Walking Health - Aug 29, 2012

I really need to be more careful with my feet. I learned a lesson last weekend about wearing boots that are too snug on a long hike. Here's hoping that I will put that information to good use.

I'm still undecided as to whether I should attempt to do the very long walk from Takoma Park to Shirlington and then back to Takoma Park this weekend. My feet are feeling better but the blisters are still there.

Despite the blisters I have gotten back to walking to the Metro from the office and from home. I've logged over 10 miles since yesterday morning. So far so good but am I ready to walk 32+ miles? I dunno.

Weekend Hike - Aug 26, 2012

I went for my longest hike yet this past Sunday: 29 miles. I'm still a sore from it. The parts that hurts the most are my feet. That is due in large part to the boots I decided to wear. My Merrell boots area medium width. I need to be wearing a wide-sized boot.

I didn't wear my Columbia boots (which are wide-sized) because I thought there was going to be a lot of rain today. I wore them last week when it rained for the last 1.5 hours of my hike and those boots got waterlogged fairly quickly. It didn't rain this week but I came home with a couple blisters.

Aside from that it was a fine walk. I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home. It took me just over 8 hours to complete the walk. Most of it was on paved trails but there was a section in the middle that lasted for 6-7 miles that was unpaved.

I'm undecided at this point as to whether I should go through with my plans to walk from Takoma Park to Shirlington and back next weekend. Once again I think that I will play it by ear and see how I am feeling, in particular how my feet are feeling when next weekend rolls around.

I ate breakfast (oatmeal and a slice of pumpernickel raisin) before I left. While hiking I nibbled at a ProBar. That one ProBar was all I had to eat during the hike. I drank some water but not a lot. I think I need to start taking more to eat than just ProBars. I'm thinking pretzels would be a good idea and maybe some tuna fish.

Walking Plans (as of Aug 24, 2012)

I've taken it easier this week on my weekday walks (I've only walked 25 miles) than I have in the past few weeks (when I accumulated anywhere from 33-42 miles). I'm saving my energy for the hike I'm planning on doing on Sunday. I feel much better about hiking long distance this weekend than I did last Friday.

Over the past 4 weekends I have been escalating my weekend hikes. I have gone from 4.8 to 11.5 to 17.8 to 22.6 miles. If all goes as planned then I will do a 28-30 mile hike this weekend.

Due to time constraints and other scheduled activities next weekend, Labor Day weekend, will be my last weekend for long distance hiking until at least October. I'm planning to attempt a 32-35 mile hike that weekend from my apartment in Takoma Park, MD to Shirlington (where I work) in Arlington, VA and back.

I will be occupied with comic book related events (Baltimore Comic Con, Small Press Expo) the first two weekends after Labor Day. Quantico Orienteering Club has events the next two weekends (Lake Needwood, Meadowood) that I'm planning to attend.

Walking in the Rain

I think I hit a wall yesterday. I went for a hike as planned. It was cooler than I thought it would be. It rained for the last 5.5 miles. My boots were waterlogged by the time I got home. Originally I wanted to try a longer hike (28 miles) next Sunday than the one I did yesterday (22.6 miles). Now I'm not so sure. I'm thinking I should back pedal a bit and rest up a bit before I try a longer hike. I may still hike next weekend but instead of 28 I may try something shorter like 16-18 miles.

Right Ankle

I'm not so sure about my walking plans for this weekend. I think I pushed it just a little too much Thursday night. I probably should have taken the night off. The bottom line is that my right ankle is now sore. It doesn't hurt if I don't put weight on it but when I do it hurts quite a bit. I added insult to injury by walking to the metro Friday morning.

I'm gonna play it by ear but as of right now it looks doubtful that I will be walking any great distance this weekend.

Walking Challenge

I've been walking a lot lately, a whole lot. For a couple weeks now I've been averaging 50+ miles per week. This weekend I'm planning to do a 22-24 mile walk and the following weekend a 28-30 mile walk. Labor Day weekend I want to do my own personal Takoma Park to Shirlington challenge: walk from my apartment to the office and back, which should be 32-34 miles.

I'm probably my own worst enemy. I have a tendency to push myself too hard and injure myself. So far so good. So long as I continue to focus on my form and stop pushing myself to walk faster I think I should be able to do all of these walks.

Walk fast and I won't last. That's my new mantra