sfwalk

If you have blisters where your toes rub together, try lamb’s wool (the foot care aisle at Longs) woven between your toes.

jane: Get Spenco Second Skin pads.  They can be bought at most drug stores and DEFINITELY at camping stores.  They are blue "jelly pads" that were developed for burn patients because they keep the hot spot or blister in motion MOIST but dry.  They act like a layer of skin and you just cover then with any tape to keep them in place (after peeling off the sheet on either side of them.  I keep small "single use" packets in my fanny pack and they come in bigger 3X5 sheets too. 

Most everyone, at about 10 miles, develops something to do with hot spots, blisters, or some other friction-caused malady.  Best advice: keep your feet as dry as possible and friction free.  How?  Wear double-ply socks--Wrights worked best for me--especially the heavier duty double-ply Wrights. Most good running stores carry them--I actually get mine through the RoadRunner catalogue--a bit cheaper, but I've also picked up a couple of extra pairs at Metrosport in Cupertino across from De Anza.  Ask at a running store near where you live--you'll come to have "many" pairs of these as your training progresses.  Be sure to try out whether you like/need the ones marked "Extra" as I do (thicker as well as two-ply) or whether the simple two-ply will get you through the distance.  Slight price difference

Also, to keep your feet dry (again, after alot of miles and/or on hotter days), try either vaseline (yes, ALL over your foot and between your toes) or cornstarch.

Then, put that covered foot in those two-ply socks and into a good fitting (1to 1 1/2 sizes larger than you generally wear as your feet get bigger) and lace them up LOOSELY, that is, so that you can squeeze a finger down between the tongue and your sock.  This prevents the dreaded "top of foot" problems many had last year.

bev: I was amazed how each of us had a different solution for our blisters.  Some people wrapped their feet in duct tape, some put Vaseline or Glide over their feet, I used mole skin and covered it with medical tape to make sure it stuck.  When your feet get moist the moleskin can fall off so the medical tape was extra protection.  I also loved changing my socks on the long walks and putting talc (or baking powder?) on my feet.

pat: If you feel a blister coming on during a walk pay attention and do something about it! It is not going to get "better" or "tougher "by ignoring it. I would use Vaseline on my feet and then Gold Band foot powder to start the day and sometimes do it again after 10-12 miles on a longer walk. Change your socks during a walk. Experiment with different brands/thickness/styles of socks. Sometimes the seam on the toe of your sock can rub and create a blister. You can try wearing your sock "inside-out," this sometimes helps. One of the best treatments for blisters or corns on or under the toes is to use part of a white foam cosmetic pad and adhere it using a strip of moleskin. All these can be found at Long's or any drug store. The foam pads cut easily to the shape you need and are very soft and "cushioned." I also like the second skin product but found that it was difficult to keep it secure on some areas of the foot. The blister care products in the foot care aisle at the drug store work for some situations too. I agree with Sherry... try them all over the course of your training and one or a combination of items will work best for you.

Q: What do I do about sore hips?

marcia: When I walked my hips would get very, very sore to the point where I didn't think I could walk much farther.  I learned two great stretches:

1)  Sit indian style while bending over as far as possible.  You will feel the stretch in the upper hip/lower butt.  Repeat the stretch by switch your legs.

2)  Grab a tree, lightpost, neighbor, etc.  Cross your right heel on your left knee and squat.  The further you stick your butt out, the more you will feel the stretch.

Avon recommends that you stretch 5 minutes every hour. I stretched my hips out at every possible moment to help.  I had no hip pain whatsoever during the walk.

bev: Somehow during training I managed to pull a groin muscle which was very painful.  I could barely lift my leg.  I started going to see a woman, Robin Novotny, who practices something call Myofascial Release.  Her phone number is 650-941-6922.  Myofascial Release works on the deep muscle tissue – much deeper than massage.  She was a godsend!

Q: What's the scoop on electrolyte replacement?

jane: Besides the great hydration, carbs and sugars for energy, stretching for staying limber, using the pit stops to eliminate all the toxins that are building up (shed from your muscles that are doing all this work), you need to pay attention to your electrolyte balance.  Basically, that's what Gatorade, Poweraid, etc. do for you--they have various minerals, etc. in them that help your body to stay balanced during "endurance" kinds of activities--not needed for your everyday stroll around town or even a sub-2 hour bike ride, run, or walk.

BUT, once you get up into the mileage we're doing, if you DON'T replenish them, some people get a number of negatives:  The headache and feeling of blah and disorientation, the overall fatigue that has nothing to do with your blisters, feet, and muscles--it's about your total system--brain chemistry, blood makeup, etc.  Heat, by the way, exacerbates this problem but it's not the heat, per se, that's the culprit.  It's your unique body system saying: I NEED SOMETHING ELSE TO GET BACK TO HOMEOSTASIS.

That being said, what have I experimented with, once I found this affected me after about 18 miles?  Tried the Gatorade, etc. and found, even though it HELPED, there was a "cliff" on the other side, that is, it helped during the walk but didn't help with the after.  So I took my sad story to a friend who helped me train for a marathon LOTS of years ago, and he suggested Ultima replenisher--basically, it's powder you add to your water bottle (convenient to carry in your fanny pack), but here's the catch:  IT DOESN'T HAVE SUGAR IN IT, like Gatorade, etc.  Hence, no "cliff", and it restores my electrolytes balance and keeps them there.  I drink it from about mile 10 on and RIGHT AFTER I FINISH.  It works!  Now the energy bars also have minerals, etc. in them, but electrolyte replenishers concentrate on THAT piece of the puzzle, vs. bars that are concentrating on the carbohydrate and energy portion of the puzzle.

I'm not pushing a brand, as we all know the training is supposed to serve as almost a "trial and error and correction" course in how each of our bodies will react.  So, my advice is, you'll need something besides the water for the longer mileage days--1 & 3.  They'll have Gatorade on the walk and this may work FOR YOU.  I carry my Ultima and use it because it works FOR ME.

lisa: I swear by Cytomax, for most of the reasons Jane has already mentioned. I buy it by the can at a local bicycle gear store, but you can also find it where they sell things to long distance runners and endurance athletes. I like the "cool citrus" but there are also fruit punch and orange flavored powders. You can buy small packets to carry with you, but I just buy the big cans, and keep a small plastic container of it in my fanny pack -- easily enough to get me through a 20 mile walk.