Walks: Mon. July 12 & Wed. July 14

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Next July, when we're not training for a marathon, I want to get a group together see Garden Walk Buffalo. It's a whole weekend of open gardens – 350 of them throughout the city – on the last weekend in July. And none of them charge admission. Not one.

We had an amazing time at the Garden Bloggers Buffa10 preview this weekend. Bob, Sharon and I (accompanied part of the way by Ruth and Arlene) did our 27K this morning in the heat. Both facts account for the lateness of today's post.

Distances for all races but the KW Half this week are 8K & 10K. KW racers are 8K and 5K. I suggest you do intervals or speed drills for part of the way on the shorter distance. (As we did our long distance tonight, I'm going to walk tomorrow morning instead.) Start times are 7 pm.

I'm sure you were as alarmed as I was to hear about Charlotte's scare on Saturday. It's a very scary thing, and can easily happen if we're not careful. So, first, let's talk about race nutrition:

- a few days before a long walk or race, be careful about eating too much roughage/fibre
- in hot weather, pay attention to fluid intake the day(s) before the walk; don't let yourself go into race/long walk day dehydrated
- but don't drink too much water, before or during the race/long walk; that can dilute the balance of electrolytes; while you're walking, a couple of sips every 15-20 minutes is ideal
- the day before the race/walk, eat only things you've eaten before
- a carb-based meal with pasta or rice is a good choice to fuel up for your distance
- eat breakfast before you walk! don't try anything new, and give your body time to digest before walking (even in hot weather, oatmeal makes a great breakfast)
- bring something to eat during your walk; easy-to-digest sugars and some salts are part of a good choice (I find Clif Shot Bloks are quite palatable, and easy to use on the route.)
- in hot weather, don't be afraid of salty foods; you'll sweat profusely, and salts need replacing

The rule "nothing new on race day" applies to a certain degree on our super-long training walks... especially when it relates to what is already in your digestive system, to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Hydrate properly, fuel and refuel properly, and you'll go a long way towards reaching your distance.


Next, some rules we've become lax about, but will reinstate:
- No one walks alone!
- Bring a phone if you have one, and always bring cab money.
- Road ID is an investment in your safety. It tells people who to call in an emergency, when we're not able to tell them ourselves. It can happen. I even have my OHIP number on mine, just in case.

Letting you know in advance that our Saturday start time will be 7 am while the heat continues. For those doing 29K on Saturday, 6 am will be our start.