Feet on Fire

It's only about a mile and a half from the Kingscliff Hotel in Holland-on-Sea to the Clacton Pier. We'd probably only walked about a mile when it felt like my feet were on fire. I truly thought those shoes would be okay for walking. (I have some that I KNOW are good for walking but they are bulky to pack so I wanted something a bit more streamlined and versatile - in a fashion sense.)

Compare. Top- the really practical shoe - the one that never hurts but is heavy and bulky to pack.. Center - the compromise shoe - that I thought would be okay. Bottom - the shoe I wish I could walk in. (Because I could - once upon a time.)

The last time I went to the podiatrist to complain that my feet hurt, I ended up at a vein specialist having my great saphenous vein decommissioned. This time I thought I'd try some gel inserts. We made our way to Boots (the British version of CVS Pharmacy) and bought a set of gel inserts. Inserted them and then walked a block to the Clark's store because they were ineffective.

Not a great selection in their inventory but I found one that was specifically designed for walking - according to the salesperson. Mark pointed out that all shoes should be suitable for walking because that's what feet do. (He's right, you know!)

Anyway, in hope of getting rid of that burning sensation on the balls of my feet, I purchased a pair of Clarks walking shoes. The navy/gray ones. Comfort was becoming more important than Cute.

I wore them out of the store, assuming that my feet still hurt because "the damage had already been done." Who knows? The next day was warm and I wore my walking sandals (also Clarks) and walked about five miles with no ill-effects. The day after that we were doing a long walk - probably seven miles - so I wore the newly purchased Clark's walking shoes and my feet were once again on fire about a mile before we reached a stopping point. Since we weren't going any long distances the following day, I went back to my original choice - the white shoes that weren't quite as white as when we started. 

A week later, we were planning on doing a bit of walking so I put on the new "walking shoes" but my feet were once again "on fire" after only two blocks. There is no rhyme or reason to this. None. No predictability. I have no idea when my feet are going to be ignited. And I don't really want to spend the rest of my life wearing running shoes, aka "sensible" shoes. 

I'm surprised Mark hasn't offered to re-engineer my feet. (He wanted to do that with my ears when I had problems with pierced earrings.) But I think I need a different podiatrist. Any recommendations?