Walking Shoes

I took Harley for his usual mile walk today. It was a good walk with no other dog encounters !


However, my feet are now soaked .....so this blog is about the importance of wearing correct footwear !!!


Yes ...... seriously I have cold, wet feet AND I was wearing really thick socks ! 


It has been raining a lot recently - not enough to postpone the hosepipe ban unfortunately - but to the average person in the street (i.e.me) it feels like it hasn't stopped for the last 2 weeks. In fact the river levels look like they are back to normal and walking across the field is a squishy, muddy, wet affair !!


I have 3 pairs of shoes/boots that I use for walking Harley. 


In the summer it is usually my trainers - nice and simple. In the winter I use my woolly boots. The kids bought this pair of boots about 3 Christmases ago and I absolutely love them ...... they have thick wool inside and are waterproof so are great for walking in the snow or wet weather - better than wellies - which just leave me with very cold feet and are just NOT comfortable to walk in !


So ...... Spring and Autumn are the awkward months - never quite sure what the weather is going to do ..... I had been using a different pair of flat boots that are fake suede-ish and seemed to be fine whilst walking on the paths.


However, last week my husband took pity on me ........ we had walked up to the retail park, me in my 6 year old trainers, and he popped into the sports shop while I stayed outside with Harley. He came out with a huge bag and grinned ...telling me that my old trainers were looking a bit sad ...... he proudly announced he had bought me a pair of proper Karrimor Walking trainers!


I was not sure that I was impressed initially - to me a pair of trainers is a pair of trainers ........ until I got them out the box and saw the tread and how sturdy they looked. However, being sceptical as I am - I thought "they may be a bit stiff to wear". 


How wrong could I be .... they were sooooo comfortable!


I wore them on my walk a couple of days ago - and walked across the field - in the wet grass and mud. They were BRILLIANT - tread gripped the ground (even the slippy mud) and my feet were bone dry. I was converted!


Today though, for some reason, I put on the old suede-ish boots ....... 


Walking in the mud and wet grass was a nightmare - it probably did my muscles and cardiovascular some good, as it was really hard work but I know I was not walking "correctly" as my hips were "twinging" when I got back (oh to be 21 again and not worry about hip pains LOL). 


BUT the worst bit was my COLD WET FEET - the damp grass had soaked right through and I had forgotten that these boots were not waterproof !!!


So now I am sitting in front of the fire, soaking socks off, drying them off. AND I am a convert to my new PROPER walking shoes !!!