They say you should never judge another person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.
Take that idea and multiply it by 584 and you have a rough idea of the distance I’m traveling during the course of Step Forward.
Getting through this three-month odyssey wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t start planning from the ground up and what I have hitting the ground stride after stride.
When journeying a long way by foot, having the right footwear is crucial.
I figured back in late May my early 2019 model Skechers were more than adequate to get me through the summer.
But the more I piled up the kilometres, the more apparent it became that at some point I was going to have put my money not where my mouth was, but my feet.
The nearly constant pounding of the pavement (besides when I walk about a half-kilometre stretch of flat grass starting just past the lookout tower) was leaving my dogs barking by the end of my daily trip (another old saying…why are all my sayings old? Don’t answer that).
So, it was off to purchase new ones, my first pair of Under Armour shoes.
They were comfortable…for about two days. Then I got a further education on the ways of the footwear industry.
Apparently, a big reason newer athletic shoes are so lightweight is that manufacturers don’t put much padding on the inside of the shoe.
That’s because a large segment of the shoe-buying public goes out and buys padded insoles to add to the shoe, anyway, so the shoe makers don’t bother wasting the time, money and energy to supplement the padding.
Not knowing this can lead you to make your acquaintance with a less-than-fun ailment called plantar fascitis or, in laymen’s terms, really sore bottoms of your feet.
I was literally and figuratively on my way down that painful road before relenting and making the additional purchase of the insoles.
They worked to a point, but now I just picked up a newer pair of my old reliable Skechers that is geared towards those of us walking long distances.
The moral of the story?
If the shoe fits, wear it.
If it hurts, change it.
And if you’re not watching where you’re walking…you might have to clean it.
Cheers to those of you responsible enough to clean up after your pooches along the river walk.
Jeers to those of you that don’t. I’ll be sending you my drycleaning bill.
Steps taken this week: 107,524
Steps taken overall: 794,713
Money raised this week: $25
Money raised for Rainy River Victim District Services: $400
Money raised for the UNFC Food Bank: $1,500
Money raised overall: $1,900
Please go to my Facebook page entitled “Joey Payeur” and look for the Step Forward fundraiser post to donate. Thanks for all your support.
