. I was walking and my pants ended up down by me knees. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been going commando! Just kidding! I was wearing underwear but is was still embarrassing. I kept looking around for something that I could use to hold them up. At mile 2 I found a caution tape that was put up for construction so I used a piece to hold my pants up. I was able to complete my 5 miles. I will be better prepared next time.

The trails are so nice this time of year. The trees are just getting their leaves.There are so many different shades of green going on. Some of the trees that bloom are in bloom and add a splash of color. The other thing that I like is the smell of honey. The agarita plants are in bloom and the smell great! I love this time.

Now that my blood pressure and cholesterol are under control it is time to start back with the blood donations. I have an appointment this Saturday morning. I donate at 0700 and hope to be out on the trail by 9:30. I want to get in a 10 mile walk on Saturday and shoot for a half marathon on Sunday. Or maybe see about getting the bike out and taking it for a spin. Either way it will be a great weekend to be outside.

Let the summer fun begin!

Battle of the Shoes

I have had many posts on shoes. It is hard for me to find a pair of shoes that don't give my feet problems. Years ago I had a pair of Nike Yankee running shoes. They fit my feet the best. I put several hundred miles on those shoes before I had to replace them. That was back in high school when I was on the cross country team for Soul American High School. When I returned to the states half way through my senior year I did not continue with the cross country team at Copperus Cove.

Lets review. I was wearing a pair of Nike shoes but had worn out the heal on the inside of the shoe. They were a good shoe but I never did any real distance walking with them. I got another walking shoe from Rebock. I then started doing distance walking. My feet always hurt. Time for a new pair. I saved up my pennies and a half off sale due to store closing got me a pair of New Balance 1200 series. Almost a hundred dollars at half price. These were no better than my other shoes,in fact they were worse. I started to get blisters the size of Texas on the inside of my heel and the back of the heel as well. From there I went with Sketcher. They felt fine at first but then the blisters on the inside of the heel started after a few miles. It got to the point that I did not want to go walking. That is when I got the Vibram Five Finger KSO shoes. Finally no more blisters. I actually enjoyed walking again. My feet felt fine, until I started distance walking. After 5 miles my feet were numb and tingling. If I stay on the trail over dirt and grass I do great but all paved walk was not good on my feet. I was back to square one. This weekend I bought a pair of Asics shoes. I tried on at least 10 different shoes at the store. I would put on both shoes and walk around the store. It came down to three shoes and all were Asics brand. The ones I bought have a gel sole and really cup the heel. I went out this morning for a walk. I was only going to do 5 or 6 miles but my feet felt so good I ended up doing 13 miles. When I got home and pulled off the shoes, no blisters. I think I found a shoe that fits my foot.

I still have foot pain when I walk distance. I can deal with that as long as there are no blisters. My next step is to see if I can get inserts to take the pain away. Stay tuned.

Vibram Five Finger toe shoes: the Verdict

I have had my Vibram toe shoes for a while now. I have worn them as my daily shoes and have worn them out on the trails. I have about 70 miles on them. My first impression of them was a foot saver. I had tried several shoes but all hurt my feet. The Vibrams did not make my feet hurt. I thought I found the perfect shoes. Today I went walking the trails and walk ways in the park. The path is mostly concrete with stretches of dirt path. After six miles of concrete my heels were feeling the lack of cushion. I had to walk the last mile back on the grass next to the concrete walk. The difference was night and day. I will say that because I gave my feet a rest from conventional shoes for two months I am now able to wear my dress shoes without any foot pain. I will still wear my toe shoes, just not all the time. When my KSOs are worn out I will buy another pair of toe shoes.

Vibrams fivefingers KSO

After reading all of the hype about these shoes, I got a pair for an early fathers day present. My family was tired of listening to me talk about how much I would like a pair but what if I don't like them. What if it they hurt my feet. I didn't want to spend $85 just to have them sit in my closet.

I use to wear Nike shoes and I absolutely love them. I heard how great New Balance shoes were so after much debating I broke down and bought a pair. $150. Ouch! I went out walking and they felt great at first but then my left foot started to hurt on the inside edge of my heel. I walked about 3.5 miles that day. I had to pull my shoes off when I got back to the car. The left foot had three blisters all around the heel. I was hurting for weeks. I healed up and then tried them out again. I ended up pulling them off and walking back in my socks. I told my self never again will I spend that much on a pair of walking shoes.

I still need to run my Vibrams through the paces to see how they will do for me. At first blush they are great. I walked about 3/4 of a mile on the sidewalk and then returned on the trail. The KSOs did well both on and off the walk way. This week I should get about 20 miles logged in the shoes. Stay tuned.

A walk in the park

These are some pictures from the park. I'm surprised that there is still water in it with the drought going on. There was a guy fishing and I saw him catch a perch and turn it loose. I enjoy walking this park.

It's On!

I weighed my self when I got back from California on the 19th...196 pounds! OUCH! I decided that it was time that I get serious about my weight loss. I hate having to take care of my hair...so I told my self no hair cut until I am 185. I have started to pay attention to all of the food that is going in and try to keep it at less than 1800 calories a day. I have been lazy this year and not getting out of the house very much. I have committed to walking at least 4 miles a day at least 5 days a week. We have a Rock-N-Roll marathon in November. I think that I am going to train for it.The 1/2 marathon that is. Right now I do 5 miles in about 70 minutes. I need to get that down to 45 minutes and then increase the distance. I will weigh my self every Friday morning to see how I'm doing. I would love to get back down to 160.