Over the past few weeks, I've had some tenderness in my right gluteus muscle and thigh. I think it's because my walking shoes are wearing down, causing me to put too much weight on my right leg. I'm not sure why the shoes are wearing down so quickly – it could be that due to the lack of rain, the ground is "harder" and thus rougher on the shoes. So what I may do is cut down on my walking to 4-5 days a week, and work out in the gym on the remaining days. I'm kind of bummed, because I really like to walk, but I don't want the tenderness to turn into something more serious. Also, I can't afford to buy new shoes every three months!

There was a time when I was younger that I would wear down running shoes, but either I was able to shake off the pain or didn't notice it that much. But now, what with my shoulder problems, I'm a bit more cautious about injuries. Perhaps this is just a part of getting older (and it sucks – I do not like to be inconvenienced by pain).