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Disrespected my feet

goodjuju

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Portugues - from Porto (Sept. 2019)
In being friendly to 2 younger pilgrims I walked 2 stages from Senora de Hora to Rates, then from there to Barcelos where I hobbled over the cobblestones like a cripple. I couldn’t “keep up” and the few stops made we’re not what my body asked and needed.
I practically crawled into The hostel, In Barcelos, where the concierge called his wife to drive me to the nearby clinic to have my feet treated and bandaged. Then he called a taxi to advance me to Ponte de Lima to rest for a couple of days until I can walk again. It’s hard to accept my age, my physical limitations despite my mental determination. But, as a fellow elder at the hostel said, “There’s no shame, it’s your Camino, it’s not a race or a competition “
 
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So many of us don't stand on our feet daily for ten to twelve hours a day. When those who are not long distance walkers or hikers begin to walk long distance, particularly those of a certain age, our feet, muscles, tendons, etc., have a lot to get use to before we can walk/hike comfortably.
Unless we are in excellent "feet" shape, we need to take it easy and give our bodies time to adjust to the new demands of the Way.
Getting old is not fun and it is not easy. It is not something to run from, but to learn to take it in stride as we remain active, vibrant individuals.
Peacefully, gently will result in a successful end to your Camino.
 
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In being friendly to 2 younger pilgrims I walked 2 stages from Senora de Hora to Rates, then from there to Barcelos where I hobbled over the cobblestones like a cripple. I couldn’t “keep up” and the few stops made we’re not what my body asked and needed.
I practically crawled into The hostel, In Barcelos, where the concierge called his wife to drive me to the nearby clinic to have my feet treated and bandaged. Then he called a taxi to advance me to Ponte de Lima to rest for a couple of days until I can walk again. It’s hard to accept my age, my physical limitations despite my mental determination. But, as a fellow elder at the hostel said, “There’s no shame, it’s your Camino, it’s not a race or a competition “
I've read somewhere (correct me if I'm wrong) that even increasing your natural pace by more than 10% can be enough to cause injury. This applies to slowing down as well as speeding up. Injuries start off undetected at first, or we get little signs but ignore them. Eventually, the cummulative effect of not listening to our bodies will exact a toll on us.
It's one of those Camino lessons that we often don't learn until it's too late. Hopefully, you'll recover well and find your natural pace for the rest of the Camino.
I often told people I started walking with that I'm backing off or stopping for a bit. It was never an issue for me or for them, and we often met up again when they were resting or having 'second breakfast' or at the next village or albergue, sometimes meeting up in amazing circumstances 3 weeks later!
Look after those feet and legs, hips and back too. They are much more important than you first think on walking long distance day after day.
Buen Camino
 
In being friendly to 2 younger pilgrims I walked 2 stages from Senora de Hora to Rates, then from there to Barcelos where I hobbled over the cobblestones like a cripple. I couldn’t “keep up” and the few stops made we’re not what my body asked and needed.
I practically crawled into The hostel, In Barcelos, where the concierge called his wife to drive me to the nearby clinic to have my feet treated and bandaged. Then he called a taxi to advance me to Ponte de Lima to rest for a couple of days until I can walk again. It’s hard to accept my age, my physical limitations despite my mental determination. But, as a fellow elder at the hostel said, “There’s no shame, it’s your Camino, it’s not a race or a competition “
I totally agree with what Marky wrote. I have no proof that walking too fast or too slow can cause injuries but I have always been positive that this was a strong possibility. I know for me that the times that I have walked an extended distance either walking faster than my natural pace or slower I felt very tired either way when I stopped. I do love to meet pilgrims as I walk but if their pace doesn't fit into mine I always will ask to meet later for lunch or later at an albergue. I am not a big fan of camino families for 2 reasons. One is I feel like I end up limiting myself in my interpersonal relationships on the camino. I know that I will always have time if the person I meet and I want to get to share more time together. Secondly I have seen some people suffering really serious blisters/infections and other assorted injuries that occurred and became worse then they should have by trying to keep up with their "family". How many times do people continue when they should rest because they want to stay with their "family". I tell them if you were walking with your mom or dad or siblings and they saw your feet like they are would they keep walking? I doubt it very much. But your "family" isn't stopping. Nor should they really. They have their own camino to walk. They may be your new friends but if they don't insist you stop, and being a family, stop with you, to me that "family" is pretty dysfunctional.
 
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I'm 99% sure that walking too fast caused me to have shin splints last year. I naturally walk pretty fast, so when I started walking with a woman whose pace was a bit faster than mine I didn't think it would be a problem to speed up a bit. I was very wrong! My second stupid mistake that day was to not stop or slow down when I felt the first hint of pain.
 
I knew several pilgrims who had very bad feet problems at the beginning (e. g. walking too fast or too long daily distances, non-fitting shoes, too heavy backpack... with e. g. very bad blisters or even infections).
And after a shorter or longer pause for healing and adjusting they had a great camino.

Get well soon!
Buen Camino!
 
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Magic happens. I ended up in Madrid, unable to walk one more meter - at least this attempt at my first Camino. I will return with a renewed attitude, more wisdom and a tender approach to my physical parameters. I will say, it’s wonderful to be out of my troubled country, meet a variety of folks, get a new perspective and go home with a heart full of kindness for strangers.
 
Best wishes. Your Camino is interrupted but far from finished. Buen Camino!
 
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My foot experience was rather severe. Because I am stubborn, I continued walking (with lots of anti-inflammatories on board) even though I had severe pain in both feet. I thought it was just tendinitis, so pushed on, finally giving up on my pack (sent it ahead) in Astorga. When I arrived home I had many expensive physio treatments with no improvement. After having a bone scan done, at the advice of my chiropractor, I discovered that I had stress fractures of my second metatarsals in both feet. By that time the bones were partially healed as I had been doing very little walking once at home. Now, 2 years later they are about 95% healed. I only have a little discomfort when I am in bare feet.
So several lessons learned - Don't ignore pain, don't overdose on anti-inflammatories (my doctor told me I was lucky I hadn't gone into acute renal failure), send your pack on at the first hint of injury, take more rest days and don't be so stubborn!
 
Good luck with recovery and your continuing Camino. Take things at your own pace. Enjoy.
 
In being friendly to 2 younger pilgrims I walked 2 stages from Senora de Hora to Rates, then from there to Barcelos where I hobbled over the cobblestones like a cripple. I couldn’t “keep up” and the few stops made we’re not what my body asked and needed.
I practically crawled into The hostel, In Barcelos, where the concierge called his wife to drive me to the nearby clinic to have my feet treated and bandaged. Then he called a taxi to advance me to Ponte de Lima to rest for a couple of days until I can walk again. It’s hard to accept my age, my physical limitations despite my mental determination. But, as a fellow elder at the hostel said, “There’s no shame, it’s your Camino, it’s not a race or a competition “
Indeed. It is your Camino. It is also your choice to excert yourself. Pacing oneself remains a factor for all of us. It most probably becomes more important when the will and the body are out of kilter. Rethink your last few days and adjust wisely. Enjoy the rest of your journey. Buen Camino.
 
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