Hive mind question if I may.
I used to be a runner. Very fast sub 5 minute mile into my late 50s. Lumbar spine issues plus Osteoporosis and Bursitis have put paid to that. I’m on a daily physio regime and now need some advice.
Used to walk 4 miles at 4.8 miles an hour i.e. very briskly, but either that or Osteoporosis related weights regime triggered Bursitis so that’s out. Also found that the walk was triggering fungal infections in my feet. As the fix for Bursitis is total rest I have piled on weight, which obviously puts my spine at further risk.
Have managed to get back to the point where I’m doing 2 miles briskly and it hasn’t yet triggered Bursitis. Briskly for me now, given the extra weight, is about 4.1 miles an hour. I’m keen to maintain that and be safe rather than keep pushing for speed. I’m also able to do 10 minutes cross training. Both good for core strength and building enough of a sweat to start losing weight.
This has triggered a further fungal infection, which can’t yet be addressed as some liver issues are being investigated and the treatment for fungal infections could worsen that situation.
All my old running socks are dying and likely not very healthy. I am well out of draw with what’s good and, having had a look at Up And Running in Manchester yesterday I was both bewildered and unimpressed.
Ideally I want something white or close to white. The multi-coloured stuff looks very ugly albeit much better for my pairing things because of my VI. So, ideally white but I’ll listen to other options.
Suggestions from current runners please for something which will be nice to my feet when cross training for 10 minutes and then heading out for a 30 minute ish brisk walk.
Thanks in advance.
I can recommend Falke running socks. They usually have them in white.
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Sub 5 minute mile. That is impressive! These days i’m happy with a sub 5 minutes kilometre.
I’m a big fan of Feetures and Balega running socks. I’m colour agnostic though so not sure what colours are available, to me it’s more about whether they perform as expected.
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Higherstate socks are great. Cotton, padded in the right places. Use them when I cycle. Good value multi packs sometimes around if you can cope with odd colours.
Bruce
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Thanks all. I shall go explore them later today.
From school I was always treated as a middle distance runner. In my very early 30s I met a bloke who told me that was BS and got me using the treadmill flat out for 10 minutes. Resulted in some football performances in a tournament still talked about today and a period of sub 4:10 miles. Slowed to about 4:30 to 4:55 by my 50s.
Was coming home from Crawley v Wrexham in February when I started a conversation with a couple of Wrexham fans on the train to Victoria. Ten minutes in two of us realised we knew each other and hadn’t met in 30 years. First thing he does is turn to the other bloke and, referring to me, says “Mike put in the best defensive performance I’ve ever seen at a Colliers Park tournament”. That one day has haunted me down the years.
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Great story story and a small world (sort of). My grand parents lived in Wrexham for a while and I stayed with them for a short time. Apparently I nearly burned their fence down whiel I was living there. My uncle is still a Wrexham fan. Now I live many miles away in New Zealand, home of the late great Arthur Lydiard, and i’m originally from Kenya. Unfortunately I never inherited any of Lyrdiard’s talent, nor did I take after my fellow countrymen. Still I love running and it keeps me sane and healthy.
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Have a look at X bionic. they have some pretty clever tech in them
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The socks are not going to help you at all, and the last thing that makes any difference is the colour. You need decent shoes, but primarily to get rid of that extra luggage you are carrying. Good running shoes are also going to help when you are “only” walking. Think of pole walking, too.
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I make a lot of walking, at good regular speed, even when it’s very hot. I don’t have actually socks because my shoes are made for that.
I recommend Geox. Spherica.
And leg cream before.
Er, the shoes have long since been sorted thanks. Didn’t start the the thread for shoe or walking advice although I knew it would be forthcoming 
.
I have four pairs of shoes for dry weather and two pairs for wet. Always alternated. All reasonably well ventilated but not too much so as the well ventilated ones are pretty poor in terms of longevity and don’t even last 500 miles.
Bear in mind I no longer run. This is brisk walking off road on a shared footpath for 30 minutes at most and 10 minutes on a cross trainer. All require orthotics in. Those are removed and given a quick wash down every day.
All remaining rehab physio for the day is done indoors without footwear and, in the case of heel rises and steps, without socks. If my feet feel particularly damp after the cross train then I’ll mist my feet and change socks before walking. As I’m no longer working then, unless I’ve a reason to be out of the house, I wear neither socks nor footwear for the rest of the day after showering.
With regard to the fungal infections. all of the things suggested have been happening for many years and have made zero difference. I have/had 10 pairs of white socks. All are used once and then washed at at least 60 degrees.
My GP believes my routines are flawless in this respect. The cause of the fungal infections is largely heat and immunity related.
The colour makes a huge difference to me. As someone with a VI I’m already vulnerable to being targeted by goons from time to time. Bright colours for pairing socks in the bedroom is great but outside white is a far better option for not attracting attention especially when people are tempted to query the existence of your VI precisely because you’re walking briskly.
Always been fascinated by poles. I can see why one might use them but I’ve always been struck by the number of people who use them in circumstances outside of the limited use case. Does walking really need a pole on a flat shared surface which is also pretty much a straight line.
In my case a pole is out of the question given that I use a white guide cane in one hand.
Sock suggestions only please
What’s your objective? To find a pair of white socks? Visit the nearest Tesco. Why do we need the life story?
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Well let’s add “avoiding rudeness” to the objectives.
Objective plainly laid out.
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Question not answered though.
Given the rudeness and attempt to go further off topic than the not unreasonable shoes and hygiene posts, rest assured you won’t be getting an answer.
I really miss running, but about 3 years ago on a run I had a muscle injury in both of my back calf muscles. I thought a longer break would help with this, but every time I started up, both of my back calf muscles would get sore after about 3-400 meters. I can then walk a little and it goes away, but if I start running again the problem is back. A doctor thought it was compartment syndrome and I had surgery, but it didn’t help and was checked for blood pressure and varicose veins in my legs, but they couldn’t see that there was anything wrong. No one can tell me what triggers this and it’s kind of frustrating. So I’m done with running, but I do some hill training and go on some longer walks.
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We’re close to le Grand Depart … it will be chaussettes jaunes pendant un mois.
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I feel your pain. The last 5 years of running for me were literally 3/4 mile increasingly downhill from my house, a 1/4 mile brutal climb (1 in 3) followed by a burst of speed in reverse, a climb back uphill and about 300m where I could sprint flat out to a finish. That was usually less than 5 minutes but it was brutal, exhilarating and took little out of the day compared to the near 80 minutes my current regime requires each day. I’m hugely grateful for the largely pain free mobility my rehab physio regime gives me but goodness I miss that run.
Same with football. The sheer joy of being the middle aged bloke with the acceleration which stopped everyone in their tracks and the reading of the game which made no sense unless you understood the impact of that speed and my VI.
