Final changes

I mentioned before that my Eddie Bauer Jacket leaked badly and that i had cleaned and reproofed both the Jacket and REI rain trousers using Nikwax products, Well today the heavens have opened and its absolutely p#$@ing down, I put the jacket and over trousers on along with some new Serius 'all weather' gloves that i also purchased at REI and went for a walk around my neighborhood, Around 2.5 miles, Last time i could feel water coming through the jacket after 10 minutes in lighter rain, I am happy to announce that when i got home 45 minutes later i was dry, Just a small amount of condensation inside but nothing like the drenching i had the last time, My legs were also dry, the last time after 10 miles of rain the shins were quite damp, I have to say i really like the REI waterproof trousers, They fit nice and fool good, Infact i now have a good look at REI clothing before looking at other makes, The gloves failed the test and both index fingers were soaked at the end, I guess what they mean by all weather, These may go back, I am a firm beliver in testing products to see if they are fit for purpose, Especially when you are in regions where you may get snow,rain and some extreme weather, Not the place to find that something does not work,
Last week i made an appointment at a foot doctor, I have walked up to 21 miles in a day but one of my big toes was giving me some grief around the first joint, It took all of 2 seconds before the doc told me that i had some arthritis in that joint, I had been reading up and thought that it was either that or turf toe, This is not a huge problem but could become painful on the Camino and just make the trip a little harder, I ended up at a place that adjusts shoes/boots and after a long consultation i ended up paying $300 for orthotic inserts purpose made from a mold of my feet, I have extremely high arches and also very long arches, It all made sense and i have always had problems with off the shelf orthotics even good ones like superfeet, I should be collecting them either Wednesday or Thursday this week, Giving me just over a week to break them in and have any adjustments done, I found out alot about my feet and legs in the hour i was with the specialist, I was extremely impressed, My wife has a pain under her 5th metatarsal or small toe and the foot specialist is going to remove a small piece of her insert where the pain is and insert a lighter material to ease the pain, This was all new to us, I have to say i would recommend going to see this type of person before going to a foot doctor, If anybody is interested we went to H and H in Raleigh, Highly recommended, My wife has all kinds of problems with her feet, The specialist looked at her new Merrels and instantly saw that the shoe was too narrow and the superfeet had been cut wrong, We returned to REI to try and get a wider shoe but for some reason they only carry wides in men's, We got a refund and headed down the street to the New Balance store where they measured her feet and she left with a nice pair of shoes that have a very comfortable insert, Feet are difficult things and every-bodies are different, You do not realize this until such times where you are doing long walks or running
Only 2 weeks today before i board the plane, Some anxiety creeping in and will be glad when i am in St Jean waiting to start, The weather there this week look good and surprisingly warm which means that the snow should be gone by the time i arrive-Fingers crossed