Happy feet?

[auldies]

So this morning we set off for a 28km training walk in the 30 degree celsius Brisbane heat.
I had donned my toe socks and merino socks over the top and set out in my newly relaced trail runners (courtesy of my podiatrist). At about the 7km mark as my feet were starting to swell a little from the heat, the toes on my right foot started to burn from the pressure, so I stopped and took the merino socks off. I flapped around inside my runners for a little bit, but the pain stopped and my feet soon adjusted. At around the 12km point, the pain was starting to return, so when we stopped for a break at around 15km, I decided to replace my runners with my Teva sandals. I was a little nervous to begin with, as I'd previously only walked short distances in the sandals (without socks). This time I left the toe socks on. My feet thanked me almost instantly!! There was a little bit of adjustment (loosening of the front straps) to accommodate the socks but then it was happy feet the rest of the way and not a blister in sight at the end of the 28km.
From now on I think that will be my plan. First half - trail runners, Second half - sandals.
Not sure how this will play out on the Camino though. I imagine I might be thankful for the 2 layers of socks in my runners first thing in the morning in April? Perhaps the difference in temperature will be important.
Has anyone had success with this method? Could it help prevent blisters or at least stop them from escalating? That was a huge concern for me.
Apologies if this has been covered in other threads. I did search, and have been following all the helpful information re shoes, boots or sandals.
This will be our first Camino so thank you.

 

[Waka]

It's good that you're sorting out the foot problems before you start, I met some people that hadn't even broken in their boots/shoes before starting the CF.
Regarding your Teva sandals, nit sure what type you have but mine are open toed, during my 6 week camino I had a couple of small blisters in my little toe, so I decided to wear my sandals until they had dried out. I wore my Teva sandals for 5 days over an array of terrain and had no problem. having said that you have to be extra careful because of the lack of support. I was so impressed with the Teva's that they'll always be my choice of sandals in the future.

 

[Kanga]

If it works for you, then stick with it. I do agree that feet warm up and swell during the day. If keeping your shoes on leads to blisters, and you have an alternative that is comfortable, why would you not change? I wear my open toed hiking sandals on the Camino all the time. If it is very cold I wear Sealskinz waterproof socks.

 

[koilife]

You might try loosening the toebox area in case this is an issue of confinement with the natural swelling. I personally like shoes where there are no plastic/leather design "bands" that actually constrain the foot. I want the flexible fabric to actually flex across the whole footbox and then I'll control the tightness via lacing.

You might also consider dropping the inner/outer pair of socks (less insulation).

Agreed with @Waka that this is one of the singularly most important items to work out now.

 

[movinmaggie]

I found that wearing nylon anklets under my socks helped (but still used the
Vaseline), making it easier to wash Vaseline remnants out of the faster drying than the socks.

 

[shubertj]

Start out slow with mileage and build up gradually if your mileage increases more than 10-15% a week your overdoing it.

 

[alipilgrim]

I have very high arches and I find that the top of my foot gets very sore after a couple of hours from the pressure of the laces from my trail runners. After several days on a Camino I couldn't suffer anymore and so I put on my Tevas (Terra Fi's - a 'hiking' model) and felt like I was walking on 2 lovely great sponges. I continued in my sandals for most of the rest of the Way except that I noticed that whenever my pack was a little heavier than normal (due to extra water or heavier food), I'd start to get a hotspot on the sole of my foot. So I learned that over ~16lbs of pack weight I'd wear my Merrells, under I'd wear my Tevas = happy feet. Oh, and I always wore Smartwool socks with the Tevas.

 

[Urban Trekker]

So this morning we set off for a 28km training walk in the 30 degree celsius Brisbane heat.
I had donned my toe socks and merino socks over the top and set out in my newly relaced trail runners (courtesy of my podiatrist). At about the 7km mark as my feet were starting to swell a little from the heat, the toes on my right foot started to burn from the pressure, so I stopped and took the merino socks off. I flapped around inside my runners for a little bit, but the pain stopped and my feet soon adjusted. At around the 12km point, the pain was starting to return, so when we stopped for a break at around 15km, I decided to replace my runners with my Teva sandals. I was a little nervous to begin with, as I'd previously only walked short distances in the sandals (without socks). This time I left the toe socks on. My feet thanked me almost instantly!! There was a little bit of adjustment (loosening of the front straps) to accommodate the socks but then it was happy feet the rest of the way and not a blister in sight at the end of the 28km.
From now on I think that will be my plan. First half - trail runners, Second half - sandals.
Not sure how this will play out on the Camino though. I imagine I might be thankful for the 2 layers of socks in my runners first thing in the morning in April? Perhaps the difference in temperature will be important.
Has anyone had success with this method? Could it help prevent blisters or at least stop them from escalating? That was a huge concern for me.
Apologies if this has been covered in other threads. I did search, and have been following all the helpful information re shoes, boots or sandals.
This will be our first Camino so thank you.

Question, did you wear the same socks you're going to wear on the camino when you got fitted for the shoes? Believe it or not this can be crucial in getting a good fit. The burning you feel is a hot spot and a precursor to a blister. See if the shoe retailer will take the shoes back and try something else and consider different socks. Every one is different and it can take time to find the right combination. It took me some over a year before I got it right. I only wear Adidas TeraX hiking shoes, they're ugly, and one pair of Wigwam Ultimax socks. Blister free for years. Buen Camino

Happy Trails

 

[Walli Walker]

I LOVE walking in my Tevas!

 

[auldies]

Question, did you wear the same socks you're going to wear on the camino when you got fitted for the shoes? Believe it or not this can be crucial in getting a good fit. The burning you feel is a hot spot and a precursor to a blister. See if the shoe retailer will take the shoes back and try something else and consider different socks. Every one is different and it can take time to find the right combination. It took me some over a year before I got it right. I only wear Adidas TeraX hiking shoes, they're ugly, and one pair of Wigwam Ultimax socks. Blister free for years. Buen Camino

Happy Trails

Sadly no @Urban Trekker....the socks were bought post shoe purchase and I'm fairly certain that is part of the problem.
Very doubtful that the retailer will take the shoes back, so I imagine I will possibly have to stick to my plan or buy different shoes. What do they say about hindsight??? I definitely should have reversed the order and visited the podiatrist first with socks in hand and be guided by him for the right shoes.
Thank you for your advice.

 

[auldies]

It's good that you're sorting out the foot problems before you start, I met some people that hadn't even broken in their boots/shoes before starting the CF.
Regarding your Teva sandals, nit sure what type you have but mine are open toed, during my 6 week camino I had a couple of small blisters in my little toe, so I decided to wear my sandals until they had dried out. I wore my Teva sandals for 5 days over an array of terrain and had no problem. having said that you have to be extra careful because of the lack of support. I was so impressed with the Teva's that they'll always be my choice of sandals in the future.

Thank you for the encouragement @Waka.
These are my Teva Verra sandals.
From what you and others on the thread are saying, it's more than likely I will be spending a good deal of my camino wearing them.

 

[auldies]

I have very high arches and I find that the top of my foot gets very sore after a couple of hours from the pressure of the laces from my trail runners. After several days on a Camino I couldn't suffer anymore and so I put on my Tevas (Terra Fi's - a 'hiking' model) and felt like I was walking on 2 lovely great sponges. I continued in my sandals for most of the rest of the Way except that I noticed that whenever my pack was a little heavier than normal (due to extra water or heavier food), I'd start to get a hotspot on the sole of my foot. So I learned that over ~16lbs of pack weight I'd wear my Merrells, under I'd wear my Tevas = happy feet. Oh, and I always wore Smartwool socks with the Tevas.

Thank you @alipilgrim. That's very encouraging indeed.
One question re the socks. I have posted a picture of my Tevas.
I find that the toe socks help keep the sweat from between my toes and possibly help prevent blisters.
I do have Icebreaker merino socks as well. I'm guessing you didn't have any problems with blisters.
Do you recommend the wool socks over the toe socks?

 

[auldies]

You might try loosening the toebox area in case this is an issue of confinement with the natural swelling. I personally like shoes where there are no plastic/leather design "bands" that actually constrain the foot. I want the flexible fabric to actually flex across the whole footbox and then I'll control the tightness via lacing.

You might also consider dropping the inner/outer pair of socks (less insulation).

Agreed with @Waka that this is one of the singularly most important items to work out now.

Yes, thank you @koilife. The podiatrist relaced my shoes to allow more freedom in the toe box area, but I think as @Urban Trekker pointed out, I should have bought my socks prior to the trail runners. As many veteran members have pointed out (sadly joined the forum and read the threads post shoe purchase) it's almost certainly a good idea to buy shoes 1/2 to one size bigger than normal.
I agree re dropping one pair of socks.

 

[auldies]

If it works for you, then stick with it. I do agree that feet warm up and swell during the day. If keeping your shoes on leads to blisters, and you have an alternative that is comfortable, why would you not change? I wear my open toed hiking sandals on the Camino all the time. If it is very cold I wear Sealskinz waterproof socks.

Thank you @Kanga. It was your posts in other threads re wearing sandals that convinced me it would be a very good idea to give them a go, and my feet are sooo........ happy I did.

 

[Waka]

Thank you for the encouragement @Waka.
These are my Teva Verra sandals.
From what you and others on the thread are saying, it's more than likely I will be spending a good deal of my camino wearing them.

When I used my sandals I'd wear socks in the morning and after lunch break take them off, it was so good to let the air get to the feet.
Having said that if I hadn't got the little blisters then I probably wouldn't of walked in the sandals.

 

[CathyJ]

Sadly no @Urban Trekker....the socks were bought post shoe purchase and I'm fairly certain that is part of the problem.
Very doubtful that the retailer will take the shoes back, so I imagine I will possibly have to stick to my plan or buy different shoes. What do they say about hindsight??? I definitely should have reversed the order and visited the podiatrist first with socks in hand and be guided by him for the right shoes.
Thank you for your advice.

Hi auldies, you mentioned wearing toe socks with merino socks over top. I wear the Injinji 2.0 Outdoor Mid Weight Crew Nuwool socks on their own with my boots and have not had any problems with blisters during walks of 10-25km over the last six months. They might overcome the problem by reducing the thickness of two socks. I understand the heat and swelling issue, I'm in Perth and we are still getting high temps here, in fact today has been 40 degrees and tomorrow is another 40 - with thunderstorms! I have also bought Injinji Run Original Weight No Show socks to wear with my sandals (Ahnu Tilden) if a change of footwear is needed.

 

[Cayou]

Also suggest a high quality insole/insert for the trail runners ....
My wife had a sore ball of her foot last year, and I pulled out her stock insole to see it was flattened foam on the ball area. We replaced and she was fine. I use a high arch insert at about $45 - Superfeet brand.
We did 175k/100m of Camino, but had also done at least 30k in Madrid/Toledo/Segovia of tarmac & concrete (the worst) prior to the Camino.
As koilife and others said, a large unrestricted toe box, 1/2 size larger shoe, apply balm or vaseline, top quality socks.
ALL pre-tested in advance!

 

[Mark Lee]

Thank you for the encouragement @Waka.
These are my Teva Verra sandals.
From what you and others on the thread are saying, it's more than likely I will be spending a good deal of my camino wearing them.

Yeah, I have a pair of Teva's I bought while on my first Camino after I left my sandals at an albergue by accident. They are quite sturdy and well made, and on subsequent Caminos I brought them as my daily after walking shoes/backup for walking. I wore them for the flights home.

 

[gracethepilgrim]

I've walked nearly 4000 km with only a few minor blisters. Every morning I put pawpaw lotion on my feet and then wear icebreaker merino socks. Easy and quick.

 

[auldies]

Hi auldies, you mentioned wearing toe socks with merino socks over top. I wear the Injinji 2.0 Outdoor Mid Weight Crew Nuwool socks on their own with my boots and have not had any problems with blisters during walks of 10-25km over the last six months. They might overcome the problem by reducing the thickness of two socks. I understand the heat and swelling issue, I'm in Perth and we are still getting high temps here, in fact today has been 40 degrees and tomorrow is another 40 - with thunderstorms! I have also bought Injinji Run Original Weight No Show socks to wear with my sandals (Ahnu Tilden) if a change of footwear is needed.

All good advice @CathyJ. I really like the look of the Injinji Run Original Weight No Show socks. I didn't see any like that when I purchased 3 pair of these. I really like the concept of mine but the band at the top is too high and tight around my ankle and I find I have to fold it down to prevent compression and subsequent vasculitis. Oh, I do wish I had been armed with all this good advice before I spent lots of possibly wasted $$$$s. Sympathising with you in the heat. Just saw the weather forecast for Perth today - another one topping 40 degrees - we will be about 9 degrees cooler. Isn't summer meant to be over.....

 

[auldies]

I've walked nearly 4000 km with only a few minor blisters. Every morning I put pawpaw lotion on my feet and then wear icebreaker merino socks. Easy and quick.

Thank you.
Do you wear shoes or sandals or a combination?

 

[alipilgrim]

Thank you @alipilgrim. That's very encouraging indeed.
One question re the socks. I have posted a picture of my Tevas.
I find that the toe socks help keep the sweat from between my toes and possibly help prevent blisters.
I do have Icebreaker merino socks as well. I'm guessing you didn't have any problems with blisters.
Do you recommend the wool socks over the toe socks?

I only suffered the smallest blister, in the middle of the ball of my foot, and that's when I eased off on the weight in my backpack. On days when I knew I'd be carrying lots of water, for example, I used my trail shoes in the beginning. I hadn't discovered toe socks yet when I was walking my Caminos, but have used them subsequently on many of my local hikes or on my 3-week backpacking trip (in the same Merrell trail runners). I liked them a lot, especially as I sometimes have the nail of my baby toe cut into the toe beside it and the toe socks keep them nicely separated. Every other pair of my hiking socks are wool, so I obviously am very partial to wool socks, but I wouldn't go so far as to recommend them over toe socks. That's going to be an individual's choice. I also do take at least 3 pairs of socks on long walking trips (a fourth might be liner socks, which I rarely wear). I find wool dries fairly slowly and so it's nice to have some extra pairs in case they don't dry overnight and you might need to change your socks during the day due to sweating/rain/creek crossings, etc. They weight nothing...

 

[CathyJ]

All good advice @CathyJ. I really like the look of the Injinji Run Original Weight No Show socks. I didn't see any like that when I purchased 3 pair of these. I really like the concept of mine but the band at the top is too high and tight around my ankle and I find I have to fold it down to prevent compression and subsequent vasculitis. Oh, I do wish I had been armed with all this good advice before I spent lots of possibly wasted $$$$s. Sympathising with you in the heat. Just saw the weather forecast for Perth today - another one topping 40 degrees - we will be about 9 degrees cooler. Isn't summer meant to be over.....

If only summer was over! We got our 40 yesterday and it was still 38 at 7pm, 32 at midnight!
I have been really happy with my Injinji's, I do also use either body glide or trail toes anti friction balm for longer walks. How long until you leave, I leave April 11

 

[auldies]

If only summer was over! We got our 40 yesterday and it was still 38 at 7pm, 32 at midnight!
I have been really happy with my Injinji's, I do also use either body glide or trail toes anti friction balm for longer walks. How long until you leave, I leave April 11

Good news today!! A top of 27 in Perth
We hope to take our first step from SJPP on Friday 22nd April.
Buen Camino

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

View media item 3785 View media item 4523 Quick interjection to those mentioning Teva's: These are mine and my gut is wanting to bring them (over my Keen Newport Sandals) on Porto to SDC. If anyone else recommends one over the other, please contact me personally, so I discontinue any derailing of this thread. Thanks! Over and out!

 

[alipilgrim]

Hi Rum, I chose the Terra-Fi's because of their rugged tread. Figured it would provide the best traction on gravely, rocky paths.

 

[Jo Jo]

Rum,

Bought Keen Newports in Leon. Worked great. I now use Keen Arroyo II sandals--basically sandal top married to a hiking boot sole. Walked a pilgrimage in Italy in them, then the John Muir Trail (200 miles of serious mountain backpacking). I could not use open-toed sandals. I'm a bit of a klutz, and I'd hurt my toes stubbing them on rocks.

Auldies,
I strongly endorse the two pairs of footwear approach. Running shoes for all of the concrete and asphalt. Sandals for the dirt, gravel, and for when it rains.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[james walter purdum iv]

So this morning we set off for a 28km training walk in the 30 degree celsius Brisbane heat.
I had donned my toe socks and merino socks over the top and set out in my newly relaced trail runners (courtesy of my podiatrist). At about the 7km mark as my feet were starting to swell a little from the heat, the toes on my right foot started to burn from the pressure, so I stopped and took the merino socks off. I flapped around inside my runners for a little bit, but the pain stopped and my feet soon adjusted. At around the 12km point, the pain was starting to return, so when we stopped for a break at around 15km, I decided to replace my runners with my Teva sandals. I was a little nervous to begin with, as I'd previously only walked short distances in the sandals (without socks). This time I left the toe socks on. My feet thanked me almost instantly!! There was a little bit of adjustment (loosening of the front straps) to accommodate the socks but then it was happy feet the rest of the way and not a blister in sight at the end of the 28km.
From now on I think that will be my plan. First half - trail runners, Second half - sandals.
Not sure how this will play out on the Camino though. I imagine I might be thankful for the 2 layers of socks in my runners first thing in the morning in April? Perhaps the difference in temperature will be important.
Has anyone had success with this method? Could it help prevent blisters or at least stop them from escalating? That was a huge concern for me.
Apologies if this has been covered in other threads. I did search, and have been following all the helpful information re shoes, boots or sandals.
This will be our first Camino so thank you.