Ole c-rock went to Boston and NYC for work and Fun. I learned alot about my feet, and why now I am going to change my exercising to more jogging and walking than using a cross trainer.
Since I started to work out since Thanksgiving, I have been doing the following for cardio and endurance- a stairmaster once a week, and a cross trainer twice a week.
I think I will keep the stairmaster in the routine, but switch to jogging to make my feet stronger.
Ok, here is what happened. I did a computer gig in Boston. I was part of a office move into a new building. Building wad three stories tall, and the floors were big. One of the techs in the building had a walking meter on their belt, on ave, he did 4 1/2 miles of walking a day. I will use that for my walking.
I also did hit the town at night when we went on break for the day.
That was for three days. So, three days, 15 miles of walking. I did move PC's around, but no heavy carrying.

First day I was fine. I wore my broken in Doc marten shoes. A little sore feet, no blisters, not huffing in the lung area.
The cardio helped out alot.

Next day I wore my brand new tennis shoes I never had worn before. Bad fucking Idea. Once that happened, it was down hill from there.
I got two blisters on each foot. One on each pinky toe, and one under each big toe, on the balls of my feet.

Each day they got worse and worse. We kept on walking around boston, and in NYC. Not as much in NYC but enough to say two miles a day.

Each day got tougher and tougher. I started in Boston on Thrus of the week before, and ended the trip on this past Friday.
Thrus and Friday were tough to do.

Each day I was popping the blisters on the botton of my feet. The pinkys were ok after I popped them, but I did wrap them up each day in tape. I also got a spur on the bottom of one of my heels. that hurt too.

The bottom ones were the killers. Those hurt all the time. Drinking lots of beer at night helped kill the pain, but thats a different story. :P

I did pick up some moleskin for my feet in NYC and some frabic tape too.

Going to put some in the BOB pack, cause its a needed thing.

Now, with having the blisters, you start to walk different, and that makes you put pressure on stuff that normally doesnt get it. My shins and such were killing me like crazy on Wed and Thrus.

I kept on going, but if I had a rifle, and 70 lbs of gear, I would of been fucked. Stick a fork in me, I was done.

I learned a couple of things. First the good.
Doing the cardio was great, that kept me going, and going. I was not huffing, I was not puffing. Lungs and heart were going fine.
I am going to change my routine for sure. GOing to start jogging, or at least walk 1 mile a day during the summer, then hit the treadmill in winter. Need to get my feet in better shape. I was hurting big time. If I had to be a suburban commando, I would of been cannon fodder. ;-)

Two, going to make sure my boots can handle a hard walk of 5 miles in a day the next couple of weeks. I keep those next to my BOB, and plan on using those for that purpose. If they dont cut it, going onto a new pair. Also keep some jogging shoes in the BOB.

Second, I need hints and tips on keeping my feet blister free.
Someone told me to cover your feet in vasline to keep down the fricton. Is that true? What else can I do?

Thanks
c-rock

Vaseline will make your feet sweat causing more of a blistering problem.

1) Wear the proper foot gear, both style and size.  From camping and hiking, I know the proper foot gear is number 1.  Work boots don't cut it as hiking boots if you are carrying a 40 pound pack and hiking 3 miles up a mountain.  they may be ok for light day hikes, but investing in a good pair of hiking boots will make you a "happy camper"

2) make sure you're sneakers aren't too old and aren't too new.  In my Martial Arts classes I get these complaints all the time.  when someone gets shin splints or there joints/feet are bothering them my first question is always "how old are your sneakers?"  99.99% of the time they are either really old ("I've had these forever, so they must be broken in") or they are brand spanking new ("I just picked these up before class").  If you are very active, you should change your sneakers every 4-6 months or so.  If you have new sneaks, wear them around the house for a while before you start running marathons in them.

3) Keep your feet dry.  Soggy prune feet will give you blisters just as soon as improperly fitted shoes will.  If you can, invest in synthetic breathable socks like CoolMax.  Natural fabrics like wool are also breathable.  For active people, cotton sox are killers. they will get wet and stay wet longer than you really need, giving you prune feet and making you more likely to get blisters.