It's all Gu'd

I WALKED 17 MILES TODAY!!!

I love writing blog posts like this. I hit the pavement at 7 a.m. and ended my walk just before 2 p.m. I was toasty, tired and thrilled.

When I started on the 11th mile, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I was hot and sweaty and realized it was noon - and the heat was just going to get worse. But instead of giving up, I sat in the shade for about 10 minutes and drank a lot of water. I happened to be at a park at the time so I slowly walked to a water fountain and refilled my hydrating backpack. Then, still walking slow, I hit the restrooms.

When you know you have several hours to walk and a laundry list of chores waiting on you when you finish, it can be easy to feel rushed and stressed about how long the walk might take. But that just makes it harder!

So, I gave myself permission to amble for a bit. Then I took a shot of Gu (wow!) and found a second wind. My pace returned to normal and I finished the planned route.

Gu is something my boyfriend showed me. He is a marathon runner and has been a GREAT asset to my training plans. I've heard they have it at the pit stops for us - but if you're new to this long-distance world, like me, that doesn't mean anything to you, right?



Well, Gu is flavored energy in a little packet - with pudding-like consistency. After you've been sweating and walking for hours it can be the tastiest stuff ever. I've tried strawberry banana, chocolate and lemon lime so far. Not a fan of the lemon-lime, but the rest are yummy! I started taking Gu with me as an emergency energy jolt, but now I take a packet or two for every long walk!

I wore my new socks, but still had the same redness at the end of the walk. Hours later, it's faded a bit, but still has be baffled.



I didn't apply enough sunscreen so I'm nice and toasted - bad, Natalie! But besides those ailments, I feel fantastic. It really is hard to believe how far I walked by myself!

Walked my socks off

I walked 15 miles today! It was pretty awesome, too. The last three miles were a bit hard - I found joints I never knew I had, but it's amazing how quickly you forget the pain when you are reveling in success. I can't imagine how good it will feel when I hit the next milestone in training.

While spiritually, I feel like I can do anything. Today's walk reinforced the importance of training.

To anyone who thinks training for this thing is unnecessary, please, please, please, think again. While walking may sound easy and leisurely, long distance walking like this takes endurance and muscle strength. This isn't just a walk in the park - it's twenty walks in the park - every day for three days.

The past couple of weeks have found me a bit off schedule. Bad weather, fundraising plans and summer finals have all conspired to derail my training a bit. While I was able to fit in most of my mid-week walks, the longest I've walked in the past two weeks was 7 miles. I'm in decent shape and today was not easy. By the end, I was my own cheerleader, loudly motivating myself to the amusement of my neighbors. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself to do the full 15 today, but I want back to the regimen as quickly as possible.

When I finished the walk, I made sure to stretch everything in triplicate. And then again. I drank a wonderful glass of cold milk (studies show this hydrates better than water! It also helps with muscle reparation), then took a bottle of G2 with me into the bathroom. I turned the water on hot and soaked my poor muscles for about 20 minutes.

Now, hours later, my muscles are fine, but my joints are creaky. Also, something happened to my feet while I was out there. I'm blaming my socks, but am putting these pics out there in case someone else can tell me what's up. There are splotchy red patches on my heels, the top of my feet and the arches.



It isn't athlete's feet - there is no itchiness, the spots just hurt if I touch them. I'm fairly certain these are places that were rubbed by my socks (evil, evil socks that have already been replaced!). Any recommendations for combating this???

But joint pains and weird rashes aside, I WALKED 15 MILES today and nothing is going to bring me down. Besides that, I put an ad out for donations for a fundraising garage sale and spent the afternoon picking up stuff from generous people in the area. All in all, it was a great 3-Day Day!!!