New Shoes 1, James 0

New Shoes 1, James 0

While in San Francisco, I treated myself to a pair of Cole Haan shoes, in lovely, delicious caramel brown. Quite out of character, instead of then keeping them in a shoebox for six months before wearing them, I put them on my feet and walked the girls to school yesterday. Even as I did so, I felt some mild discomfort as they chafed around my ankles, but I was in too much of a hurry to do anything about them.

This was definitely a mistake, because as the day worn on, the pain only got worse, until at 5 I stopped to look, and found a huge burst blister on the back of my left ankle, a flap of skin covering a livid wound. I covered myself with plasters and went home, ruing my inattention.

Today I wore my old sneakers instead, and a Hello Kitty plaster on the back of my heel. Unlike when I was young, things don’t heal instantly. But I was also feeling down from not exercising properly, so this evening I went to Boulder Movement for a bit of climbing.

Climbing requires very tight shoes, and shortly I discovered that it is incredibly painful to wear climbing shoes when you have the aftermath of a blister on the back of your ankle. I managed about twenty minutes before packing it in.

I also had a tube of Secret Stuff, a liquid chalk from Friction Labs. Usually when I chalk up, I use powdered chalk and that results in clouds of dust and needs frequent reapplication. Secret Stuff just rubbed into my hands and they stayed chalky the whole time I was there. Either the placebo power of different chalk, or the fact I’m well rested from all my travel (yeah, right) or my expectations have shifted as a result of the brutalksing Dogpatch Boulders, but what I did attempt today seemed much easier than I remembered.

Apart from when I fell off and grazed my arm on the way down, of course.

I walked home, still anguished at the pain from my ankle. At least it seemed to mean I didn’t have any plantar fascitis today. And obviously I’ll remember to keep my shoes packed away for half a year now, until I’ve forgiven them.


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