10 Miles

I did a 10 mile walk yesterday. It was tiring, but I was able to continue on with a busy day after the morning walk. I was pretty tired today, but I don't have any sore muscles, aches, or blisters. I did this 10 miles at the gym and plan to do 10 miles again next Saturday on the cold hard pavement.

For the last two weeks I have been drinking Rainbow Light protein before my walks (thank you to Margie - Joel's Auntie - for this great recommendation and supportive emails!) I think it has given me the energy to do the long walks, and I haven't been as hungry in the middle of the walks. As I move past 10 miles I am going to start drinking it before and after the walks to try to maintain my energy.

Sick and Injured

This month I have had some difficult weeks of training. I am now back on schedule. Two weeks ago I had some kind of flu bug that prevented me from doing heavy workouts for about a week. The Mayo Clinic's website has good information on exercising when sick. This is the advice I have followed for several years, and I haven't been let down yet.

If your symptoms are "above the neck" such as runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, or sore throat you can proceed with your workout.

However, if your symptoms are "below the neck" such as chest congestion or tightness, hacking cough or upset stomach you should postpone your workout. Also, you shouldn't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches. Rarely, exercising with a fever has been associated with inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis).

This past weekend I injured my hand when I slid my fingers over broken glass. I am still picking out some of the tiny glass pieces, but the main part of the injury is a long deep cut in one of my fingers. I have continued my workouts this week, but my injured hand throbs during the most strenuous parts of the workout. I have found if I hold my hand above my heart, the pain subsides a bit.

The Mayo Clinic does not have any advice for exercising with deep cuts in hands.

8 Miles

I did my 8 mile walk this week at the gym. The weather has been so cold and windy this week, I felt it was the safest way to get in my long walk for the week. Walking inside I noticed several difference between walking outside and walking on a treadmill. The first - and probably most important is that weather is exhausting. The weather alone adds a factor into a long walk. I also noticed a big difference in the soreness of my joints. My knees were a little sore after walking on the treadmill, but didn't experience any of the major joint soreness I have had walking on the asphalt.

I also found walking at the gym boring. I thought it would be more interesting than walking outside - I have access to 5 tvs with different show - and I was exercising with other people (something that is usually inspiring to me). But being inside was just not as interesting as walking outside.

While walking yesterday I listened to a painful book - the Wild Animus. After reading a couple of reviews this morning, I don't think the book is going to improve at all. Here is a review of the book, but I can't recommend it to anyone

Walking is Good Exercise

Walking has the lowest drop-out rate of any physical activity, say researchers at the American Heart Association. Why is walking so easy to stick to? You can do it all your life. You can do it year-round, indoors, or outdoors. It's low impact which makes it safer on your back and joints. It's free, and the only special equipment required is a good pair of walking shoes.

Leave Something Behind

Since beginning this walking and fundraising mission, I have talked to so many people who have recently had cancer impact their families, friends, or coworkers. The stories I have heard have made me realize how pervasive breast cancer is, and how finding about cancer in its early stages is so vitally important.

Do you have a personal experience with cancer that you would like to share? You can share your story, or write about someone close to you who has had cancer (please do not use survivors' names without permission). Please share your stories in the comments section of this blog posting. Your story may change someone's life.

Conference Call

I just participated in an Avon Walk conference call for people coming to Denver from other areas of the country. There were two other people on the call. It was energizing to hear about the walk and hear other people talk about their reasons for walking. One woman in the conference call is a nurse who works with cancer patients. The other conference caller has an aunt who was misdiagnosed and treated for breast cancer. After surgery and chemo her aunt found out she never had cancer. Her pathology had been mixed up with another woman's tests. The woman on the conference call is walking to improve research and increase awareness about medical tests and getting second opinions.

For more information on getting a second opinion, visit this website.

We will have to arrive in Denver on Friday afternoon in order to check-in and provide up-to-date medical information.

We are expected to arrive at Washington Park in Denver at 5:30am the morning of the walk. The actual walk will start at 7am and it usually takes people 10 hours to walk the first 26.3 miles. We will have, however, until 7pm to finish the walk before crews pick up late walkers. We will walk to Littleton.

In Littleton we will stay the night at Clement Park in a tent village. We will resume walking around 8:30 the next morning and we will walk back to Washington Park following a shorter route. The second day's walk is 13.1 miles. The closing ceremonies are at 3:30pm at Washington Park. Families and friends of walkers are invited to the opening and closing ceremonies and there will be places for family and friends to greet walkers along the walk.

Some good news is the route is pretty flat. This is good because I don't have any hills in the immediate area where I can train. The altitude in Denver is also a bit lower than Santa Fe, and the high temperatures during the day in June in Denver are a bit lower than Santa Fe. Hopefully these little differences will make walking the big walk just a little bit easier than the training I am planning over the next months.

Long Walk

I did my weekly long walk today. Nearly 8 miles. The last half-mile was pretty difficult, so I will probably try to keep this 8 mile route for a few weeks.

At the end of my walk I experienced something I had forgotten about from my 20 mile walk a couple of years ago - swollen hands. They became red and fat at about 7 miles. I looked around online and found some answers to my questions.

Causes

Electrolyte imbalance: Electrolytes are the salts in your bloodstream, which must be kept in balance to prevent swelling in the tissues. Sweating without replacing the lost salt can upset this balance. Too much salt can swing you in the opposite direction and still cause swelling. “If you are not taking in adequate electrolytes, the imbalance in salt levels between the blood stream, the cells, and the extracellular spaces essentially results in a trapping of the water in the tissues as the sodium is lost in sweat. The same thing can happen if you are taking in too much salt. For those interested, look up "sodium-potassium pump" in a textbook of physiology to get you started."

Good Hydration: One person's physician said the swelling was a sign of good hydration, i.e., of fluids being carried into the capillaries just beneath the skin to promote cooling. This swelling is more noticeable in the extremities. He didn't think it was anything to worry about.

Centrifugal Force: If you are walking / running properly, the centrifugal force generated by swinging your arms will gradually lead to edema (swelling) in the hands.

Blood Pooling: Swollen fingers/hands are due to blood pooling in the extremities of the body. Blood pooling also occurs in the feet. However, in our legs we have large, efficient muscles that are pretty good at getting the blood pumped back up to the heart. In the hands and fingers, we have smaller muscles that are not as good at getting the blood pumped back up to the heart. So, what you get is numb, tingling, swollen fingers.

Solutions

Keep the hands slightly open. Every so often, stretch them all out for a few seconds and then make a fist. Repeat this several times. Or sort of "play the piano or accordion," with your fingers only.

Rest your hands on top of your head. "...but might have some effect on your stride, and can be tricky in rough terrain..."

Bend the elbows about 85 degrees - a little tighter than the 90 degree angle you heard about. Now, keep the fists aimed up (but, try not to go above the sternum.) Don't open and close the arm at the elbow joint.

If you do, the opening action of the angle will cause the fist to point down, hence - blood pooling in the fists. Rather, keep the elbow joint locked and swing the arms comfortably from the shoulder joint. Think of the shoulder as your hinge and your arm as a shortened pendulum. Keep the shoulders down and relaxed.
In hot weather, take a buffered salt tablet to help prevent dehydration.

Stay hydrated - drink before, during, and after the walk.

Sports drinks, energy bars and energy gels can provide the electrolyte (salt) balance needed.

Walk with me!

There is still a lot of time to sign up for the walk in June, and I would love to walk with you. Consider walking! The Avon Walk site has a lot of information about the walk. I will be participating in a phone conference call next week, so if you have any questions about the walk, let me know. Walking is good for you, and raising money for a good cause is important!

There is a lot of training required, but you can sign up as late as April and still have time to train for the June walk.