Preface: Before writing about Day 1, I thought it relevant to note the training and preparation taken or lack thereof before we began the walk.

There really wasn’t any training. Yet, just how tough could walking across a fairly flat valley turn out to be? Well, in one way it isn’t. But it is amazing how challenging hard surfaces can be on your body when walking on them day in and day out. By the third day, I could literally feel the relief walking on grassy areas or dirt paths. I avoided concrete and asphalt surfaces as much as possible. I now understand those door-to-door sales people who have been out all day and would walk through my yard.

I knew that I needed a better pair of shoes to do this walk in, so about two weeks prior, I found a pair of Brooks running shoes on Overstock.com and ordered them.

Everyone said I had better break them in … but they seemed so flexible and were so light .. 1 lb. 6 oz! I just thought they would be fine. One other slight problem was Overstock didn’t have them in the half size larger, which was recommended as they were said to run small.

So one week prior to our start, Chrystyna, Dave, and I decided to go for a trial walk. We met on an evening after work and did a 6 mile trek around uptown Phoenix. This was the first and only time I wore the new shoes prior to the hike. It was a great walk.

But two things happened that night that foreshadowed events to begin the next Friday. One, we ended that night at Rosie McCaffrey’s Irish Pub and Restaurant on Camelback Road and celebrated with a cold Irish beverage. Coincidently, our first two days of the Phoenix Valley walked ended similarly … not necessarily by design as many observers thought. Pete in South Carolina said we were clearly just doing a pub crawl.

Secondly, I had a fairly impressive blister develop on my left foot after that 2.5 hour, 6 mile walk. THAT was a sign of much worse developments for me on Day 1 and 2. I can only say it was my own fault. One would think I would have learned the importance of breaking in new shoes many years ago. Actually I thought I had, but the Valley Walk proved ignoring them was a stupid move on my part.

Here’s a picture of the new Brooks Summon shoes just out of the box!