I walked a half!

[Jessekuhs]

Yesterday was the Jimmy Fund Walk in Boston.  It followed the Boston Marathon route, all 26.2 hilly miles of it!  I opted to walk 13.1 of those miles...and my marketing edge was "Don't sponsor me, sponsor my TOES!"  That's right, I took my KSOs along for the ride!

This was the longest I've ever trekked in my VFFs, and surprisingly I'm not suffering a whole lot today.  I wouldn't be suffering at all if it weren't for a mild strain (done at the gym last week, not wearing VFFs) that I definitely aggravated by walking the 13 miles.  VFFs or not, I knew I'd pay for it today

I climbed Heartbreak Hill in my VFFs, and at least 5 peeps asked me about my shoes   It was fun...I'll certainly do it again next year...maybe in my Jayas!!!

 I think I'll be fine wearing only VFFs to Disney in December

[gryllus]

Congratulationa!
Which kind of terrain?
As reported elsewhere (http://birthdayshoes.com/forum/barefoot-activities/longest-distamce-so-far-and-happy/), I walked something similar in terms of length and footwear (Sprints), though  not other aspects (mine was a solitary hike) also with no ill effects, just the opposite :-)

[jmijares]

Congrats to gryllus and Jessekuhs!  Keep us up to date over the next few days.  My longest run in KSOs is 13.8 miles and I got top of the foot pain as a result, though I've never walked that distance.  I'd be interested in knowing of any after-effects of the long walk. 

[Jessekuhs]

gryllus - it was mostly pavement and cement (sidewalks/street), and a little grass (wet grass even!)

jmijares - I can tell you that while walking (aside from aggravating the existing pain...) I only got a little nagging pain just below and behind my ankle bones on both feet.  That has pretty much subsided.

I should also mention I was wearing my KSOs with a pair of injinjis, to keep the hot spots to a minimum.  That seemed to work beautifully!

[seret]

congratz!

[gryllus]

Concrete and pavement is hard ... my combination of dirt roads - softish mud - riverside trails - fine gravel etc. was really refreshing; only about half a km was on roadside (boring)! and there was even a stretch of freshly harvested field on my way ... but I did have to wash the sprints afterwards :-)

[noelbodwell]

Congrats Jessekuhs and Gryllus. That's a good distance!

[gryllus]

Actually, I felt that I wouldnt mind one more hill at the end ... only I had to catch the train back...

[Jessekuhs]

P.S.  The "mild strain" was accompanied by some serious swelling.  2 weeks later I had an MRI (since I work for an MRI company, I have some ins there! ) .... the verdict:  Stress Fracture!  I'm in a boot and on crutches...BOOO!

So for now my VFFs are shelved, but just until I heal - then I'll work up my mileage slowly.  Disney is just under 8 weeks away, so I think I'll be buying some Nike Frees for that journey.

I wasn't able to to participate in the Making Strides Walk that happened in Boston this past Sunday...and I think my 2010 Walking season has ended.  Bring on 2011!

[gryllus]

Sorry to hear that ... I hope you´ll get well soon!
I was seriously tempted to take the sprints for a 30 km hike yesterday. Finally reason won (it was rather cold, and almost half of the hike was expected to include wet grass with a possiblity of mud), so I wore "proper shoes" - but realized that I am becoming seriously tempted to buy Treks or Flow Treks.

[noelbodwell]

Sorry to hear that ... I hope you´ll get well soon!
I was seriously tempted to take the sprints for a 30 km hike yesterday. Finally reason won (it was rather cold, and almost half of the hike was expected to include wet grass with a possiblity of mud), so I wore "proper shoes" - but realized that I am becoming seriously tempted to buy Treks or Flow Treks.

I used my Treks to hike New Hampshire's White Mountains this summer and they performed beautifully. Great traction on boulders. Wish they were waterproof though!

Noël

[Jessekuhs]

Update:

Down to 1 crutch and a really cute (NOT!) orthopedic shoe.  3 weeks of this and then hopefully I can get back to real footwear (and start transitioning back to the VFFs!)