walking. . . can't handle the pace!

SingRunTing

Skip this year. It's just not worth the injury.

mwyvr

Sawing your feet off sounds very extreme. Please reconsider!

With 2 1/2 weeks to go you aren't going to be able to change your body condition much in preparation, so what are you left with?

• Rest
• Change of tactics

Rest: Be sure you let your body rest before you go and don't be walking every day at this point. All you'll end up doing is run your body down further. As a component of rest be sure you are helping your body in other ways especially stretching. If you haven't been working on stretching your body (your posterior knee pain may be a sign of inadequate stretching), then there's no time like yesterday to start. A visit to a physiotherapist might help you pinpoint what you need to do and could prove invaluable especially given your short time frames.

Change of tactics: Discussed already, you should strongly consider dropping the pack with a service. You already know your range is limited while carrying a load, so don't.

Also while out on the trail... pace yourself. Take lots of rest breaks. Hydrate. Keep a close eye on your feet for hotspots and such. Don't forget to do some stretching at rest breaks. Go out of your way to be proactive so you aren't sabotaging your entire day, or entire walk, with foot or other injuries.

Good luck, hope you have a blast.

lynseya83

i do regular strengthening too - been doing body pump for a fair few years now!

I will give it a bash - the worst that will happen is that i have to bail out. Theres plenty of bail points all along - the main road you come nearby every so often has bus links, theres a trainline with about 5stations along the walk route too. Its a group of 5 of us going on this trip.

I was really hoping that taking it slow and steady and not hammering it would be the saviour! And also having mixed ground underfoot rather than just hard pavement!

Im a hardy wee soul so can take a bit of discomfort - its not a walk in the park after all! But will bail if i seem to be actually damaging myself! I have a fair ability at pushing myself pretty hard i suppose! (but wont put myself or anyone else in danger though!)

Im actually quite looking forward to it - the 1st day is the longest walk though so if i manage that then we might be ok! :-)

demoiselle2014

Forgive me, but the worst that could happen is that you injure yourself . . . not that you will have to bail. Please be careful.

yirara

Hmm bidypump is more cardio than strength unless you increase the weights regularly. But anyway, good lyck and enjoy

BrianSharpe

There's not a lot you can do about fitness over a 2 week span (but a little strength training won't hurt either) but I'm going to go out a limb and suggest that your biggest problem right now is that your boots don't fit.

Many. many, many years ago I was one of the lucky ones that had boots that fit like a glove during recruit training and didn't get blisters on the forced marches. So......1. get boots that fit perfectly, like a good pair of running shoes they should feel great from the moment you put them on 2. change your socks frequently (I still stick with good old wool hiking socks)

jgnatca

I'm all new to this healthy and strong stuff, and it is a heady mix. I am so proud of all of you. I am coming to realize how these fitness goals are truly a head game because one of the hardest things I've had to do is to slow it down. The underlying fear is if I lie down I may never get up again, and my children will be dusting my cold dry ashes off the TV watching sofa. Peeling the remote from my bony hands and giving it back to hubby. But the body needs what it says. I pay attention and I'll be running another day. And another. And another.

Let my children scatter my ashes off a mountain top. That's how I want to go.

jgnatca

@lynseya83 here's a movie for you, WILD.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

mwyvr

The Way is also a fun watch.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/