De-hydration and how to get some.

Many years ago, a friend and I talked our work colleagues into getting a team together to walk the Portland-to-Coast Relay. Each person on the team was responsible for walking three 5-mile legs over a period of 24-hours. One of our colleagues, a young woman who worked closely with us, came out for the walk even though she didn’t seem very excited about having us as her coaches. Maybe she was acting out some deep-seated rebellion, who knows, but the results were nearly disastrous.

Over the many weeks and months of training and getting ready for our relay event, we captains passed along the information we’d gleaned from walking the marathon and the training program we’d been part of then. The young woman did her own thing, not really training for the event, seeming to scoff at only 5 miles. Her first leg she finished in seeming comfort, but by the time her second leg rolled around, she was lying on the floor of the suburban, nauseated and very uncomfortable. When I quizzed her, she reluctantly admitted that she hadn’t been drinking any fluids. Looking back, I wonder if she was bothered by the thought of peeing in the woods or using the port-a-potties along the way.

Long story short, when it seemed as if she really needed an ambulance, she struggled through that leg with a couple of others accompanying her so she’d have support. She must have begun drinking then and by the time her third leg came around she was doing a little better. How close she was to needing medical assistance, we’ll never know. Likely not too close or she would have required help after she finished the second leg of her part. And, it should be noted, she refused all help, therefore our remaining option would have been to wait until she passed out and then seek help. Moral of her story: don’t drink liquids, become dehydrated.

Some years later, my aunt and I were on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and one of the other passengers was a young woman from Japan. She was embarrassed to wade out into the water and pee there, as we had been instructed to do. Her strategy was to pee in the port-a-potty our guides brought along and to not drink fluids all day so she could last until they set up the toilet at the next campsite.

Unfortunately, the Grand Canyon is hot, very hot. Even though it was September, we were sweating and most of us were not used to the climate, thus we sweated even more. After the third day, when we were hiking on a side-trail in full sun, I was over-heated myself but drinking water like it was kool-aide, I looked at this young woman and noted that her lips were white. She was shaking as she took a very small sip of her water. I urged her to drink more and later I spoke to the guides. They talked with her and it seemed to help since she looked better by the next day. Then the guides told the story of a woman on one trip who didn’t drink anything and they had to stop the trip while they gave her first aid with IV fluids. There was no way to call for an evacuation because the radio reception was limited in the bottom of the canyon. The entire group was forced to wait until the woman recovered before they could move on.

The Power of Fluids
If I have scared you, perfect. That’s my intention. You might limp through a half marathon or longer distances without adequate food, but you will not finish one without water and electrolytes. Let’s just lump water and electrolytes into a category we’ll call fluids. Things that do NOT count as fluids during training are coffee, tea, coke (any soda for that matter), or energy drinks with caffeine. Fluids are things like water, sports drinks, juice that’s been watered down (if the juice is too strong, you might get sick because of the high sugar content), and other electrolyte-laden drinks.

I don’t want you to drink because I suggest you should nor because it’s the thing to do. I want you to experiment and learn to listen and manage and monitor your own system. I want you to notice how you’ve been feeling with your current water intake, drink more, see how that feels, take in less and see if you still have enough oomph to make it comfortably. I want you to make comparisons so you really have the answers to the questions of how much water, when, and why.

While you’re readying for the big event is the time to investigate and explore all the options and nuances of what to fuel your body with and how to manage your energy level. That is the time to pay attention to your unique biology and give yourself what you need to take care of yourself. Training and participating in long distance walking events shouldn’t feel like a sacrifice, except for the time you spend away from your family. You shouldn’t need to collapse after the event. While you’ll likely be tired and sore after the event, you should bounce back within 6-10 hours and certainly by the next morning.

And now, to the walk . . .

Get a Wiggle On . . . talks “undergarments.”

The subject came up again yesterday on our 7 mile walk. We’re at the halfway point of our half-marathon training, at least for those of us in the Foot Traffic University program. We’re headed for the big event on July 4th on Sauvie Island, the Foot Traffic Flat Half-Marathon, affectionately referred to as “The Flat.” Inevitably, by the time we get to this point in long-distance training the subject of clothing comes up. Not the clothing that everyone can see, that’s pretty obvious. You look around and take note of the fact that no one is wearing cotton, and you follow suit.

We’re talking undergarments, the bra and panty choices of the serious walkers. What do experienced walkers wear? How do you get the 13.1 miles covered without chafing, blisters, or feeling dragged down by unresilient fabric. I mentioned a few ideas in my March 8, 2010 article, Non-Shoe Essentials, but it’s worth a closer and more personal discussion.

There are dozens of options for undergarments for walking. Remembering a few things about the event will help you make some informed decisions. For the half-marathon on July 4th, you’ll be walking in the heat for at least 3+ hours, some of you a solid 3.5 hours. You want to minimize chafing, friction, and bunching that can come with all kinds of ill-fitting undergarments. I’ll mention a few options, and if I were you, I’d begin experimenting now. This is the time to sort this out, not the night before you head to the Island.

I’ve worn sports bras, racer backs, underwire or not, and every combination in between. You have to decide what you like and what feels okay. Many everyday bras have elastic in the bands and edgings that when you’re working hard will be uncomfortable. That’s where the idea of the sports bra comes in. But, if you’re like me, you’re not that comfortable with something that just squishes you flat and the dynamics of what will keep you from bouncing are not that effective. I’ve never found a bra that prevented bouncing, especially a sports bra. Who did they think was participating in this event? Some of you will love a sports bra, great, go for it. Others will need something else.

After all my searches over all the years, this year I’m wearing an everyday bra that’s very well made. It’s the Wacoal Awareness Bra, and some of the proceeds go to support the Susan G. Komen cause, and NO, I am not doing an ad for them. I happened to go out on a walk one day that was pretty long and even after working up a good sweat, I realized the bra was really quite comfortable. It has cloth on the back sides of the areas that have elastic so it’s non-chafing, the seams are finished on the inside so there are no places that rub and the fabric is synthetic. Suddenly, it made no sense to go in search of another option, since this one worked really well.

Other bras I’ve had in the past and liked, Moving Comfort has a tank bra that is comfortable, but does not prevent bounce. It is good if you’re wanting to shed your shirt and still be covered. It’s a full tank with a racer back. Nice when it’s hot and you need to cool off. However, having said that, bare arms are not a great an idea for the half-marathon. If you like to swing your arms to get into a rhythm, it’s a good idea to wear a short-sleeved t-shirt of synthetic material. That will reduce the chafing on your underarm area which can be excruciating.

Undies are the other issue. Some women wear lycra shorts which are a great option. You really don’t have to wear any underwear with these, especially if they are lined. Or, there are some nylon shorts that are loose and have a panty inside. Beware of chafing on your thighs. You can use BodyGlide but the right fabric short that doesn’t creep up is the best defense against this. Many of the Foot Traffic walkers wear a capri-length pant or at least a knee-length pant and this solves the problem. Then, you decide if you’re adding the underwear. Of course, check for see-through. I’ve seen some black lycra that when stretched out was still see-through and that’s likely not your intention.

There’s a new style of everyday underwear out on the racks that have no elastic band. I found some Shimera briefs, 91% nylon and 7% spandex. They fit great and you’ll forget you have them on. They breath and they stay where they are supposed to stay. Personally, I’d suggest giving the bikinis and the thongs a miss. You need coverage in the right areas and no extra elastic to cause you a problem in others.

And, finally one last plug . . . Just Like a Woman, on Macadam, has all your fitting and bra needs. They specialize in hard-to-fit sizes on all ends of the spectrum. I love the staff there and the vibe is fabulous . . . plus, they have a dog in residence. I’ll see you there, even if it’s to hang out and drink a cup of tea.

Whew . . . was this personal enough? Hope so. Hope you got your questions answered. I’ll be happy to email you in private if you’ve got more thoughts or questions and don’t want to post them here. You can find me at kim@kimcottrell.com.

And now, to the walk . . .

Why Carry Water on Race Day?

I’m old school and I’ve been involved in long distance walking for over 30 years. Stay tuned and I’ll post my story about walking the March of Dimes Walkathon in high school. Well, that event plus the Portland Marathon in 1990 convinced me to become self-sufficient and carry my own necessities. Look, I’m not out to break any records, simply to go the distance and enjoy the process. For me, that includes taking care of myself.

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink . . . unless you take some with you.

Let’s look to physiology and physics for some data points. Walkers take longer to cover the distance than runners. We are out on the course generally twice as long as the average runner and typically by the time we get to most aid stations, the water is gone, the electrolytes are gone, or both. I carry water with me for four reasons:

• • • • • If they run out of supplies, I have enough fluids to be comfortable.
        • If they run out of cups, but still have plenty of water, I can refill my water-bottle.
        • I have trained with my water pack and I drink when I need to, not when someone else offers me up a drink. My worries at the beginning of a big event are enough and I don’t need another thing to worry about. Carrying my own water means I have independence and peace of mind.
        • When I see someone else in an emergency situation, I can share and help them get through their rough spot. Sometimes it’s been enough to help someone finish when they might have needed to drop out.

Enough said.

Now, to the walk . . .

Non-Shoe Essentials

Non-cotton socks, underwear, and outerwear. These items do not have to be specifically built for walking, but they should be well-fitted and of a material that doesn’t stick closely on your skin. You can shop big-brand or off-brand or wherever you want, but resist the temptation to buy or wear cotton to any of the long distance events. You can get away with cotton on a 5K, but for longer distances you will find yourself with many a problem with cotton. Cotton sticks, bunches, holds wrinkles, keeps your skin moist, and gets clammy and uncomfortable when worn for longer than an hour.  You’ll end up with chafing and blisters in places you didn’t think could blister.

If you can’t stand the thought of 100 percent synthetic, then use a poly/cotton blend or, if it’s not too hot, wear wool or silk. What is most important is that you not open yourself to health hazards that come with cotton. I have seen some extreme blisters, chafing between legs that rendered the walker so uncomfortable she couldn’t keep going, and other assorted issues.

A windbreaker, hat, and gloves are a must in our Pacific Northwest climate for most of the training season. Long into May, the mornings are cold and frequently damp and the extra layer is vital to keep vulnerable extremities warm and connected to the rest of your body. Too often the difference between a good run and a miserable run are the little extras. Whether you wear a knit cap or a baseball-style hat, having something on your head is almost as good as having a light jacket. And, combined with a very light windbreaker, you can weather most of the cold if you’re a fast walker. Even if you aren’t a fast walker, you’ll still work up a sweat if you’re walking at your optimum. You want all your layers to be flexible, comfortable, and easily peel-able. The more flexible they are, the easier they are to wrap around your waist keep your hands free.

Bus fare, id, and house key come in handy when you’re getting to and from your start location and it’s a good idea to always carry identification. Someone should also know where you are and when you’ll be back. I spent years living alone and during those years I completed some of my most extensive training. Later, I found myself thinking it was really silly to be out in the city sharing the road with cars, bikes, and buses without carrying identification on me.

Water and water carrier are essential. Find the strategy for carrying water and plenty of it that suits you. Use your common sense and if your walk is under 5 miles and it’s not above 55 degrees, you might get by without more than a small water bottle, but train yourself so that the default is to take water. If you’re still not sure, pretend you’re a camel and use a hydration system that you can carry on your back.

The jury is out on what is most comfortable for walking long distances. Many people opt for a waist pack and others like a backpack style. Perhaps it depends on your training and your ideas about speed. For the people who run, a backpack style is a poor idea. It bounces around, it is distracting, and it can be uncomfortable, so if you do any jogging at all, whether simply to change the pace or keep yourself motivated by going a little faster, use a waist pack. If you’re walking an average of 13+ minutes per mile, a backpack style can be superb because you can carry extras in the storage areas and strap your jacket on when you get too warm. A hiker uses her camelback and spares the expense of another specialty item.

The waist pack has its own disadvantages. It can be cumbersome if you’re planning to carry enough water for a half-marathon or longer distance. If your walking style is to keep your elbows close to your sides, you’ll likely catch the water bottle with your arm or elbow and that won’t be comfortable after a few miles. The waist pack is easier to take off and put back on, but it’s still bulky. All that said, some walkers I’ve coached swear by their waistpack.

And now, to the walk . . .

Quick and Easy Shoe Fitting

Make a Cutout of your Feet: You’ll need a friend, some butcher paper, a pencil and a pair of scissors.

Stand on the paper and lean on one foot, fully bearing all your weight on that leg. Have the friend hold the pencil straight up and down and trace the outline of your foot as faithfully as possible, not scrimping to make it seem smaller than what it is or slanting the pencil even a little bit. Have your friend trace your other foot. Cut out the drawing and label with date and right/left.

When you are done, the cutouts of your foot should reflect the actual size of each foot and no part of your foot should hang over the edge of the paper. Stand on the cutouts and confirm that this is true. Fold these cutouts and put them in your wallet or purse.

Get a Wiggle On in the Asics Landreth, size 12 for me!

The next time you go shoe shopping, take out the inserts from the potential shoe and see if you can stand on them and whether your whole foot fits on the insert. If any part is hanging over, you need a longer or wider shoe. If the insert does not come out, as with many dress and casual shoes, then get the cutout from your wallet and put it inside the shoe. Check carefully to see if the edges remain flat or curled up on the edge of the shoe. This will tell you whether there is room inside your shoe for your foot. Thanks go to Reflexologist Kandi Burke of Seattle for this handy-dandy idea.

Check for Volume:

Some of us have feet that are “taller” than others, some are wider, some are rounder. You need to judge your feet based on the feet you have, not the feet you wish you had. Notice if your arch is high. If that’s true, your foot is likely taller than someone’s who’s arch is flatter. If your feet are wide, do not attempt to cram them into medium width shoes, which is what most “regular” widths are. Go to the trouble of finding a specifically wide shoe. And, sometimes your foot might not be exceptionally tall or wide, but it is round. Maybe your toes are rounder than some. Or, just as much trouble, maybe you have narrow feet that are very slim. Or, your heel is narrow and the front of your foot is wider.

Just as in the first steps for CPR, you should “Look, listen, and feel.” Respect that your feet are your feet and get some advice about what “volume” of shoe you would benefit from. If you already know that information, then bravo. You’ve been listening to your body. If that’s the case, then go with your foot cutouts and happy shopping!

PS Use cutouts of your kid’s feet to shop for their shoes. Children often do not have the ability to notice or the language to give feedback about whether a shoe is pinching or not. You can check-check-double-check and give their growing toes lots of room.

Number One Necessity: A Good Pair of Shoes

The single most important item for walking is a good pair of shoes. While most of the walkers I train do their actual 13-mile or 26 mile event in running shoes, it’s possible to walk anywhere, anytime, with the shoes you’d use to tour a foreign country or the casual loafers you wear to lounge around town on the weekend.

Walking Secret Number One: You don’t need to wait for a special time to get your training miles under your belt. You could walk to work and get your workout completed with a purpose. You could go sight-seeing or hike in the nearby hills. Every walk or hike counts and any number of shoes are suitable for those occasions.

Search high and low for good shoes.

I once travelled to Bosnia on a volunteer vacation and found myself with an opportunity to hike in the mountains with a local mountaineer. I was thrilled since the country was riddled with landmines and the only safe way to hike in the hills was to have a local guide. We arrived at an apartment building on the outskirts of Sarajevo, the building riddled with holes from mortar fire and unrepaired 5 years after the Bosnian war, where we met our guide.

Our guide was a local mountaineer and a student in social science at the university. He took one wide-eyed look at my shoes and politely told me he thought I needed a different pair. Though I was wearing a very sturdy pair of Dutch-made Wolky sandals with a strap that firmly secured them to my feet, they were sandals nonetheless. My socks were polypropelene with individual toes so I was not worried about blisters. It was July and there was only a slight chance of rain for the day. I knew this was the best I could do given that I was halfway around the continent from all my other shoes.

Don't overlook the lowly loafer.

I replied that I would take the risk and that I had no other shoes and that if I was going to go, these would have to do. In the end, I was one of the few hikers from the US who kept up with the guide and I had no problems with my feet or with keeping my footing on the trail. The guide seemed impressed and I learned an important lesson that day; a certain type of shoe isn’t necessary even for long walks. More important than the type of shoe, is a shoe that allows for movement of the foot and all its bones and joints. Since then, I’ve talked to friends who’ve hiked in Tevas and other non-specialized shoes. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about shoe sizes, an issue that seems to hold much controversy and consternation for many of us walkers.

And now, to the walk . . .

If the Shoe Fits . . .

Walker Secret Number Two: As important as it is to find a good pair of shoes, it’s more important that they be sized correctly for your feet. Unless you’ve just walked in off the half-marathon course, your foot will be smaller than the size you need. After a long distance event, when your feet are as swollen as they’ll ever be, that is the perfect time to try on a pair of new shoes. This is simple physiology. You walk long distances and your feet swell. Period.

Most of us don’t shop for shoes after the big event, so we are looking at fitting a shoe to an unswollen foot. Thus, many of us experience foot pain that shows up as blisters, joint pain, loss of toenails, and on and on. Every year during the training, I find myself repeating this over and over. Most new walkers roll their eyes or mutter under their breath in disbelief. Never mind, they’ll be back when they need help because they hurt and can’t go on. Or, worst case, they drop out of the training program and never know they might have been helped if they’d just bought their shoes a size bigger. Two colleagues, a podiatrist and a reflexologist, note that over 80% of the problems their patients experience could have been prevented if they’d been wearing shoes that were the right size.

Your dream shoes should be long enough, but they should also give you the widest possible toe-box for the health of your toes. Dr. McClanahan, NW Foot and Ankle, Portland, reports that there are studies citing 75-90 percent of people are wearing shoes that are too small. I’ll be covering the history of how shoes got shaped, but in a later post. In summary, there is more to shoe-sizing than length. I know I’m always after the walkers I coach to get longer shoes so their toes have room. A too-long shoe does two things, it gives room for the toes to stretch out in length and it puts the widest part of the shoe further forward on the foot. But, it’s important to have  shoe that’s wide enough to start with.

Ray McClanahan, podiatrist

In addition, Dr. McClanahan strongly urges walkers to wear shoes that are much flatter and less engineered in order to support the healthy action of the feet. Apparently, this idea of a non-shoe, or the barefoot revolution, is catching on because not only are athletic shoes becoming more neutral, i.e. the heel is lower and the toe is not turned up so much, but dress and casual shoe designs are following suit. There are more and more casual shoes available that are flat and without a built up sole. Take note: a shoe with a turned up toe and a built up heel does not let your foot go through the normal motion that feet go through when walking.

But, if we’re so unaware of whether a shoe is too small for us, we’re also not listening when the salesman tell us we should have something bigger. Over and over, the clerks at the Foot Traffic store on NE Fremont in Portland tell me they suggest that customers buy a size larger and generally the customers feel the shoe is already too big and they leave the store with a size smaller than recommended. Seldom do the clerks feel comfortable pressuring the customer. Then invariably, that walker comes to stand before me and asks, “what do you think of my new shoes?” I can see, without checking with my hands, that their foot and toes completely fill up the toe box and that there is not any extra room for their toes to move or swell or be free. I usually recommend they get a larger size.

The urge to do what we’ve always done weighs heavily on our decisions. The size matters, or so we’re conditioned to believe. And really, what is normal? What matters? Despite a great deal of freedom in our culture, we struggle to make a decision based on something other than the rituals and habits we’ve become accustomed to. After all, a pair of shoes is no small investment for most of us. We should be careful and in our conservative mode, we buy what we’ve always bought whether or not that’s good for us now.

There are 3 main reasons to buy shoes that feel too large:

• Feet have 26 bones, 17 joints, and 33 muscles. Each of these joints has the potential to move and bend and do the job of holding much weight. When the foot is crammed into a too-tight shoe, the bones cannot move and the joints cannot do their job of absorbing the force of each footstep. Aches, pains, and injuries follow. I know of one woman who lost every single toe-nail after completing the Portland marathon.
• Feet swell during exercise, particularly during long distance events. By the time you’ve been on your feet 3-4 hours for the half-marathon, your feet have swollen at least one or two sizes, again back to that issue of the toes and bones and joints needing space to move, bend, and absorb the force. If your shoes are too tight, when you get to the end of the event, you’ll be in some excruciating discomfort.
• Friction. This is the plague of the long distance walker. Next to overheating, friction is your worst enemy, put them together and it’s killer. After hours of contact between the shoe and your foot (or your arm and your shirt, your leg and your shorts), you’ll find that the rubbing and friction causes blisters, callouses, and sores. Callouses would be harmless, but they usually follow blisters and that process is painful to say the least. Other issues with too small shoes are bunions, hammer toes, fungus, and on and on.

So, what’s your take-home message? Buy a shoe that feels a little bit like you’re clowning around. I wear shoes so they fit super loose and I am so grateful for all that extra space at about mile 10 of the half-marathon, especially when it’s hot and those last 3.1 miles feel like the longest promenade I’ve ever walked in my life. Stay tuned for more information on fitting, on how shoes got designed the way they are, and what shape is the best for the function of walking.

And now, to the walk . . .