[pct-l] Break Strategies

[Bob]

Robert Henry writes:  "psychologically I'm prone to keep pushing on."

After reading Stephen Pern's book, I've tried to look out for those sneaky
"NFEs."  He wrote about:

>  "A bad case of the NFEs.  NFE stands for Not Far Enough - the
irresistible compulsion to go on and on till you ruin whatever you're
doing."    -    Stephen Pern,  The Great Divide,  1989.

Dr Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Robert Henry
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 1:31 PM
To: Michael Irving
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net MailingList
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Break Strategies

I only did the "experiment" of the thru hike once, so I can't say if I was
more or less broken down based on different independent variables -:)

I know that psychologically I'm prone to keep pushing on ("the view around
the next turn is bound to be better"), so working off the clock, as
anal-retentive as that is, was a way I could manage the resting and
calories.

I should add that I would adjust my breaks to coincide with water
availability.

Keeping shoes and socks and feet as dry as possible, especially in the first
month (hot sands, tender city feet, etc) is really crucial.

I found I got bad blisters on the inside of my heels only when my shoes
started breaking down.  I wore Brooks Beast shoes, marketed to the
ultramarathoner crowd, for the entire trip.  The glue in the heel box
softens up, especially in hot weather, and the stitching begins to emerge at
about 350 trail miles.  To counter this I cut up plastic milk jugs and
inserted them as additional layer of protection between my sock and the
inside of the heel box, and also had my resupply person overnight me new
shoes.

Data point:  I'm 57 with low grade Achilles tendonitis, so keeping stretched
was even more important.