Walking in a Winter Wonderland: How to gear up for cold weather walking (pt. 1)

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I had the pleasure of attending a “Winter Walking” seminar hosted by Marathon Sports at their Cambridge location. This seminar was free and open to the public. I’m writing this in order to share the information I learned and to spread the love for local businesses – especially the running stores that keep us all on our feet. No compensation was requested or offered in exchange for this post, although I did use the 20% off discount they provided that night to those of us in attendance. Links to Amazon and other websites are provided only because Marathon’s online shop doesn’t carry all of the gear available in their store. Use these links as illustrative – and if you can buy from your local running shop, that’s my recommended way to go.

If you break down the basics of walking as a sport–or just as general exercise–it really looks a lot like this:

Four key components of walking success: nutrition, hydration, gear, and motivation

Success in walking for distance and health depends greatly on eating properly, staying hydrated, being motivated, and using the right gear. Each person’s physique is different, and physical needs vary–especially when it comes to temperature regulation, so understanding your own body and needs is critical for getting the most out of every walk. While a mosey around the neighborhood may not require much advance planning or forethought, going for distances (like the 7-9mi training walks that I prefer, or the 26.2mi that I walk every September for The Jimmy Fund) really requires preparation and training.

This series of posts is going to focus specifically on winter walking gear from the waist DOWN. Part two focuses on gear from the waist UP, as well as accessories. To learn more about what to do for gear in warmer times, check out the posts I wrote about gear for walking marathons (from my first marathon) or about how I geared up for my second walking marathon. The third post in this series is about how to save money on this kind of gear.

 

Fundamentals for walking/running in ANY season:

  • Wear synthetic, wicking fabrics and DON’T WEAR COTTON
  • Focus on FIT and FUNCTIONALITY
  • Live in LAYERS
  • Be VISIBLE

Moving from toes to waistline…

Shoes: It’s vital to have good-fitting shoes. I love running stores like Marathon Sports because they analyze your gait (how you walk) in order to help find the right shoe for you. Many, if not all, of their store staff are runners, and they understand the importance of a well-fitting shoe. The shoes I’m currently sporting are the Brooks Addiction 11 (in Men’s EEEE, to handle my ridiculously wide feet). Before Marathon fitted me for Brooks shoes, I was only looking at women’s shoes, none of which were wide enough (and I got the injuries to prove that). So – really – think FIT, not fashion.

RunWarm ShoeGlove

RunWarm ShoeGlove

In wintertime, cold and moisture can get into the shoe through the ventilation built into the top of most running shoes. You can solve this transient problem by buying shoes with GORE-TEX uppers, but the recommendation from the folks at Marathon was do something more versatile: layer with your feet. Instead of having different sneakers for different seasons, they recommended that you get a shoe that works for you and then apply a ShoeGlove in order to keep out the wind and rain. I tried these out on a walk in 5ºF (+ wind!) and I have to say: these suckers work miracles. Consider also the use of another shoe add-on, like Yaktrax, to give you extra traction when there is ice or snow out on the path.

Since these items can be added or removed at any point, they give you a more versatile solution than buying multiple pairs of shoes. Pair your shoes with socks made of synthetic, wicking material or merino wool; these pull moisture away from your feet. The ones I’ve used for several years are made by REI, and it took several failed attempts with other brands before I settled on the ones I use now. Moisture can help create blisters, so you want to keep your feet as dry as possible.  (This is also why I change socks at least twice–often three times–during the span of a single walking marathon.)

Pants: Tight-fitting leggings or tights, preferably with an ankle grip, can help keep out the wind and moisture, and some come with wind-blocking panels or fleece linings built in. Synthetic materials also wick away moisture, helping to keep you drier. After the seminar, I picked up a pair of Craft Tights that were much like the Sugoi ones they showed us; they have a thin fleece lining for warmth and reflective dots for visibility. As I discovered with the Nike pair I tried on and quickly ruled out, fit is very important–and not all sizes fit the same. Try items on to make sure they work for you and your body shape. Looser pants, such as the Saucony Nomad pant, can also be more comfortable in some ways, but the heat-trapping effect won’t be the same as with tights that seal out air at your ankles.

Craft PR Brilliant Thermal Tights

Craft PR Brilliant Thermal Tights

I will say that the very same 5ºF walk found the Craft tights to be not quite enough to keep me from feeling somewhat chilled, but adding a layer over top of them will probably help the next time I go walking in such a ridiculously low temperature. Layering does negate the positive impact of the visibility marking on the tights, but I wear a small light when I walk in the dark–so this shouldn’t be a showstopper for me.

Underwear: Wicking underwear is fantastic stuff, and I use ones that I bought from REI. This past Christmas, I bought DH more of the Under Armour boxer briefs that he likes, and he wears those while going on runs in the colder months. Male or female, there’s a wicking underwear out there for you. Use it. DUMP THE COTTON!

 

Where to buy gear…

Depending upon your tolerance for returns, you can buy much of this gear wherever you find items that fit that ideal of synthetic, wicking, and NON-COTTON materials. That said, your local running store, like Marathon Sports, typically has a good selection of items that fit the bill appropriately, and that would ALWAYS be my first recommendation. Mass market sporting goods stores and discount department stores can offer less expensive gear – but the materials may not be of the right quality or fiber, literally. Of course, you can buy online…assuming, again, that you don’t mind the inconvenience of returns if an item doesn’t fit as intended.

For shoes, in particular, I strongly recommend going to a running store to get properly fitted. It doesn’t matter that you’re walking; the shoes are the same – just used at a slower speed! Ill-fitting shoes can lead to injury, so get yourself set up properly by making sure your sneakers are right for you.

(Continued in Part 2–tops, jackets, and accessories, as well as a separate post about how to save money on gear…!) 

 

If you have other tips or gear that you want to share with others, please feel free to comment. The community of those who want to be or stay active is large and supportive. Now get out there and get walking!

Parenting Pet Peeve #3: Will you just EAT already?!

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There’s no nice way of saying it: kids are picky eaters, and it’s just a pain in the ass.

There. I’ve said it.

Don’t get me wrong; my kids DO eat food. They even eat healthy food. Unlike how I was at the same age, these kiddos will gladly eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (especially when raw/uncooked). Their lunches often include sliced peppers and cherry tomatoes. The real issue crops up at dinnertime (or whenever an entree is in order).

DS really only ever wants to eat a sandwich (peanut butter w/jelly and/or honey, or Nutella) or macaroni and cheese.

DD really only ever wants a Nutella sandwich, a McDonalds cheeseburger, or chicken nuggets (preferably from McDonalds).

It makes eating out, whether in-town or out-of-town, anywhere from tricky to frustrating. When we have a meal that gets gobbled up, we feel like we won the lottery. When we’re making a meal at home, if it’s something that dh and I really want (such as the pork tenderloin, beets, and risotto he made the other night), the odds are excellent that the kids will threaten to throw up the miniscule “no thank you” bites they’ve been required to eat and they’ll end up sullenly munching on mini-bagels instead.

Of course, the easy answer is to make multiple meals, what my mother termed “running a restaurant”, but our work schedules make that nearly impossible except on the weekends. And, frankly, my stubborn streak wants them to just deal with the fact that they have to try new foods – even if they decide they don’t like them – just to give us the benefit of the doubt that we’re not trying to poison them by feeding them asparagus. Or mashed potatoes. Or poached sockeye salmon.

It’s just not possible that we’re the only parents out there that deal with this, and I take morbid comfort from each time that I hear another parent fussing at their recalcitrant, non-eating child at a restaurant. I want to give my counterpart a discreet nod, an acknowledgement that we’re all in the same foxhole. But usually I just let it go, because I know they just want to eat their meal in peace.

There needs to be some kind of secret sign, like a hand signal or a special blinking pattern, so we can silently, carefully give each other a show of support.

In the meantime, we’ll just continue to soldier on. As I’ve reminded the kids (fairly recently, in fact), if they want to restrict themselves to only a small handful of food choices, their ability and opportunity to eat out will be curtailed. And we’ll continue to try to offer them food we think they may, eventually, one day, far in the future, hopefully soon, get into eating on a regular basis.

We can only hope.

It’s all I’ve got.

{nods silently and moves along}

Goodbye to 2014 & Hello to 2015: goals met and remade

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At the start of this year, I set out with the inauspicious goal of losing 10 pounds and reading 21 books. The 10 pounds isn’t bold because I aimed for 20 pounds last year and didn’t get there, so I assumed that resetting the goal might make it happen…or at least put me closer to the target. The 21 books idea was based on the notion that I should continue my attempt to stay literate, even as my commute makes it impossible to focus on anything but driving.

I’m proud to say that I was able to make it happen on both counts; my last weigh-in of 2014 (on Sunday) was 10-1/2 lbs lower than my first weigh-in of the year, and as of December 30, I managed to finish 22 books! I can’t describe how happy I am to have been able to meet these goals, not just because it’s nice to have met specific numbers, but also because they’ve gotten me closer to where I want to be.

First, the reading.

I love to read. No, let me restate that: I LURVE to read. If I could spend whole chunks of a day ignoring the world, curled up on the couch with a cuppa and a book, I’d be happy to do so. Driving to and from work, often surrounded by drivers who consider motor vehicle operation laws as mere suggestions, I can’t even consider audiobooks; I’d never be sure that I could pay attention enough to absorb the material. I turn NPR up to keep my road rage down, and if I have to ignore Morning Edition or All Things Considered while I deal with the crazy drivers, I can always read it online at some other point – assuming it’s a story or piece that I really wanted to hear. Audiobooks are a whole other issue and, frankly, it may be all the commuters focusing more on their audiobooks than the road that keep me from listening to them myself. *cough*

This Fall, I did manage to resolve my e-reader angst and bought an iPad Mini 2; I’ve been devouring Kindle books like there’s no tomorrow ever since, and I have several Kindle-d friends who gave me tips to help add to my tally. Great suggestions: the Kindle Daily Deals email list and the Kindle First email list; the Daily Deals are Kindle books offered at steep discounts, some just for that day and some over the course of a week or month. The Kindle First list gets you one copy of an unreleased Kindle book the month before it becomes available to the rest of the world, and if you have Amazon Prime, the book is free. (I got sucked into a free trial of Prime during the Christmas shopping season and now I’m totally addicted…DANGEROUS.)

I know that buying a tablet HAS altered my printed book-buying pattern; I’m becoming far more selective about what I buy in print now. On the other hand, we’re currently in a storage crisis in our library, and with the impending room shuffle (to get ds out of his miniscule room into one that’s larger), the fewer items we acquire to go on already overstuffed shelves, the better. Once things have settled into their new homes, more paper books can be bought. And, frankly, some of the ebooks I bought I wouldn’t have considered buying in paper form. Others…YES. The links below are to the versions I read (paper or plastic).

The list of what I read in 2014:

Then, the weight loss.

Weight has been an issue for me perhaps my entire life. It seems that way, at least. The fat kid with glasses turned into the chubby girl with contacts turned into the chubby woman who’s gone as high as 230 lbs (when pregnant) and has been as low as 140 lbs (senior year in high school). None of that range matches with what the federal guidelines for BMI indicate are “healthy” for my height, but BMI can kiss my fat ass. Seriously. At best, it’s an imperfect measure to help identify when someone gets too heavy, but since BMI for can be completely inaccurate as a health assessment for elite athletes, I know it’s not nearly as good a measure as body-fat composition or total weight. Since total weight is the easy one to measure, that’s the one I’m focusing on.

I started this year just over 214 lbs, and I’m finishing it just south of 204 lbs, for a total loss of about 10-1/2 lbs. And sure, that’s still damn heavy, but I’m fitting into size 14 jeans far better than I have in ages, and some of my size 16’s fall off me. My shirts are looking better…and, as dh will tell you, I’m constantly fussing at my wardrobe because so many styles acquired over the past few years of gaining have been designed for covering up, so now they look like balloons on me. It’s a good problem to have, I suppose!

People ask me how I lost the weight, because when you tell people you lost weight, they instantly want to know the trick. Did I drink shakes? Do some plant-only diet? Do a carb-free diet? Go gluten-free? Work out six days a week? Do this-or-that workout?

nope.

Here’s what I did:

  • I walked or worked out when I was able to make it happen, including weekly training walks of 7-9 mi.
  • I ditched the sweetened tea that I drank during dinner as soon as it was possible to start brewing sun tea, and I drink that with dinner rather than just drinking water.
  • I stocked the house with York Minis, because a handful of those is full of satisfaction and lower on fat & calories than some other desserts. It made it possible for me to have dessert on any night – without dessert always being as heavy as my beloved “ice cream o’clock”.
  • I switched out my afternoon lattes or mochas for hot/iced coffee with milk and sugar (or, if at Starbucks, their “classic sweetener”). Pumpkin Spice Season was a little tough, not having Pumpkin Spice ALLTHETHINGS, but my hot or iced coffee never made me feel deprived – and I still was avoiding the faux sweeteners that I don’t like to consume.
  • When I traveled, I worked out at least one day of each trip (sometimes two or three times, depending upon the length of trip). Walking, walking, walking. I was all about it. I ate my way through BlogHer and STILL lost weight!

What’s on tap for me for 2015?

As much as I’m possibly setting myself up for trouble, I’m going to keep the same weight goal – taking off another 10 lbs – and upping my book challenge to 23, to beat where I ended this year. Follow along at Goodreads, if you want to get in on the challenge; I love to see how my friends are doing!

This isn’t a resolution; these are goals, things that I want for myself. If you have goals that you want to share, feel free to comment below. And if you don’t have specific goals, that’s fine, too. I can say this, though: complaining without action rarely yields results. So, if you want to hit even the barest minimum of goals, the barest minimum of action will be required.

What action are you willing to take?