Day 3, Leg 2

You read the numbers in the title right: the day number and leg number no longer coincide. I'm staying at the Crystal Motel an extra day. It's a decision I'd been toying with last night, but when my alarm woke me up at 5 this morning, I decided that I needed an extra day of rest. Normally, on walks where I average 26-28K per day, I usually insert a rest day whenever I've done a segment of 30K or more. I didn't do that this time, cavalierly thinking, This walk's only five days long. Who needs rest? Years ago, Younger Kevin might have had a point, but this time around—and now knowing that I'm seen as a grandfather by the younger crowd—Older Kevin is being forced to realize that the body has limitations, especially a body as unhealthy as mine.

So basically, I'm already worn out after two days on the trail. I should have given myself an extra day of rest after Day 1, but I did Day 2 right after, and now I'm paying for the sin of pride. 

It's also raining today, all day, and after my disaster in 2024, I'm once again thinking that discretion is the better part of valor. 

Alas, another problem has arisen, which I saw only after waking: my right big toe is once again already infected. I just spent a few minutes gently squeezing out a lot of pus from a swelling next to an unfamiliar wound. This was accompanied by a lovely smell. Wish you were here. Ingestible antibiotics aren't available in South Korea without a prescription, so I'm stuck with soap, alcohol swabs, Kleenex (to catch running pus), first-aid cream, and the many bandages that I have on hand. The first-aid cream also acts as a topical antibiotic. 

Here's a pic, post pus-draining:

If it's the shoes, then how did I do two cross-country walks with them?

Here's how things look from the bottom:

The diabetic wound in the center, strangely enough, isn't the source of the ooze.

I spent the last few hours of yesterday's walk limping, and now I know why. Despite diabetic neuropathy in my toes, I do still feel pain.

Anyway, today's agenda is to fast, to rest, to wash myself and some clothing, then to rest some more. I'll be up at 4 and out the door by 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.

You know what does feel good, though? Typing a blog post without feeling so tired that I fall asleep mid-sentence like the grandfather I am. 

Contrast my infected big toe with my healthy one.