Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Talk of hiking boots and walking shoes






Mrs. Sarah Neville of Dresden [Ontario], aged 80 years, walked 17 miles from Dresden to Chatham yesterday, to renew a writ in the county court clerk’s office. Mrs. Neville has been doing this once a year for three years. She does not care to ride on trains, because she objects to tobacco smoke in the depot and the cars. (From the Intelligencer, Bellville, Ontario, June 11, 1910. The newspaper did not say whether Mrs. Neville walked back to Dresden for a 34-mile (55-kilometre) the same day).
     A good fairy brought me a pair of featherweight power walking shoes for my 79th birthday. Fabulous! Even the Greek god Mercury, with his winged heels, was never shod with anything as good as this to help speed him on his way. Too bad Mrs. Neville never had walking shoes like mine!
     They are the same as shoes used by runners but have all the features of good walking shoes, as described by the Mayo Clinic booklet, Walk Your Way to Fitness. There is an Achilles notch to reduce stress on the Achilles tendon. An ankle collar cushions the ankle and ensures a proper fit. There is an insole, a midsole and a gel pad to provide support, comfort, cushioning and shock absorption. A roll bar stabilizes the foot and keeps it from rolling inward when it hits the ground. A roomy toe box helps prevent calluses. The bottom sole has grooves and treads to provide traction. Above all those soles, much of the upper part of the shoe consists of a mesh material that provides ventilation and minimizes weight. You can see daylight through the mesh.
     My power walkers will augment—not replace—my lightweight hiking boots. The walkers are for pavement; the boots for gravel, rocky or more difficult trails. I’ll wear the walkers on my September marathon; the boots on my October hike to Haliburton; and I’ll use both as I continue to train. I don’t want to wear out these costly runners before the marathon. Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a former marathon runner who publishes a weekly eZine primarily for seriously active athletes, advises runners to throw away their running shoes after six months. All those different soles are apparently quick to break down.
     My canvass-topped hiking boots are the lightest boots I’ve ever owned. On our bathroom scales, they weigh precisely two pounds. The new walkers weigh half as much—one pound, eight ounces each.
     Mrs. Neville certainly never had boots like mine, let alone these walkers, to ease her 34-mile tramp from Dresden to Chatham and back. Like everyone else, she almost certainly walked in good, black leather boots. Heavy boots, stiff with solid leather soles half an inch thick; no cushion to provide comfort, support or shock absorption; no Achilles notch, no roll bar, no jell pad.
     Mrs. Neville was born and grew up before railways arrived in Ontario. Most people walked wherever they went, near or far. Our first settlers began clearing the forests in remote areas beyond the reach of stagecoaches. When the clearings grew into farms with horses, they were workhorses. When the horses weren’t busy pulling out stumps or pulling plows, they pulled wagons to haul in supplies and haul out produce. Country people sometimes rode in such wagons, together with chickens and grain or a month’s supply of groceries, but more often walked. In the cities and towns, the affluent had horses and carriages; working people rode horse-drawn streetcars when they could afford the fare, and otherwise walked. Well into Mrs. Neville’s era and beyond, a 20- or 25-mile walk in those clodhopper boots was nothing out of the ordinary.
     In the West, it was a little different with cowboys. My father had been an Alberta cowboy in his younger years. He maintained that a cowboy would rather saddle up than walk across the road, but we had no horses when I grew up.
     My brother and I grew up in the same type of boots as our settlers, on the family stump-studded, West Coast oceanfront-property. When our boot soles wore thin, Dad fit the boots over a shoe anvil and hammer on new soles. Sometimes an errant nail would work its way through the sole of a boot into the sole of a foot, and would have to be hammered flat. If the boots became too tight as we grew, Dad would expand them. We had a goat and chickens, which were fed wheat. Dad would fill a pair of tight-fitting boots with wheat, add a little water, and the swelling wheat would expand the boots. That practice ceased when, on one occasion, the wheat swelled too much and completely burst the sides of the boots.
     The summer I was 17 I worked as a logger and liked to swagger in my heavy, high-topped logger’s caulk boots. Alistair MacLeod in his best-selling novel, No Great Mischief, erroneously refers to these as cork boots. That was possibly because caulk boots are, for some reason, pronounced cork boots. The caulks—sharp spikes at the bottom of the boots—help loggers scramble over or along often wet and slippery logs without falling.
     We wore high, heavy hiking boots when Joan and I raised our family in Calgary and spent summers hiking on many of the 2,000 miles of hiking trails in the four Rocky Mountain national parks to the west. Frequently there were mountain streams—cold, clear, fast-running and bolder strewn—that we had to either ford, or turn back. The streams could look intimidating. The water was usually less than knee deep but too deep to splash through wearing boots. On at least a couple of occasions I resolved the issue by taking off my boots and throwing them to the far bank. No turning back.
     Today, my featherweight power walking boots should enable me to complete that 42-kilometre September marathon within the 6.5-hour qualifying time limit with no trouble.
     Not so. Not at my age. On my second walk in my power walkers I clipped along a measured 16.5-K street route as quickly as my old legs would take me that distance. It looks like it will take me more than eight hours to do the full marathon. So what? It will take whatever it takes. Who cares?















24 comments:

  1. Hmm is anyone else having problems with the
    images on this blog loading? I'm trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it's the blog.
    Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.
    Visit my page ; teen porn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.

    The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox.
    I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I'd post to
    let you know. The design and style look great though! Hope you get the issue
    solved soon. Cheers
    Also see my page > crazyteenpics.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site,
    how can i subscribe for a blog web site? The account helped me a acceptable
    deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear
    idea
    My webpage :: http://www.teenpornsexpussy.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. I blog quite often and I really thank you for your content.
    Your article has really peaked my interest. I will take a note of your website and
    keep checking for new details about once per week.
    I subscribed to your Feed as well.
    Also visit my webpage Wake up bitch

    ReplyDelete
  5. As the admin of this web site is working, no uncertainty very shortly
    it will be famous, due to its feature contents.
    Feel free to surf my page - www.daily-wet-tshirt.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. continuously i used to read smaller articles which also clear their motive, and that
    is also happening with this post which I am reading now.
    Also see my site :: Black Lesbian GFs

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tremendous things here. I'm very glad to peer your article. Thank you so much and I'm taking a look
    ahead to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?
    Look into my page : drunk party girls

    ReplyDelete
  8. What's up, every time i used to check website posts here early in the morning, as i enjoy to gain knowledge of more and more.
    Look at my web page teensex

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great delivery. Sound arguments. Keep up the amazing
    effort.
    My webpage - teen porn

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout
    to your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself?
    Anyway stay up the nice high quality writing, it is rare to look a great weblog like this one nowadays.
    .
    My site :: Geeks on Steroids

    ReplyDelete
  11. Informative article, just what I needed.
    Look at my blog Oregon mortgage assistance

    ReplyDelete
  12. When I initially commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get
    three e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you
    can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
    Also see my web site > best wedding insurance

    ReplyDelete
  13. Excellent post. Keep writing such kind of info on your page.
    Im really impressed by it.
    Hi there, You have done a great job. I'll certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this website.

    Here is my blog ... how to register a trademark

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is a topic that is near to my heart.
    .. Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?

    Here is my page :: free weights

    ReplyDelete
  15. What i don't understood is in fact how you're
    now not actually much more neatly-liked than you might be now.

    You are very intelligent. You understand therefore significantly relating
    to this topic, made me in my opinion imagine it from numerous various angles.
    Its like women and men aren't fascinated until it's something to accomplish with Woman gaga!

    Your own stuffs great. Always take care of it up!


    Feel free to surf to my site: electrician katy tx.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I enjoy reading through an article that can make people
    think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!

    Have a look at my homepage Mature

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you
    know a few of the images aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I've tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.

    my website :: www.cuteteenporn.net

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very good website you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any discussion boards
    that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
    I'd really like to be a part of community where I can get feedback from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Appreciate it!

    Feel free to visit my web site www.xxxmoviegalls.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is very attention-grabbing, You're an excessively skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and stay up for searching for more of your excellent post. Also, I've shared your website in my social networks

    Also visit my web site :: www.lesbiansororityhouse.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Quality content is the secret to be a focus for the visitors to pay a
    quick visit the web page, that's what this web site is providing.

    my webpage :: Wildpartygirls.org

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello everybody, here every one is sharing these familiarity, so it's good to read this weblog, and I used to pay a visit this weblog all the time.

    my web site - Bimbo Makes Cock Explode

    ReplyDelete
  22. Please let me know if you're looking for a article author for your blog. You have some really good posts and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I'd love to write some articles for your blog in exchange
    for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested.
    Thanks!

    Also visit my web blog ... http://www.sex-xxx-erotica.com

    ReplyDelete