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	What advice can you give me about shoes?
	What should we wear to beat the heat?
	What should we wear to prepare for rain walking?

Q: What advice can you give me about shoes?

jane: Many people start this training walking in whatever they've walked in before or run in before or hit the gym in before. Even though there are clinics by the various shoe dealers who support the Walk and even though there have been postings about what shoes "work" for various people, I thought I'd offer this one basic (multi-part) suggestion:

When you have pain, check your shoes FIRST. Look at several things:

1) Is the wear pattern different on either shoe? (often accounts for pain on the side opposite the more worn side--other leg is compensating for lean, etc) Don't forget to look at the bottoms of the shoes, BUT ALSO the sides, AND INSIDE! How the shoe is "striking" is helpful in finding if it is contributing to your pain. Just before the Walk last year, I discovered holes about the size of quarters INSIDE THE SHOE on the outside right heel of both of my trusty training pairs (got the spot?), even though I'd had no trouble with blisters, etc. I'm sure some amount of late training pain was due to these "hidden" wear points--do YOU ever look inside your shoes?????

2) Are they worn in general? (putting increased mileage on old shoes breaks down the mid-sole ultimately even if you're a petite walker--it's all that pounding) Get used to the fact that you'll "use up" a pair between now and the Walk (at least) and want to have two pairs for the Walk itself, likely of the same shoe which you've "road tested" over all the training miles and is well-broken-in (but not broken down) by the time of the Walk.

3) Does your shoe need some "help" as in orthotics or heel cushions or padded two-ply socks to make the "platform" for landing as perfect as possible for your body? Basically, we all have different foot "plants"--just go walk in the sand on a beach freshly washed with a wave. Walk for a few yards--you'll "see" a ton about your foot plant and what help your foot or feet might need.

4) Armed with all this info--go to a reliable shoe store (running store) that understands you'll be WALKING 60 miles ultimately and about 600+
between now and then. Make sure they watch you walk and look at your old pair. Make sure they recommend a big enough toe box. Make sure they suggest a size or size and a half bigger for your feet that will swell and actually grow in size over your training time.

OK--that's enough for now! The foot (and the shoe) IS THE PLATFORM for a great Walk in July!

Q: What should we wear to beat the heat?

bev: I nearly fainted a few times from the heat while I was training. I started making sure that I drank Gatorade as the weather warmed up and our walks got longer. I didn’t think it was very important until someone pointed out that you needed to replace the salt you were sweating and you need the potassium and magnesium. I think that is what they call “electrolytes”. I bought the Gatorade in the powdered form and stored it in little snack bags in my fanny pack. That way when I stopped to refill my water bottle on the training walks I could mix in some Gatorade. You don’t have to worry about carry the powder on the actual 3 Day Walk because there is Gatorade and water at every stop. The Gatorade upset some people’s stomachs so they found things at the health food store that just contained “electrolytes.”

CoolMax things were also a godsend. I had CoolMax tank tops but I actually started enjoying tops with capped sleeves. Even though I wore tons of sunscreen the capped sleeves gave my shoulders some extra sun protection.

I found that I loved gel sunscreen because it wasn’t as sticky. I used the lotion sunscreen on my face because the gel made my eyes sting when I sweated. I also got tired of my sock tan lines so I became very religious about putting sun screen on my legs.

Another thing that helped me in the heat were these scarves or bandanas that had some water absorbing gel rolled up inside of them. You can’t believe how good they felt on the 3 Day Walk to dunk them into the ice water and wrap it around my neck and another one around my forehead under my hat.

I also bought a hat with a huge visor with shade protection on my neck from “Sunday Afternoon” hats. It wasn’t glamorous but I really appreciated the protection. The hat also helped with my itchy scalp. Probably because I use hair spray and mousse on my hair that my scalp started itching under the baseball caps. My hairstylist was the one who recommended the “Sunday Afternoon” hats and also told me to wash my hair the night before to make sure I didn’t have any “goop” in my hair. It made a huge difference.

jane: Day 1--You start out by 7 (but arrive by 6:15) after Opening Ceremonies and you should arrive "ready to walk". Therefore, because it can be cool in the early morning even in July in San Jose/Santa Clara, you'll probably not want to be in a tank top even though you'll want it later. BUT you have to wear your white 3Day shirt as you start (so we all look GOOD for the TV cameras and pictures we'll take!), and it's usually enough warmth for that time of the day in the South Bay. So: Last year I wore a coolmax tank under my 3Day Shirt and brought along a sweatshirt which I gave to my husband and kids before I started out. It was only "insurance" if, while standing around waiting to leave, it was colder than it had been on previous mornings. Walked in shorts and the T and Tank until about noon (it got up to 98 or something by then and people actually suffered from dehydration and had to be treated for it) and then walked on to Carlmont in the tank. Just fine temperature wise, in fact continued to put ice INSIDE my hat and let it melt along with soaking a bandana in ice at each pit and tying it around my neck,
and had the T for backup strapped to my fanny pack if I needed it.

Camp at Carlmont that night was a wonderful summer evening and we had our duffels to dive into for layering as needed--after a shower, just light pants or jeans and a long sleeve shirt was fine for dinner and hanging around exchanging stories about the day and popping blisters.

Day 2: Beautiful morning--again did the Shorts, Tank and T "thing" and stripped down and tied on and then put the T back on as we reached Skyline (I got in BEFORE the fog blew in!).

Night 2 Skyline: You've heard this before---LOTS of layers! Head, sweaters, long sleeve shirts, leggings, sweatpants, wool socks, heavy jacket etc. I've HEARD it can be beautiful up there in July, but I think that's one day per summer and we WEREN'T there then!

Day 3 morning--UGH! We were all so confused about what to wear -- I and most put on shorts and T's (CoolMax) UNDER leggings and long sleeve shirt, and wore a waterproof layer on the outside (ponchos worked just fine). Hats, ear protection for warmth was my choice as well. I also wadded up a tank just in case and indeed was down to that as we came into the holding area in SF. Friends picked up our "extra" clothing at Golden Gate Park where, by lunch, it was beautiful.

We got new shirts at the holding area and layered these back on to walk into Closing Ceremonies--AND WE LOOKED GOOD!

lisa: Well, normally the best advice is not to wear cotton, but of course the shirts they have sent us for day one are cotton! I had also purchased a 3-day tank top, and wore that the second day. On the third day, I wore a sleeveless T-shirt from a triathlon I had done the weekend before, and we received new shirts at the finish line. When walking, I generally wear spandex-type shorts or capri-length leggings. Speedo is my brand of choice, and I wore them all 3 days. Some women wore running shorts, and those seemed fine as well. I will probably bring last year's shirts to wear on the other days (yes, even though they are cotton).

I wore sports bras all 3 days (as did many women), and they were fine, although we all needed some Body Glide to prevent chafing under our arms. I also wore my beautiful-yet-obnoxious pink and red tie-dyed hat all three days - all walkers definitely must have a hat.

Make sure you invest in real walking socks - they are generally two layers of thin material, and made to wick moisture away from your feet. Bring enough socks to wear two pairs per day. Changing your socks at lunchtime is a real treat!

One way to really beat the heat is to drink a ton of water and/or Gatorade. It was very easy to fool yourself into thinking you weren't thirsty, but in fact, I saw more than one person carted off on a stretcher for dehydration - don't let that happen to you. Fortunately, there were water stops all along the way (every 1-2 miles), so you have NO excuses.

Q: What should we wear to prepare for rain walking?

jane: The trick is to have Coolmax close to your skin as it sheds and breaths as you heat up, which you'll do because you'll have a waterproof layer outside.

So the "layering" looks something like this:

Coolmax long sleeve close to you (top), anything over that, even another coolmax shirt for warmth depending on temperature (I used a coolmax T over the long sleeve one) and then a final outer layer that's waterproof: I used a hydrolean jacket that I got a couple of weeks before the Walk and was glad I did as I'd trained in just a traditional "windbreaker" and it neither breathed NOR kept me dry on a couple of training walks where we got drenched. Basically, you're trying to stay as dry as possible.

As you're walking, "Vent" as you heat up: unzip the jacket to let in air as you get warm, Zip as you feel cold or wet. Basically, the coolmax close to your skin will do most of the work. Your layer over the coolmax will likely feel wet, but will still keep you dry because of the coolmax next to you.

YOUR HEAD If your jacket has a hood, by all means USE it to keep your head dry. When it's windy, I also use one of those headband/ear coverings as if my ears are cold, I'm cold.

You really don't need more warmth than all this ON TOP unless it's below 45 degrees or so.

ON THE BOTTOM: I swear by Coolmax tights that have a bit of nylon in them for shedding water. They keep you warm even when wet and dry out fast as the rain stops.

SOCKS: Don't forget to keep your feet dry! Rain walks are deadly blister buddies, so bring a couple of pairs of extra socks in your fanny pack and change if you get too wet and before you get hot spots. I swear (yes, I swear alot!) by vaseline covering your foot BEFORE you put on double layer coolmax socks, especially if you know you're going to be wet. LA walkers told me that's what saved them when they were soaked within the first mile on the last day.

Have a great time! Half the fun of training is feeling invincible after you've "weathered" a couple of walks like those this weekend are apt to be!

lisa: I just want to add that you can buy a decent lightweight plastic poncho for just a few bucks - get one that packs up into a little pouch. And as Jane's tent-mate, let me also confirm that she slathered about half a jar of Vaseline on her feet each morning! And she did swear by it.