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| DAVID AND ME BEFORE THE BLISTERS |
This weekend, however, my son David and I undertook an especially long challenge walk. The aim was to do 100 miles in one go so we wrapped our feet with plenty of cloth tape to prevent blisters. Or so we thought! Unfortunately the tape was of poor quality and the adhesive seemed to be water soluble - a distinct disadvantage given the wet weather. By about 25 miles the tape was no longer stuck where it was meant to be and had slithered down to the ends of our rather permeable footwear, so blisters were starting to develop (indeed, the tape was causing them). After 40 miles, the blisters had burst which made it seem like we were walking on glass. After a couple more hours painfully slithering about through chalky mud on the South Downs in the dark, we finally admitted that it wasn't fun anymore so at midnight we decided to call it a day (no pun intended).
Besides, since my blisters had burst, I did not want them to become infected. That would have really caused problems with so little time to go before my departure for Spain.
So, 45 miles in 16 hours! Well short of our target but far from a shameful performance either. Since both David and I have previously walked (or in David’s case, run) over 60 miles without blisters, it just shows how important good quality foot tape is. However, I doubt we will try this again.
The encouraging thing was that although I did experience a few buttock/hip/thigh/knee twinges along the way (see INTRO & MAP), nothing arose to slow my pace and there was no post-walk pain from this area or my back (unless the foot pain masked it). Anyway, I seem to be fit to go.
There is probably little else worth doing to toughen up for the HRP. I usually find that the first few days of walking a long distance trail are quite hard work, especially with a heavy rucksack, but after then my fitness improves and the daily regime becomes easier. At least by carrying a tent I am able to stop whenever I feel I have done enough for the day.