SUMMARY: Ouch ouch ouch. But at least we're still at Disneyland. For another half a day.
So I've been hiking with the sierra club every week for 4 or 6 miles. Briskly. Well, maybe not every week lately. Every other week. And I try to get out with the dogs for a mile or two walk every day. Well, lately, maybe not every day. Maybe 4 or 5 times a week. Or three. And I have agility class every week. Except not a couple of weeks ago because of Instructor Prior Engagements and not this week because I'm not there. And I put probably somewhere between 8 and 10 miles (nearing 20,000 steps) on my pedometer every agility weekend, and I do 20+ weekends of that a year. Except, well, maybe not lately because I'm trying to cut back. Maybe 15 this year? Maybe one every 4 weeks.
But the point is I cover a lot of ground on my very actual feet on a fairly regular basis. Two years ago I came to Disneyland and I had no trouble at all covering miles of ground from park opening to park closing every day, and I can assure you that I wasn't in nearly as good a shape as I am now. In theory.
But this year? Icing my knee every evening. A couple of times. Blisters on my feet. The latter I blame on bringing the wrong darned shoes. They are my bumming around in general shoes, maybe my walking 1 or 2 miles with the dogs shoes. They are not my covering 10 miles a day shoes.
Maybe that's what's doing in my knee, too.
I finally took my tripod into the park tonight and went off on my own to take all those photos I've been wanting to take, and my knee told me repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that it would really prefer to be lounging around in the hotel room snuggled up to a nice cozy ice pack.
So here I am, 10:30 p.m., park doesn't close until midnight (well--the rides anyway--then it stays open "for you shopping convenience for our profit making convenience" for another hour or so. But I am here with a progressively more chilly knee and a whole slew of unshot photos in my head.
Tomorrow we're heading home midday. Dogs and dogsitter will be glad to see me, I'm sure. There will be much rejoicing. Yaayyyyyyy.
And sometime, maybe this century, I'll get to post some photos. And we're already planning our next trip. January 2012. I promise I'll walk 5 miles every day for two months before that. Plus bring the right shoes.
The right shoes make all the difference. And not that it helps you now but for future reference, Body Glide on your feet is a great way to prevent blisters: http://www.rei.com/gear/feature/search/Google/Bodyglide?cm_mmc=ps_google_CH-_-Category%20-%20Camp%2fHike-_-Camping%2fHiking_Brand_Bodyglide-_-body%20glide&mr:adGroup=1105092545&mr:ad=3312745475&mr:keyword=body%20glide&mr:referralID=NA&gclid=CKiZsfLH-50CFQYMDQodZSuCpg
ReplyDeleteI use it all the time for long hikes.
Aquaphor works well too but it's a bit messier. It's better for situations where your feet are going to be wet like if you're going to be out in the rain or you're hiking through a lot of streams.
Sounds like a fun trip anyway despite the knee and foot maladies.
Elayne's right, the right shoes make all the difference. And the kind of exercise you have been getting is NOT the same as walking around the park broken up by standing in lines.
ReplyDeleteA tip for future reference, get some smallish instant-cold packs. There are both single-use, throw-it-away-when-done kinds and the multi-use kind ($$$). It stays at ambient temperature till you break a capsule or snap a clicker, then they are icy-cold for about a half-hour. Throw a couple in your backpack/camera bag so you can ice your knee at lunch and dinner.
I'm SO glad you are managing to have tons o' fun despite owies.
I agree about the Body Glide to avoid blisters, lots of runners I know use it all over their feet. Plus I like the double layer thin socks to avoid blisters. hadn't heard about the instant-cold packs, but they sound cool (ha ha) too!
ReplyDeleteI remember last time I was at Disney World, Epcot Center, we walked around all day and my feet were killing me by midnight...I didn't know HOW people went back out the next day, I was grateful we were going home!
I'm sure it was the shoes: I've been doing huge Disneyland trips for many years and never have gotten even the tiniest sore spot. It was just dumb not to take my walking shoes. I actually always carry that kind of cold pack with me, so I had a couple in my suitcase. At the hotel room, I just used ice from their machine. Didn't think about taking one into the park to use during a meal; that would've been a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd I did have a great time! I love being there, which manages a lot of discomfort. Still, very glad today was only 4 hours for us.