Training – ~2 hours daily walking on sealed/hard surfaces – bad idea?

How many miles do you have on your current shoes?  Most thru-hikers have to change theirs after 400-500 miles, and they’re walking on softer surfaces (sometimes, at least).

How fast do you walk, and have you tried slowing down a little and seeing if that helps?

Running shoes might help too.

A new pair of good running shoes will probably do the trick. Runners know that when they start getting little aches and pains when they didn’t before, the shoes are on their last legs, especially if they are being used on hard surfaces. You will be surprised how good your feet and legs will feel in a good pair of new running shoes! When I was young and running seriously, I was very careful to keep track of the mileage on the shoes for just this reason. Running and walking on dirt is easier on the feet and legs, but I have thousands of miles on pavement and good shoes have in part made that possible.

In “maintenance mode” I log about 30 miles a week on hard-packed dirt roads. High cushion shoes like Altra Olympus, Hoka One One, and others help a lot.

More “knee pain” details would generate better answers. 30 years old it a bit young for degenerative issues. “Sucking It Up” isn’t a good long term solution, and chronic pain is not the norm.

That said, if the pain is on the sides at the “attachment points”, generally below the joint per se, it is most likely arising from weak hip muscles and/or long strides.  If it is under the kneecap a weak quadriceps medialis is suspect.  Find sports oriented PT to get real answers.

I do a 10-mile walk daily, pretty much 7 days a week unless I do something in the backcountry. I also carry a 15 pound dumbbell in my pack on those walks. On days when road conditions are dry I wear Hoka trail running shoes, and on wet days I wear Hoka Tor hiking shoes. Both are maximalist cushioning shoes. My knees are good in general, but I think the shoes might help. Because they are so squishy my calves got a little sore at first, and I had to leave the dumbbell at home for about a month once when my Achilles started acting up, but otherwise that’s my routine. I just retired my Hoka Tor pair in factor of a new pair after 1000 miles in them. The waterproof membrane was long since trashed, and some of the material in the ankle was breaking down. The soles were still okay though.

I’d say try some maximalist shoes like the Hokas. They will last you quite a few miles and you can get them really cheap off Sierra Trading Post.

Unless there is something wrong with your knees.  I’d suggest doing some relatively heavy lifting.  Squats, dead lift, lunges.  This will build they leg muscles and properly support your knee.

Throw a friend on your shoulders and see how many you can do.  Shoot for 30-50 total reps.

@ RM

Sitting is the worst thing and harmful to your health.

Jennifer Mitol the PT who posts here often, wrote about some hip exercises that help with knee pain.

In terms of surfaces to walk on.  I find concrete is the hardest on my knees no matter what shoe I am wearing.

Asphalt is softer than concrete.

Dirt is softer than asphalt.

Grass is the softest surface of all.

I find treadmills more than a little boring but use them at hotel gyms when I travel. One advantage of many treadmills is that you can increase the incline to 12 sometimes 15 degrees to simulate walking up a hill.

I am 65 years old and walk at least an hour most days, when in the city, on concrete or asphalt wearing flip-flops. I don’t have any knee problems. If you don’t have health issues and aren’t overweight, it shouldn’t be a problem, unless you are out of shape or are carrying heavy loads. Also, have you thought of riding a bike to work?

“I can do it in flip-flops so you must be out of shape.”

Nice commentary Nick. Just blow off the OPs issue and get to the core of the problem. I’m sure your sage observation will be appreciated. Keep up the good work.

I experienced a tibula stress fracture on the trail last summer and am now training for next summer. My trainer has me inducing “small impacts” to strengthen the bones. I spend about 45 minutes each day gingerly going up and down a huge stairwell. The trainer doesn’t even think the weight of a backpack is so important for my goal of strengthening the bones, just the small impacts. Luckily it is not a problem for any of my joints. Not exactly your situation, but may be helpful information for others…

I walked miles a day on a concrete floor in a supermarket. New shoes made a nice difference for me. Worked with some folks that wore some non padded, unsupported shoes that never complained. I’ll say do what works for you. Try some other shoes and see.

Before retirement I was able to get to work via bus and some walking 5 days a week.  “Spring training” consisted of adding hilly detours to the walk and there was almost always some knee pain if I ramped up the pace and distance too suddenly.  Dialing back the pace and daily distance did away with the pain.   I’d then bump up the pace a bit each week until I reached a target pace and then adding distance later.  A majority of that walking was on hard surfaces (weekend training I tried to stick to unpaved trails)

Maybe that would help?

Better to walk than not walk at all.  But for me that would be a great way to get plantar fasciitis again.  Then you won’t be hiking anywhere

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I’m not overweight, I have a BMI of 20. Though I have put on ~4 kilos in the last 2 years…

I’ve spent much time in physiotherapy, it is an option to return. As is another visit to the podiatrist.

I’ll give new shoes a go, doing ~30 miles a week I’ve probably put ~1000 miles on my other shoes and ~500 on my newer shoes.

Pain isn’t in the sides, its in the centre on the load bearing surface of the joint – walking slower certainly helps. I’ve noticed if I walk fast it seems to trigger it, heavy foot fall seems to be a key factor.

Thanks again!