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Charley, I totally agree with you on alternating shoes so they have time to completely dry out between days. I do the same thing!!
Also, remember that if you are running, you will need to replace your shoes every 500 miles - or if you have two pair for alternating, you can make it for the full 1,000 miles!
If you are walking, you will need to replace your shoes every 1,000 miles - so two pair should last all the way to the 1,000th celebratory mile!!
Some folks are still wearing the same shoes after several years! I make a permanent mark on the side of the tread as I reach 100 miles on a pair of shoes.....then when it has 10 marks (since I'm a walker and not a runner), then I toss the shoes! I don't donate them because shoes are not good 2nd hand items, because the sole forms to your foot and could cause damage to someone else's foot!
I'm so excited to be part of this wonderful group!!
Troy - welcome to City Data and to our 1,000 mile walk. Most of the other folks in this thread are folks that I already know from othe threads. I'm delighted to "meet" you and I'm sure that everyone here will welcome you along on this great journey.
I am sorry about your Dad, but like you, I agree that it's a good thing he didn't suffer for a prolonged period of time.
Let's get healthy together. All are welcome. I'm getting myself on the road to fitness. Care to come with me?
Count me in. I think this group can help me get and stay motivated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gemkeeper
Thata girl, Roma. You can do it if I can!
I've done it before so I want to do it again and you can too.
Charley, with this great crowd so enthused it will be easy for most of us to head out the door come Jan. 1 and start using our muscles for something other than chewing food - or the fat!
Bette!)
I'll second that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicWizard
Most of my hiking shoes are Merrell brand, and for me anyway those shoes fit right out of the box. I can do a 5 mile hike from the get go with no blisters resulting. Merrells seem to be the right shoe for me, and I highly recommend them. My oldest pair of Merrells have well over 1000 miles on
I too love my Merrells.
I wear almost nothing else on my feet. Current pair is about 6 years old and still going strong even though I'm in them 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have really, really bad feet and need serious footwear plus custom orthotics.
20 years ago I weighed about what I'm back up to now but I easily walked off 60 pounds in about 8 months. Started doing about a mile on flat ground with no pack. By the last month I was doing 60 or more miles a week with a full pack on the hillyest terrain I could get to. My reward was a fabulous backpacking trip in the high Sierras. 5 days walking and one lay-over day. Almost 50 miles. Started with a 50 pound pack. Trailhead at 6,000 ft, route climbed to 11,978 feet. At the end of the trip I wanted a long shower, all clean clothes, restock the food and do it over again because I felt so good.
Don't think I could get to quite that level again but I sure could lose some weight and build some muscle and stamina. Nothing like a public commitment to motivate, don't want to let the group down.
Think I'll go re-read The 1,000 Mile Summer by Colin Fletcher.
You might be in for a pleasant surprise. Never under-estimate the power of the body to reach a new level of fitness and well being.....especially with a spirit of committment to keep you truckin those miles.
Count me in too. I do an excercise routine at least 3x's a week but would love to do the walk too.
I sort of live in the boon docks but will get out in my car and figure out a route and miles.
Jan 1st here we come. Oh 2010 is going to be a very good year.
Coastmaine......I'm in Maine now. Where are you.
We are in Portland now till Thurs.
Take care everyone.....
Hi Eliza, it is now early Friday morning, the 25th. I've just returned back to my 5th wheel in Belfast from two days out at Isle Au Haut with Island Mermaid.
I'm very sorry we couldn't manage to meet. Maybe next time!!!
Some tips for measuring the distance of your routes.
If you're walking on a paved road, you can simply measure the distance with the odometer of your car. That's quite simple and straightforward. If you are walking routes where you can't take your car, measuring the distance becomes more challenging, but there are ways to get a very accurrate approximation. The easiest way would be an odometer on a bike, or a pedometer. But neither of those are a necessity to measure the distance.
I use 2 methods. The first one is timing, and the second one is counting steps.
Timing: Walking at the pace you will use for putting in your daily miles, clock how long it takes you to walk a known one mile route. To allow for a slight variance in your pace from day to day, clock yourself on the same route for 5 days, and take the average time of those five days. Now you have a reliable time figure to use as your time for walking a mile.
Next step is to test it on a paved road where you can verify it with your car odometer. Lets' say your pace for walking a mile is 20 minutes. Mark your starting point, walk for 20 minutes at your normal pace, mark the finish, then check it out with your car odometer. If not exact, it'll be pretty darn close.....within a range of .95 to 1.05 mile. Close enough for government work as they say.
NOTE: Unless you're walking a steep route, or a route with many obstacles ( mud, rocks, snow, ice, stream crossings, etc ), the time determined above will be amazingly accurrate!
Counting steps: If you are inclined to forget your timing device ( like yours truly ), counting steps will come in handy. The principle with step counting is much the same as timing. You begin with a known distance.
I recommend using a tape measure to measure out a distance of 100 feet, marking the start line and the finish line. While walking at your regular pace, count how many steps it takes to cover this 100 ft distance. As with the timing method, do it at least 5 times and take the average number of steps. Multiply this number by 53 and you'll have the number of steps it takes you to walk a mile. EG: It takes me 40 steps to cover 100 ft, or 2120 steps to walk a mile ( Yes, I lucked out with a nice round number like 40. Some of you won't be so lucky! )
If you are like me, and not a big fan of higher math ( 2120 is higher math for me ), you can work with smaller numbers by counting like this: Starting with my left foot, I count my steps.....1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 -8 - 0 -1; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 0 -2; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 0 -3; etc, etc. When I get up to 10, the count goes like this: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 1 -0; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 1 -1; etc.
I only go up to 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 5 -0; so 50 is the biggest number that I ever deal with in the step counting process. Remember that 50 steps counted in this manner is actually 500 steps! To keep track of how many lots of 50 I've covered, I keep a few pebbles, beads, etc in my right pocket then move one over to my left pocket every time I reach 50 in my count. That way if I lose track of my 50s, I can reach into my left pocket and count the pebbles that I moved into my left pocket. So for me, when I've accumulated 4 pebbles in my left pocket, plus a count of 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 1 - 2; ( 12 ), I've covered a mile! Then I restart my count.
Before utilizing the step counting method on trails, test it on a paved road where you can verify it with your car odometer. Unless you lost track of the count, you'll find it to be surprisingly accurrate.
This counting bit may seem tedious for some of you, but a side benefit is that your ability to stay focused and concentrated will improve. It almost becomes a meditative experience. Also, you'll only need to do it when you are marking off new routes. It's not an everyday routine, unless you are walking a new route everyday.
PS-1: If you decide to rely upon a pedometer for measuring distances, be sure to calibrate it against a measured mile. A pedometer is only as accurrate as you have it set up
PS-2: If you are starting out in poor physical condition, your pace will quicken as you get into better shape, and your step is likely to lengthen. Be sure to recalibrate from time to time as you get into better shape ( the recalibration only comes into play if you are measuring a new route or if you are using a pedometer )
PS-3: Knowing that the length of my step or the pace of my mile will vary slightly from day to day, depending on my energy level that day, I only mark new routes on days when my energy level is on the high side. That way, the slight error in distance will be on the plus side rather than the short side.
Last edited by CosmicWizard; 09-25-2009 at 10:03 AM..
Reason: add the PS statements
If I'm going to walk, I want to do it in places that can't be accessed by car so it's more enjoyable. I was wondering how I would do this. They don't allow cars inside the mall for those cold days - (these guys have absolutely no sense of humor ). I have a cheap pedometer and don't really trust that it's all that accurate.
But, Cosmic - take the compliment!!
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Some tips for measuring the distance of your routes.
- (these guys have absolutely no sense of humor 
). I have a cheap pedometer and don't really trust that it's all that accurate.
