Drink, Pee, NO IV

There is a motto at the 3 day "Drink, Pee, no IV." There is less than 90 days to the Cleveland 3 day. I have been hard at work with fundraising and going on plenty of training walks. The weather is warming up and the walkers are getting longer which reminds me why the topic of hydration on the 3 day and during training is SO IMPORTANT.

Each walker is told to drink both water and Gatorade during the walk. To prevent Hyponatremia (low sodium) is a rare but serious condition that can cause weakness, cramps, swollen hands and feet, confusion, and even seizures.

Pre-training walk/Pre-event:

• Drink an extra 8 glasses (64 ounces or 2 quarts) of fluid during the 24 hours before a long training walk or the event.
• Drink 2 glasses (16 ounces or 1 pint) of fluid 2 hours before exercise. This will allow time to excrete the excess fluid prior to walking. Remember, in hot or humid weather you may need to drink more fluids.

During your walk: Monitor your fluid intake. Drink when thirsty. Your urine should be dilute and you should be urinating frequently. Try to consume 4 to 5 ounces of fluid per mile. This should include water and sports drink. Post Walk: Drink a combination of water and sports drink and consume food with some salt after exercising more than 1 hour.

We all know we need a water bottle or hydration pack while on the 3 day, but exactly how much do you have to actually carry? On the walk there is some form of pit stop or grab and go every 3 or so miles. So based on the recommendations given by the 3 day coaches, you need to carry at least 12-15oz with you and refill at EVERY stop. My walk is in in the end of July and it can be very hot and I want to be as comfortable as possible. So carrying anything heavy or bulky is not an option. I found a really attractive lightweight fanny pack style pack. It is made by Amphipod, I bought it online @ runningwarehouse.com.  It bought the 24oz lite version. It has an adjustable wide belt. It has (2) 12oz bottles that each sit on a slant with a small pouch in between to carry the other little things you may need. The bottles are more flat than round, so they don't bounce around and sit flush with my back. This company has multiple versions in all different sizes. I can now fill up with both water and sports drink at each stop. What I have found about this pack is that its not to heavy even when full. I did consider a pack that has just one larger bottle, but I felt unbalanced and over 20 miles that could cause issues.

A lot of walkers like the camelbak style packs, which look like a backpack and has a leak proof bladder. They range in sizes and some can hold a LOT of water. For me there is a few problems with this type.

1. My back sweats and my shoulders hurt when carrying a backpack in the heat, so it wouldn't work for me on a long distance walk.
2. I would have to switch every other stop between water and Gatorade. I'm not even sure if I would want to put a sticky sports drink in that bladder, for cleaning reasons.
3. and finally I don't believe that you should lug around more than you need. Why carry 2 liters when you don't have to. Comfort on the 3 day is the difference between having fun and being miserable.

I am NOT saying steer clear of these. I am just giving the reasons it wouldn't work for ME. To each their own. What works for me may not work for you and visa versa.

You gotta try this (part 1)

I have decided to periodically review a product or service that has to do with training and the walk itself. I will talk about how its working out for me. Everyone is different. Every walker will have to find what works for them. But you don't have to go searching in the dark. Hey where do you think I have heard about these things? from former walkers :) So I am going to review the two things I have tried so far.

First lets talk about shoes. Its probably the most important item you buy/use. Normally my athletic shoes are cheap and worn out, usually from a place like walmart. Now that doesn't bother me, in fact it has saved me a lot of money over the years. But I took on this advice. "Now is not the time to cheap out on shoes, you NEED the quality and FIT." So I went to a New Balance store. Yes I went their because of the discount walkers get. But I tried one a few pairs in different styles and sizes. I got measured again too. I fell in love with the WW760 which used to be the official shoe of the 3 day but has been discontinued. So they only had a few sizes. I have wide feet and they did not have them. So they put in an order to another store and I got them a few days later. They fit great, and don't have that feel like they need to be super broken in. Before I got them in though I went to 5 other sporting good/shoe stores in search of a comfortable shoe that would work well for this event. Some stores (and I wont name names) said and I quote "we don't have ANY shoes that we would recommend for walking 60 miles" well at least they were honest. I picked up a pair of Asics that I liked, until I got home. I had to return them because my feet were too wide. I don't know why I didn't notice that at the store. Oh well. The New Balance shoes were worth the wait. Now I just hope that I can come up with enough money to hunt down another pair. Even my husband who wont wear anything but his work boots was able to find a pair of stability running shoes.

Second fabulous find "mapmywalk.com"- I haven't blogged in a while because I have been in the hospital. I had some blood pressure related issues. Now that things are back under control and it temporarily stopped snowing in Cleveland, I went on my first training walk. I have been doing a lot of exercise at home, but no walking until now. So I layered up and found old shoes (cause its all slushy) and my dog and I went for a 3 mile walk. Originally I went on Google (again) and mapped out 1.5 miles using their walking directions feature. So I was going to walk from my house to that point and then back. It was 3 miles but I felt kind of silly stopping in the middle of the busy street/sidewalk and turning around like I was lost. So I tried out mapmywalk.com I was able to enter in my address as the starting point and drag the path I wanted to take until it added up to 3 miles. It did take some playing around with. The normal route I would have taken with the kids or the dog wasn't long enough. But I did eventually get it and now I have a safe 3 mile route that is in a circle. So no looking crazy turning around for no reason or at no store/marker.

Like I said, I will try new things and post my findings. What works for me may not work for you. So experiment. I'm also open to suggestions for things to try or review.