I have experienced walk difficulties and I am attempting to understand what is taking place.

In August of 2014, I entered a contract for a zero cost smart phone. The phone was intended as a portable note-taker and reminder, a mobile check list device to help compensate for my impossible memory and avoid me leaving the house without performing all of the necessary checks.

Once in use, the phone was found to be of value in monitoring daily walk performance. With the performance feedback obtained from the phone, both walk frequency and duration increased. The outcomes were immediate. There was some form of “pop,” an improvement in cognition, in clarity of thought, together with other health benefits such as better sleep, and an improved diet.

This year it was possible to maintain high mileage throughout the winter. No problems were experienced until recently. The following excerpts are from the Accident Log:

Back from walk at 1600
Tried out new shoes. Have blisters under ball of foot. cushion not as great as on the gray shoes.
Just had burst of shin pain but nothing noted on actual walk.

Recent attempt to break in new shoes left me with heal blisters. The sub-text was that I was no longer competent even to walk. I became down, Had great difficulty in motivating myself.
20:50:18
Awake from nap approx 2000.
Can barely stand. Need to push myself off from the bed. Legs not particularly sore but the fact of a major exertion is evident. Actual walk hours 3 HRS 59 MIN, Distance 12.28 miles, kcal 1,500.
22:28:23
Legs feel as if made of wood, Rest of the body feels as if it is on fire. Do not remember similar walk reaction. Feel I should eat something but have diminished sense of appetite apart from a desire for cold ice cream?? Of which there is none in the house. So am making a fried egg sandwich in the belief the protein is good for me and will help re-establish the viscous joints in the knees.

The record of my walk mileage shows I completed 175.44 miles in April. I continued a similar effort up to May 3rd. From May 4th to May 8th, I put in no mileage. On May 9th I made a short run of 2.32 miles followed by 12.28 miles on May 10th.

Looking at the documentary record is very useful. I thought my “walk break” stretched over more than one week. The record shows my break in exercise routine was only five days in length.

What is surprising is the difficulty I have experienced since that break. It is as if all of my prior conditioning has evaporated and I am facing the same circumstance as last year when there was a “winter break” in the walk effort. Only 72 miles were recorded from January 1st to April 30th 2015, an average of 18 miles per month. Getting back on track in May of 2015 was found to be extremely difficult.

Fig 1 – Walk Data 2015 and 2016

I appear to be experiencing similar difficulties in 2016 after a five day interruption in the walk effort. This outcome may be due to my advancing years – I turn 64 in a few months.