Preparing for a walk-a-thon

Hi,

I'm posting this to a few of these forums, looking for some good suggestions.  I have decided to do this year's American Diabetes Assoc walk, which is 10 miles of walking that includes stairs - 1000 steps!

I'm a bit nervous, as I have never done anything like this but I really want to do it.  The walk isn't until October 20th.  That's 11 days before the first anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery...what an awesome way it will be to top of a year of such dramatic change.

Right now, I walk quite a bit and I feel good walking a mile or so.  I do have sciatica, but it's been pretty well controlled for a while now.  I try to be careful, but still get in sufficient exercise.  I live on the 3rd floor of my building and climbing has gotten much easier over these past seven months.  I've lost 108 lbs so far and want to lose 52 more.  We're getting into the very hot weather here now, but I do belong to a gym that I can get to 3-4 days per week.

How do I prepare for this walk/climb?  Is there a certain sort of pacing that works best?  What sort of exercise level should I endeavor to be at by the time October rolls around?

Suggestions (and encouragement) appreciated!

Thanks!

Lisa

The obvious is keep walking, and be sure to get good shoes at least 4mths before the walk so you have had proper time to break them in, as well as know what works on the type of terrain you'll be walking on. I would also do exercises to strengthen your calf muscles and lower legs, just to get them prepared for the amount of walking you'll be doing. I am sure there will be others here that have much more experience than I, as I've never done a walk-a-thon, but I am preparing to do the AIDS walk in SDiego in September. Best of luck to you!!!  Kelli

Hey Lisa, I just signed up for this walk yesterday.  Not sure yet where I am going to come up with th $1000 in donations.   I'm thinking that I need to find 1000 friends that can afford to part with $1 apiece, or 500 that can part with $2..  As far as the stairs go, see if your gym has a Stair Climber.  You should practice some interval trainer, maybe walking 2 miles on the treadmill, then 20 minutes on the stairs, another 2 miles, then a final 20 minutes on the the stair climber.  You should also find a couple of 5ks to practice on the weekend. There are a few practice sessions coming up soon at the library in June and July.   Good luck.  Have fun with it. Rob

Here is a link from sparkpeople.com that has a walking program. This link is the beginner one but it has links for the intermediate and advanced also. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/walking_heart_healthy.as p Have fun. Chris

Thank you all very much! Lisa