You don’t need to be a seasoned athlete to challenge long-distance walking. People of all ages and abilities are challenging amazing distances. Walkers explore the Trans Canada Trail, from start to finish, stroll the back roads of every county, and challenge marathons. Long-distance walkers turn the ordinary into the extraordinary with their passion and commitment to walking.  YOU can join them in this wonderful adventure.

LONG-DISTANCE EVENTS If you’re looking for structure, you can train for a specific long-distance event. The pinnacle of long-distance events has long been the marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometers). While elite athletes still lead the pack, ordinary people in all shapes and sizes have taken the challenge and joined in for the thrill of crossing a finish line. In the spirit of fostering activity and good health most marathons also host shorter events such as the half-marathon and the 10K.

Walking a long-distance event is as much a mental game as a physical one. You need to train your body to complete the distance and then keep your mind free of doubts about your sanity while you spend hours walking. But at the end the reward of crossing the finish line is well worth it.

Long-distance event training should be a comprehensive training program with cross-training and hill-training enhancing your development. Tackling all this at once is overwhelming and throwing yourself in to such a degree can lead to failure. Take long-distance walking one step at a time, build your distance and then gradually introduce activities to complement your walking.

WARM-UP & COOL-DOWN

The Scoop on whether you need to warm-up and cool-down… Sure it’s overkill if you’re just going out for a stroll, but if you are a serious walker, putting miles on your sneakers, then you need to protect your body from injury. To warm up your body is to prepare it for the activity. To cool down your body is to assist your body in recovery. This is the no-nonsense approach to injury prevention – it’s as simple as that!

The difference between the warm-up and cool-down techniques is the key to your success.  Warm-ups should be about dynamic motion that get the blood flowing preparing your body for the activity ahead.  Cool-downs are about static postures that take advantage of the warmed state of the muscles and provide a gentle stretch.

WARM-UP Prepare the muscles and joints for walking by using dynamic stretches and range of motion actions that are designed to stimulate blood flow and wake up your body.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Take a step backward to a lunge position, keeping your front knee and ankle in line. Straighten your hips so they are facing forward. Lift the heel of the back foot off the ground and then lower it back down in a slow, controlled motion. Repeat for a minimum of 10. Start again lunging backward on the opposite leg.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Shift your weight to one leg. Extend the opposite leg while sitting back on the weight-bearing leg. Raise the toe of the extended foot up and slowly lower down again in a slow, controlled motion. Repeat for a minimum of 10 counts. Repeat on other leg.
3. The action in the Good Morning is to slowly, in a controlled fashion, raise up and down on your toes while simultaneously extending your arms up overhead and then bringing them down in a large circular motion. Repeat for a minimum of 10 counts.
4. Called the Toy Soldier; walk on the spot in an exaggerated marching action, lifting and lowering your knee highs in a controlled motion, alternating legs. Simultaneously, touch either side of each knee with your hands. Repeat for a minimum of 30 counts.

COOL-DOWN Regular and consistent stretching reduces the chance of injury and provides the opportunity for muscle development. For a small investment of time the pay-off is huge! When you return from your walk, take the time to stretch!   When doing static stretches make sure that you stay within the comfort zone and are not pushing the muscle to pain.   Here is a sample stretching series:

1. Stand approximately one foot from a wall with your hands on the wall at chest height. Step one foot back so that you are in a lunge position. Straighten your hip position so that both hips face forward. Gently press heel of back foot into the floor for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.
2. Standing with your feet hip-width apart, shift your weight to one foot and bend the knee of your opposite leg, reaching behind you to catch hold of the heel of your shoe or your pant leg (DO NOT grasp the top of the foot). Keeping the knee and the hip in a straight line, press through the heel of your foot for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.
3. Sit with your feet extended in front of you. Cross the left foot over the right knee, placing the left foot on the floor next to the outside of the right knee. Gently turn your upper body to the left placing your left hand behind you and position your right elbow to press into the left knee. Hold the pressure for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.
4. Face forward with legs spread to approximately the length of one leg. Turn the left toe to the left. Lunge to the left keeping the knee and the ankle of the left leg in line. Hold for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.
5. Lying on your back with both legs extended, raise your right leg straight up in the air. Cross the right leg over the extended left leg and then turn the toe of your right foot toward the floor. Hold for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on the other leg.
6. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lift the inside edge of the right foot, keeping the outside edge on the floor. Hold for up to 30 seconds. Repeat on the left foot.
7. Stand on the edge of a stair tread with the balls of the feet just on the edge of the stair. Allow gravity to lower the heels of your feet such that your foot is in a toe-pointing-up position. Hold for up to 30 seconds.

CROSS-TRAINING

Let walking be the catalyst that gets you to try other activities. As great as walking is, it doesn’t work all your muscles. If you do activities that engage other muscles, your walking benefits! For example, working with weights on your upper body will make you stronger. For the Power Walker this means that you will have increased power behind your motion, which will make a long walk all the easier.

Playing in a weekly hockey league gives you an amazing leg workout – assuming that you don’t spend the game in the penalty box. And in the long run, the stop/go action of the game really helps with your endurance.  If it’s summer time, head out to a soccer game or a beach volleyball tournament for some cross-training action.

Two really great cross-training opportunities are yoga and Pilates. Both have their unique benefits, but they share in common a mind-body training focus that will bring you a heightened awareness of your body’s movements. Classes are available in your community or you may opt for a DVD that allows you to fit the ‘class’ in when you can.

Swimming, soccer, tennis, racquetball; all these are great social activities that help make you strong. If you get the opportunity to participate, take it! The more you move the better it is for your body!

Create opportunities for family activities such as  skating, basketball  or a friendly game of touch football.  This quality time with your family brings the habit of activity to children in a fun way while your training program also benefits. It’s a win-win situation!

The only caveat to cross-training activities are to participate in activities that will engage the whole body in a way that is different from walking.  For example, cycling is a repetitive action that is similar to walking in that it constantly forces a bend to your hip and knee.  Instead try joining a dragon boat team and put some emphasis on upper body strength.  Alternatively you could also step outside your box to try something such as pole dancing class or kick boxing.  Whatever your choice, two key things to consider:

Regularly do a cross-training activity. ie once a week

HAVE FUN!

NUTRITION

If you’re going to be a long-distance walker, you need to start considering what you are using to fuel your body. While important information for anyone, this is particularly relevant for anyone who walks for longer than two hours.

TIMING – WHEN TO EAT When in training for an event it is important to not only consider what you eat, but when you eat.  We consider nutritional input during three critical times in relation to training or the actual event; pre-walk, during and post-walk.

PRE-WALK The day before is the time to start preparing.

• DO ensure that you drink plenty of water; you don’t want to start your walk already dehydrated.
• DO eat foods in their natural state rather than processed food; the quality of the nutrients will be higher.
• DON’T consume alcohol as it will dehydrate you; save it for after your walk when you can more easily ensure to stay hydrated.
• DON’T start experimenting with new foods. If they don’t agree with you, it may put an end to your walk completely.
• BEFORE the event ensure that you have eaten approximately 1 to 1.5 hours in advance.

DURING As the distance increases, the more prepared you need to be for ‘refueling.’

• DO carry water with you. And if you’re out for longer than one hour then you should bring along an electrolyte drink.
• DO carry a piece of food that will give you energy quickly.
• DO eat before the hunger pains hit.
• DO carry emergency fuel – a hard candy such as Jolly Rancher works for an instant rush of sugar.
• DURING the event, carry something with a high glycemic index to provide energy that will be absorbed quickly.

POST-WALK During a long walk you deplete your energy stores so it’s time to ‘fill-er up!’

• DO drink plenty of water to rehydrate your body. Your body needs water to absorb the nutrients in your food!
• DO refuel by eating some carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide your body with energy!
• DO eat some protein as your body is recovering and needs protein to help with tissue repair and muscle building!
• AFTER the event you have approximately a 40-minute window to refuel:

1. HYDRATE to restore adequate fluid levels which will assist with nutrient absorption
2. Carbohydrates (CHO) replace depleted glycogen stores to provide energy and refuel the muscles.
3. PROTEIN will assist in muscle tissue repair.

FLUID RECOMMENDATIONS Maintaining water balance, all day, everyday, is a priority, but particularly for an athlete as performance will be affected if the balance is off.  When seeking to replace fluid loss there are three considerations when selecting the type of drink to use:

1. Water for simple fluid replenishment
2. Drinks with Carbohydrates (CHO) for energy
3. Drinks with electrolytes for replenishment

Additionally, when to use a particular type of drink should also be considered for maximal benefit.

* It may be necessary to check weight since more fluid may be necessary.

FLUID INTAKE HOT WEATHER The major concern during events with high air temperatures is maintaining water and electrolyte balance.  An athlete can easily lose two to three liters per hour due to sweat.  Failure to replace fluids will result in dehydration and eventually heat injury.  Forced drinking is recommended because during high air temperatures the normal thirst mechanism is not a sufficient indicator of water loss.