2987

I've always enjoyed walking and bit over a year ago (April 1,2005), I started to walk fairly seriously. We are lucky enough to have excellent sidewalks in our neighborhood and the local food store is a 1.7 mile trip, so why not?

As I get ready for the Saturday morning walk I note that I've been 2987 miles over this period - tomorrow is likely to be the 3000 mile day.

so some observations

• You need shoes that actually fit. I managed some that didn't last June and managed to rip up my feet. Shoes don't last that long - I find I get about 1000 miles from a pair (working out to about 5 cents a mile). Socks also wear rapidly.

• Lots of sunscreen

• Drink enough. I managed to get dehydrated last July and don't recommend it. Electrolytes are also important.

• Ticks - we have a two month tick season. Even walking only on pavement I managed to pick up more than a few. Some care is needed to remove them.

• Learn how to dress in layers. This is the only way to deal with the Winter. I was never really cold and was always able to adjust what I was wearing to suit changes in wind, sun and my own warming up.

• If you are crazy enough to walk on the ice -- try this

• Find a good umbrella.

• An iPod (or something like it) is essential. The number of days when you can enjoy the sounds of nature in suburbia is not very large.

• Time shift your news ... I capture radio programs with HiJack Pro and put them on the iPod. Increasingly regular podcasts are displacing this, but it is only way to get some content. I average about 2 hours a day in two or three walks and get most of my news and commentary this way.

• This turns out to be an excellent time to "write" -- working out issues of what to say. Also for general thinking.

• If you are lucky enough to have a store nearby you can do much of your shopping as part of regular walks. I limit myself to about 15 pounds of groceries and frequently only carry 5. The frequency of unplanned car trips for shopping has dropped dramatically.

• Find someone who is as crazy (hi Judith) ... they don't have to be in your physical walking area, but it is useful to know that someone else is out in the freezing rain when you are tempted to skip a walk.

• I can't quantify any health benefits (other than having lost some weight and improved walking endurance), but suspect this is much better than sitting and watching TV.

Things to do ... this year I probably should add lights for dawn and dusk walking. A walking stick that gets net would be nice too. Now if it only paid ...

Comments

[Sukie]

We did discover that the Gold Toe cotton socks cost much less and hold up far better than other socks we tried for Steve whose selection is limited by his having size 15 feet. So, for those with large feet who put their socks through a lot of hard work...

[steve]

correction to Sukie's comment ... I only take size 14 shoes ... She tends to think larger as it is very difficult to find quality socks that are large enough

[judith]

rotating 2 pairs of shoes regularly seems to extend the longevity of both pairs. layers are tremendously important - the lighter the better in winter. i have a yellow rain/windstop jacket and pants that were invaluable this winter - and i continue to wear the lightweight jacket through spring. we should buy stock in socks.

[sara]

wow!

[sara]

wow!

[Steve Cisler]

In Tahir Shah's "Trail of feathers" he prepares for his trip to Peru by visiting Wilfred Thesiger who walked barefoot across the Empty Quarter in S. Arabia. My feet burned just thinking about it.