gone alpine

Assuming you read the article on endurance training, now specifically you want to do better in a specific area. Here you will learn how to...

train to walk?

    And why would we want to do that? I mean we learned to do it at a year old and still do it every day right? Actually we are talking a little more specifically on the issue, and why walking an extra mile will do you some good.

Some things you might not have known about when you walk.

~ Have you ever just gone out for a walk? Most of us have at one point or another. It calms the mind, soothes the soul and gives you a little bit of exercise to-boot. Did you know that some of us walk when we are in an upset or angered state? Funny thing that we should do that, because research shows that it takes 20 minute for adrenaline to leave our system once it enters. However we have to leave the anger behind, one way to do that is by walking at least 20 minutes.

~ Walk with a passion. Most of us don't think walking does much good in the way of athletics. However walking with pace is a good way to cross-train, build muscle, add endurance and loose a couple pounds. But beware, research shows that it is only possible to loose 1/2 a pound of fat a day. If you are loosing more than that you are loosing precious muscle or at the doctors office doing liposuction. There is no possible way for your body to loose more than that. 

~ Keep the heart rate up. If we can walk at least 20 minutes in a day we are doing good for our body over the next 24 hours. That means we need to be exerting ourselves just a little bit. If we leisurely stroll for 20 minutes we won't get the same effect, still good for us but not the same. If we keep our heart rate up for 20 minutes we trigger our body to keep burning the body fat in our system for the next 24 hours. Thereby keeping our fat reduction going while we go about our day.  

~ Drink while you walk. If you are walking for longer than 20 minutes at a time you need to bring water or Gatorade with you. Your body requires replenishment. Again if your body doesn't get this from an external source it will take it from an internal source, something you DON'T want.

~ Set reasonable goals. Walking doesn't have to take all day. Just a few minutes of extra movement about your day does the body good. If you have never walked before, plan one day a week to get out off the couch. Think about it, it you were to turn off the TV for just one 30 minute show and went for a walk for 20 minutes your body will burn fat for the next 24 hours. If you do that once a day for several days your body goes on a continuous fat burning cycle. Doesn't that sound great! Remember that you need to watch your eating habits too, that will greatly assist you in the fat burning process.

 Race and Marathon walkers!

There are those of us that don't seem to think that leisurely strolls are enough, we have to go out and prove ourselves that we can spend 6 to 12 hours walking streets and trails, the reality is, is that it is a real pain in the &$%@!

~ What exactly is a marathon? To answer it I have to quote it from one of my favorite training books. Jim and Phil Wharton say it beautifully. "No one knows the exact details of the origin, but it is generally accepted that the marathon commemorates Phidippides, an overly enthusiastic Greek messenger who ran 25 miles-from the plains of Marathon to Athens-to bring news of the victory of the Athenians against Darius the Great in 490BC. Phidippides arrived in Athens, shouted, "Rejoice! We conquer!" and dropped over dead. Now, that should have been the end of that, but some runner took a look at Phidippides incident and said, "Whoa! Killed him! Let's make a sport out of it and to it competitively!" The reason why the original 25 miles grew to the 26.2 is because of a request made from King Edward VII's youngest daughter, because she wanted to see the race from her throne. You would think that they would have reduced the race back to the original 25 but no... oops! "So today's marathon is set at 26.2 miles and is embraced by the running community as the ultimate challenge."

~ Walking a marathon. If you don't think you already are, it is possible to do. There are several US marathons that are walker friendly. One of which is here in Portland. (For tips on training for a marathon keep scrolling down.) Remember if you do decide to walk the ever going 26.2 miles, show a little etiquette. Marathons were first a runners only sport. However over the years walkers have made their way into the crowds of thousands of active participants. Remembering that there are other that are moving at a pace faster than you please keep to the side so that you do not hinder their pace and speed. While you may be walking for a cause or organization and going at a slower pace, there are other that are running for speed and running to win. I personally walk/run it, I understand both sides, just remember your reason to walk it, isn't the same as the thousands of others. But if you really decide to do this, good god! please do some serious training first, unless you like to feel as though you are giving birth to twins for several days on end.  

~ Walking the Portland to Coast. This is a walkers race that goes the same time as the Hood to Coast (that being a runners race). If you want to start doing races this is probably not the first one to jump into. However it is a good goal to do. With this race it is much the same as the runners portion. You the participant have to walk designated legs of the race leap frogging your team-mates as you make your way from Portland to Seaside on the coast, over the course of the evening/night until the entire team cross' the finish line. 

~ Endurance walking - what, why and how? This one you start out slow and work your way up. Do you have a goal, race or event you wish to do? Start early in your training. You should start 20 weeks prior your event. Or you can do a crash course in training like I did this year to get ready for the Portland Marathon, it hurts a bit but it is possible.

~ Event training. You will need to set aside time. It takes time to train for an event, especially if you are walking it. This means you will have to cut into TV time and make it workout time. Do not underestimate the need for training! When planning your training, first you need days, then hours in those days. You will need to set aside one day as a long day, the rest as easy/medium days. Your final training month should look something like this:

So if you were walking a marathon it would look something like this:

~ Importance of the weight room! You will need this to strengthen your core. The reason your core is important is because somewhere around the late miles your body is going to start to slouch. First your chin droops followed by your shoulders hunching over next it becomes impossible for you to stand let alone finish the race. By strengthening your upper body you train your muscles to stay upright and strong. Your stomach plays an important role in this by far. It also gives your body balance and strength to keep going. It all plays an important role in your endurance. Dedicate one day of your training to just upper body. Leave your legs out of it! They are getting enough of a workout, they can use this extra day to rest.

~ Rest days - VERY IMPORTANT! Rest days do not = weakness or no muscle building. On the contrary, these are the days your muscle actually builds. It takes 24-48 hours for your muscle to recover from the stress' it just encountered. If you over train you will actually cause muscle trauma and weaken muscle, joints and ligaments. By giving your body off days your body will heal quicker and you will be able to train stronger on your training days. This is also why you want one heavy training day to push your muscles past comfort and have medium to light days for building strength and endurance.

Diet!!! what are you eating???

~ Diet plays a very important role in muscle recovery and training. You need to pay close attention to your salt, electrolyte & calcium intake and protein. All of which are very important to your recovery and training. Your body will rob what it already has to build somewhere else if it is not getting what it needs from food. This will hinder your activity greatly! The robbing will come from precious muscle, which is protein. While exercising and training over 20 minutes you need to make sure you are taking in nutrients into your body. When you walk up to 1 1/2 to 2 hours your body burns a combination of what food you ingest and body fat. After your reach that mark at 1 1/2 to 2 hours your body just burns body fat. If you don't have much body fat, this plays even more of an important role. You need to bring some sort of nutrient with you while you are training. This doesn't mean you need to stop off and cook a meal. Learning how to eat and drink small amounts while training relieves your body of side aches and full bloating tummies, while your body gets the nutrients it needs to keep going.

    Salt is very important! You need to make sure you eat it. When your body sweats you loose salt. Salt in necessary to the body function. Kinda need salt to live. Its a proven scientific fact that salt does not lead to heart disease. In fact one needs plenty of salt in their diet especially if you are in any way sweating as an athlete. Salt is necessary to normal liver function, without salt your liver with shut down and life can not live without a liver. Also without salt in your diet you CAN drink too much water and become over hydrated. When your body can't release the excess water you run into lots of trouble. There was a woman that died during the Boston Marathon because she didn't have enough salt in her diet, her liver shut down and she expired right there on the  race course.  The only time one needs to be concerned is if there are issues with the Kidneys, this you should know if you make regular visits to your doctor.

Read these articles for specifics on Biking, Backpacking, Climbing, Cross-training, Hiking, Running, Snow-shoeing and Nutrition.

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