I hear you all had a wonderful walk on Saturday! Andrea told me it was great to walk in front of the DeYoung and Japanese Tea Garden trough Golden Gate Park. And the new route was a *good* kind of hilly walk without being too difficult for our newcomers - hooray to you all! I hope to make tweaks to our tried and true routes but with some new twists and turns to keep it interesting/challenging for everyone.
This Saturday's 12 mile walk is a wee bit different please read below - RVSP HERE.
We are going to merge the Avon Expo training walk and the 3 Day training walk!
Meet time 7:30am
3 Day walkers meet at the East Beach - led by Linda (look for sign on north side of road.) Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/5f83na
Avon Walkers meet at the Sports Basement, 610 Mason, in the Presidio - led by Andrea Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/5277jo
Our mantra! Drink, pee, no IV!!! Are YOU clear and copious?
After a walker suffered some dehydration problems on Saturday I wanted reiterate the following: it is absolutely essential to drink water and sports drinks (electrolyte replacement) on long walks. http://walking.about.com/cs/fluids/a/drinkingdanger.htm We take it for granted that our bodies can handle training but endurance walking IS ASKING A LOT OF YOUR BODY!
Rule of thumb: start a walk having had 16 oz. of water (a pint or half liter), then replenishing with a cup of water every 15-20 minutes. That is about a water bottle-full an hour, about a half liter or pint. It is recommended to drink 1 bottle of sports drink for every 2 bottles of water. Eating salty snacks such as pretzels before and during long walks is another source of salt. End your walk with a big glass of water.
When training if you feel dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness, stomach ache, back pain, headache, irritability, decreased urination: STOP WALKING, ask a fellow walker to call the Training Walk Leader or route support and being hydrating even if this means drinking someone else's water. This is far less embarrassing than me calling 911 to have you taken away by ambulance.
There are alternate electrolyte replacements on the market if you cannot tolerate Gatorade BUT the events serve Gatorade. Training with what is available on the event is imperative unless you plan on bringing your own supply of electrolyte replacement on event - which is why we have Gatorade on our training walks. So we all chant: drink, pee, no IV.... we all want to finish together, healthy!!!
My tips:
***Try mixing 1/2 to 1/3 Gatorade in with your water if you cannot tolerate drinking full strength Gatorade.***
Be hydrated before you come out walking: start drinking lots of water on Friday. Is your pee clear and copious? No? You aren't hydrated.
Continue of hydrate after we walk: it will help with muscle recovery. Again.... Is your pee clear and copious? No? You aren't hydrated.
Quotes that Could Put You in the Hospital: courtesy of http://walking.about.com/od/fluids/a/drinkorelse.htm
Hyponatremia, loss of sodium through sweating or from over-hydrating, was a huge problem on last year's DC Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. The following are some scary quotes that I have heard/read from people. These are mindsets that you should avoid on any long walk -marathon, half marathon, or 20-miler such as at the Avon/3 DayWalk.
1. "I hate sports drinks! I won't drink them." If you don't drink them, you could easily become a victim of hyponatremia. While salty snacks are good, they are not a total substitute for the electrolytes in sports drinks. Mix sports drinks with water to whatever concentration you desire (most can tolerate half and half).
2. "I walked the entire event last year and didn't drink any sports drinks." You were lucky, very lucky. This year, you might not be so lucky. More importantly, the person you are telling this to may think that they can also make it without sport drinks. Their metabolism is different from yours. They might not make it because you gave them this bad advice. This is not the type of testimonial that distance walkers should be giving out.
3. "I need to drink something, but I only like purple (or orange, or green) sports drinks. This stop doesn't have my flavor. I'll wait for the next stop." Trust me, chances are that if you will only drink a certain flavor of sports drink, you won't find it anywhere on the walk. Don't plan on an assortment of every flavor of drink at every stop. Drink whatever is available.
4. "There are no cold drinks at this stop. I'll wait until the next one." Don't wait, drink it even if it is warm. Pretend that you are in Paris and drinking warm drinks the European way - ooo-la-la!!!! Even if the bottles are warm, fill your personal water bottle with ice, water, and sports drink -yum! Odds are, if one stop is out of ice cold drinks, the next place might not have them either.
5. "Sports drinks make me gag." Lack of sport drinks can may you go into seizures. Bring some powdered Kool-aid/Crystal Light to help cover the sports drink taste.
6. "I'm on a diet, and I don't want the calories." You are on an intense endurance event, and you NEED the calories! THERE ARE NO DIETS ON THE WALK (exemption - diabetics, special medical cases, of course - but for the vast majority of us - NO DIETS. NO GUILT - OKAY!)
This Saturday's 12 mile walk is a wee bit different please read below - RVSP HERE.
We are going to merge the Avon Expo training walk and the 3 Day training walk!
Meet time 7:30am
3 Day walkers meet at the East Beach - led by Linda (look for sign on north side of road.) Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/5f83na
Avon Walkers meet at the Sports Basement, 610 Mason, in the Presidio - led by Andrea Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/5277jo
Our mantra! Drink, pee, no IV!!! Are YOU clear and copious?
After a walker suffered some dehydration problems on Saturday I wanted reiterate the following: it is absolutely essential to drink water and sports drinks (electrolyte replacement) on long walks. http://walking.about.com/cs/fluids/a/drinkingdanger.htm We take it for granted that our bodies can handle training but endurance walking IS ASKING A LOT OF YOUR BODY!
Rule of thumb: start a walk having had 16 oz. of water (a pint or half liter), then replenishing with a cup of water every 15-20 minutes. That is about a water bottle-full an hour, about a half liter or pint. It is recommended to drink 1 bottle of sports drink for every 2 bottles of water. Eating salty snacks such as pretzels before and during long walks is another source of salt. End your walk with a big glass of water.
When training if you feel dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness, stomach ache, back pain, headache, irritability, decreased urination: STOP WALKING, ask a fellow walker to call the Training Walk Leader or route support and being hydrating even if this means drinking someone else's water. This is far less embarrassing than me calling 911 to have you taken away by ambulance.
There are alternate electrolyte replacements on the market if you cannot tolerate Gatorade BUT the events serve Gatorade. Training with what is available on the event is imperative unless you plan on bringing your own supply of electrolyte replacement on event - which is why we have Gatorade on our training walks. So we all chant: drink, pee, no IV.... we all want to finish together, healthy!!!
My tips:
***Try mixing 1/2 to 1/3 Gatorade in with your water if you cannot tolerate drinking full strength Gatorade.***
Be hydrated before you come out walking: start drinking lots of water on Friday. Is your pee clear and copious? No? You aren't hydrated.
Continue of hydrate after we walk: it will help with muscle recovery. Again.... Is your pee clear and copious? No? You aren't hydrated.
Quotes that Could Put You in the Hospital: courtesy of http://walking.about.com/od/fluids/a/drinkorelse.htm
Hyponatremia, loss of sodium through sweating or from over-hydrating, was a huge problem on last year's DC Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. The following are some scary quotes that I have heard/read from people. These are mindsets that you should avoid on any long walk -marathon, half marathon, or 20-miler such as at the Avon/3 DayWalk.
1. "I hate sports drinks! I won't drink them." If you don't drink them, you could easily become a victim of hyponatremia. While salty snacks are good, they are not a total substitute for the electrolytes in sports drinks. Mix sports drinks with water to whatever concentration you desire (most can tolerate half and half).
2. "I walked the entire event last year and didn't drink any sports drinks." You were lucky, very lucky. This year, you might not be so lucky. More importantly, the person you are telling this to may think that they can also make it without sport drinks. Their metabolism is different from yours. They might not make it because you gave them this bad advice. This is not the type of testimonial that distance walkers should be giving out.
3. "I need to drink something, but I only like purple (or orange, or green) sports drinks. This stop doesn't have my flavor. I'll wait for the next stop." Trust me, chances are that if you will only drink a certain flavor of sports drink, you won't find it anywhere on the walk. Don't plan on an assortment of every flavor of drink at every stop. Drink whatever is available.
4. "There are no cold drinks at this stop. I'll wait until the next one." Don't wait, drink it even if it is warm. Pretend that you are in Paris and drinking warm drinks the European way - ooo-la-la!!!! Even if the bottles are warm, fill your personal water bottle with ice, water, and sports drink -yum! Odds are, if one stop is out of ice cold drinks, the next place might not have them either.
5. "Sports drinks make me gag." Lack of sport drinks can may you go into seizures. Bring some powdered Kool-aid/Crystal Light to help cover the sports drink taste.
6. "I'm on a diet, and I don't want the calories." You are on an intense endurance event, and you NEED the calories! THERE ARE NO DIETS ON THE WALK (exemption - diabetics, special medical cases, of course - but for the vast majority of us - NO DIETS. NO GUILT - OKAY!)
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