Caro Ryan realises denial is not going to take away the aches and pains in her feet.
With 8km of firetrail between me and my car, I knew it was going to feel like the longest eight of the last fifty. For the last three days I’d zigzagged east and west, back and forth across the Royal National Park, marvelling at how it was possible to spend three nights in nature, under fly, so close to the centre of Sydney.
I found myself wondering not only how many of Sydney’s four million people knew about this possibility for adventure, hidden in their natural neighbourhood; but importantly, why it felt as though every little pebble and rock beneath my right foot, felt like four million shards of glass – one for every person in this great city.
If only I could put my feet in for a retread like my tyres. Pushing the discomfort out of my mind and focussing on the knowledge that the pain will stop when the firetrail does, this princess sucked it up and headed for home.
The broken glass quickly became a distant memory until the next time I put my hiking shoes on. I had somehow managed to convince myself that it was simply the excessive road-bash (firetrail walking) that had led to my previous experience. But there’s something in our mindset – us outdoorsy/walking/loving types – that seems to be able to filter out our body trying to tell us things. OK, it’s actually denial.
So after four months of convincing myself that there’s nothing wrong with the swelling in my ‘Star Trek foot’ and its rather fetching digital Vulcan salute, it took a good friend of mine to finally force me to make an appointment with a GP and get it sorted. Why had I waited so long before seeing my GP about it?
I’ve come to realise, that my rather fabulous ostrich impersonation was connected to fear. Having watched active bushwalking friends struggle during their recovery from injury, I couldn’t bear to think that someone would tell me I couldn’t go walking. When walking in nature is so connected to both our physical and mental wellbeing (and for some of us, our jobs), this fear of an unknown diagnosis can tie us up in knots and push our head further into the sand.
But even though fear can bind us into inactivity, it can also be a powerful motivator. So with 2018 before us, a whole new year of walking dreams and bucket-lists ahead, I encourage us all to do a physical stocktake on our bodies. Whether we call ourselves bushwalkers, hikers, trekkers or trampers, we expect a lot from our ankles, hips, knees and other joints. We want them to carry us into a long life of adventure, exploration and connection to what is important to us, so we need to look after them.
I encourage you, don’t be like me in denial, hoping that a physical symptom will go away. Check in with your GP, physio, osteo (or your musculoskeletal specialist of choice!) and set your body up for it’s best walking year yet.
Words_Caro Ryan (lotsafreshair.com)