Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I will never make fun of fanny packs again.


After walking in the Susan G. Koman 3 Day Walk, I thought it would be helpful to whoever might be participating in the future to know a couple tips that I picked up on as a newbie.

- You will NEED a fanny pack with water bottles attached on the side. Nice big jugs if you will. :) While walking you are literally sucking water down every 5 seconds to prevent dehydration. The last thing you want to do is faint and bust your face up on the concrete next to a major highway while cars honk at you as you walk by. Can't be cool doing that. Always fill one water bottle up with water and the other with some kind of sports drink. The fanny pack will hold everything from your cell phone to blister pads and its surprisingly comfortable to wear....I may bust mine out just for fun. Kidding. Maybe...

- "Eat, Pee, You Don't Want an IV" You should be peeing at every Stop and Go and Pit Stop available and eating on snacks high in sodium all day. If you find yourself not having to go to the bathroom then you are not drinking enough water. It's important to drink water even when you don't feel thirsty. These Stop and Go's and Pit Stops are located about every 2-4 miles apart and they will be your best friend.

- Battery Operated Blow Up Mattress: Carly and I thought we were so smart walking into camp with a 1 inch thick egg crate until we saw women blowing up air mattresses. Apparently they have battery operated ones and if you don't have one....You will envy and hate the women who do.

- Portable Speakers: All weekend long we would walk up on somebody who was blasting Justin Bieber, Katy Perry or Rihanna on these portable speakers hooked up to their fanny packs and you literally just wanted to follow them the whole time like a creepy stalker. Sure, talking to your friend all day is fun, but singing and fist pumping to Black Eyed Peas can sometimes be refreshing as well. So if you want to be followed by a mob of people and feel like a rockstar....bring some portable speakers to jam out to. The speakers below are ILuv's and are sold at Kohls for 18.00!
-Go up a shoe size: When picking out your shoes that you will be walking in- its probably a good idea to invest in some that are a size or two larger then what you normally wear. Sounds crazy I know...but walking on your feet all day can make them swell big time which can make for a LONG day if they are crammed in your normal size 8.5 walking shoe. Trust me, I found this out the hard way.

- Lambs Wool will become your best friend.: I didn't get a single blister the entire weekend but I contribute it to wrapping my toes in lambs wool each morning and putting blister band aids on my heels ahead of time. Don't wait till you actually SEE a blister or a hot spot forming to start preventing them. One woman at a Stop and Go decided to show me her 25 blisters that she had. Don't be that lady. Ever.

- Your fingers will look like sausages.  No alarm- this is normal. Your fingers will swell like crazy due to the fact that your hands are hanging by your side the whole time you are walking for hours upon hours and all the blood is rushing to your hands. It's important to keep your hands above your heart a couple minutes at a time to decrease the swelling. You may look like you are praising Jesus or "raising the roof"- but nobody around you will care because they have sausage fingers too.

If you are thinking about walking in the Susan G. Koman 3-day and have more questions about it! Feel free to email me at bethanytoney1021@gmail.com for more details! 

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