Q: What are the advantages of joining
those training walks scheduled by the event office?
marcia: When I registered for the
Walk I didn't know anyone who was walking besides me. After
attending just two walks, I met my tent-mate who is now one of my dearest
friends. It's also how I became a Cheerio. Why go on a training
walk? To meet people.
Why else? I gained invaluable information while on training walks.
There were certain things that weren't published in the newsletters that
I heard about. I also had a chance to experiment with different
types of blister care. Everyone shared the
latest foot care product so I could try it myself without having to buy
it.
bev: I started this without knowing
anyone and ended up with so many friends...make friends, learn
techniques and pick up training tips! I met wonderful friends on many of the walks.
Somehow I managed to run into many of them on the actual Walk so I had companionship on the walk.
I get bored easily and when I tried to walk 15 miles on my own
one day I just couldn’t do it. I even had my headset on and I was in a beautiful location
– Shoreline park in Mountain View - but I just couldn’t make myself
walk for four hours all by myself.
I think I managed to walk 8 miles that day but I had to bribe
myself with lunch. I did
meet women on the actual 3-Day Walk that did all their training,
including their 20 mile back-to-back walks all on their own.
I can honestly say that I never met anyone on the
training walks that I disliked. Each
person I met was fun to talk to and sharing stories made the time (and
the mileage!) pass quickly.
pat:
I found that it was better for me to join an organized training walk
than try to walk alone. The mileage goal is set for you, you meet
wonderful people, get helpful tips on stretching, nutrition, blisters,
shoes, etc., as well as seeing parts of the Bay Area you wouldn't
normally visit. You will also find that the time passes so quickly on
these walks that you will look forward to them! They really do help you
train and get ready for the Walk.
Q: Why can't we bring dogs on those
training walks?
jane:
HQ has maintained a strict rule of "no dogs,
no kids under 17, no kids in strollers" on official training walks
since the beginning. Here's why and I hope you can understand:
When more than 6-8 walkers are doing a
walk together, everyone tries to crowd together into the available walking
space along a road, on a sidewalk, on a trail or frontage road. The
result, even without dogs, is that someone gets bumped off trying to walk
several abreast and talk to pass the time and get to know people.
Loose dogs aren't even a possibility.
LEASHED dogs actually pose an even greater problem, honestly. Why?
Even thought they're well-behaved, they tend to pay attention to what
their master or mistress is doing and the pace they usually walk with that
person, BUT because they're not another human, they can't hear the
"passing on the right" or "look out for the pole" or
other things walkers call out when they're walking in close proximity to
each other.
They basically are "in the way"
of a pace set by the walkers around them. I've never walked with a
dog in a crowd where people weren't constantly trying to get around them,
avoid tripping over the leash, slow down, speed up, etc. to work their
pace around the dog. (And I trained for a marathon with a friend who
brought her dog on every training run we did together up to about 12
miles). Granted, as the walk proceeds, the line thins out and there's more
space between groups of walkers. But with large groups this usually
takes 3-4 miles to happen, meanwhile, 89 other people are grousing that
someone let one dog on the route.
It's a safety issue and a
"maintaining the positive spirit of the community issue." In
addition, some other walkers who join the group may be allergic to dogs,
or perhaps uneasy around dogs -- especially if they are not used to being
around them all the time. I hope people understand why we won't be
able to have dogs on our training walks. Dog owners are some of the
nicest people I've met, and I love to meet them AND their dogs, though not
on official training walks.
Q: What is involved with becoming a training walk
leader?
lisa: As a training walk leader
for the last two year, and having now
walked three events, let me spell out the details for the curious among you.
If you want to lead walks next year, I'm all for it! The more walk leaders
the better for all of us - gives us more variety, more new walking
locations, more opportunity to meet fellow walkers, etc.
Before the walk...
- pick the day (possibly coordinate with other leaders in your area)
- set the time (start time = meet time + 15 minutes)
- figure out how many miles you want to walk, hills vs. flats, etc.
- pick a location
- map out the route, determine the mileage from corner to corner all along
the route
- scout out bathrooms along the route (mini-marts, parks, Starbucks, fast
food, porta-potties, etc.)
- scout out locations where walkers can buy more water or fill a water
bottle
- scout out locations where walkers can buy snacks - or find a place you
can park an extra car with a cooler of water/snacks
- identify a part-way point where walkers can turn around and come back if
they don't want to go the whole way (or plan a figure-8 route, which I did
several times, so people get back to their cars halfway through)
- drive the route at least once to confirm mileage (don't trust your
pedometer)
- walk the route at least once to time it, and look for pitfalls (and so
you won't get lost)
- field RSVPs by e-mail and phone - plan to spend time talking or
e-mailing to EACH RSVP to make sure they know where the meeting location
is, to find out if they have done a training walk and/or Walk event before, to
remind them to bring water/snack/ sunscreen/ID/whatever else
- print/copy maps with detailed directions (sample from one of my walks
attached)
- in my case, I also updated my website with map and directions, so I
could just send people there for info
Walk info had to be turned in to the Avon office on the
15th of the previous month. June walks submitted by May 15, etc. When you
submit the walk, you tell the office: time, start location, distance, rate
the difficulty, rate the speed, give special instructions.
On the day of the walk...
- get there at least 15 minutes early
- put up signs if the start location is very difficult to find
- bring copies of the map (AT LEAST one for each person who RSVP'ed, and
extras if you can manage it)
- bring the sign-in form
- bring extra sunscreen for people who forgot
- bring a cell phone for emergencies
- bring the safety speech info
- bring your photo album from last year so newbies can get a preview
- give the speech
- review the route, go over any special instructions
- ask who is leaving mid-way or turning back
- have people stretch while you give the intro
At the walk...
- start the group off
- keep an eye on all walkers; try to talk to as many attendees as possible
- try to corral the group into group stretches, preferably 5 minutes every
hour
- tell positive stories about last year; encourage people having trouble
with fund-raising, blisters, etc.
- hang out until the last walker returns to the start point
Optional things which some leaders did that worked well:
- big signs to find the location
- providing water and/or snacks as a bonus, especially if you're walking
somewhere not near any stores
- name games to introduce everyone
On occasion, I gave out party favors, had people wear name tags, had my
family run a "real" pit stop - whatever you can do to add a
special touch is really appreciated!
Q: How can I see my progress during training?
sherry:
Keep a record of your training.
I used a spiral notebook to record how many miles I walked each
week. At
first I was just walking in the neighborhood and so I would drive the
car on several of my walking routes to figure the mileage.
I would have a page that had the week indicated (i.e. Feb 20 –
26) and the mileage goal (increasing the goal 10 – 15% each week).
On each day I walked I would indicate the distance and the amount
of time it took and also the type of terrain.
As the weeks went by I would see that I was doing a lot more
mileage in a faster time….it really helped to see the improvement.
My
notebook was also a good place to jot down phone numbers and e-mails of
the people I was meeting and all the good information that was being
exchanged.
Make
a serious commitment to your training so that you will have fun on the
walk, not just survive it.
Guest
Cheerio Robin provides a training
spreadsheet for your personal use. Comments on how best to use the
spreadsheet are included. To save it to your own computer, right-click on
the link, and select "Save Target As..."
Q: What advice do you have for those
who are training out of town?
lisa: Training for the LA walk, while living in the
SF area, was tough. You need to find someone else to train with. Call or
e-mail your walker coach, and give her a list of cities near yours.
Hopefully they will find someone in those cities. That year, I e-mailed
my walker coach Mindy, with a list of about 10 cities very close to my
hometown of Fremont. She had no idea where most of these cities were,
but at least could find walkers from those cities. That's how I met the
women I trained with.
Anyone can volunteer to lead a training walk. If you
are out of town, set one up, tell the office so it is in the schedule,
and see if anyone RSVPs. I didn't know to do that during my first year - if I had,
I bet I would have found more walkers locally. Walks have to be
submitted by a deadline each month.
If you don't know anyone in the SJ/SF area, do some
scouting now for travel info. There are several airports here, although
the San Jose one is the closest to the starting point. A key question is
whether you will stay around after the walk. For instance, if you will
want to vacation in SF afterwards, you might want to fly out of SF to go
home.
If you are from out of town, sign up for a hotel for
the night of Day Zero (info will be mailed to you). Rush hour traffic is
atrocious in the morning. It will NOT work to stay with a friend in SF
on the night of Day Zero, and think that you can easily be in San Jose
at 6:00 a.m.
When I did the LA walk, I drove down to Santa Barbara
with two other women. Their husbands and families were there to meet
them at the end, and bring them home. However, my husband had to stay
here with the kids. My solution was to enlist a friend who lives in LA
to pick me up, buy me dinner, give me lots of wine, massage my feet, let
me stay at his house, and then he drove me to the airport Monday
morning. If you know someone in the area, definitely consider
staying over and flying home on Monday. You will be exhausted, and you
will also want to celebrate with someone. Flying home by yourself will
be very lonely.
bev:
If you can, try to find a motel to stay in after the Walk.
I know some walkers have to get back home Sunday evening but you
are just exhausted. Try to find a motel for Sunday evening and fly out Monday
morning. If you have to fly
out Sunday night make sure that you take a later flight.
You would have a difficult time trying to catch an 8 pm flight on
Sunday evening. The SF
airport is probably at least a 30 minute drive and you will also need to
figure out how to get from the Marina Green (down by the Golden Gate
Bridge) to the SF Airport, which is south of SF.
Q: How much should I be walking each
week/month?
marcia:
When I started participating
in training walks I was going about 5-8 miles and then spent most of the
afternoon on the couch asleep!
Avon recommends that you build up your mileage about 10 miles a
month. In April and May I was walking all the time - about 50
miles a week. My friends were doing more so I was nervous.
Then things got crazy and I was walking only on weekends, but covering
about 30-40 miles. I was just fine and walked the entire 60 miles.
One thing to consider besides how far you are walking is the type of
surface. Walking 15 miles on concrete is better than walking 20
miles on trail. The majority of the walk is on concrete and will
prepare your feet and knees better.
bev:
I followed the guidelines in the official Avon Walk handbook.
They gave us very specific mileage goals for each month and even
for each week.
pat:
My first training walk was in January and my goal was 6 miles. After
that, I tried to do a training walk a weekend somewhere in the Bay Area,
increasing my mileage just a bit each time. I found I was more motivated
to walk if I chose a planned training walk rather than going out by
myself. You will notice that the schedule will have longer walks each
month. I was walking 30-40+ miles a week by June and was able to do my
"back-to-back" without a problem. Just remember, the longer
the walk, the longer the time you need to set aside for walking. Take
advantage of the training walks to vary the scenery and terrain.
lisa: One
suggested program has you walking two short (1 hour) walks per week, and
then 2 long walks on the weekend. You want to get used to walking 2 days
back-to-back, and generally people have more time to do long walks on
the weekend.
So by now, a typical week might be:
Tues: 3-4 miles
Thurs: 3-4 miles
Sat: 15 miles
Sun: 15 miles
You don't have to do the same mileage Sat/Sun. You could do 13/13, or
18/12, or 20/10, or whatever you want. As long as you get used to
walking 2 days in a row.
Ideally, by about one month before the walk, you should
be able to do 2 days in a row of 18-20 miles. After that, you want to
taper off, and not be walking so much. Your body needs some time to rest
and gather strength for the 3-day push.
Now a lot of people don't walk both weekend days, except for one or two
back-to-back weekends, and they do just fine. It's really up to you to
figure out what you can handle.
AND, it is not necessary to ever train 3 long days in a row before the
event. If you can do a big 2-day dry-run, you'll be in fine shape.
Adrenaline and lots of company will get you through Day 3.
I've always been a big fan of cross-training, so don't
feel like all you can do is walk. If you also do some running, biking,
swimming, aerobics class, weight-lifting, etc. -- all of those things
will help you be more fit and have more endurance. And you'll definitely
benefit from that. Not to mention that walking can occasionally get
boring, and we can use the variety...!
Q: I've heard people say this event
is "intense" -- what does that mean?
jane: This is an ENDURANCE event.
As such, it is both "intense" in what mileage, wear and tear,
climatic conditions, emotions, fulfillment are packed into the 2 Days.
BUT, with preparation, most of the intensity is actually enjoyable IF
YOU:
1) TRAIN: DO build up your distance slowly and surely over the next 5.5
months. You may only be walking 2-3 miles at a time right now (I
was at this point in 2000), but you'll have to begin getting in longer
walks (5-7 miles) SOON at least once a week and build up from there.
The guide in the training materials is pretty good. Look at the
mileage PER WEEK and
PER MONTH and realize that several of those walks each need to begin
being lengthy. Target: You're preparing to do "Back to
Backs" (20 miles EACH of two days in a row) by June 15th or so.
Even though you'll only do this once to see the impact on your body and
to reassure yourself you CAN do it, as you do longer walks leading up to
this (12/15/18) your confidence will grow and you'll know how your body
reacts. Some people never did a back to back and were fine.
The Cheerios believe the reason we felt so confident on The Walk and
felt pretty good as we finished each day was because we led up to our
Back to Back weekend with steady progress and our weekend walks getting
progressively longer.
Don't forget a MIXTURE of hills and
flats. Long, flat distance will kill your hips and other bodily parts,
no hills will result in your being aghast when you see Hillcrest Blvd.
AND there
are, contrary to some memories, SEVERAL smaller hills on The Walk.
AND, nothing increases your endurance and confidence like conquering a
hill and even doing it faster or stronger the next time you do it.
Finally, walk YOUR own pace: Too fast and you'll get shin splints,
too slow and you'll tighten up.
Notice where you typically walk
"in the pack". My place was always the front of the middle
group. When I tried to walk faster, I suffered. When I
slowed down for awhile to talk with someone, I enjoyed it and then went
back to walking my pace that was "comfortable". Just like
life, you'll get your own stride.
2) OPTIMIZE FUEL & FLUIDS: Learn
what YOUR body needs. I trained with people who swore by their
electrolyte tablets and I wouldn't trade my Cytomax or Ultima for any
Gator or Powerade. Ditto those who love Luna but can't gag >
down a Cliff Bar. And how much water YOU need depends on your
exertion level, the temperature of the day, and how your body is using
it as a coolant, cleanser, and tissue replenisher. You'll be burning
more calories than you ever thought possible. You'll need fast
carbohydrates to keep the furnace stoked so you don't "bonk"
(Train with various carbs--raisins, bananas, cheerios, peanut butter
sandwich, oatcakes and notice how differently the walk feels when you're
finished with each. Then rinse and repeat the ones that work best
for you. LEARN as you train what chemistry and combination works for
you. And the basic "eat BEFORE you're hungry, drink BEFORE
you're thirsty is trite but critically true.
3) TAKE CARE OF DA FEET: You likely
will get a blister or two. You MIGHT get some hum-dingers.
You'll need to learn how to notice and treat "hot spots"
BEFORE they turn into blisters and, again, what works FOR YOU to prevent
them in the future. You'll need to know what to do to treat them if you
get them. Ask others what works. Consider Vaseline or
cornstarch BEFORE longer walks. Change your socks. Think of
blisters as wonderful life
lessons! Ditto, you MAY get black and blue toenails that then fall off!
Why? Your toes are hitting the front of your shoes. Why? Because
your feet WILL swell and you likely need a great shoe with a big toe-box
that is also about 1/2 a size larger than what you usually wear.
Take care of your feet and they'll carry you all the way to the GG
Bridge!
4) STRETCH: Do it before, do it during,
do it after, DO IT OFTEN. Endurance events mean lactic acid builds up in
your muscles no matter how well you're trained. Place on you will get
tight that you never even though could! Stretching helps relieve the
tightness that lactic acid produces. If you stop walking after
some distance, you'll have trouble starting again
UNLESS you stretch. Begin to swear by stretching. It will
get you up on Day 2 and able to unfold yourself from the car after
you drive home from Closing Ceremonies. Make it a new habit.
INTENSITY in general -- you WILL meet
the most wonderful people you've ever met as you train and complete the
Walk. They will share their lives with you. They will share
their hopes & fears with you. But mostly they will share this
EXPERIENCE with you and you'll never forget doing it together. NEVER.
You will learn more about yourself than you even thought possible,
especially if you pay attention.
One last thought -- there have been
pregnant woman who have done the Walks. I would strongly suggest NOT
doing it very late or very early in a pregnancy. The cumulative
effect of the electrolyte challenges such an event produces would, I
think, make one concerned about the effect on the baby. I know one
woman in SF2000 DID have complications, although there were only rumors
about how she finally came out. A woman's doctor should be the
final say.
